Welcome to Litsy!

I listened to this on audio so I missed out on some interesting pictures. But this was an interesting read!
It is about how myths and philosophy texts from Ancient Greeks and Romans might show evidence of fossil finds in antiquity. The theory being that fossils reinforced the ideas of giants and monsters that feed mythology.
My favourite chapter was the last one though, about hoaxes 🤣

Clearly for whatever reason I'm in the mood to read a lot this weekend! Finally finished this up; it's very dense, despite looking quite a slim book. Not a lot that was new to me, as someone who reads popular science about dinosaurs whenever I see something new, and follows dinosaur news idly, but some interesting titbits.

Today I learned that birds and reptiles can isolate infections in a single part of the body instead of the spread that often happens in mammals. I want to go read about how that works now, but I guess my theory would be a different lymphatic system? Though no clue how they would avoid spread through the blood stream... If someone finds out before I do, let me know!

(Note that I studied immunology as part of my degree, am interested in *detail*.)

Enjoying this so far. In odd synchronicity, it made me more curious about the papers behind this article (which I need to look into) which suggests we're finding evidence there has never been a mass extinction: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2481371-theres-growing-evidence-the-big-fiv...

This book, of course, is pretty certain that there was!

The two books from my out of control “currently reading” stack that managed to accompany me to bed. 😅

The Secret History of Sharks, by John Long (2024)

Premise: A comprehensive introduction to the long history and evolution of sharks

Review: There is no question that John Long knows his stuff and is able to communicate complex material effectively. I learned more about sharks than I ever wanted to. Cont.

This collection of articles Douglas has written for various publications over the years includes such mysteries as the dead lake high in the Himalayas, possibly cannibalistic prehistoric Native Americans, the Dyatlov Pass, and, of course, the lost Egyptian tomb.
Such a good read for those interested in archaeology, anthropology, and historic mysteries.

#WhereAreYouMonday
I am all over the globe in Preston's latest essay collection: tracking a serial killer in Florence, discovery of human remains in the Himalayas, detailing the controversies surrounding one of the oldest skeletons unearthed in N America & in my favorite piece so far (link below) a plausible explanation for the Dyatlov Pass incident:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/17/has-an-old-soviet-mystery-at-last-...