American Revolutionary War: Continental Army is established by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775

Continental Army is established by the Continental Congress: On 14 June 1775, Congress “Resolved, That six companies of expert riflemen, be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia… [and] as soon as completed, shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief Officer in that army.”

The delegates then prescribed an oath of enlistment that required the soldiers to swear:

“I have, this day, voluntarily enlisted myself, as a soldier, in the American continental army, for one year, unless sooner discharged: And I do bind myself to conform, in all instances, to such rules and regulations, as are, or shall be, established for the government of the said. Army.”

The next day, June 15, 1775, Congress voted to appoint George Washington “to command all the Continental forces” and began laying the foundation for “the American army”.

With words that sound hauntingly familiar two hundred forty-five years later,

“The delegates of the United Colonies … reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, conduct, and fidelity” of George Washington, issued its first commission by appointing him “General and Commander in chief of the Army of the United Colonies, and of all the forces now raised, or to be raised by them, and of all others who shall voluntarily offer their services, and join the Defense of American liberty, and for repelling every hostile invasion…”

Washington had been managing his family’s plantation and serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses when the second Continental Congress unanimously voted to have him lead the revolutionary army. He had earlier distinguished himself, in the eyes of his contemporaries, as a commander for the British army in the French and Indian War of 1754.

Born a British citizen and a former Redcoat, Washington had, by the 1770s, joined the growing ranks of colonists who were dismayed by what they considered to be Britain’s exploitative policies in North America. In 1774, Washington joined the Continental Congress as a delegate from Virginia. The next year, the Congress offered Washington the role of commander in chief of the Continental Army.

After accepting the position, Washington sat down and wrote a letter to his wife, Martha, in which he revealed his concerns about his new role. He expressed uneasiness at leaving her alone, told her he had updated his will and hoped that he would be home by the fall. He closed the letter with a postscript, saying he had found some of “the prettiest muslin” but did not indicate whether it was intended for her or for himself.

On July 3, 1775, Washington officially took command of the poorly trained and under-supplied Continental Army. After six years of struggle and despite frequent setbacks, Washington managed to lead the army to key victories and Great Britain eventually surrendered in 1781. Due largely to his military fame and humble personality, Americans overwhelmingly elected Washington their first president in 1789.

ARMY.mil / History Channel / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / Library Of Congress.gov American Revolutionary War: Continental Army is established by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777 (YouTube)

Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes on June 14, 1777

Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes: During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopts a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation”.

The national flag, which became known as the “Stars and Stripes”, was based on the “Grand Union” flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross designed the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which consisted of a circle of 13 stars and a blue background, at the request of General George Washington.

Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend.

With the entrance of new states into the United States after independence, new stripes and stars were added to represent new additions to the Union. In 1818, however, Congress enacted a law stipulating that the 13 original stripes be restored and that only stars be added to represent new states.

On June 14, 1877, the first Flag Day observance was held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes. As instructed by Congress, the U.S. flag was flown from all public buildings across the country. In the years after the first Flag Day, several states continued to observe the anniversary, and in 1949 Congress officially designated June 14 as Flag Day, a national day of observance.

History Channel / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / Library Of Congress.gov / National Archives.gov / Smithsonian / U.S. History.org / Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes on June 14, 1777 (YouTube)

This Day in History June 14

• 1216 First Barons' War: Prince Louis of France takes the city of Winchester, abandoned by John, King of England, and soon conquers over half of the kingdom.

• 1285 Second Mongol invasion of Vietnam: Forces led by Prince Trần Quang Khải of the Trần dynasty destroy most of the invading Mongol naval fleet in a battle at Chuong Duong.

• 1287 Kublai Khan defeats the force of Nayan and other traditionalist Borjigin princes in East Mongolia and Manchuria.

• 1381 Richard II of England meets leaders of Peasants' Revolt at Mile End - Tower of London is stormed by rebels who enter without resistance.

• 1404 Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndŵr declaring himself Prince of Wales, allies himself with the French against King Henry IV of England.

• 1667 Second Anglo-Dutch War:Raid on the Medway: ends lasting five days resulted in the worst ever defeat of the Royal Navy.

• 1789 Mutiny on the Bounty: HMS Bounty mutiny survivors including Captain William Bligh and 18 others reach Timor after a nearly 7,400 km (4,600 mi) journey in an open boat.

