Orca Hats, Ancient Life, and Edward Said

Orca Fashion News (Live Science)
by Sascha Pare
In 1987, for reasons humans have only guesses about, orcas off the Washington State coast began wearing dead salmon like hats. Now, the trend is back. Advances in technology in recent decades may, or may not, help scientists figure out what it’s all about.

Our Eldest Ancestor (Quanta Magazine)
by Jonathan Lambert
We know that all existing life on Earth must have a common ancestor. A new study offers some clues to what it was like and how it lived. But how can we know anything at all about a species that died long before the start of the fossil record?

Beyond Drones (Undark)
by Sarah Scoles
Autonomous weapons are here, even if current systems technically require a human “in the loop.” How will the various interests of companies, nations, and other players influence the way they’re deployed?

Edward Said and Palestine Today (Literary Hub)
by Alexander Durie
Edward Said’s The Question of Palestine was published in 1979. Today, as the book is reissued in a very different historical moment, Said’s kids talk about his enduring relevance.

Last Century’s Moo Deng (Atlas Obscura)
by Andrew Coletti
Long before Moo Deng, Americans fell in love with a different pygmy hippopotamus: William Johnson Hippopotamus. Originally a gift to President Calvin Coolidge, Billy became a star of the National Zoo and the subject of breathless media attention.

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