PBS Eons reflects on Piltdown Man for April Fools Day, a Flashback Friday holiday special

Happy Flashback Friday on April Fools Day! For today's retrospective, I'm following through on the question I asked in the footnote to Stephen Colbert on missing Trump White House phone records and Ginni Thomas's texts updates the attempt to overturn the 2020 election, "Holidays, anyone?" I'll get to the top holiday posts of the eleventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News after I share a video about one of the great scientific hoaxes, The Missing Link That Wasn’t about Piltdown Man, from PBS Eons.

The myth of the Missing Link--the idea that there must be a specimen that partly resembles an ape but also partly resembles a modern human--is persistent. But the reality is that there is no missing link in our lineage, because that’s not how evolution works.

PBS Eons used Piltdown Man mostly to talk about its effect on the rest of paleoanthropology and how it took changes in evolutionary thinking and new technologies to finally discredit it so that the discipline could progress. It's an attention grabber that almost functions as a MacGuffin — almost, as its story is more or less resolved and its significance established. I say more or less because the likely perpetrators are strongly suspected, but not confirmed. PBS Eons returned to the subject in its most recent Mysteries of Deep Time podcast, The Case of the Most Famous Fake Human Fossil.

This episode is a mystery in the most classic literary sense of the word. It’s a whodunit detective story that spans more than a century - the saga of the Piltdown Man Hoax. From a gravel pit in Sussex, we follow the faked fossils through history, to what’s now the Natural History Museum in London, where scientists are using new technologies to try to unravel the identity of the fraudster, and explore how this hoax impacted the study of human origins.

The podcast episode focuses much more on the fake fossil and the people who likely created it than on its effect on the rest of science. It makes for a good unsolved mystery as well as a good hoax to examine on April Fools Day.

That's it for today's holiday. Follow over the jump for the some of the top holiday posts of the eleventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

First 'murder hornet' nest of 2021 eliminated in Washington state

I reported that "murder hornets" returned to Washington state on World Honey Bee Day and that help was on its way. Inside Edition showed that help arriving last Friday in ‘Murder Hornets’ Attack Officials Trying to Remove Nest.

Another Asian Giant Hornet’s nest was found and eradicated in Washington State. It’s the first one to be found this year and officials say the hornets were not happy to see them. Last year the first nest of this invasive species, nicknamed the Murder Hornet, was found in October. Officials with the WSDA say the second nest was three times bigger and these bugs were ready to defend their home. Inside Edition Digital’s Mara Montalbano has more.

Watching this clip reminds that I've been worried about Asian Giant Hornets becoming established in the U.S. for eight years. Back then, I called them "another invasive species I can frighten my students with." Now that they're here, I will follow through in both of the classes where I teach about invasive species, but the idea is a lot less funny now.

Good Morning America added more detail in 1st ‘murder hornet’ nest of the year has been destroyed.

Officials in Washington state say they have successfully destroyed this year’s first detected nest of Asian giant hornets.

Here's to eliminating any other Asian Giant Hornet nests in the U.S. and Canada. As I first wrote last year, "For the sake of the bees, I hope Chris Looney and the people who work with him at the Washington state Department of Agriculture [like Sven-Erik Spichiger] succeed in preventing 'murder hornets' from becoming established. Bees have enough problems."

That's it for August. Stay tuned for the first entry of September 2021, which might be a driving update.

'Murder hornets' return for World Honey Bee Day

Happy World Honey Bee Day! As i did last year, I'm observing today by sharing the latest news about a potential major thread to honeybees, "murder hornets" or as the are more properly called, Asian Giant Hornets. I begin with Washington state reports first murder hornet sighting of 2021 from Good Morning America.

State officials released a photo of the dangerous insect attacking a wasp nest, asking residents to keep an eye out and report any sightings to the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

As noted in the comments, it's oddly appropriate that Good Morning America reported this story on Friday the 13th. It certainly was an unlucky day for honeybees in the Pacific Northwest.

Help is on its way, as Reuters reported yesterday Washington researchers hunt down 'murder hornets'.

The first Asian giant hornet nest of the year has been found in Washington state, and plans are being developed to eradicate it, likely next week, the state's agriculture department said.

The report shows the team from the Washington state Department of Agriculture eradicating a nest of Giant Asian Hornets on Food Day last year, so they have experience. That's a good thing. As I wrote on World Honey Bee Day last year, "For the sake of the bees, I hope Chris Looney and the people who work with him at the Washington state Department of Agriculture succeed in preventing 'murder hornets' from becoming established. Bees have enough problems."