• 1800 Battle of Marengo: The French Army of First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte defeats the Austrians in Northern Italy and re-conquers Italy.

• 1807 War of the Fourth Coalition: Battle of Friedland: Emperor Napoleon's French Grande Armée defeats the Russian Army.

• 1846 Bear Flag Revolt: Anglo settlers in Sonoma, California, start a rebellion against Mexico and proclaim the California Republic.

• 1863 American Civil War: Second Battle of Winchester: A Union garrison is defeated by the Army of Northern Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley town of Winchester, Virginia.

• 1863 American Civil War: Siege of Port Hudson: Second Assault on the Confederate works.

• 1900 Hawaii becomes a United States territory.

• 1900 German Naval Law calls for the Imperial German Navy to be doubled in size, resulting in an Anglo-German naval arms race.

• 1940 World War II: The German occupation of Paris begins.

• 1940 World War II: The Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Lithuania resulting in Lithuanian loss of independence.

• 1941 World War II: June deportation: The first major wave of Soviet mass deportations and murder of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, begins.

• 1944 World War II: Operation Perch: After several failed attempts, the British Army abandons its plan to capture the German-occupied town of Caen.

• 1945 World War II: Battle of Bessang Pass: Filipino troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army liberate the captured in Ilocos Sur in Northern Luzon.

• 1949 Monkeys and apes in space: Albert II, a rhesus monkey, rides a V-2 rocket to an altitude of 134 km (83 mi), thereby becoming the first monkey in space.

Wikipedia.org

Understanding Military Terminology

Provincial Reconstruction Team

(DOD) A civil-military team designed to improve stability in a given area by helping build the legitimacy and effectiveness of a host nation local or provincial government in providing security to its citizens and delivering essential government services.

See also PRT.

Joint Publications (P 3-57) Public Affairs - Joint Chiefs of Staff

Public

(DOD) In public affairs, a segment of the population with common attributes to which a military force can tailor its communication.

See also External Audience; Internal Audience.

Joint Publications (JP 3-61) Civil-Military Operations

Joint Publication - Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

The Old Salt’s Corner

Air Wing Organization

If assigned to a carrier or other vessel with embarked aircraft, it is important to familiarize yourself with their organization. It mirrors to a large extent, the ship’s organizational structure. The embarked aircraft squadrons retain their corporate identity and basic organization, but each squadron also supplies specific personnel, such as ship mess cooks, stewards, and laundry, to various departments listed above.

1. Air Wing Commander (CAG)

The CAG is directly responsible for the operational readiness and tactical performance of the air wing. He is responsible for the coordination and supervision of all activities of the embarked squadrons and detachments, and for the material readiness, communications, and intelligence functions of the air wing. The CAG does not fall directly under the carrier’s commanding officer. Rather, he is a co-commanding officer. Both the carrier CO and CAG report to the composite warfare commander under the CWC concept discussed earlier.

2. Deputy Air Wing Commander

The primary duty of the Deputy CAG is to assist the CAG, acting in effect as his executive officer. The Chief of Staff will ensure the activities and functions of the CAG staff adhere to the desires of the CAG.

3. Operations Officer

Responsible for supervising the training, operations, and readiness of all air wing squadrons. The Operations Officer standardizes operational procedures between squadrons, coordinates and develops operational contingency plans, and supervises the execution of those plans.

4. USW Operations Officer

Responsible for USW operations conducted by air wing assets. The USW Operations officer provides advice on the operational employment and training of the air wing USW squadrons.

5. Air Intelligence Officer

The Air wing Intelligence Officer is responsible for the collection, preparation, and dissemination of intelligence material needed by the CAG to plan and execute operations with air assets. He also directs and supervises the Mission Planning (MP) work center of CVIC.

6. Maintenance Officer

This individual is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the maintenance of air wing assets, and ensuring all necessary equipment and spare parts required by the squadrons is available. The Maintenance Officer also reports to the CAG regarding the impact on operational readiness by maintenance and material conditions in the squadrons.

7. Weapons Officer

Advises the CAG on loading, handling, and expenditure of the weapons employed by the air wing. This individual will assist the squadrons in all matters relating to weapons handling and employment.

