The Last Word On Nothing

August 22-26

This week several LWONians had kids on the brain.

Guest poster Divya Abhat wondered how to curb her kid’s screen time . . . and her own.

Erik waxed nostalgic about the good old days, when packing for an adventure involved grabbing a fistful of carabiners, not a fistful of diapers.

And I scanned my daughter’s junk-food-filled daycare menu and then promptly freaked out. Since when is tater tot casserole appropriate fare for one year olds?

Meanwhile, Helen and Ann sat on a porch in the heat and drank mint lemonade, a liquid so refreshing it can also be used as a salve for unhappiness.

And Jessa discussed the misinformation and untruths that get lodged in people’s brains. Last week many news outlets reported that the Bering Strait theory of human migration had been debunked. Not so, writes an exasperated Jessa. It was all a misunderstanding.

Earlier this month my daughter turned one. She spent nine months inside of me, and since she’s been on the outside I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about what goes into her body. As a newborn, she nursed until my nipples bled because “breast is best!” And when she was away from me, I pumped so she could have breastmilk out of a bottle. Each day I took supplements to ensure she would get enough vitamin D and iron.

And then she began to eat solids. I bought organic. I blended spinach and peas and sweet potatoes into homemade purees that I froze in BPA-free vessels. I baked bread. I cooked without salt, because tiny kidneys can’t process it. I pressed turkey and quinoa into mini muffin cups to make tiny turkey meatloafs. I did everything I could to ensure that she was getting the right mix of nutrients at the right time and in the right order.

But two weeks ago everything changed. I dropped my daughter off at a daycare center for the first time. And I watched in horror as her teacher placed a small mound of raisins and a scoop of cornflakes on my daughter’s tray. This was breakfast. Grapes devoid of water! Processed corn mixed with addictive sugar! She might as well have heaped her tray with crack cocaine. I held it together until I reached the parking lot, and then I sat in my car and wept. Continue reading →

On August 12th, a story entitled “The Death of the Bering Strait Theory” opened thus: “Two new studies have now, finally, put an end to the long-held theory that the Americas were populated by ancient peoples who walked across the Bering Strait land-bridge from Asia approximately 15,000 years ago.”

The History Channel posted along the same lines: “A new study challenges the popular theory that the first Ice Age humans who migrated to North America arrived by a land bridge that once linked Siberia and Alaska over the Bering Strait.”

As more and more similar stories popped up, I felt a mounting sense of exasperation. I had to remind myself that it’s not my job to correct everyone who’s wrong on the Internet, especially when all the comments rolled in: “I’ve known this all along — it was such a ridiculous theory”, and so on. When I had seen the embargoed press release that generated these stories, I’d been mistaken, too. I read on because I was having trouble picturing a workable alternative to the Bering Strait route. But a thorough reading of the study left the “Bering Strait Theory” firmly intact. The new evidence in no way challenges it. Continue reading →

This week was summer-themed and — with one fresh exception from Judith Mernit — recycled, in the most exciting sense of the word. This allowed us all to actually experience summer, in order to have more stories to share with you, dear Reader.

In the summer of 2010, Heather spent eight-hour hiking days in the Sonoran Desert with archaeologists. 

Guest Judith Lewis Mernit drove into the Sierra Pelona Mountains at four in the morning to watch the Perseid meteor shower. It was more like a dribble, but it was a good excuse for much-needed fresh night air and companionship.

In 2011, Richard had adventures in the Chilean mountains at some of the world’s finest astronomy facilities. By switching hemispheres, he avoided summer altogether.

Niki Wilson wishes summer could last a little longer, for the sake of a homework reprieve for her hard-working fourth-grader.

The summer of 2012 was a nasty fire season in Colorado. Christie saw it first hand and thanked her stars for the quick-responding volunteer fire-fighters.

Image: Luc Viatour , c/o Wikimedia Commons