Kat Long
@katlong.bsky.social
19th-century Arctic enthusiast, currently writing a biography of polar pioneer William Scoresby, Jr. Former science editor at Mental Floss, now science journalist for hire
Reposted by Kat Long
🧪🧵: For years, the 15th-century Voynich Manuscript (VMS) has puzzled medievalists, linguists & codebreakers.
Today, I’m publishing a peer-reviewed paper describing a new model for how it may have been written. Presenting the Naibbe cipher:
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01611194.2025.2566408
Today, I’m publishing a peer-reviewed paper describing a new model for how it may have been written. Presenting the Naibbe cipher:
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01611194.2025.2566408
tandfonline.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:42 PM
🧪🧵: For years, the 15th-century Voynich Manuscript (VMS) has puzzled medievalists, linguists & codebreakers.
Today, I’m publishing a peer-reviewed paper describing a new model for how it may have been written. Presenting the Naibbe cipher:
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01611194.2025.2566408
Today, I’m publishing a peer-reviewed paper describing a new model for how it may have been written. Presenting the Naibbe cipher:
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01611194.2025.2566408
“Indian people have long known of the land and our history and presence here,” said Anne Richardson, chief of the roughly 300-member Rappahannock Tribe. “But so often things aren’t considered ‘real’ until they’re found or ‘discovered.’ This validates what we’ve long known.”
Location of historic Native American village was unknown — until now
Archaeologists have found what they say is proof of Native American villages mentioned by English explorer John Smith.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:56 PM
“Indian people have long known of the land and our history and presence here,” said Anne Richardson, chief of the roughly 300-member Rappahannock Tribe. “But so often things aren’t considered ‘real’ until they’re found or ‘discovered.’ This validates what we’ve long known.”
Pre-Thanksgiving Day hike along the Potomac. It’s 70 degrees!!!
November 26, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Pre-Thanksgiving Day hike along the Potomac. It’s 70 degrees!!!
Reposted by Kat Long
This seems like a play to cut NPS profitability to make it easier to open these lands up to extraction. 35% of NPS visitors are from overseas
US triples national park fee for non-residents, amid ‘new’ fee for Americans
Interior department, which has defunded conservation organizations, claims fee hike is for conservation
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:27 PM
This seems like a play to cut NPS profitability to make it easier to open these lands up to extraction. 35% of NPS visitors are from overseas
Reposted by Kat Long
Charming marginalia of a 'sea horse' from William Scoresby Senior's whaling journal of 1794. Unfortunately it didn't end well for the poor walruses
November 26, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Charming marginalia of a 'sea horse' from William Scoresby Senior's whaling journal of 1794. Unfortunately it didn't end well for the poor walruses
Reposted by Kat Long
Traditions that sustained the Inuits for many generations in some of the world’s most hostile conditions are vanishing along with the ice. Ben Taub reports from the most remote settlement in Greenland. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/2irCnd
November 24, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Traditions that sustained the Inuits for many generations in some of the world’s most hostile conditions are vanishing along with the ice. Ben Taub reports from the most remote settlement in Greenland. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/2irCnd
Was researching something else and stumbled upon this intriguing gem
Descent into Madness: Psychiatric Treatment of Royal Navy Seamen, 1793-1818
The Royal Navy witnessed a substantial increase in psychiatric cases between 1793 and 1818 due to the compounding psychosocial stressors experienced from a rigorous life at sea. The British Admiralty ...
oaktrust.library.tamu.edu
November 24, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Was researching something else and stumbled upon this intriguing gem
#WilliamScoresbyJr identified the Arctic food web for the first time in 1816, noting that the largest animals (whales) depend on the smallest (phyto/zooplankton): "And thus we find a dependent chain of existence, one of the smaller links of which being destroyed, the whole must necessarily perish."
As the arctic warms, phytoplankton 🦠 are revising their seasonal schedule 🗓️ ... but other organisms didn't get the memo in time.
A new study from Courtney Payne and collaborators predicts disruptions in the Arctic Ocean's food web by the end of the century.
A new study from Courtney Payne and collaborators predicts disruptions in the Arctic Ocean's food web by the end of the century.
Scientists predict a sea change in Arctic ecosystems by the end of the century
A new study, led by INSTAAR’s Courtney Payne, predicts disrupted phytoplankton blooms in the year 2100, leading to knock-on effects throughout the Arctic ecosystem.
www.colorado.edu
November 20, 2025 at 4:13 PM
#WilliamScoresbyJr identified the Arctic food web for the first time in 1816, noting that the largest animals (whales) depend on the smallest (phyto/zooplankton): "And thus we find a dependent chain of existence, one of the smaller links of which being destroyed, the whole must necessarily perish."
