Monthly Archives: September 2009

DEFINING MAN: THE SPECIES THAT COOKS.

DEFINING MAN: THE SPECIES THAT COOKS. I have posted several times (here, here, and here) on the theory that cooking was a crucial breakthrough in the evolution of man. The October 22 New York Review of Books has a review … Continue reading

Posted in History, Science | Leave a comment

THE REMARKABLE MOE BERG (COMMENT).

THE REMARKABLE MOE BERG (COMMENT). I was honored that Russell Seitz commented on this post on some of Moe Berg’s accomplishments. Annalisa advised me that that post was a little unclear. To clarify, the man who said that “Physicists do … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, History, Sports | 1 Comment

@.

@. A series of letters in the London Review of Books has reported on the names for the symbol “@” in a variety of countries. Here are some of them (in translation): Greek a duck Dutch a monkey’s tail Russian … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

CHEATING—MOVING THE GOALPOSTS.

CHEATING—MOVING THE GOALPOSTS. This article from yesterday’s London Times describes how a goalkeeper has admitted to moving the goalposts closer together to make it harder for the opponents to score in important Swedish soccer games. He said he had gotten … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | 1 Comment

CHEATING—DELIBERATELY CRASHING.

CHEATING—DELIBERATELY CRASHING. I reported earlier in the week about how at Minnesota Twins home games, the wind would on occasion blow out—in an indoor stadium–when the home team was at bat. According to this article from France24, the Renault Formula … Continue reading

Posted in Sports | 1 Comment

BEING FRIGHTENED OF GERMANY.

BEING FRIGHTENED OF GERMANY. It turns out that there was another set of fears about German reunification—fears that never occurred to me at the time. The same week that the Russian documents were reported on, the British foreign office released … Continue reading

Posted in History | 2 Comments

“MR. GORBACHEV, KEEP THIS WALL UP!”

“MR. GORBACHEV, KEEP THIS WALL UP!” That is the caption of an article in the September 14 Economist which reports on documents smuggled out of Russia which describe Margaret Thatcher telling Gorbachev—two months before the Berlin Wall fell—that Britain was … Continue reading

Posted in History | Leave a comment

THE WIND BLEW OUT ONLY WHEN THE HOME TEAM WAS AT BAT.

THE WIND BLEW OUT ONLY WHEN THE HOME TEAM WAS AT BAT. The USA Today Sports Weekly article mentions the strangest advantage the Metrodome gave the Twins. Opponents complained that the Twins turned on the fans to blow out when … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, Sports | Leave a comment

FAREWELL TO THE BIGGEST HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE OF THEM ALL.

FAREWELL TO THE BIGGEST HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE OF THEM ALL. USA Today Sports Weekly for September 23 to 29 has an article on the last days of the Metrodome, the home park of the Minnesota Twins. It will be replaced … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, Sports | 1 Comment

“MY DOG PREFERS LANCOME.”

“MY DOG PREFERS LANCOME.” Mary Jane has just finished ALMOST FRENCH by Sarah Turnbull, a memoir by an Australian lady about living in France. One day the author was walking her West Highland Terrier when a French lady kindly stopped … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment