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August 2022 Rabbit Holes
Synthetic Embryos For around ten years scientists have been able to get specialised cells to revert to stem cells, which can potentially turn into any kind of cell in an organism. For example, (this is hypothetical) by taking a skin or fat cell and reverting it back to a stem cell, the goal could be […]
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Seinfeld & Circumcision in the 1990s
I have been re-watching the Seinfeld series on Netflix. For the young whippersnappers, it was a primetime sitcom that ran from 1989 – 1998. The show was considered revolutionary for being about “nothing”, just the lives of its four main characters who live in Manhattan: Jerry Seinfeld, George Constanza, Eliane Bennis, and Cosmo Kramer. The […]
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The Great Chicago Baby Mix-Up
If you give birth at a hospital how well do you trust that the baby you go home with is the baby you gave birth to? Today most hospitals still rely on name tags, though with some high-tech gadgets like security cameras, bar code scanners, foot and fingerprint readers, and of course there’s DNA testing […]
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Rube Goldberg Babies
His name is in the dictionary, defined as “ingeniously or unnecessarily complicated in design or construction.” Artist-engineer Rube Goldberg imagined creative but convoluted machines for simple tasks such as preparing toast. Today, videos of successful, or hilariously unsuccessful, Rube Goldberg machines are used for advertisements, “gender” reveals, and music videos. In honour of his 139th […]
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The Cholmondeley Sisters | Art History
The painting popularly known as The Cholmondeley Sisters resided at the Vale Royal Abbey in Cheshire, from approximately 1615 until it was sold in 1939 as Two Ladies of the Cholmondeley Family to the Howard Family. It was sold again in 1955 to an owner who presented it anonymously to the Tate Gallery in London, […]
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The Formula Shortage
The ongoing infant formula shortage is history in the making. Events are still unfolding as I write this but I thought the situation merited more than the Rabbit Hole segment from last week. Edit: I’ve decided to add to this post instead of making new ones as I get more information. Table of Contents Unclean […]
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Suing for Grandkids, Formula Shortage, Wordle Fetus | Rabbit Holes
Rabbit Holes are back! But for now, only in written form (videos are hard work y’all). First: what are Rabbit Holes? They are baby-related news or topics that I find tempting to follow down a research rabbit hole but must resist –for the time being– but I think are interesting enough to share. Parents in […]
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The Atacama Mummy
In 2003, in La Noria, a deserted mining town in Chile’s Atacama Desert, Oscar Muñoz found mummified remains in a leather bag, humanoid in appearance but only 15 cm (6 in) tall. It was a mystery. Scientists were confused by the skeleton’s apparent advanced age (developmental maturity) despite its tiny stature. Paranormal proponents believed it […]
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The Weirdest Cry For Help Imaginable: Vagitus Uterinus
A baby’s first cry has always been a symbol of celebration and an assurance of good health, there’s a word for it: vagitus. Some babies may take a bit longer than others to start crying after birth but what about those who can’t even wait to get out of the uterus to start crying? This […]
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What Did Jane Austen Think About Motherhood | Pt 2.3
In part one of this series, I covered the births of Jane Austen and her seven siblings, and the childcare strategies of her parents in 18th century England. Across the five chapters of part two, I will show that Jane’s attitudes about marriage were shaped– not by her desire to become a published author– but […]
The Baby Historian 