Before I leave, I'm sharing this comment exchange I had in IF THE COVID DOOMSAYERS ARE RIGHT, EXPECT A LOT MORE INFECTIONS -- AND MAYBE A GOP WAVE ELECTIONat No More Mister Nice Blog.

Regular commenter Cleto Safari di Moderna posted a link to The Daily Beast's story about the return of "murder hornets" and asked "I wonder if the 'Killer Bees' would resist the 'Murder Hornets' more effectively than other honeybees?" I couldn't resist answering his question.

Take it from this zoologist, the answer is no. Africanized bees might put up a more aggressive defense of their colony than non-Africanized bees, but it won't be enough as their stings won't be any better at penetrating the Asian Giant Hornet's exoskeleton than any other honeybee. Japanese honeybees know better; they cook the hornets instead.

Watch Hornets from Hell by National Geographic to see that in action.

Japanese giant hornets pack a venomous sting so strong it can dissolve human tissue. But when a hornet scout enters a beehive, watch as the bees turn the tables on their enemy — and literally bake the predator to death!

As Cleto Safari di Moderna responded to my answer, "Mmm...hornet teriyaki..."

CNN and WUSA9 ask why Trump is against voting by mail

While I was blogging about 100,000 dead and 40 million unemployed in the U.S., the human toll of the pandemic so far, President Trump was fighting Twitter over being fact-checked. I could write an entire post about the fight itself and I might still do that, but I'd rather concentrate on the reason for the fight, which is Trump's unsupported attack on voting by mail. To that end, I'm sharing two opinion pieces, beginning with CNN's The real reason Donald Trump hates mail-in ballots.

California wants to send mail-in ballots to all registered voters ahead of the 2020 election due to the coronavirus pandemic, a move that President Donald Trump is continuously attacking — saying it will lead to a fraudulent and rigged election. Chris Cillizza explains why the widespread election fraud Trump claims will happen is, well, unlikely.

As Cilizza says, voter fraud by impersonation is so rare that it's almost non-existent, which means it is not at all effective. The safety of the electorate during the COVID-19 pandemic far outweighs that miniscule risk. As for Trump being unable to recognize that can ever lose, I once observed elsewhere about a hornet I swatted (unsuccessfully, unfortunately, but at least I wasn't stung) 'he thinks he's winning because he can't imagine himself doing anything else.' That looks awful familiar.

WUSA9 in Washington, D.C., has another take on Trump's opposition to voting by mail, asking Why is the president against voting by mail? | Reese's Final Thought.

Without a more robust mail-in voting plan, voter turnout will diminish. Maybe that's the point.

Yeah, that, too.

Seth Meyers tells 'murder hornets' 'not now' while LiveScience stresses the threat to bees

Seven years ago, I wrote "here is some scary biodiversity for you all, a potential invasive species I can frighten my students with: Giant hornets killing dozens in China." Asian Giant Hornets are no longer "a potential invasive species," they're an actual invasive species here in the U.S. That prompted a lot of sensational coverage as a change of pace during the COVID-19 pandemic. I engaged in a little of that on Twitter, tweeting "I wondered why there were giant wasps and hornets in the Final Fantasy games. Then I read about these things and understood." Now I will definitely scare my students with them this semester!

Seth Meyers was having none of it. Watch Not Now, Murder Hornets.

Seth takes a moment to ask Asian giant hornets, or "murder hornets," to give us all a break as we’re busy dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

In his monologue, Seth does a good job of placing the threat in the context of the pandemic and official response in addition to the "now what" reaction to one more thing to worry about. Fortunately, as scary as Asian Giant Hornets are, they are mostly a threat to honeybees. LiveScience emphasizes that point in "Murder Hornets" Massacre Honey Bees, Not Humans FYI.

Sightings in Washington state of Asian giant hornets* raise concerns that the enormous insects may be settling in North America. Live Science Senior Writer Mindy Weisberger tells the tale of how "Murder Hornets" got their name and what's going on with our new visitors:
...
* not yellowjackets aka "American Hornets" which are only a 1/2-inch vs 2-inch length, and not European #hornets are also smaller than their giant Asian cousins, and do not attack bees as a group ~The more you know~ about #asiangianthornets

While they are less of a threat to humans than they seem — 50 dead per year out of the approximately three billion people in the countries where it is native does not seem impressive compared to the average of 62 Americans dying every year from bee, wasp, and hornet stings with a population one-tenth that size; Giant Asian Hornets might add an average of 5-10 each year to that total if fatalities are proportional to population — they are a real threat to bees. That makes them an indirect threat to humans because of the importance of honeybees to agriculture. Oh, boy, one more thing to include in this year's World Bee Day on May 20th.

