Friday, April 17, 2026

New Moon

 


Some kind of Tantric New Moon goddess...

Chimp out

 


This wouldn´t be controversial, had it not been for the fact that chimpanzees are our evolutionary cousins. So a "civil war" between chimps in darkest Africa is a thing. Should I or you tell the non-paying public about the bonobo, the vegan-bisexual chimpanzee and their matriarchal chimp outs? 

Chimpanzees in Uganda are locked in deadly "civil war" 

Quinvigintillion

 


The title of this article is hilarious. And oh, can anyone please tell these *modern scientists* to step out of the Biblical framework? That´s where the idea that the universe has a beginning and an ending come from, you know... 

The universe may start dying in just 10 billion years, alarming new model predicts


The last pharaoh?

 


Archeologists found an Egyptian stela portraying the Roman emperor Tiberius as a Pharaoh. Not sure how interesting this *really* is to Egyptologists, but the non-paying public (bored to death by Cleopatra) might find it intriguing...

Stone monument in Luxor

Friday

 


A rather non-classical Friday goddess, surrounded by mutant(?) bluebirds or something to that effect... 

Hello, Houston, u have a prob

 


"The crisis in cosmology is even bigger than u think, earthling, muh-hah-hah-hah"

Thanks for noticing

 

- Remember us, human? 

New research proves that the Hubble tension is real and that there actually is a crisis in cosmology. Thanks for noticing! 

Something´s missing

Elephants have no rights

 

- Gotta problem with pachyderms, huh huh? 

Why animal rights and veganism doesn´t work. The brains of our ancestors (Homo erectus again) became big thanks to hunting and feasting on primordial elephants...

Without "speciesism", no Man. Deal with it.  

Human ancestors butchered elephants

Clear as crystal

 


A sequel to the previous blog post. Homo erectus collected crystals already 800,000 years ago. Other hominins have also valued these little trinkets. Here is a quote from the paper linked below: "Notably, none of those crystals was used as a tool, weapon or ornament. They were neither worked, modified or repurposed in any way, nor do they show signs of use as jewels. Yet, hominins valued these stones enough to transport them from the geological outcrops to the caves used as refuges. These findings suggest that, almost 800,000 years ago— possibly earlier if additional claims are confirmed—, H. erectus displayed attraction to quartz and calcite crystals, treasuring them for reasons beyond practical necessity." The authors point out that in Homo sapiens, this would surely have been interpreted as evidence for symbolic thought!

Unfortunetely, the bulk of the paper is less impressive. Why is it strange that a few chimpanzees from circuses who are used to seeing and handling objects of human interest find crystals sufficiently alluring to collect them? Clue: it isn´t, and the researchers even admit it themselves. They recommend studies on wild apes instead...

Ahem. So nothing has really been proven here.

On the origin of our fascination with crystals

Connected to the cosmos

 


This is sheer speculation, of course, but it´s still intriguing. Hindus actually worship ammonite fossils (shaligrama stones), so that´s certainly a thing. But did Homo erectus really have a symbolic culture? I mean, could they even speak? It would be absolutely fascinating if the erecti were "spiritual but not religious"! Apparently, even chimpanzees collect shiny stones with no obvious utilitarian purpose...

Homo erectus "connected with the cosmos"