Elements of News
Indignity Vol. 5, No. 36
IN OTHER DEVELOPMENTS DEP'T.
What's Happening on the Top of the Periodic Table?
From recent reports:
"The current state of natural H2 exploration may be analogous to that of petroleum exploration before the 1859 Drake oil discovery in Pennsylvania, which triggered the rise of the oil industry."
"Haruki Takezawa at the University of Tokyo and his colleagues have now demonstrated a process by which helium can be made to form stable compounds with solid iron."
"Before the war with Russia, Ukrainian officials suggested to Elon Musk that he invest in Ukrainian lithium mines."
"Strong indications for a 10Be anomaly in the time period 9–11.5 Myr ago were found in three independent Pacific ferromanganese crusts with a total of five individual data sets."
"Rhyolite Ridge is expected to produce an average of 22,000 tons of lithium carbonate and 170,000 tons of boric acid annually...The revenue split between the two commodities is roughly 70 percent lithium and 30 percent boron."
"Colorado’s 22.8 million acres of forests are emitting more carbon into the atmosphere than they’re absorbing."
"A Louisiana death row inmate scheduled to be the state’s first execution in 15 years had filed a federal complaint and a motion seeking to block his execution, citing concerns about the use of nitrogen hypoxia."
"The 88-year-old pope, who has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14, 'continues high-flow oxygen therapy' and did not have another 'asthmatic respiratory crisis' like the one he experienced Feb. 22, the Vatican said."
"Utah is gearing up to make history as the first state to ban fluoride in public water systems if Gov. Spencer Cox signs a bill to prohibit the addition of the tooth decay-fighting mineral."
"At issue is a distinctive neon sign that used to frame a dive bar on the Upper East Side, a place where the playwright Wendy Wasserstein said 'It makes a lot of sense not to order wine.'"
"Researchers at the Dincă Group from Princeton University have developed a sodium-ion battery that utilizes a new organic cathode material, bis-tetraaminobenzoquinone (TAQ), which has shown remarkable energy performance."
"Our study establishes a dose-dependent relationship between the [Magnesium Depletion Score] and stroke incidence, with a specific focus on stroke as the primary outcome."
"[Coca-Cola chairman and CEO James] Quincey also suggested that if aluminum cans became more expensive, the company could package more of its drinks in plastic bottles."
"[A] team of researchers led by Dr. Naoki Yamaji, from the Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Japan, has uncovered a key signaling protein, Shoot-Silicon-Signal (SSS), that regulates Si uptake, distribution, and accumulation in rice and other grasses.
“Our findings suggest that lanthanum-modified algae-based materials could be an effective solution for removing phosphorus and preventing harmful algal blooms if used on a larger scale.”
"[T]he inner edge of the habitable zone can now be mapped among exoplanets using their lack of surface water, which, unlike the presence of water, can be unambiguously revealed by atmospheric sulfur species.
"Our results suggest that UV/chlorine treatment offers an efficient strategy for treating [microcystins from harmful algae blooms] in drinking water.
"A tanker truck hauling liquid argon crashed on Highway 16 in Tacoma during rush hour...injuring at least two people and landing the driver under arrest, according to the Washington State Patrol."
IN STILL OTHER DEVELOPMENTS DEP'T.
A completely unrelated sentence I read elsewhere in the news:
WEATHER REVIEWS
New York City, February 25, 2025
★★★ It was mild already for the trip downstairs in pajamas to put an overloaded schoolchild in an Uber. The furrowed clouds on the morning sky had developed crosswise breaks that made it all look like graph paper. The open windows let in only a fleeting moment of chill, even as the clouds closed off the sun. Out in the afternoon the light was dimmed but there were bright white scraps and luminous patches and even gaps of blue up in the sky. Some bright green algae had appeared in the dark muddy shallows of the stagnant arm of the Pool. Ducks stood on the edge of the even further dwindled ice. Children were casting colored rings out onto the surface with fishing rods under adult supervision. Vehicle treads had left a seemingly inexhaustible double trail of mud clods up the paved path. The clouds broke up even further, but not anywhere the sun could benefit from it.
EASY LISTENING DEP'T.
HERE IS TODAY'S Indignity Morning Podcast.
Tom Scocca
Click on this box to find the Indignity Morning Podcast archive.
TOM SCOCCA
ADVICE DEP'T.
GOT SOMETHING YOU need to justify to yourself, or to the world at large? Other columnists are here to judge you, but The Sophist is here to tell you why you’re right. Direct your questions to The Sophist, at indignity@indignity.net, and get the answers you want.
SANDWICH RECIPES DEP'T.
WE PRESENT INSTRUCTIONS in aid of the assembly of a sandwich selected from Balanced Meals with Recipes: Food Values, Drying and Cold Pack Canning Menus, with and Without Meat, Box Luncheons, by Members of the Lake View Woman's Club, Chicago, Illinois, published in 1917, and available at archive.org for the delectation of all.
SANDWICH FILLINGS
Cucumber and sardine sandwiches: Remove skin and take out bones of sardines, rub to a paste, season lightly with celery salt, and moisten very slightly with mayonnaise. Cut crust from rye bread, spread with butter which has been rubbed to a cream and seasoned very lightly with celery salt, pepper, and a little curry powder; cover this with the sardine paste, and lay on top some thin, crisp rounds of sliced cucumber. For open sandwiches, the cucumber can be chopped fine, drained dry, and a thin layer placed on top. This is an English filling.
If you decide to prepare and attempt to enjoy a sandwich inspired by this offering, be sure to send a picture to indignity@indignity.net.
