Construction Physics essay on the history of the Screwworm

I'm an avid reader of Construction Physics, but was particularly taken by this recent essay about the history of Screwworm diseases in the United States: The Fall and Rise of Screwworm

Well-researched and well-written are hallmarks of Construction Physics articles, but this one is fascinating for its deep historical background; the article notes that "the first documented screwworm infection in a person in the US dates to the 1830s".

The major breakthrough occurred shortly after WWII:

The final piece of the puzzle to eliminate screwworm wouldn’t fall into place until 1950. That year, Knipling read a journal article by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Hermann Muller. Muller had been awarded the prize for his groundbreaking work in genetics, discovering that mutations could be introduced into living things by exposing fruit flies to radiation. Muller’s 1950 article was a warning against the dangers of nuclear war, cautioning that the resulting radioactive fallout could create “a world of sterile human beings.”2 Knipling contacted Muller and asked him if radiation could be used to create large numbers of sterile male screwworms. Muller responded: “I know nothing of screwworms but your theory is sound.”

I recommend reading everything at Construction Physics. But this article was compelling enough for me to post this more detailed recommendation.

Visual design of road signs in France

This is my kind of web article to stumble across: The road signs that teach travellers about France. I'm glad there are people out there still appreciating little details like this.

In an era where drivers rarely wore seatbelts and often smoked at the wheel, and there were very few radars to prevent speeding, they also encouraged motorists to slow down. Rather than being a distraction, the brown signs served to break autopilot mode and were thought to improve road safety.

The earliest signs were created by Swiss-born designer Jean Widmer, who died last month, and his former wife Nicole Sauvage, a husband-and-wife team whose work also shaped some of the most recognisable visual symbols in modern France, including the Centre Pompidou logo. Their motorway signs were simple and graphic: three planes for Toulouse, a hub of the aerospace industry; chicory, endives and potatoes as a nod to the agriculture of Hauts-de-France; half-timbered houses for Alsace; and grapes in a Cognac glass.

Sailing Rigs by Randall Munroe

I got a kick out of XKCD 3193, it definitely hits that sweet spot that happens when you walk a certain side alley of trivia just a few steps too far.

In my all-too-brief, but enjoyable and lucky, sailing life, I definitely sailed both a Deckhand Obliterator as well as a Mastless Rig.

And my son once sailed a Keel Rig, early in his youth sailing academy days. (They called it "turtling" back then.)

But of course the nerd in me has to quibble a tiny bit with the floatover text: it's not the size of the sail on the mizzen mast that distinguishes a ketch from a yawl, it's the relative position of the mizzen mast and the rudder post.

When I was learning the basics, back in sailing school, I used to remember this as:

• They call it a yawl because the mizzen is yawl the way back.

Hey, the thing about a memory aid is that it aids your memory.