joe rojas-burke

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Category Archives: srsly?

How Mexico’s ‘chicken peacocks’ conquered the world

November 24, 2017by joerojasburke Leave a comment

Note the boy on the left and the dog on the lower right, both seizing the moment to make off with a prized turkey. This engraving was made in 1589, […]

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history, science, srsly?

A robot judges my photos

August 26, 2016by joerojasburke Leave a comment

Over the years, I’ve uploaded thousands of photos into online storage. On a whim last week, I typed the keyword ‘love’ into the search field. Google’s algorithm delivered one result: […]

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language, srsly?, technology

Maze runner: what an oversized bug penis reveals about evolution

May 18, 2015by joerojasburke Leave a comment

“We then experimentally shortened the penis using scissors, without harming the male. We show that the shorter the penis after cutting, the lower a male’s reproductive success.” – Dougherty et. al. […]

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nature, science, srsly?

Boxy kept ham

May 17, 2015by joerojasburke Leave a comment

Eleven letters are shared by the Greek, Latin and Russian Cyrillic alphabets (if you consider Y / У and K / К to be the same). In this dandy Venn diagram, the […]

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language, srsly?

A salmon retires

May 8, 2015by joerojasburke Leave a comment

I am so happy to know that some salmon get to retire from the whole “epic migration” thing. In one species – the Dolly Varden char – the oldsters actually […]

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nature, science, srsly?

Gecko-vescence

March 11, 2015by joerojasburke 1 Comment

geckovescence /ˈɡekōˈvesəns/ noun: the self-propulsion of water droplets off the skin of gecko lizards “…when dew forms on the gecko skin it takes the form of tiny water drops which, […]

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nature, science, srsly?

Boston vs. Portland in one chart

March 28, 2014by joerojasburke Leave a comment

Boston Portland Most abundant resource: Colleges & universities Bars w/ nude dancers Coffee: Dunkin’ Donuts Stumptown Driving style: The Boston left Politeness gridlock Health care: One dozen Harvard-trained specialists per […]

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srsly?

The bouldering addiction test

February 21, 2014by joerojasburke Leave a comment

[With apologies to Dr. Kimberly Young, developer of the IAT, a genuine clinical questionnaire for assessing Internet addiction.] Conceptually, the diagnosis is a compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorder that involves the following […]

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climbing, srsly?

Pison eu, Colon grossum!

February 16, 2014by joerojasburke 10 Comments

“No zoologist should propose a name that, to his knowledge, gives offense on any grounds.” – The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature • • • If you discovered a delicate, […]

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language, science, srsly?

Uggstep (rhymes with dubstep) & other portmanteaus

February 7, 2014by joerojasburke Leave a comment

“Generally portmanteaus with the greatest sticking power seem to be those which fill an existing gap in our lexicon. They describe experiences for which we lack words.” – OxfordWords blog […]

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language, srsly?

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Top Posts & Pages

  • Seeing the world at bicycle speed
    Seeing the world at bicycle speed
  • Hunting & human origins
    Hunting & human origins
  • Polychrome humans: Harwood's 'Bust of a Man'
    Polychrome humans: Harwood's 'Bust of a Man'
  • A field guide to pointless medical research
    A field guide to pointless medical research
  • Built-in injustice: race, income and air pollution
    Built-in injustice: race, income and air pollution
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