By: Christian Elliott A shorter version of this story ran in Sierra Magazine on December 4, 2022. Dennis Whigham closes the car door, straightens his blue baseball cap and squints into the woodland before him. A maze of planks crisscrosses a forest floor covered with cables and hoses. Little yellow flags wave in the breeze […]
Contemporary painter and photographer Chuck Close has displayed artwork at famed galleries around the world. He has published several books of his paintings and was an acting member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Some of his works have even …
Tent, sleeping bags, raingear: check. Flashlight, S’mores, clean water: check. Sunscreen, toothpaste: check. Finally loaded up for the last camping trip of the summer, you hit the road confidently, knowing that you’re prepared for whatever surprises Mother Nature …
If you watch television at all, you’ve seen advertisements suggesting that some new medicine is the best remedy for a particular disease. In stark contrast to a montage of agile women practicing yoga in a field of flowers and a pain-free granddad tossing a football to …
I woke freezing like a popsicle inside my 20ºF sleeping bag. Yes, it is typically cold at high altitude, but usually this bag keeps me a bit too toasty. Now, the moist air chilled my bones, so I curled myself up to conserve body heat. Why was it so cold and what was …
How much time do you spend thinking about bees? I’m guessing any attention they do get is relegated to those occasions when a buzz, and the associated threat of pain, disrupts a summer picnic or a tranquil lounge by the pool. Would you be surprised …
Even though I’ve lived here for two years, I still have conversations with friends in which I admit that I haven’t yet seen many of the attractions Chicago has to offer. As something of a homebody, sightseeing takes extra energy for me, but recently I visited …
Question: What do mustard, pickles, and hot peppers have in common? Answer: In addition to being united atop a properly dressed Chicago-style hot dog, each of the foods mentioned above – and an annual total of $15 billion in U.S. crops – is made possible by the …
For my nephew’s birthday, I got him a kit of experiments based on the science of glowing. He loved it and I think his mother was probably happy I opted for this one over the “gross science” kit (complete with toilet bowl shaped mixing device) that would have …
Like many Americans, I’ve lived under the assumption that the chemicals used in all sorts of everyday products are thoroughly tested and known to be safe. However, every so often, we’re reminded that this is not always the case. Over the past few years, we’ve …
When I was visiting family this past week, my mother-in-law shared with us how she uses her Fitbit to keep track of how much she exercises, how well she sleeps, what she has been eating, and other lifestyle information. The numbers she watches—her number of steps …
Viruses are capable of creating havoc. Sometimes when I think about viruses, I get a picture of a massive outbreak. Usually this picture isn’t the nearly apocalyptic public health nightmare that’s depicted in the movie “Contagion,” but it’s still …
About 20 years ago, Miller and Coen published “The Case for Music in the Schools.” In this article, they noted that 66 percent of music major applicants were accepted into medical schools, whereas only 44 percent of biochemistry majors got in. The authors speculated …
Have you ever tried drinking out of a straw after a mouth-numbing trip to the dentist? Hilarity can ensue. Or maybe you have slept in an awkward position and awoken with a dead arm, which you then flail about in order to revive? (Occasionally to the detriment of your …
I have a love-hate relationship with my hair. It’s been that way ever since I can remember because I was born with curly hair. I know what you must be thinking: curly hair is beautiful and interesting! That may be so but it can also be incredibly temperamental, frizzy …
Like a lot of young men today, and like my father before me, I have a beard. My beard is full and awesome, and it has really become a part of my identity over the last decade. A few years ago, I had an unfortunate shaving accident that left me without a proper beard …
My neighbors have two young children, and it seems like every time I visit, the kids have learned a dozen new words that they’re eager to show off. I ran into them the other day, and I found out that one of the new words their youngest child had acquired was a …
No one’s about to claim that the Holocaust was a good idea. Or that gang rapes are advisable. Or even that bar fights are predicated on anything but group idiocy. Trampling people in evacuations and running them over in Wal-Mart sprees just isn’t cool, no …
“What happened to your thumb?” “Did you accidentally smash it in the door?”A thumb was outstretched in the circle of sixth-graders. It had a most peculiar shape, being relatively thin and normal near the base, and then suddenly capped off with a bulbous, short tip, …
Whether you are for or against genetically modified (GM) food, it’s likely inevitable that you’ll consume it. Why? Soybean and corn seeds that have been genetically modified make up 90% and 80% respectively of the total seeds on the market! Large percentages of sugar …
In Aldous Huxley’s futuristic novel Brave New World (1932), human beings are selectively bred to be genetically perfect. Based on their genes, they are sorted into a caste system that defines their social hierarchy. While capturing the scientifically misguided notions …
For many, dogs are man’s best friends. But for people with pet allergies, dogs and cats can be their worst enemies.
