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Bird poop or moth?

Spoiler: it’s the moth known as Macrocilix maia!

Some might also see two flies eating bird droppings. Why the fecal pattern? It may help to deter predators from coming near. This species can be found widely across Asia from India, to China, to Malaysia.

American Museum of Natural History
@AMNH #moths #museums

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@natmuseumrn and RB Textile Conservation are currently cleaning the sole surviving sail from the #BattleofTrafalgar.

Measuring at over 3000 feet, the sail bares the marks of this ferocious battle, peppered with some 90 shot holes.

bit.ly/3CV9cSr

#BehindTheScenes

The National Museum of the Royal Navy
@NatMuseumRN

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An x-ray was taken of Tutankhamun's golden mask.

The Golden Mask of King #Tutankhamun as it appears in the x-ray until recently archaeologists believed that the mask was made from one piece but it was quite a surprise when the mask was subjected to an x-ray examination. The surprise was that the mask contains more than one part that was welded with very precise welding that is not visible to the naked eye. Ancient Egyptian civilization clearly had the knowledge of alloys and the gold industry.

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#Anglerfish have one of the most bizarre mating habits in the animal kingdom. Here's how it works:
When a male anglerfish encounters a female, he bites into her skin.
After biting the female, the male releases an enzyme that dissolves the skin of his mouth and the female's body, fusing them together at the blood vessel level.
Once fused, the male becomes entirely dependent on the female for nutrition. Over time, the male's body degenerates, and he essentially becomes a living sperm bank #fish

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The Great Grocery Squeeze.

How a US federal policy change in the 1980s created the modern food desert.

"Although poverty and ruralness have been with us forever, food deserts arrived only around the late 1980s. Prior to that, small towns and poor neighborhoods could generally count on having a grocery store, perhaps even several."

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/… #food #groceries

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The Surprising Allure of Ignorance.

Aristotle taught that all human beings want to know. Our own experience teaches us that all human beings also want not to know, sometimes fiercely so. This has always been true, but there are certain historical periods when the denial of evident truths seems to be gaining the upper hand, as if some psychological virus were spreading by unknown means, the antidote suddenly powerless. This is one of those periods.

nytimes.com/2024/12/02/opinion… #humanities

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Once a month, I post an updated list of upcoming virtual events for Austen and the Bronte sisters. Lots going on in December and January! You can find the updated list here: open.substack.com/pub/excessiv…

#AmReading #AmWriting @bookstodon #books #Bookstodon
#WritingCommunity #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

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If you have any questions about Mastodon or the rest of the Fediverse, please feel free to ask!

This is a human being typing this, it's not a bot account. I mainly set this account up to help people directly.

Any question is fine, don't be afraid of it sounding too basic or silly 🙂

#FediTips

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Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa (Mound of Shards), a historical archaeological site located in Alexandria, Egypt. The site is also known as the 'Hill of Treasure', regarded as a huge necropolis and royal cemetery that dates back to 2nd Century AD. The necropolis has a unique mixture of Roman, Hellenistic and pharaonic art elements reflected in paintings on the wall and style of statues, funeral objects and tombs. It is considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.

#archaeohistories

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A 73 year-old man dressed as an ancient Greek warrior, runs an entire marathon barefoot to honor his ancestors...

Heraklion native Idomeneas Avramakis once again amazed spectators and fellow runners at Athens Authentic Marathon. At 73 years old, this retired employee, renowned for running in full ancient Athenian hoplite attire, completed grueling 42km race in 8 hours and 47 minutes. This marked his 18th consecutive year honoring legendary journey of Pheidippides in this historic costume.

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I can see Caroline saying a variation of this in a snooty voice.

#AmReading #AmWriting @bookstodon #books #Bookstodon
#WritingCommunity #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #JaneAusten @romancelandia

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