10 Things We Learned This Week!

What did you learn this week? Let us know in the comments or at education@ngs.org.

This week, we learned…

…that something more disgusting than rats may be lurking in the shadows of Hawaii’s sewage system.

grease-trap
Microorganisms in grease traps such as this one may contribute to a clogged sewer system. Photo by Heike Hoffman, courtesy Sustainable Sanitation Alliance. CC BY 2.0.

 

…how a friendly fox species has endured—and shrunk (some adults are as small as 2.35 pounds)—for thousands of years in the Channel Islands.

island-fox
Island foxes are not afraid of humans and may even sit in your lap. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service, US Department of Interior. Public Domain.

 

…why one teacher calls Donald Trump the “gift that keeps on giving” in his classroom—and how other teachers and students are reacting to the election.

 

…that the social bonds pigeons form may not be all that different from what humans call love.

pigeons
Could pigeons love? Probably not in the sense that humans do, but their connections may be stronger than we previously thought. Photo by Sachin Patekar, courtesy pdpics.com. Public Domain.

 

…why our brains may be to blame when we ignore issues like climate change.

 

…how some cities’ historic racial divides are mirrored in the availability of Amazon’s same-day delivery.

amazon-map
Click the image to see more maps about historic racial divisions and Amazon same-day delivery at bloomberg.com.

 

…about a Nepali milkman who lost his home in an earthquake but found purpose continuing deliveries to survivors of the disaster.

milkman
Click the image to watch Narratively’s video about the Nepali milkman and his community.

 

…that “productive failure” can help students remember their math lessons better.

math-class
Students may remember more from making mistakes in math class than from getting things right. Photo by Tungsten, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

 

…how Americans have come to read terrorism into with everyday words and expressions in Arabic.

arabic-characters-on-wall
Innocuous Arabic characters such as these have gained negative associations among Americans. Photo by Paolo Neo, courtesy Public Domain Images. Public Domain.

 

…how Cork, Ireland sounds, smells, tastes, and feels. (Note: This article has some adult content.)

cork
St. Finbar’s Church in West Cork, Ireland. Photo by Leo McKeefry, courtesy geograph.ie. CC BY-SA 2.0.

What did you learn this week? Let us know in the comments or at education@ngs.org.

Leave a Reply