8. Landing Signal Officers (2)

Two LSOs are normally assigned to the air wing. They coordinate with pilots to improve recovery (i.e., landing) operations and safety awareness.

9. Flight Surgeon

The Flight Surgeon provides medical care for the officers and men of the air wing. He is tasked with keeping the CAG informed of particular medical problems affecting the air wing.

10. Carrier Air Wing Intelligence Team

This group consists of the squadron intelligence officers and intelligence specialists assigned to the squadrons in the air wing.

The Air wing Intelligence Officer is the leader of this team and as such is the Mission Planning Coordinator.

All squadron intelligence personnel work in CVIC when embarked.

That is, they integrate into a combined CV/CVW intelligence team.

The Carrier Air Wing Intelligence Team provides direct support to the air wing with cyclic event briefs/debriefs, and in-flight aids in support of exercises and/or operations.

Except for the TARPS officer, the members of this team also augment the SUPPLOT.

The TARPS officer normally works in the Multi-Sensor Interpretation (MSI) area of CVIC.

“I’m Just Sayin”

“That's half of your trouble, muttered the crocodile.

You believe everything's true.”

“There is no delight the equal of dread.

As long as it's someone else's.”

“Superman is,

after all,

an alien life form.

He's simply the acceptable face of invading realities.”

~ Clive Barker

“Thought for the Day”

“Never complain and never explain.”

“The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes.”

“I am prepared for the worst,

but hope for the best.”

“Never apologize for showing feeling.

When you do so,

you apologize for the truth.”

“A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve,

not by the desire to beat others.”

“Like all great travellers,

Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it.

Do not count on them.

Leave them alone.”

~ Benjamin Disraeli

“What I Learned”

“We do things for good reasons that are bad.”

“Usually, the stuff that's your best idea or work is going to be attacked the most.”

“I don't think there's any artist of any value who doesn't doubt what they're doing.”

“Anything you build on a large scale or with intense passion invites chaos.”

“We had access to too much money,

too much equipment,

and little by little,

we went insane.”

“I think it's better to be overly ambitious and fail

than to be underambitious and succeed in a mundane way.

aI have been very fortunate.

I failed upward in my life!.”

~ Francis Ford Coppola

Second Hand News: Articles from Week 24 - June 14, 2021 - June 20, 2021

Justice Department “relentless pursuit” has fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe talking about John Durham • Trump releases list of claims he says he got right and media “missed”: “Right about everything before election”

Reporter who broke story on former President Bill Clinton and then-Attorney General Loretta Lync tarmac meeting at a time when the FBI was investigating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of an unauthorized email server - found dead

Border crisis hangs over Biden - no end in sight • Byron Donalds: Trump support doesn't weaken my blackness • Billionaire tax leak deals Biden blow in getting Republican support for IRS fundings • Jeffrey Toobin returns to CNN eight months after exposing himself to colleagues on Zoom call

National Security: Colonial Pipeline attack: How did the FBI recover the ransom money? • Healthcare: Hydroxychloroquine study further erodes credibility of health “experts° • Business: Keystone XL victory emboldens green groups in fight against Line 3 pipeline • Editorial: After Biden, the flood • Featured: Critical Reaction: What to tell the children

MOST READ: Half of the pandemic's unemployment money may have been stolen by criminals and funneled out of the country • Clarence Thomas swings divided Supreme Court in gun possession case • “Trump was right - Dr. Fauci was wrong:” Study shows hydroxychloroquine and zinc treatments increased coronavirus survival rate by almost three times Washington Examiner

Biden’s Climate Change Stance Exposes A Delusional Administration • Too Fat To Fly: FAA Updates Guidelines As American Obesity Crisis Grows • Senator Tom Cotton: Military Whistleblowers Report Leadership Forcing “Anti-American Indoctrination” On Them

CNN Banned Clay Travis For Saying “Boobs” But Welcomes Public Masturbator Jeffrey Toobin Back With Open Arms • Dilbert Comic Strip Creator And Podcaster Scott Adams Shares Emotional Story Of Losing His Stepson To Fentanyl • Democrat Infighting Over Israel Exposes The Left’s Incoherent Politics

