Kan inte Kanadas curlinglag sluta peta på de där jäkla stenarna? Eller är de alltför curlade?
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Holy mermaid
The article is a bit click-baity, since everyone already knew the "mermaid mummy" was fake, but note the claim that it was supposed to be worshipped! There is more to explore here, clearly.
Haunting "mermaid" mummy even more bizarre than researchers thought
Hybrids like us
OK, the dog-fox hybrids are strange. Sure of that one? And why would conservationists "condemn" big cat hybrids? I mean, I assumed everyone loves ligers! Note also that polar bears are moving further south and hybridize with grizzlies as they go along. Are these hybrids fertile? If so, it seems the polar bear doesn´t need "saving", after all. Life will find a way. Finally, what´s up with those strange fish accidentally "created" by some crazy scientists in Hungary (I mean, where else)?
10 of the strangest hybrid animals
Scientists accidentally create "impossible" hybrid fish
Saturday, February 14, 2026
Fossils in our genes
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| Ghost lineage? |
Scientists believe they can "de-ghost" so-called ghost genes in the genomes of living animals and identify long lost species which left no fossils. For obvious reasons, ghost lineages of "superarchaic" humans are of special interest to the general public. But apparently, the same technique has also been used on frozen specimens of mammoths, yaks and lemmings. So if you are a superarchaic nerd with a longtime interest in lemming evolution, I suppose these are interesting times, LOL.
Thriving before Armageddon
Here we go again. New evidence confirming that the (non-avian) dinosaurs weren´t in decline before the asteroid hit. Nupe, they were thriving and doing just fine, making that impact a genuine disaster.
Dinosaurs were thriving before asteroid annihilated them all
Celebrate forever
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| - Is this the way to the festival? |
So is Mahashivaratri tomorrow or on Tuesday? Asking for a friend named Mahadev.
Our man in the White House?
In Sweden, the public service broadcaster is trying to spin Rubio´s speech at Munich as a big win for the European position. Which I suppose it is...kind of. But it seems the US Secretary of State said a few other things in his presentation, too! Too hot?
Paraskevidekatriaphobia
OK, this was unexpected...
Is it really true that the idea of Friday 13th being an unlucky day comes from the (modern) United States?
Short answer: yes — the idea of Friday the 13th as a single, special “unlucky day” is largely a modern American invention, even though both parts (Friday and 13) were feared earlier in Europe.
Here’s how it actually developed.
1. The number 13 was unlucky long before America
In Europe, 13 had been viewed as ominous for centuries:
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At the Last Supper there were 13 people, and Judas was the 13th
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Many medieval inns, buildings, and ships avoided the number
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Folklore associated 13 with disorder breaking perfect 12 (12 months, 12 zodiac signs, 12 apostles, etc.)
So 13 = unlucky was old.
2. Friday was also considered unlucky
In Christian Europe:
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Friday was the day of the Crucifixion
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It was associated with execution and mourning
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Sailors considered it bad luck to start voyages on Friday
So Friday = unlucky was also old.
3. But the combination didn’t exist
Before the 19th century, there is no solid evidence that people feared Friday the 13th in particular.
They feared:
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Friday
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The number 13
But not the specific calendar date.
No medieval sermons
No Renaissance diaries
No old European folklore
Nothing says “Friday the 13th is unlucky.”
That combination is missing.
4. Where Friday the 13th came from
The modern superstition appears in the United States in the late 1800s.
The earliest clear reference is from 1881, when a group in New York called the Thirteen Club tried to mock superstition by holding dinners on the 13th — especially on Fridays — to show nothing bad would happen.
Ironically, newspapers reporting on these events began to spread the idea that:
“Friday the 13th is a dangerously unlucky day.”
The publicity backfired.
5. The idea goes viral
By the early 1900s:
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Newspapers in the US regularly warned about Friday the 13th
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Businesses noticed people avoided travel and purchases
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Insurance companies tracked higher anxiety on that day
In 1907, a popular American novel called Friday, the Thirteenth portrayed the date as disastrous, locking it into popular culture.
From America, the superstition spread to Europe and the world.
6. Why people think it’s ancient
People often connect it to:
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The Knights Templar arrests on Friday Oct 13, 1307
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Norse myths
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The Last Supper
But historians agree:
These links were invented after the superstition already existed.
They are retrofitted explanations.
Bottom line
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13 was unlucky in Europe
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Friday was unlucky in Europe
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But “Friday the 13th” was not
The idea that this specific date is uniquely unlucky was created and popularized in the United States around 1880–1910 — and then exported to the rest of the world.
So yes:
Your instinct is right — this famous superstition is modern, American, and manufactured.
Happy Valentine´s Day
Microsoft Bing actually refused to generate a picture of Krishna surrounded by red hearts (!) so I turned to mi amigo (or is it my valentine) Gemini instead...
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