Just found a letter at Wellcome Collection by #Arctic explorer Charles Francis Hall, who died mysteriously #OTD in 1871, describing plans for his North Pole march. Written on Polaris stationery, dated 10/11/71 with a postscript: "Tell Hannah and little Punny to be good always"

Woolen hats worn by Dutch whalers, 1700-1800, preserved in their graves in Spitsbergen:

Love this story on the synthesis of technology and chance that sparked New Order's "Blue Monday"—by Kenneth Partridge mentalfloss.com/posts/new-orde…

Straight into my veins

Why did no one urge—nay, IMPLORE—me to watch "The Lighthouse" before last weekend?! These salty seadogs are my people!

My kind of database

❤️❤️❤️ washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/…

I read this piece this morning and I’m still mystified why “wooden object found on beach” merited a whole story in the NYT

We broke the world record in ancient DNA today! 2-million-year-old DNA from plants and animals were retrieved from geological deposits and show that North Greenland was once home to an open boreal/arctic community incl. mastodon. nature.com/articles/s4158… natureasia.com/en/research/hi…

Found a partial description of William #Scoresby Jr's bequest to the Whitby Lit & Phil ... "Arctic relics" including walrus head, narwhal tusks, whale bones, polar bear teeth and ... two platypuses?!

William #Scoresby on the moon seen through Lord Rosse's telescope: "It appeared like a Globe of Molten Silver ... Edifices of the size of York Minster might be easily perceived if they had existed ... the general appearance, however, was like one vast ruin of nature."

1950s pulp fiction writer Marijane Meaker (who passed away last month) published books under numerous pseudonyms, partially because she hated her first name but also because of this absolutely brilliant marketing scheme

Journalists: Always get the donkey's name

Got my ticket to tonight's DCSWA 🐥 holiday party where I may not know anybody, having moved (back) to D.C. quite recently!!! Time to put on my extrovert hat 🤠 💪

"Life is indeed not only present, but multitudinous. Bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, viruses. All making their way in the otherworldly environment of polar sea ice, swimming in brine pockets, gobbling up carbon, feeding the food web in the depths below." nautil.us/the-secret-lif…

I hope in 15 years there's a think piece on The #Terror being "sincerely beloved by a certain type of guy (gender neutral)"

A hellbender but give it an 80s department store studio portrait.

#Science writers in the DC area! I'll be fielding pitches at DCSWA 🐥's Professional Development Day pitch slam this Saturday! If you have a weird story idea, you know where to find me

Do you like stories of Arctic adventure? And did you also go to Yale University? Then join me at my talk about North Pole explorer George Borup, class of 1907, tonight at 7 at the The Yale Club of NYC!

🍿 nytimes.com/2023/05/18/cli…