MOST READ: The Media Didn’t “Get It Wrong” On Lafayette Park, They Lied To America - And They’re Still Lying • YouTube Bans Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson For Discussing Early Treatment Of COVID-19 • What Happens When Hedge Funds Buy Up Neighborhoods • New Video Shows Capitol Police Letting January 6 Rioters Inside - And Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson Is Demanding Answers

The “Root Causes” Of The Migrant Crisis Are Biden’s Border Policies • Rep. Byron Donalds Blasts CNN Host For Telling Him What To Think: “As A Black Man In America, I’m Allowed To Have My Own Thoughts” • Loudoun County Eighth-Grade Girl Defends Her Right Not To Change In Front Of Boys • Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) And Others Opposed To Childbearing Suffer From “Prolonged Adolescence” The Federalist

“No Question” Cartel Activity Is Spilling Across US-Mexico Border: FBI Director Christopher Wray • Biden to Hold Solo Press Conference After Putin Meeting • Moscow Orders New Restrictions as COVID-19 Infections Soar • Investigators Make Referrals to FBI as Billionaire Tax Leak Probe Expands, IRS Says

Investigators Make Referrals to FBI as Billionaire Tax Leak Probe Expands, IRS Says • Republicans Urge Biden to Halt China’s Nuclear Expansion • St. Louis University Is the Latest College to Require COVID-19 Vaccines for Fall Semester • American College Enrollment Sees Sharp Drop in Spring

Election Assessment in Pennsylvania County Uncovers Five “Issues of Note” • Trump Huddles With Republican Congress Members to Plan How to Flip House in 2022 • YouTube Suspends Senator Ron Johnson From Uploading Videos Over COVID-19, Hydroxychloroquine Claims • Kash’s Corner: Dr. Fauci Attacked Trump for Lab Leak Theory Despite Not Having Access to the Intelligence The Epoch Times

CORRUPTION CHRONICLES: Judicial Watch Files Two New Federal FOIA Lawsuits for Information on COVID and Wuhan Institute of Virology • “Fresh and Never Frozen:” The Horrifying Government Purchase of Fetal Organs

“Investigating the Investigators:” Judicial Watch: Federal Court Hearing Monday on Motion to Preliminarily Enjoin Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Racist Interview Policy

Biden Plan to Address Racial Injustice, Inequity Allots $1 Billion to Boost Healthy Food Access

The Maxine Waters Debacle Judicial Watch

How Corrupt Is MSNBC? The Network Now OPENLY Lobbying to Pack the Supreme Court • Burying the Shocking N-Word Claims Against Hunter Biden • NY Times Condemns Wisconsin Town for Stubbornly Denying “Systemic Racism” • Lincoln Project 2.0: MSNBC Cozies Up to Another Group of Fox-Hating Grifters

C-SPAN vs. CNN's Brian Stelter: Enjoy the Verbal Beating the CNN Host Endured • CNN Wonders How Democrats Will “Settle Their Differences” After Omar's Terrorist Comparisons • CNN's Brian Stelter Admits It: CNN and MSNBC Have the Same Goal • NewsBusters Podcast: CNN Slaps Decency, Welcomes Back Jeffrey Toobin After Zoom Scandal News Busters

Mr. Answer Man Please Tell Us: What Are NFTs?

There are three kinds of people in the world: those who know what an NFT is, those who don't, and those who don't care.

See also What is an NFT?.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are hot right now because they give artists and creators a way to better control and manage the distribution and ownership of their work. An NFT is essentially a digital asset that's built on the Ethereum blockchain, which means that it's a kind of cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin. But unlike Bitcoin, each NFT is unique and therefore not interchangeable, a.k.a. non-fungible.

Where do NFTs exist?

You can’t find NFTs in a museum or with a map. An NFT is like Neo in The Matrix: completely digital. (Coincidentally, SNL's Chris Redd played The Matrix's Morpheus to help explain NFTs, which was a missed opportunity, really; they should've brought in The One, Keanu Reeves.) Art can also be digitally “minted” as an NFT, which is something the artist Beeple has begun doing.

See also Who are NFTs for?.

Skeptics may say that NFTs are just another way for an artist or collector to make even more money, but artist Shantell Martin frowns at that description.

“We encourage art in young people, we fight to have it in schools, we are disappointed when art is pulled from budgets, but then we don't want artists to be able to pay their rent”, Martin tells Mental Floss. “Would it not be great if artists made money from their craft?”