Enough of the potential threat from murder hornets today. Stay tuned for a celebration of Mother's Day.

SciFi is now: Revenge porn, a 21st Century crime

As I wrote in 21st Century crime scenes from KPBS, “We may not have flying cars, but we are starting to have crimes right out of Johnny Mnemonic.”  I also remarked in E-Cigs: A 21st Century health issue, “technology is providing new opportunities to run afoul of the law in ways that were in science fiction 20-30 years ago.”  Here is an ongoing story about one such crime that is being covered by KPBS.

First, the video and story that I included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Jade Rabbit lands on Moon).

What's Happening Now With San Diego Man's Arrest For Revenge Porn Website

A San Diego man was arrested Tuesday on charges related to operating a revenge porn website. It's the first bust of its kind since California criminalized revenge porn earlier this year.

San Diego Man Arrested In Connection With Revenge Porn Website
By David Wagner
Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Kevin Bollaert, 27, allegedly owned and operated ugotposted.com, one of the most notorious examples of revenge porn. It allowed users — often vindictive ex-boyfriends — to anonymously upload nude photos of women without their consent.

The site connected photos with identifying information about the women pictured, including their names, ages and Facebook profiles. Victims reported being harassed and intimidated by the site's visitors.

Follow over the jump for more.

NBC and WOOD-TV on Asian Giant Hornets

I'm not up for anything long, so here is some scary biodiversity for you all, a potential invasive species I can frighten my students with: Giant hornets killing dozens in China.

They are the world's biggest hornet and as large as a human's thumb.

Imagine if the hornets in Zoologist at your service and Begone, bald-faced hornets! were these instead of native bald-faced hornets.   Yikes!

Begone, bald-faced hornets!

The situation described in Zoologist at your service has been resolved.  WXYZ has the story.



Huge hornet's nest removed
It seems like a little problem, but it's not when it's on your block.

Now on to bigger issues.

Zoologist at your service

I watched WXYZ's video Giant hive in Detroit yesterday and noticed an error in identification.

Neighbors in one area are worried about a giant hive in a local tree.

That's not a bee hive, that's a hornet's nest.  In the comments, I told WXYZ so.

thewanderandhiscomp: Bees or wasps??

pinkusensei: Wasps, specifically Bald-Faced Hornets.

I was not alone.  Someone on WXYZ's Facebook page told them as well.

Please learn to tell the difference between hornets and bees! The problem nest featured in this afternoon's news cast is a Bald Face Hornet nest and not a nest from bees. The problem can be solved if someone goes to the hardware store and purchases the appropriate can of spray.

WXYZ listened and changed the identification in a later story on their site: What seniors feared was a beehive on city property turns out to be nest of Bald-faced hornets.

7 Action News viewers helped identify the insects as Bald-faced hornets and we called Detroit's General Services Department to see what could be done about the potentially dangerous pests that were keeping LaGloria Roberts and her 93-year-old mother from sitting on their porch in peace.

The next clip on the situation features both the correct identification and a happy ending to the story: Hornet nest in Detroit neighborhood.

Neighbors called 7 Action News when they couldn't get any action on a potentially dangerous hornets nest near their homes.

I'm glad WXYZ paid attention to their viewers, including me.  It helped them serve their community better.

The hornet swatting begins today

In last Saturday's entry, I mentioned that my wife and I were off to swat a hornet. Here are my observations about the contrast between flies and hornets.

My years of living in the country and dealing with insects taught me the following.

A biting fly hurts when it bites, but it doesn't have any worse weapons, so it will fly away from the least sign of a swat. Unlike the fly, a hornet will sit there when someone approaches it with a flyswatter, because it will sting instead of fleeing. Consequently, a well-aimed swat will always catch the hornet, while a fly might still escape.

This lesson can be applied to people as well. If you encounter an opponent that's like a fly, you'll have to be quiet, swift, and lucky to hit them, as they're primed to evade. On the other hand, if you run into an opponent who is like a hornet, you all it takes is a solid swat, preferably with a large foreign object, such as a book, to find its target, as the hornet won't budge.

The hornet swatting begins today. It should be done by the end of the week. I'll tell you about it then.

Until then, if you want a hint about the nature of the hornet, look at the kitty.