Cheetahs are almost all genetically identical.

Cheetahs are almost all genetically identical.

Talk about twins! Cheetahs have very little genetic difference from one another. Researchers tested the genetics in the red blood cells of 55 cheetahs, both in the wild and at various zoos. There are 47 enzyme indicators that are generally used to examine the genetics of humans or other animals.

All of them gave identical results for every cheetah. There were also 200 total proteins checked and they all matched in all the cheetahs. Cheetahs are an endangered species with an estimated population of 1,500 to 25,000 cheetahs worldwide. It is this genetic uniformity that probably contributes to their status as endangered species. 

At some point in the past, cheetahs must have gone through a population bottleneck. This reduced genetic diversity, which in turn affected their ability to reproduce. In captivity, cheetahs have a very low reproduction rate, which was the reason for the genetic research in the first place. 

What they found was that cheetahs probably don’t have much better reproduction rates in the wild either. When genetic diversity goes down, the amount of sperm and viability of it goes down, therefore slowing reproduction rates. 

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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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Two brothers were killed within exactly 1 year of each other, in almost the same situations.

Two brothers were killed within exactly 1 year of each other, in almost the same situations.

This tragic coincidence occurred in 1975. Seventeen year old Erskine Lawrence Ebbin was struck and killed by a taxi while driving a moped. This was exactly 1 year after his 17 year old brother was killed by the same taxi, holding the same passenger, driving the same moped, at the same intersection. 

This terrible quirk of fate earned the 17 year old a place on newspapers from both sides of the Atlantic. It is a crushing reminder of exactly how small our world is, of how even death seems to be losing its creativity. 

It seems like coincidences are actually pretty common on the road, for more see here

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