Another amazing find about British Columbia's sea wolves: wapo.st/49Z0zon
See how this wolf steals fish, a new discovery of animals using tools
Video from the coast of British Columbia may be the first documented instance of a wild wolf using a tool, according to the researchers who published it on Monday.
wapo.st
November 18, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Another amazing find about British Columbia's sea wolves: wapo.st/49Z0zon
Reposted by Kat Long
“The Vatican said Saturday the items were given back during the Holy Year, exactly 100 years after the 1925 exhibition where they were first exhibited in Rome as a highlight of that Jubilee.”
Pope Leo returns 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada
The Vatican returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada, a historic restitution that is part of the Catholic Church's reckoning with its role in helping suppress Indigenous culture.
www.npr.org
November 16, 2025 at 12:39 PM
“The Vatican said Saturday the items were given back during the Holy Year, exactly 100 years after the 1925 exhibition where they were first exhibited in Rome as a highlight of that Jubilee.”
Reposted by Kat Long
14 November 1797: birth of Scottish geologist Charles Lyell at Kinnordy in Forfarshire. 'An ardent man of science with a very round, short face resembling the Emperor Alexander of Russia, a fine forehead and altogether a gentlemanly exterior’, best known for his 1830–33 Principles of Geology.
November 14, 2025 at 9:52 AM
14 November 1797: birth of Scottish geologist Charles Lyell at Kinnordy in Forfarshire. 'An ardent man of science with a very round, short face resembling the Emperor Alexander of Russia, a fine forehead and altogether a gentlemanly exterior’, best known for his 1830–33 Principles of Geology.
Reposted by Kat Long
Climate change has disastrous effects on Indigenous communities in Southwestern Alaska, and it is also damaging precontact Yup'ik #archaeology.
Charlotta Hillerdal writes on the threat and steps being taken in the latest #AntiquityBlog 🏺
📷 Rick Knecht
🔗 buff.ly/KOUaA9H
Charlotta Hillerdal writes on the threat and steps being taken in the latest #AntiquityBlog 🏺
📷 Rick Knecht
🔗 buff.ly/KOUaA9H
How climate change is threatening Indigenous Yup’ik heritage « Archaeology# « Cambridge Core Blog
On 12 October, 2025, Typhoon Halong reached the shores of Southwestern Alaska, with devastating consequences for many of the Indigenous communities living here. Whole villages were destroyed and…
buff.ly
November 14, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Climate change has disastrous effects on Indigenous communities in Southwestern Alaska, and it is also damaging precontact Yup'ik #archaeology.
Charlotta Hillerdal writes on the threat and steps being taken in the latest #AntiquityBlog 🏺
📷 Rick Knecht
🔗 buff.ly/KOUaA9H
Charlotta Hillerdal writes on the threat and steps being taken in the latest #AntiquityBlog 🏺
📷 Rick Knecht
🔗 buff.ly/KOUaA9H
Visited a remnant of the last ice age in NE Illinois! Volo Bog is the southernmost open-water quaking bog in North America, created in a kettle hole left by a receding glacier about 10,000 years ago. Now a rare habitat for carnivorous plants!
November 13, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Visited a remnant of the last ice age in NE Illinois! Volo Bog is the southernmost open-water quaking bog in North America, created in a kettle hole left by a receding glacier about 10,000 years ago. Now a rare habitat for carnivorous plants!
As a Marylander I dunk on Virginia frequently but tonight, good job guys
November 5, 2025 at 2:16 AM
As a Marylander I dunk on Virginia frequently but tonight, good job guys
John Playfair taught my biography subject #WilliamScoresbyJr in his natural history course at the U of Edinburgh in 1806—the epicenter of the Neptunism vs. Vulcanism geological debate. Scoresby leaned Neptunist! His notebook from Playfair's lectures (yes he misspelled Edinburgh on the cover):
November 1, 2025 at 1:49 PM
John Playfair taught my biography subject #WilliamScoresbyJr in his natural history course at the U of Edinburgh in 1806—the epicenter of the Neptunism vs. Vulcanism geological debate. Scoresby leaned Neptunist! His notebook from Playfair's lectures (yes he misspelled Edinburgh on the cover):
Reposted by Kat Long
Do you love bogs and Halloween? If so, please follow and share this thread to explore the eerie, the dark and the supernatural side of bog ecosystems. BogBoo. 1/
You are terrifying
and strange and
beautiful,
something not
everyone knows how
to love.
-Warsan Shire
You are terrifying
and strange and
beautiful,
something not
everyone knows how
to love.
-Warsan Shire
October 31, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Do you love bogs and Halloween? If so, please follow and share this thread to explore the eerie, the dark and the supernatural side of bog ecosystems. BogBoo. 1/
You are terrifying
and strange and
beautiful,
something not
everyone knows how
to love.
-Warsan Shire
You are terrifying
and strange and
beautiful,
something not
everyone knows how
to love.
-Warsan Shire
Just incredible that a cargo ship made TWO crossings of the Northwest Passage in a single season. 120 years ago it took Roald Amundsen three years to get through the ice that no longer exists
Tuomas Romu from #AkerArctic continues to monitor international voyages along the #NorthwestPassage #NWP #Arctic. This year's transit season was shorter than in 2024, beginning slightly later and ending earlier.
akerarctic.fi/news/interna...
akerarctic.fi/news/interna...
International voyages on the Northwest Passage in 2025 | Aker Arctic
Tuomas Romu from Aker Arctic continues to monitor international voyages along the Northwest Passage. This year’s transit season was shorter than in 2024, beginning slightly later and ending earlier.
akerarctic.fi
October 31, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Just incredible that a cargo ship made TWO crossings of the Northwest Passage in a single season. 120 years ago it took Roald Amundsen three years to get through the ice that no longer exists
#WilliamScoresbyJr, my biography subject, predicted that bowheads were extremely long-lived due to the length of their baleen back in the 1820s! Now we another clue as to why they’re the longest-lived mammals on Earth
This whale lives for centuries: its secret could help extend human lifespan
A cold-activated protein that mends damaged DNA could play a part in keeping the bowhead whale in tip-top shape.
www.nature.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:58 PM
#WilliamScoresbyJr, my biography subject, predicted that bowheads were extremely long-lived due to the length of their baleen back in the 1820s! Now we another clue as to why they’re the longest-lived mammals on Earth
Stolen scrimshaw!
'A real violation.' More than 1,000 artifacts stolen from California museum in brazen heist
Items stolen from the Oakland Museum of California included Native American baskets, jewelry, laptops, historic photographs and intricately carved ivory tusks.
www.latimes.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Stolen scrimshaw!
What a metaphor
We can now watch the United States explode and sink beneath the ocean live!
Sinking of SS United States to be livestreamed using drones and underwater cameras
The historic ship will be sunk off the Florida panhandle by the end of the year, but no date has been set.
www.phillyvoice.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:16 PM
What a metaphor
Senescence at Sugarloaf Mountain (near Comus, Md.)
October 26, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Senescence at Sugarloaf Mountain (near Comus, Md.)
Welp, after 9+ years, my time as Mental Floss’s science editor has come to an end. I could not have asked for a better bunch of weirdos to be my co-workers (and who also got laid off). You know what this means: a thread of greatest hits! 🧵1/n
October 24, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Welp, after 9+ years, my time as Mental Floss’s science editor has come to an end. I could not have asked for a better bunch of weirdos to be my co-workers (and who also got laid off). You know what this means: a thread of greatest hits! 🧵1/n
Really looking forward to this!
Excited that “New Research in Arctic Pasts,” the series I’m co-editing with @issygapp.bsky.social, has just launched on @nichecanada.bsky.social, showcasing the work of 10 Arctic researchers across disciplines over the next 6 weeks niche-canada.org/2025/10/23/i...
New Research in Arctic Pasts - Visual Cultures of the Circumpolar North Part V
Arctic visual studies have rapidly expanded through interdisciplinary collaboration, climate urgency, Indigenous engagement, and community-building among artists, historians, and scholars across disci...
niche-canada.org
October 24, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Really looking forward to this!
Reposted by Kat Long
A great lede can be less than 10 words:
"The East Wing of the White House is gone."
Via @ddiamond.bsky.social @jonathanreports.bsky.social
@oliviacgeorge.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
"The East Wing of the White House is gone."
Via @ddiamond.bsky.social @jonathanreports.bsky.social
@oliviacgeorge.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
The East Wing is gone, and Trump turns to damage control
Demolition crews appeared to finish taking down the bulk of the White House wing Thursday, while President Donald Trump defended the project.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:33 PM
A great lede can be less than 10 words:
"The East Wing of the White House is gone."
Via @ddiamond.bsky.social @jonathanreports.bsky.social
@oliviacgeorge.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
"The East Wing of the White House is gone."
Via @ddiamond.bsky.social @jonathanreports.bsky.social
@oliviacgeorge.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Good question. If this was in Manhattan the White House would be covered in sidewalk sheds
Has anyone seen construction experts weighing in on how to protect a structure like this during partial demolition? Is it standard to dig in without, idk, a tarp system?
Dramatic photos show construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows, though the federal agency that oversees such projects has not approved President Trump's 90,000-square-foot, $250 million ballroom. n.pr/48AUON2
October 21, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Good question. If this was in Manhattan the White House would be covered in sidewalk sheds