Powerful Lady Talks Unusually
“So Ms. Abramson’s 20–25 Hz phrase-final amplitude modulation of her 140–145 Hz fundamental frequency is heard as a sort of superimposed infrasound. (Technically “infrasound” should be below 20 Hz, but this is close.) 140 Hz is not unusually low for the bottom of an adult woman’s pitch range — but 20–25 Hz is low for humans of any kind…. [T]his is first time that I’ve ever seen such a large-factor amplitude modulation so stably superimposed on a speaker’s sequence of pitch pulses.”
— So Times executive editor Jill Abramson is apparently a freak of nature.
British Tooth Actually Valuable
“One of John Lennon’s teeth is expected to make £10,000 when it is auctioned next month. The tooth was given to the former Beatles’ house keeper Dot Jarlett when she worked for him at Kenwood mansion in Surrey in the late 1960s. He told her to give it her daughter ‘as a souvenir’ after he had pulled it out in the kitchen of the Weybridge property.” [WARNING: Tooth photo included.]
Do Not Eat Raw Slugs
“We hope this will help to remind others to avoid eating raw slugs.”
— In case you needed reminding.
Bear Goes To The Grocery
Awww, this baby bear just wants to eat some vegetables! Why won’t they let him eat his vegetables?
And in bonus bear footage, here are five bears who have treed themselves in Montana.
Get down safely, bears! And stop rubbernecking, Montanans!
Songstress Creates Method by Which Humans May Write Down Melodies
“The fact that I had touch screens, I could map out for the first time the structures associated with my melodies.”
— Oh handy, now that we have iPads, Björk could finally invent musical notation. Teasing aside: love you, Björk! You’re a treasure! Her new thingie is out today.
State Farm® Jingle Hot Tub Remix
by Awl Sponsors
State Farm ® Agents handle your insurance so you can do other things. Like, show your talents.
You Are Not Getting Any Younger
Ladies, hurry up and freeze those eggs before it is too late or you will never have that baby that you want so badly but are too busy with your “career” to have right now. What’s your deadline? Well, if you’re under 30, GO GET THOSE THINGS FROZEN NOW. Otherwise, you may have missed the boat.
Freezing offers women the chance to store their eggs while they are still in good condition, but many wait until their late-30s, when the quality of their eggs has started to decline, scientists found.
Researchers said women who had their eggs frozen for non-medical reasons were typically aged 37–39. But flaws that accumulate in eggs over time lead to a rapid decrease in fertility over the age of 35…
The likelihood of an embryo created from a slow-frozen egg implanting in the womb fell from 10.4% in women who were under 30 when it was frozen to 4.7% in women who had been over 40. The implantation rates for embryos made from vitrified eggs was higher, but suffered a similar decline with age, from 18.8% in the under-30s to 10.3% in the over-40s
I know, it seems terribly unfair. What’s left for those of you who have passed your prime refrigeration opportunity? Basically spinsterhood and derision. But there are a few bright spots: You can always adopt! You may be able to score a cover story for the Atlantic. You can be the fun pal who all your mom friends want to hang out with that one night a month they’re not knee-deep in diapers and vomit. It’s not all gloom and doom out there, crones.
Photo by Helder Almeida, via Shutterstock
Local Paper to Undermine Small (Prostitution) Businesses
West Palm Beach is bringing back public shaming to deter prostitution.
The City Commission has agreed to post booking photos of johns arrested for soliciting prostitutes on the city’s web site.
West Palm Beach received national attention in the 1990s when it enacted a similar program, but it cost the city a $10,000 settlement after a man whose name was printed was acquitted and sued the city.
This time, West Palm Beach will only post the photos of johns who have been arrested more than once.