Artists like Martin, who work in both digital and physical spaces, stand to benefit from NFTs—especially when it comes to archiving pieces and creating new work. They're a boon to digital artists, too, like the aforementioned Beeple, whose “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” sold for $69.3 million at Christie's in March - a record-breaking amount for a piece of digital art (it exists only as a JPG file).

Did Beeple's work fetch that price because it’s great art or because it's made and minted on the blockchain? It's hard to say. While NFTs themselves could be history in a few years, they’re currently helping to put tens of thousands (and even tens of millions) of dollars directly into the hands of artists - and that’s making history.

See also What makes an NFT special?.

Not only have art and collectibles historically been easy to alter or destroy, but proof of ownership can be open to dispute or attack. If your older brother takes your Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman baseball card, for example, it’s no longer yours. If he then throws it into a blazing fire, it’s gone. Those are tangible things that are here today and could possibly be gone tomorrow; the same goes for proof of ownership or a digital work of art. But on the blockchain, they're secure, as an NFT has additional storage space that states ownership and other metadata and binds the asset to its rightful owner.

Can NFTs be stolen?

David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) said it best in WarGames: “I don't believe that any system is totally secure.” While an NFT cannot be copied, it is not entirely theft-proof. An NFT can move from one owner to another, though not by plane, train, truck, or boat, but by hacking. Even worse? Somebody could take any work of art and stake ownership of it through an NFT without you knowing about it. Which is another reason to keep personal art and collectibles safe and sound—and out of the (virtual) hands of hackers. Feeling paranoid? Put your kid's art on the blockchain now.

Are NFTs only for art?

If you have digital art, photographs, games, or even TikTok videos, you could mint any one of them as an NFT. Super-special limited-edition sports cards like the one that golfer Bryson DeChambeau released are making waves in the NFT world, too. Sneakers, fashion, in-game items, essays, and tickets are a few other examples of NFTs. Even Lindsay Lohan is getting in on the action; she recently released a song as an NFT. In time, anything of value could exist as an NFT, even your dog license.

Will NFTs increase in value?

Some art collectors and buyers see NFTs as a fad—and a risky one at that. So why take the plunge? Rudy Franchi, a former Antiques Roadshow appraiser and movie poster expert, calls the NFT marketplace °a fascinating place to play in”. Franchi spent some time with Andy Warhol during his Marilyn Monroe and Campbell’s Soup printmaking days. So what does he think Warhol would make of the current NFT craze? “Andy would be creating for it”, Franchi tells Mental Floss. “He would’ve jumped on it and he would’ve loved it.”

Mental Floss / Wikipedia / Britannica Beyond / CNBC / Forbes What Are NFTs? (YouTube)

NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang

Splice the Main Brace: A party; generally involving alcohol. Also, a traditional naval toast. Refers to the brace cable used to hold the mainmast of a sailing ship upright.

Split Tails: (Old Term For) female sailors. Also “Shave Tails”.

Spook: Usually a IS, CT, or some other kind of intelligence type.

Spook Shit: Equipment that one doesn't know the purpose, function or ownership of, which when it's gone leaves as the only trace of its existence aboard ship an unused circuit breaker labeled “Spook Shit” in grease pencil.

Spudlocker: Area below the ramp of an aircraft carrier. Landing in the spudlocker results in a broken aircraft and is often fatal. Also used for a potato (spud) storage room.

Spunk: Cool Whip or anything like it.

Square Circles: Surface ship operating within an assigned a patrol box.

Squat to Pee: An ELT (Engineering Laboratory Technician, a water chemistry and radiation monitor on a nuclear powered vessel) or (Submarine Service) by extension, any submarine crewman that is not doing his fair share of the work.

Squid: A HIGHER form of MARINE life.

Wiktionary.org

Just for you MARINE

Spit and Polish: Extreme individual or collective military neatness, extreme devotion to the minutiae of traditional military procedures or ceremonies; from spit-polishing boots and dress shoes.

Spit-Shine: Polish leather footwear (boots and dress shoes), employing spittle to remove excess grease and produce a high polish.

Splice the Mainbrace: Invitation to drink, from the old naval custom of drinking grog after repairing battle-damage to the main braces.

