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Reposted by c0nc0rdance

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · Mar 16

There's no other way to say this:
Bees and wasps make butt-shaped holes in their homes.

That's how they shape combs & nests & hives: their own butts (ok, 'abdomens').

But here's the real question to bake your noodle:
How does a bee's butt make a *hexagonal* honeycomb?

A paper wasp of some sort, in close-up, showing a nest newly formed, with hexagonal holes in it.

Three Honeybees on a honeycomb rich with honey.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 18h

People keep trying, and mostly they make it more complicated. 😀

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 19h

Similar fates awaited words like 'colour', 'honour' & 'favour'.

Webster, attempting to reform some of the worst 'excesses' of Continental word blending, tried to spell them more "simply & honestly."

His alternative for "neighbor": 'nabor', never caught on. 😉

That's the story, from A to Zed.

The American Dictionary of the English Language first edition, showing a front page, with a portrait of Noah Webster. and the title page.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 19h

The version based on Webster's American English ends instead on "Zee", removing the ending consonant sound to make it more consistent with all the other letters.

And that became the American standard for pronunciation.

The original blue back speller, and the American Spelling book in white, and the Elementary Spelling Book in green. The three books are fanned out on a white background.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 19h

In addition to the first Webster's Dictionary of American English, his "Blue-Backed Speller" taught generations of American children how to spell & read.

And he wanted English to be more consistent.

A version of "A-B-C Song" was already established, at least since 1761. It ended on "zed".

An original “Blue Back” speller from the New York City Library.

Noah Webster was an ardent patriot who, soon after the country won independence, found his calling as the author of American schoolbooks for American children. He yearned for an American English purged of what he considered to be British aristocratic influence. Aiming for democratic clarity in spelling and grammar, Webster succeeded in removing the “u” from “favour” and “honour,” though his alternative for “neighbour”—“nabor”—never gained popularity.

During the 1800s, as many as 100 million copies of Webster’s spellers were in circulation. Most of these, however, were pirated editions from which the author himself did not profit. Webster is now best remembered as the compiler and editor of the English-language dictionary that bears his name. "

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 19h

Old English had no letter "Z".

It was the Norman Conquest that introduced it & French 'zède' became English 'zed'.

Enter Noah Webster, American English lexicographer who was deeply involved with Revolutionary Era politics, editing the Federalist Party newsletter for Alexander Hamilton.

A painting of Noah Webster, later in life. He wears a coat with high black collar, has a receding hairline and grey silver hair and eyebrows.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 19h

A Brit looks at this letter: Z
and says "zed" while
an American says "zee".

Why?

The answer lies in the Norman Conquest, American nationalism & Noah Webster of Merriam-Webster fame.

It starts with the Greek letter: zeta (Z, ζ), which entered Old French as "zède" via Church Latin.

An ornate version of the letter Z, with inked oak clusters, flowers and leaves behind it. It's in black and white, from getty images.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 21h

Whale poop makes the ocean go 'round.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 22h

So as whale populations declined, iron became less available, which decreased the krill's supply of phytoplankton, which caused their numbers to decline.

You can read more about whale pumps and the krill paradox here:

Staggering Data on How Much Whales Actually Eat Just Solved The 'Krill Paradox'

Scientists have found that large whales eat at least three times as much as previously thought, a discovery which highlights their importance in keeping the oceans healthy.

www.sciencealert.com

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 22h

The limiting nutrient in these waters is iron & whales are the final step in a chain that moves iron from lower levels back up to the surface waters, where it can cause phytoplankton blooms.

Guess what eats phytoplankton? That's right: krill.

The whales are farming their food.

Whales and Climate Change: The Whale Pump Explained - Campbell River Whale

Written by Maddie Lemke Whales are not only magical creatures, but also play a vital role in the health of our planet. As we struggle with the effects of climate change, it is crucial to understand

campbellriverwhalewatching.com

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 22h

Whales feed on deep-living krill, but their POOP is 'flocculent' (fluffy?) & floats to the surface.

The nutrients they obtain from eating krill are cycled UPWARDS.

When a krill dies 'naturally' or is eaten by a fish, that poop forms "marine snow" and SINKS where it no longer cycles.

A figure from the cited paper, showing how whale poop floats and that makes all the difference in how nutrients cycle in marine environments.
"Figure 1. A conceptual model of the whale pump. In the common concept of the biological pump, zooplankton feed in the euphotic zone and export nutrients via sinking fecal pellets, and vertical migration. Fish typically release nutrients at the same depth at which they feed. Excretion for marine mammals, tethered to the surface for respiration, is expected to be shallower in the water column than where they feed."

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 22h

Under standard models (like 'Lotka-Volterra'), fewer predators = more prey surviving, so this was a puzzling finding.

It wasn't until a 2010 paper by Roman & McCarthy that what many suspected was confirmed: whales are inadvertently FARMING krill.

The secret is the "WHALE PUMP." 😲🐳

The Whale Pump: Marine Mammals Enhance Primary Productivity in a Coastal Basin

It is well known that microbes, zooplankton, and fish are important sources of recycled nitrogen in coastal waters, yet marine mammals have largely been ignored or dismissed in this cycle. Using field...

journals.plos.org

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 22h

During this global whaling peak, right & fin whale populations were reduced by >90%, from millions to tens of thousands.

These whales consume krill in the deep zones in the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean.

