Verge Science and Depeche Mode on the Insect Apocalypse

I've written a lot about bees and colony collapse disorder, but it turns out that it may be part of a larger phenomenon.  Any reader of my blog knows about the Retail Apocalypse.  Verge Science asks Is the “insect apocalypse” real?

This week, we hit the road in rural Texas for our weirdest experiment yet. We’re collecting all the bugs that splat on our car’s windshield. It’s a silly project that hints at a very serious issue: the decline of insect populations around the world. It’s mysterious and disturbing...but might be different from what you’ve been hearing on the news.

So it's not just bees that are in trouble.  It may be all insects.  That fits in with the United Nations report warning that one million species could go extinct in the next century.  That's scary.

My reaction was to share some musical gallows humor in a comment: "1980s Depeche Mode: 'Death is everywhere.  There are flies on the windshield, for a start.'  Now, not so much."  It turns out I misquoted Depeche Mode.  The title of the song is "Fly on the Windscreen."  Ah yes, the U.S. and the U.K., two countries divided by a common language.  That written, people enjoyed my comment and didn't correct it, as it has 13(!) likes so far on YouTube.

Since I mentioned the song, I'm sharing it.  Here is Depeche Mode performing the song live in Barcelona.


Enough doom.  Stay tuned for a post about  Amazon on Prime Day.