Spud Locker: Place where fresh vegetables are stored, after the nickname for potatoes.

Squadbay: Living quarters with open rooms and shared head, as opposed to the more common barracks that offer individual rooms.

Square(d) Away: Make neat and regulation appearance, to be in a neat and regulation appearance.

Squid: Pejorative for sailor.

Wikipedia.org

Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

HSM-71 Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) Squadron SEVEN ONE - nicknamed the “Raptors”

United States Navy - Marine Corps Commander, Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Pacific - Naval Air Station North Island, Naval Base Coronado in San Diego County, California / HSM-71: January 01, 2007 - present

Where Did That Saying Come From?

“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link:”

Meaning: A change is as good as a rest is a proverb that expresses, in a fairly straightforward literal way, the notion that a change from one's regular occupation is as restorative as a holiday.

History: 'A change is as good as a rest' is a product of the the Victorian era. Many proverbs from that time encourage the strengthening of moral fibre, effort and industry. This one is harder to understand the motive for as it is more of an observation than an exhortation.

The idea expressed in the proverb is first found in the Christian Gleaner and Domestic Magazine, 1825:

“Change of work is as good as play.”

This isn't the source of the phrase as we now use it though. The currently used wording of the proverb is first found as the title of a poem that was widely published from 1857 onward. Here's the earliest example that I know of, from the English newspaper The Hampshire Advertiser, August 1857:

“Ye votaries of sofas and beds

Ye sloths who exertion detest,

This maxim I wish to drive into your heads

A change is as good as a rest.

Ye children of Fashion and Wealth,

With countless indulgences blest,

Remember that indolence preyeth on health

A change is as good as a rest.”

The poem, which the unkind might call doggerel, goes on in similar vein for another nine verses - I'm sure you get the gist. The name of the author isn't known.

Phrases.org.uk

Science & Technology

FEATURED: Epigenetic regulator HP1a: Study reveals how DNA organizes itself in the nucleus • Massive fragment screen points way to new SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors

Snake species from different terrains surrender surface secrets behind slithering success • Researchers find new measure to predict stress resilience • Researchers identify potential targets for novel treatments for lung cancer

New computational tool could help design futuristic turbines for jet engines • Fruit flies and cellular demise: Zeroing in on the causes of Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) • To cool tomorrow's buildings, power sector must grow Phys.org / MedicalXpress / TechXplore

California to hunt greenhouse gas leaks and super-emitters with monitoring satellites • Study reveals ‘exciting’ history of humans in Pacific. But critics blast lack of Indigenous input

This pterosaur supported its giant neck with bones built like bicycle wheels • Butterflies provide ‘extraordinary’ help pollinating cotton fields

Fresh calculation of obscure particle’s magnetism could dim hopes for new physics • Concerns over rare clotting disorders halt use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine

FEATURED: Honey bees rally to their queen via ‘game of telephone’ Science AAAS

Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good - real news story)

If there is a Bigfoot or Sasquatch, it is hiding extremely well.

Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is a giant ape-like cryptid (or species rumored to exist) that some people believe roams North America. There is scant physical evidence that any such creatures exist, but Bigfoot buffs are convinced they do, and that science will prove it.

Most sightings of Bigfoot occur in the Northwest and the creatures can be linked to Indigenous myths and legends of wild men. The word Sasquatch is derived from Sasq’ets, a word from the Halq’emeylem language used by some Salish First Nations peoples in southwestern British Columbia, according to the Oregon Encyclopedia.

As early as 1884, the British Colonist newspaper in Victoria, BC published an account of a “gorilla type” creature captured in the area. Other accounts, largely decried as hoaxes, followed, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia: Sasquatch book author John Green compiled a list of 1,340 sightings through the 19th and 20th centuries. But the modern Bigfoot or Sasquatch myth gained new life in the late 1950s.

In 1958, the Humboldt Times, a local newspaper in Northern California, published a story about the discovery of giant, mysterious footprints near Bluff Creek, California, and referred to the creature that made them as “Bigfoot”, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Interest in Bigfoot grew rapidly during the second half of the 20th century, after an article in True magazine, published in December 1959, described the 1958 discovery.

Unsurprisingly, the same sorts of regulatory housekeeping genes are found in abundance in the human salivary gland, which also produces an important stew of proteins - found in saliva - in large quantities. This genetic foundation is what enables the wide array of independently evolved venoms across the animal kingdom.

