Almost half of movies fail the feminist Bechdel test. That means that they don’t contain a conversation between women about something other than men!

Almost half of movies fail the feminist Bechdel test. That means that they don’t contain a conversation between women about something other than men!

The Bechdel test was created by Alison Bechdel as a means of putting numbers to sexist trends in movies. The requirement is basically a litmus test: does it or does it not contain two, named female characters who have a conversation about something other than men. 

It’s important to realize that the test does not necessarily say that a movie is or isn’t sexist based on whether it passes or fails the test. Rather it’s meant to be a way of analyzing movies in broader terms related to feminist themes. What’s truly incredible about this test is that it’s shown that 48% of movies don’t pass the test. 

In general, movies don’t show extended relationships between women. The fear is that most conversations between women characters in movies are superficial, dealing only with the closest hot guy. Basically, our movies might still be sending subtle, sexist messages. 

Movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Avatar, and the Social Network all fail the Bechdel test. Do you think the results of the Bechdel test are worrisome or irrelevant? 

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Platypuses don’t have stomachs.

Platypuses don’t have stomachs.

As you may know, the platypus and the echidna are kind of the oddballs in the mammal family. They are the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving live birth. 

The platypus is also thought of by some as one of the strangest animals in the animal kingdom due its duck bill, beaver tail, otter feet, and capacity to inject venom into threatening animals. 

The platypus genome is actually pretty fascinating. When platypus DNA was compared to the DNA of other mammals, it turns out certain genes were actually missing. These genes were for protein cutting enzymes called proteases, which are made only in the stomach. 

Even more interesting was how these genes were actually present, but disabled by virus-like pieces of DNA. Several other stomach related genes are also missing from platypus DNA. 

So what’s so strange about that? Just about every vertebrate has a stomach, but the platypus has actually lost its stomach over the years. The stomach for the platypus is a useless tube connecting the esophagus to the intestines. This means that over the years, the platypus has actually evolved out of its stomach. 

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