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Fact: Many historical figures have had pointy heads (on purpose)
Researchers studying remains found on the Baltic island of Gotland, once home to many wealthy Viking settlements, have discovered unusual examples of body modification. Three 1,000-year-old women with elongated cone-shaped skullsBut this discovery wasn’t unusual for the reasons you might think.
of Artificial cranial deformation practice It has appeared many times throughout history in different parts of the world.In fact, on most continentsBut on Gotland, this tendency appears to have been present only in these three women (or maybe only two; the paper points out that one of the skulls is likely an example of a naturally pointed head).
This is the first time It is known that Vikings deliberately had elongated headsAt the time, the closest people who did this widely were on the Black Sea coast, which may be just a short distance away today, but was far enough away for casual cultural exchange. Some graves from hundreds of years ago contain 13 women with elongated skulls discovered in BavariaHowever, they were reported to be genetically distinct from their neighbors and may have come from Romania or somewhere nearby. Skull manipulation was common thanks to the Huns.
The biggest mystery how These women’s skulls were elongated. We don’t know for sure, but Vikings being Vikings, there are plenty of reasons why a Viking girl might have been born or spent her formative years elsewhere, but what’s interesting is that of these three remains from the same era, they are the only ones to have had skull manipulation, and it never caught on.
Listen to this week’s episode to find out more historyThe future of skull manipulation. We’re still doing itNow I prefer a rounder head.
(Also: No, they are not aliens.
fact: It’s better to be popular in the apocalypse than to be popular in high school.
Laura Baisas
The world is a bit scary right now, with record-breaking temperatures, hurricanes, bird flu, wars and an upcoming election. A Field Guide to the Apocalypse: A Mainly Serious Guide to Surviving Wild Times, He is a cooperation theorist at the University of Arizona. Human Generosity Projectshows how to shift your mindset to better cope with this chaos. The strangest thing I learned this weekhere are some of my favorite and most helpful takeaways from her new book: Prepare for the Apocalypse!
If you want to know more about Athena’s work, check out her previous profile here. Also, She recently appeared on another of Rachel’s podcasts. Science Now.
fact: Termites excrete perfect little hexagonal droppings
Termites feed on cellulose, but rely on symbiotic bacteria in their hindgut to digest it. After passing through the hindgut, waste is expelled from the body through the rectal pad, which compresses the feces into a hexagonal column.
Here’s another fun fact about insect droppings: Insects that feed on liquids tend to have liquid droppings. Dragonfly larvae have internal rectal gills that they can loosen to take in water up their rear end, then squirt the water out in rapid spurts as a means of jet propulsion to escape predators or simply to move quickly.
For more fun facts about bugs, My show, “Insectarium,” is on PBS..