In 2002, the children of Ray Wallace revealed that the footprints near Bluff Creek had been their father's prank, according to Smithsonian Magazine. By that time, though, Bigfoot was firmly established in popular culture across the continent. Since that article was published, a wealth of other claims have been made about Sasquatch tracks, casts, photos, videos, and other “evidence”.

By far the most common evidence presented for the existence of Bigfoot is eyewitness reports. There have been more than 10,000 eyewitness accounts of the creature in the continental U.S. in the last 50 years, Live Science reported in 2019. In these accounts, Bigfoot is usually described as being about 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3 meters) tall and covered in hair.

Unfortunately, Bigfoot sightings are also by far the weakest type of evidence. Eyewitness accounts are based on memories, and memories are not reliable, Live Science previously reported. Crime witnesses, for example, can be influenced by their emotions and may miss important details in what they are seeing. In the same vein, people also often overestimate their ability to remember things. When it comes to cryptids like Bigfoot, the human brain is capable of making up explanations for events it can't immediately interpret, and many people simply want to believe they exist, Live Science previously reported.

Some people claim to have heard Bigfoot vocalizations, including howls, growls and screams. The creatures are also associated with other noises, such as wood-knocking, according to Scientific American. Recordings of these noises occasionally attract media attention but can usually be attributed to known animals, such as foxes or coyotes.

The most famous Bigfoot video is a short film taken in 1967 by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin. Shot in Bluff Creek, it shows a large, dark, human-size and human-shape figure striding through a clearing. Widely considered a hoax, it remains to this day the best evidence for the existence of Bigfoot. With the rise of high-quality cameras in smartphones, photographs of people, cars, mountains, flowers, sunsets, deer and more have gotten sharper and clearer over the years; Bigfoot is a notable exception.

The logical explanation for this discrepancy is that the creatures don't exist, and that photographs of them are merely hoaxes or misidentifications.

In his book “Big Footprints” (Johnson Books, 1992), veteran researcher Grover Krantz discussed alleged Bigfoot hair, feces, skin scrapings and blood.

“The usual fate of these items is that they either receive no scientific study, or else the documentation of that study is either lost or unobtainable. In most cases where competent analyses have been made, the material turned out to be bogus or else no determination could be made”, Krantz said.

When a definite conclusion has been reached through scientific analysis, the samples have typically turned out to have ordinary sources. For example, in 2014, a team of researchers led by geneticist Bryan Sykes from the University of Oxford in England, conducted genetic analysis on 36 hair samples claimed to belong to Bigfoot or the Yeti - a similar ape-like creature said to exist in the Himalayas. Almost all of the hairs turned out to be from known animals such as cows, raccoons, deer and humans. However, two of the samples closely matched an extinct Paleolithic polar bear, Live Science previously reported. These samples may have come from an unknown bear species or a hybrid of modern bears, but they were from a bear, not a primate.

Genetics provide another reason to doubt the existence of Bigfoot. The science suggests that there can't just be one elusive, unique creature. Many individuals would have to exist to provide enough genetic diversity to maintain a population. This increases the chances that one would be killed by a hunter or hit by a motorist on a highway, or even found dead (by accident, disease, or old age) by a hiker or farmer at some point, yet no bodies have ever been found. People do occasionally claim to find bones or other large body parts. For example, a man in Utah discovered what he thought was a fossilized Bigfoot skull in 2013. A paleontologist confirmed that the “skull” was simply an oddly weathered rock, Live Science previously reported.

Related: Infographic: Tracking belief in Bigfoot

Real or not? The science behind 12 unusual sightings

Did hiker film Bigfoot, black bear or 'Blobsquatch'?

Bigfoot's FBI file reveals strange story of a monster hunter and 15 mysterious hairs

'Expedition Bigfoot' scours Oregon woods for signs of the mythical and elusive beast

Additional resources: Why Bigfoot is unlikely only if you know what “unlikely” means.

Cal Alumni Association: Does science benefit from the search for Sasquatch?

Times-Standard: Throwback Thursday: If the shoe fits, it’s Bigfoot’s.

