list something I learned each day

what a mantis prawn is. It’s neither a mantis nor a prawn, but you can eat it.

there were so many (different) oystercatchers in the world.

A random caller to my organization today told me that they irradiate gems to give them color. Not just with x-rays. The stones seem to hold on to the radiation they’re treated with (e.g., plutonium). I have not researched this to see whether it’s true. But I am inclined to believe that it’s possible.

I learned that it is sometimes safe to present an idea to my boss, as long as there are other people there who have my back.

I learned that, in Japan, a kingfisher is called a river cicada because of the chattering, cicada-like noise it makes.

I also learned about the agouti gene for coat-color in cats, and why there are basically no tortoiseshell males (it’s an X-linked gene, and requires heterozygosity).

Lots of other cool stuff!

I learned that I can walk half a mile uphill carrying a 12-pound box.

I learned that my Somali Muslim intern has read – on her own, not for a class – Victor Frankl’s book “Man’s Search for Meaning,” and been influenced by it, and is fascinated to learn about the struggles of Jews.

She is so smart.

I learned that I am not the only one whose productivity suffers from web distraction, and I learned how to install a script blocking the most tempting sites. (We’ll see how that works.)

Learned that I can set and respect my own boundaries around shopping.

I learned that gibbons are apes that live in Asia, and colobuses (colobi?) are monkeys that live in Africa.