Still, many individuals whose noses resemble Old Faithful whenever Fido walks into the room are still able to keep pets in their homes …
Dinosaurs are to birds as humans are to apes. While that connection isn’t new, it helps scientists understand extinct animals, and tells them what that connection means in terms of evolution. “The real story is that over the last 10 years, we’ve gotten to understand …
By: Christian Elliott A shorter version of this story ran in Sierra Magazine on December 4, 2022. Dennis Whigham closes the car door, straightens his blue baseball cap and squints into the woodland before him. A maze of planks crisscrosses a forest floor covered with cables and hoses. Little yellow flags wave in the breeze […]
Contemporary painter and photographer Chuck Close has displayed artwork at famed galleries around the world. He has published several books of his paintings and was an acting member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Some of his works have even …
Tent, sleeping bags, raingear: check. Flashlight, S’mores, clean water: check. Sunscreen, toothpaste: check. Finally loaded up for the last camping trip of the summer, you hit the road confidently, knowing that you’re prepared for whatever surprises Mother Nature …
If you watch television at all, you’ve seen advertisements suggesting that some new medicine is the best remedy for a particular disease. In stark contrast to a montage of agile women practicing yoga in a field of flowers and a pain-free granddad tossing a football to …
I woke freezing like a popsicle inside my 20ºF sleeping bag. Yes, it is typically cold at high altitude, but usually this bag keeps me a bit too toasty. Now, the moist air chilled my bones, so I curled myself up to conserve body heat. Why was it so cold and what was …
How much time do you spend thinking about bees? I’m guessing any attention they do get is relegated to those occasions when a buzz, and the associated threat of pain, disrupts a summer picnic or a tranquil lounge by the pool. Would you be surprised …
Even though I’ve lived here for two years, I still have conversations with friends in which I admit that I haven’t yet seen many of the attractions Chicago has to offer. As something of a homebody, sightseeing takes extra energy for me, but recently I visited …
Question: What do mustard, pickles, and hot peppers have in common? Answer: In addition to being united atop a properly dressed Chicago-style hot dog, each of the foods mentioned above – and an annual total of $15 billion in U.S. crops – is made possible by the …
For my nephew’s birthday, I got him a kit of experiments based on the science of glowing. He loved it and I think his mother was probably happy I opted for this one over the “gross science” kit (complete with toilet bowl shaped mixing device) that would have …
Like many Americans, I’ve lived under the assumption that the chemicals used in all sorts of everyday products are thoroughly tested and known to be safe. However, every so often, we’re reminded that this is not always the case. Over the past few years, we’ve …
When I was visiting family this past week, my mother-in-law shared with us how she uses her Fitbit to keep track of how much she exercises, how well she sleeps, what she has been eating, and other lifestyle information. The numbers she watches—her number of steps …
Viruses are capable of creating havoc. Sometimes when I think about viruses, I get a picture of a massive outbreak. Usually this picture isn’t the nearly apocalyptic public health nightmare that’s depicted in the movie “Contagion,” but it’s still …
About 20 years ago, Miller and Coen published “The Case for Music in the Schools.” In this article, they noted that 66 percent of music major applicants were accepted into medical schools, whereas only 44 percent of biochemistry majors got in. The authors speculated …
Have you ever tried drinking out of a straw after a mouth-numbing trip to the dentist? Hilarity can ensue. Or maybe you have slept in an awkward position and awoken with a dead arm, which you then flail about in order to revive? (Occasionally to the detriment of your …
I have a love-hate relationship with my hair. It’s been that way ever since I can remember because I was born with curly hair. I know what you must be thinking: curly hair is beautiful and interesting! That may be so but it can also be incredibly temperamental, frizzy …
Like a lot of young men today, and like my father before me, I have a beard. My beard is full and awesome, and it has really become a part of my identity over the last decade. A few years ago, I had an unfortunate shaving accident that left me without a proper beard …
My neighbors have two young children, and it seems like every time I visit, the kids have learned a dozen new words that they’re eager to show off. I ran into them the other day, and I found out that one of the new words their youngest child had acquired was a …
No one’s about to claim that the Holocaust was a good idea. Or that gang rapes are advisable. Or even that bar fights are predicated on anything but group idiocy. Trampling people in evacuations and running them over in Wal-Mart sprees just isn’t cool, no …
“What happened to your thumb?” “Did you accidentally smash it in the door?”A thumb was outstretched in the circle of sixth-graders. It had a most peculiar shape, being relatively thin and normal near the base, and then suddenly capped off with a bulbous, short tip, …
Whether you are for or against genetically modified (GM) food, it’s likely inevitable that you’ll consume it. Why? Soybean and corn seeds that have been genetically modified make up 90% and 80% respectively of the total seeds on the market! Large percentages of sugar …
In Aldous Huxley’s futuristic novel Brave New World (1932), human beings are selectively bred to be genetically perfect. Based on their genes, they are sorted into a caste system that defines their social hierarchy. While capturing the scientifically misguided notions …
For many, dogs are man’s best friends. But for people with pet allergies, dogs and cats can be their worst enemies. Still, many individuals whose noses resemble Old Faithful whenever Fido walks into the room are still able to keep pets in their homes …
Dinosaurs are to birds as humans are to apes. While that connection isn’t new, it helps scientists understand extinct animals, and tells them what that connection means in terms of evolution. “The real story is that over the last 10 years, we’ve gotten to understand …