Flowers Have Mastered the Art of Seduction
The wild and crazy things a flower will do to get laid
Science & Nature
The Man Who Saw Missouri’s Beauty
A fresh look at the Katy and Rock Island trails—and the difference they make.
AI Illiteracy
If visual-textual AI literacy is this bad, what (else) will Americans believe about, say, politics, based on social media posts with altered or fictional material? I think we know but pretend not to.
The Curious Importance of the Big Toe
The big toe freed our hands to make art, use tools, carry babies, and write literature. Why do we mock it?
The Son I Created
Before doubt, angst, and a few medical issues canceled our plans to have kids, I always thought I would want a boy. Kindroid can give me one!
What Doctors Get Wrong About Borderline Personality Disorder
A vivid new look at borderline, the most maligned and misunderstood of the personality disorders
Forecasters, Make the Weather Personal
We have all figured out what supercells, the dew point, and a wintry mix are, we have made our peace with El Niño, and La Niña, and we have flat-out given up trying to understand Arctic oscillations. Give us forecasts that tie what is inside us to what is around us.
The Glue That Holds Us Together
Elmer’s glue had to be smeared all over one’s finger, the inside of the wrist, or possibly the whole hand, then allowed to dry—blowing on it was permitted—and slowly, deliciously, peeled off.
Pixelborn as an Evil Robin Hood
Pixelborn was created by Bulgarian software engineer Pavel Kolev, entirely on his own. People have loved it in the way they love Disney characters and stories—which is to say wildly—and it had 50,000 users last fall. However, using Disney “intellectual property,” as the lawyers like to say, was always inviting trouble.
A Cicada Left This Letter
Our corpses enrich your gardens, aerate your lawns, and plump your birds. Yet you see cicadas as a plague and a punishment?