They tell no lies…
June 14, 2009 at 8:04 pm Filed in:Science | random facts No Comments
I saw this brilliant video about one of the most, er, interesting aspects of barnacle physiology in a course taught by the illustrious (and ever-so-interesting) Dr. Paul Dayton. And in the 12 years that have passed since then, I have been fiendishly searching for a copy of this clip, waiting for it to finally make it’s way to youtube. And doublew00t: it has finally made it!
Call it what you will: a natural history of a species ubiquitous in the marine realm; a clever way to force the retention of random facts into the knowledge bank of oversexed, overstimulated college students; a skillful juxtaposition of knowledge, music and imagery that would be quite at home in a burlesque show.
But once you hear the line at 3 mins and 22 seconds, you will never be at a loss to remember why barnacles need tell no lies.
RANDOM FACTS:
Yes, relative to their size, the barnacle penis is the largest in the animal kingdom. Sure, they might be only a few centimeters long… but that’s 40x the size of the barnacle itself. In comparison, were a 6 foot tall man to be comparatively endowed, he’d need a pretty loose-fitting pair of pants to hold all 240 feet of his manhood. (Yup, I calculated that right. Feet. Not inches. Think about it.)
Prop 8 upheld… but can it be enforced?
May 26, 2009 at 9:10 pm Filed in:Culture | Politics No Comments
In today’s decision to uphold Proposition 8, the California Supreme Court justices were just doing their job. I can’t fault them, as they were working within the boundaries of the legislation they have been handed over the years. Remember, the California Supreme Court started this in the first place by ruling that same sex marriage was legal over a year ago.
But even though the decision upholds legalized discrimination, it’s not quite clear if it can be enforced. Why? No single legal definition – or even medical definition – exists defining what is a “man” and what is a “woman.” And it is for good reason: no one definition can apply in all possible circumstances.
While sex and gender are the most common ways to refer to male-ness and female-ness, and there are other ways as well. But when asked to define a man and a woman, most people first respond with the obvious physical traits – the biological basis of what is man and what is woman. In the following discussion, I’ll investigate what biological traits can be used to discriminate between men and women, and how they might have difficulties being applied in a discrete fashion that can be to legally determine if an individual is a man or a woman.
What it comes down to: SEX.
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