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Dr Kat Day (she/her)

@chronicleflask.katday.com

13K followers 1.1K following 18K posts

Science & Fiction editor/writer. Chemistry PhD ⚛️ Writer: The Crash Course Organic Chemistry & various DK science books 🧪 Deputy Editor at PseudoPod 🦑 Short fiction https://thefictionphial.wordpress.com 🖊️

thefictionphial.wordpress.com

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · May 15

Maybe I STARTED OUT made of sugar and spice and all things nice, but now I’m made of coffee, capsicum, obstreperousness and dark stories.

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Reposted by Dr Kat Day (she/her)

Edmonds Scanner @edmondsscanner.bsky.social · 1d

Choose love.
Choose peace.
Choose kindness.
Choose to keep searching bookstores, crumbling castles, and dark parts of the forest for portals to other realms, where reading & sleeping are celebrated sports.

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Reposted by Dr Kat Day (she/her)

Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics @compoundchem.com · 2h

The 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry was awarded today for the development of metal-organic frameworks, molecular sponges with applications in gas storage, water purification and more: www.compoundchem.com/2025/10/08/2...

#ChemSky 🧪

Infographic on the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for the development of metal-organic frameworks. The infographic explains that metal-organic frameworks are molecular sponges built up from metal ions and organic compounds that act as linkers. Small molecules such as gases can move into and out of cavities in these frameworks. The graphic highlights some of the MOFs the laureates have developed and concludes by looking at possible future uses of MOFs, including gas storage and extracting water from air.

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 5h

What a nightmare 😩

Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 6h

I don’t believe that’s what’s happening here…

Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 7h

Apparently, “the publisher, Puffin, has paused sales and distribution of the books and is working with schools, libraries, and retailers to remove copies from circulation.”

But obviously there’s not much they can do about copies children might have at home 🤦‍♀️

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 7h

And also here’s exhibit… umpty-twelve, whatever we’re up to now

bsky.app/profile/huma...

Humanists UK @humanists.uk · 7h

A real shame. Now is a critical time for children of all religions and beliefs to learn about one another. Good RE fosters tolerance, empathy, understanding, and helps children discover what they believe, too. Cutting bursaries risks setting us back.
humanists.uk/2025/10/08/s...

Scrapping RE teacher training bursaries ‘short-sighted’ says Humanists UK

The UK Government’s decision to scrap teacher training bursaries for Religious Education (RE) has been criticised as ‘short-sighted’ by Humanists UK. New Department for Education (DfE) guidance for 20...

humanists.uk

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 7h

Yikes. Just got a message from my child’s school: some children’s books by Andrew Cope (inc. Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, and Spy Pups series) have a printed URL at the back. This used to go to the author’s website, but now goes to an “adult content” site.

So, yeah… be careful with that URL 😳

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 8h

And because studying the arts encourages people to use their imagination, empathise with others, and ask questions.

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 9h

Oh yay! That’s a big favourite of mine, written by @jesswhitecroft.bsky.social. I also narrated Of Dark That Bites by her.

Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 10h

I always love to see managers of famous estates doing things to protect the values the famous person espoused:

Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc. “This auction ensures his legacy continues to support the very medium that brought his joy and creativity into American homes for decades.”

PBS News @pbsnews.org · 23h

Thirty paintings created by the bushy-haired, soft-spoken Bob Ross will soon be up for auction to defray the costs of programming for small and rural public television stations suffering under cuts in federal funding. https://to.pbs.org/4nEQMrw

Bob Ross paintings to be auctioned to support public TV stations after federal funding cuts

All profits will help public TV stations with licensing fees for popular programs that include "The Best of Joy of Painting" and "America's Test Kitchen."

www.pbs.org

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Reposted by Dr Kat Day (she/her)

Katharine Sanderson @kms163.bsky.social · 12h

the 2025 #Nobel prize in Chemistry for MOFs! Delighted to have dug into the potential of these amazing materials earlier this year www.nature.com/articles/d41...

World’s most porous sponges: intricate carbon-trapping powders hit the market

Metal-organic frameworks were the next big thing in chemistry when they were invented more than three decades ago. Now, these intriguing materials are becoming commercial tools for capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from the air.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Dr Kat Day (she/her)

Adam Sharp @adamcsharp.bsky.social · 12h

As today is World Octopus Day I’ll again mention that a Spanish equivalent to “like a fish out of water” is como un pulpo en un garaje. It means “like an octopus in a garage.”

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 12h

Virtually everything exists. That doesn’t mean you can’t put a fresh twist on it, but if you start glibly asserting that you’re the very first, 999 times out of a 1000 you will look like a twit.

Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 12h

Yes. Also, if you ever find a phrase along the lines of “no one’s done…” or “[genre] lacks…” bubbling up in your brain or, worse, slipping out of your mouth or fingers, stop and consider for a few minutes that perhaps you simply haven’t *found* the thing you’re sure is missing.

Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 13h

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 1579: If you’re going to write in any genre (children’s fiction, SFF, romance, etc), you need to read EXTENSIVELY in that genre. You need to read current authors in the genre. You need to know what’s been done; what tropes exist; how the genre has changed.

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Reposted by Dr Kat Day (she/her)

Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 13h

FIVE people reading physical books on this Tube carriage on the Jubilee line. All look to be under 35. Remember this, next time someone over 60 tells you that “young people don’t read anymore.”

a man with glasses and a beard is in a la guarimba film festival

ALT: a man with glasses and a beard is in a la guarimba film festival

media.tenor.com

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 13h

I really think interviewers need to start asking these right-wing pundits: “which specific aspects of Nazi policy do you disagree with?”

Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 13h

Oh, no. No. Just terrible spelling!

Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 14h

Yes. Call it out for what it is. If that makes people uncomfortable, good. They should be.

BBC Newsnight @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social · 1d

“You described Reform and other parties across Europe today as among the 'right wing equivalents of the fascists in the 1930s'. Why?”

“Because that’s what they are”

@vicderbyshire.bsky.social asks Lord Heseltine about remarks he made at Conservative Party Conference.

#Newsnight

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 14h

For context bsky.app/profile/chro... 😆

Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 2d

*laughing in proofreader*

ScouseLakes @scouselakes.bsky.social · 2d

Oh dear, this is a freebie being given out at the Tory conference.

Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 15h

After the chocolate bar debacle, you'd think someone would've said, Kemi, are you absolutely *sure* you want to be every single topical comedian's bit for the next two weeks?

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

She's nothing if not predictable, is she? I know the Tories aren't keen on anything Green these days, but pretty much all they've done this week is recycle stuff they've been banging on about--for the most part fruitlessly--for the last decade and a half. And today it's "Mickey Mouse" degrees. 🙄

Badenoch: Curb students taking 'rip-off' degrees such as English

The performing arts, sociology and anthropology are among the subjects the Conservatives would like to cut

inews.co.uk

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 15h

Excellent advice:

Here’s what I told my daughter, Caroline, as she started her career as a freelance writer in her late 20s – but the advice, I think, would apply to how any and all of us choose to live our day-to-day lives. “Rejection is tough,” I wrote. “What I do – and what you may do – is pretty simple. First, write as well and as truly as you can. That’s always priority number one. Second, write about what matters to you and give it the time it needs to ferment. Third, stay productive – the more you create, the better your prospects. Always have something in development, whether you’re just daydreaming about it, taking notes about it or actually writing it. Fourth, keep at it. Fifth, as long as you have faith in yourself, it will pay off.”

If I’ve learned anything at all from getting older – and I must have picked up something by now – it’s that life can be a yes or a no. So the sooner you learn to adapt to no, the sooner you’ll have a shot at yes.

Guardian piece by Bob Brody

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 15h

Great piece: "Anything can be rejected, and for any reason, and there is pretty much nothing you can do about it. Certain rationales for rejection are forever beyond your control."

Yes! I have to send out a lot of rejections and there are So Many reasons, and none of them are personal. Keep going!

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 15h

‘Stay true to yourself – and fly closer to the sun’: what I’ve learned from 50 years of rejection

As a writer, I have been rejected thousands of times, and it initially led to shock, denial and anger. Then I accepted it. Here’s what you can gain from doing so too

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Dr Kat Day (she/her)

Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics @compoundchem.com · 15h

This morning, the 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry will be announced!

Here are my brief infographic explainers of the past ten years of chemistry Nobel Prizes: www.compoundchem.com/category/nob...

#ChemSky 🧪

Image showing all of the Compound Interest Nobel Prize in Chemistry infographics from 2015 to 2024.

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 17h

I just recorded a long narration yesterday so this is particularly comforting to see today, thank you! 💜

DK Latta @dklatta.bsky.social · 21h

..the great reading by @chronicleflask.katday.com; a full-on performance investing the story w/ so much personality (which can be the criticism of readings: it imposes a 3rd interpreter, not just author/reader, onto the story). Admittedly I use the term "fun" cautiously because in the afterward..3/5

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Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 1d

“One doesn’t have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding are sufficient. In fact, a man convinced of his virtue even in the midst of his vice is the worst kind of man.”

—Charles M. Blow, journalist and political analyst

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