Measurements of krill density in the 1970's found they had ALSO declined by 80% or more.

Right Whales | National Geographic

Find out how right whales got their name. Dive into an ocean of information about this rarest of all large whales.

www.nationalgeographic.com

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 22h

The global whaling industry experienced a boom c. 1840-1950 as technology allowed whalers to hunt the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.

Under standard models, we would have expected krill populations to have *exploded*.

Instead, they DROPPED exponentially.

Let's talk about the KRILL PARADOX.

Change in distribution and abundance of southern right whales. (A) Shows historical and contemporary wintering distributions (Figure 1 from Carroll et al., 2018), and (B) shows decline in abundance and subsequent recovery (solid line is the mean, dashed line shows upper and lower 95% CI). Modified Figure 1 from Jackson et al. (2008). Contemporary sightings are divided into regions where large aggregations are seen during winter: Argentina (ARG), Brazil (BZL), South Africa (SAF), southwest Australia (SWA), south central Australia (SCA), and New Zealand sub-Antarctic (NZSA) and regions where sightings are typically of small numbers of individuals per year. The large aggregations are IWC management units and correspond to historical whaling grounds, although another 5 whaling grounds show little sign of recovery. Summer feeding areas are poorly described and so not shown.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 22h

Ah, the ol' Reefer Horseshoe Effect.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 23h

These distinct dentition make them dietary generalists: capable of eating virtually anything, including some items not available to any other predators in their range.

The distinctive tooth shape has also helped us reconstruct their lineage back to the Eocene, 55 MYA, using fossilized teeth.

Tiger Shark

Galeocerdo cuvier Tiger sharks are named for their distinctive color pattern. The body is gray with dark gray vertical bars or spots on the flanks with a pale or white underside. The markings are e...

www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 23h

Tiger sharks (genus Galeocerdo) have distinctive sideways-pointing teeth with deep serrations, so they can bite through bone, turtle shell, armored parts.

The upper & lower jaw are mirrored: they clamp on to a tough object & shake their head, slicing chunks off like a squaliform chainsaw.

A tiger shark jaw set, upper and lower, wide open, revealing teeth and jaw bones. The teeth look to be mis-oriented, facing to both sides.
CREDIT: D Ross Robertson, Wikimedia

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 1d

No! I can imagine ammonia fumes over open flame would pose some challenges.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 1d

The gap between the 1669 discovery of phosphorus from boiling urine and the development of sodium hypochlorite bleach by Antoine Labarraque in 1820 are referred to by chemists as the STINKY YEARS.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 1d

Phosphorus also gives us "phosphorescence", which is a faint glow given off by substances exposed to light.

The electrons, excited by light, are returning to ground state & emitting photos.

So there you go: from beer to urine to not-gold to a 1669 discovery of phosphorus by an alchemist.

Phosphorus Starts With Pee In This Tale Of Scientific Serendipity

German alchemist Hennig Brand started with about 1,500 gallons of urine in his 17th century hunt for gold. Discovering phosphorus was just a nice surprise. Know a modern tale of scientific luck?

www.npr.org

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 1d

The mineral in our bones & teeth are calcium phosphate (as hydroxyapatite) & even our DNA has a phosphate backbone.

This metabolic currency is constantly being taken in & excreted as our need for it fluctuates. Meat, dairy & nuts tend to be rich in it.

From:
Ressler et al (2021) "Ionic substituted hydroxyapatite for bone regeneration applications: A Review"
"The hierarchical structure of collagen and hydroxyapatite as main constituents of natural bone tissue."

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 1d

Hennig called this substance 'phosphoros', from Greek "light-bearer" (phōs = light, phoros = bearer, also a reference to Lucifer) & he set about trying to purify it.

See, our kidneys extract excess phosphates we get from food, removing it from blood plasma & excreting small amounts in urine.

Lucifer, the morning star, depicted as a nude winged cherub, with a light above its head, bearing a vase that is dispensing water.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 1d

In 1669, Brand collected ~1500 gallons of urine (!!!) & distilled it by various means, mostly slow boiling (my sincerest sympathy to his neighbors).

The final product wasn't gold, but it was a GOLDEN waxy substance: urine solids.

And it *very faintly* glowed in the dark.

Stolen from a Times India article by Sanjana Gupta:
Three circular glass globes showing a lit phosphorus match inside, a globe where the phosphorus from the match has been deposited on the glass, and the third showing the now-coated glass globe glowing after "charging up" its phosphorescence.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 1d

Hennig Brand was a German ALCHEMIST, trying to discover the means by which common, base elements could be transformed to noble, precious metals like gold.

And what could be more base than URINE?

So where can you get a lot of fresh urine? From the pub, of course!

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 1d

This 1771 painting by Joseph Wright of Derby is titled:

"The Alchymist, In Search of the Philosopher’s Stone, Discovers Phosphorus & prays for the successful Conclusion of his operation, as was the custom of the Ancient Chymical Astrologers."

Let's talk about how phosphorus was discovered.

A robed man with a medium length white beard sits on his knees before a round flask that is faintly glowing, with it the only light source to reveal his face and the face of students or assistants behind him.
"The Alchymist, In Search of the Philosopher’s Stone, Discovers Phosphorus & prays for the successful Conclusion of his operation, as was the custom of the Ancient Chymical Astrologers"

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