It’s March 8: International Women’s Day (see next post), so women should be demanding cakes and goodies and stuff along with their rights. On this day in history, Johannes Kepler discovered his third law of planetary motion: “The square of the orbital period of a planet is proportional to the cube of thes emi-major axis of its orbit.” In 1910, French flyer Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman to receive a pilot’s license. In 1971, this was the day of the famous Joe Frazier/Muhammad Ali fight, won after 15 rounds by Frazier. In 1974, the execrable Charles de Gaulle airport opened outside Paris, and, five years later, the first CD was publicly demonstrated. Two years ago on this day (was it that long?), Malaysia Flight 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared, presumably crashing into the Indian Ocean, where debris has since been found. Births on this day include Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841), Otto Hahn (1879), John McPhee (1931), Lynn Redgrave (1943), Carole Bayer Sager (1947), and Rabbi Sacks, Templeton Prize Winner and gay marriage opponent (1948). Those who died on this day include William Howard Taft (1930), Billy Eckstine (1993), and Joe DiMaggio (1999).
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili has read the translation on Listy from Faith Versus Fact about whether the evolution of humans was inevitable:
Hili: Did humans had to appear in the process of evolution?A: Probably not.Hili: See? And cats had to.(Photo: Sarah Lawson)
Hili: Czy w procesie ewolucji człowiek musiał się pojawić?
Ja: Prawdopodobnie nie.
Hili: No widzisz, a kot musiał.(Zdjęcie: Sarah Lawson)
As lagniappe, here, courtesy of reader Sue Rosenthal, is a sea otter giving birth—a wild sea otter (Enhydra lutris) that clambered onto the rocks outside the Monterey Bay Aquarium, dropping a baby otter just last Saturday:
Their notes:
A wild otter mom, seeking shelter from stormy seas, gave birth to her pup in our Great Tide Pool with guests and staff looking on. It was an amazing moment. Not that long ago, southern sea otters were hunted to near extinction but now, thanks to legislative protection and a change of heart toward these furriest of sea creatures, the otter population in Monterey Bay has rebounded.
Our sea otter researchers have been watching wild otters for years and have never seen a birth close up like this. We’re amazed and awed to have had a chance to witness this Monterey Bay conservation success story first hand in our own backyard. Welcome to the world, little otter!
Om’golly, what a darling birthing !
And perfect commemoration of
International Women’s Day, Ms Rosenthal !
Blue
former OB nurse
(all divisions thereof)
Every day should be Women’s Day.
Monterey Bay and its aquarium are awesome. The only down-side of visiting the aquarium is the suspicion that no public aquarium is better.
I apologize for the downer here, on this most auspicious day. I continue to be appalled by and condemn the way many women and girls are treated in too many countries. The following is not for the faint of heart nor for the easily triggered….
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/police-say-15-year-old-raped-set-on-fire-outside-new-delhi-1.2807960
What woman wouldn’t think long and hard before traveling to India alone or with only other women?
Why does the world still have such barbaric societies in the 21st century?
If we have to fight wars, why don’t we fight them over conditions like this, rather than oil?
“Why does the world still have such barbaric societies in the 21st century?”
Indeed. Since many societies seem to have significantly reduced barbarity, it’s clear that the others could, in principle, rise to the occasion. As has been described, the correlation to religiosity is a strong explanatory candidate.
Grammatical correction, Hili… ‘Did humans HADZ to…”
Well, I for one love CDG. If for no other reason than it means: I’m back in la Belle France!
What came first, cats or mice? That’s a real gotcha for atheists.
Either way, Hili is looking beautifully smug about the importance of her place in the scheme of things. 🙂
It’s not widely known that Herbert Hoover was a bigtime cigar smoker. Wm Howard Taft’s funeral went on for a long time, during which time he was jonesing for a stogie, and remarked afterward, “At my funeral, everyone will be allowed to smoke.”
My wish for women: Take more physics for you are capable.
Wha’ ? Huh ?
How is it that this:
http://www.ph106ci2015.pbworks.com/w/page/99799289/Physics%20of%20Childbirth has not apparently in this statement been considered as, well, … … important enough – physics, let alone, as its endeavoring persons therein with their constructing, their growing and subsequently their laboring thereof … … physics – capable ?
Blue
Note that he said “for,” not “if.” Still struck me as a bit patronizing, but I’m willing to bet his heart is in the right place.
Someone please tell me why that sweet vid needed a warning about “graphic” content?