Science Daily (04/14/2021)

Second Hand News: Articles from Week 24 - June 14, 2021 - June 20, 2021

“I told you so!” Trump reels off list of times corporate liberal media said he was wrong when he was right all along, from Wuhan, to Hunter Biden's laptop and the clearing of Lafayette Square • “Arm up and get ready:” Lara Trump says those on the border should prepare to take matters into their own hands while VP Harris is busy 'laughing off the crisis' • VP Kamala Harris makes “surprise” appearance at DC's Pride march days after her widely-panned tour of Central America left the White House “perplexed”

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION: Biden begins his final day at the G7 with a trip to Mass and a kiss for Jill • Trump slams Biden for abandoning “America First” • Macron seals his bromance with a laughing Joe Biden • Biden will give a SOLO press conference after summit with Putin: REFUSES to take questions standing next to the Russian leader

Trump slams Biden for abandoning “America First” • Judge halts Biden's “unconstitutional” $4BN program to pay up to 120% of black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American farmers' debt after 12 white farmers sued

British scientist Sir Jeremy Farrar is accused of “chilling” bid to stifle debate on Wuhan lab leak theory • WHO chief says Wuhan lab leak theory has NOT been ruled out as he insists China should help uncover the “origin” of COVID out of “respect” for millions who have died

“It's a problem here in Puerto Rico - not with Washington” AOC's aunt says Trump is NOT to blame for lack of aid to the island after the congresswoman bashed the former president for damage to her grandmother's home • “Allahu Akhbar!:” Pro-Palestinian protesters chant as they BURN Israeli flag in march through NYC • Facebook FINALLY shuts dozens of human smuggling groups offering passage into the US for as little as $1,700

Hackers steal 26 MILLION logins for Amazon, Apple, Facebook and other tech giants after targeting PCs and making off with payment information from three million devices in latest major security breach • “Telling my child they are oppressed is racist:” Black Florida mom warns school board that “Critical Race Theory ” entrenches racist idea that “whites are better than blacks”

“You're emotionally abusing our children:” New York mother slams school board as “thieves and liars” for pushing critical race theory and “teaching students to hate cops” • Sex-ed teacher at $55,000-per-year NYC private school RESIGNS after angering parents by teaching first-graders about masturbation and telling kids they can't be hugged “without consent”

Even Thanksgiving is canceled! Woke New Jersey school district yanks ALL holiday names off the calendar to avoid “Hurt Feelings” as students can now get ready to gather with the family to celebrate ... “Day Off” Daily Mail

Education Insanity: Top 10 Stories Of The Week (Vol. 19) • Teen Unloads On Virginia School Board: “Your Proposed Policies Are Dangerous And Rooted In Sexism” • Black Mom Torches “Critical Race Theory:” It’s “Racist“ It’s “Teaching Hate”, Will Destroy America • New York City Mayoral Candidate Claims Hundreds Of Students Can Learn Remotely From A Single Teacher. The Pandemic Shows Otherwise.

What Could Go Wrong? Biden Reverses Sanctions On Iranian Oil Companies Ahead Of Nuclear Deal Talks • Iran’s Navy Reaches New Milestone During Biden-Era; Set To Get “Advanced” Tech To “Boost” Military • Janet Yellen Asks Congress For Billions To Help Other Countries’ “Debt Relief”, “Climate Change”

YouTube Bans Republican Senator For Discussing COVID-19 Treatment • The Racial “Crisis” In Wisconsin • Let’s Get Our Filibuster History Right

Rashida Tlaib Blasted For Claiming “Freedom Of Speech Doesn’t Exist For Muslim Women In Congress” • Ocasio-Cortez (AOC)’s Alleged Aunt Disputes Claim Trump At Fault For Puerto Rico Aid Issues: ‘We Had The Assistance And It Didn’t Get To The People’ • How The Media Cherry-Picks “The Science” To Ignore The Vaccination Success Of Republican-Led States

CNN;s Jim Acosta, Whose Network Employs Chris Cuomo And Jeff Toobin, Calls Fox News A ‘Bulls*** Factory’ • The Media’s Hypocrisy: CNN Banned Me For Saying “Boobs” But Welcomed Back “Guy Caught Masturbating On A Zoom Call” • WATCH: Vaccinated G7 Leaders Share Awkward Unmasked Elbow Bumps Daily Wire