Author: Josh Witten

http://www.thefinchandpea.com

Inn or Hotel Keeper, Publican

by Sydney Padua (All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission)
by Sydney Padua (All Rights Reserved – Used with Permission)

Considering that we just added our ninth member of The Finch & Pea this week, and that we are ostensibly an online science pub, and that six of our staff are ostensibly female, we thought it would be fitting to commemorate this week with a lovely illustration by my favorite comic artist, Sydney Padua. Sydney has a fondness for historical documents and has currently been working through the Britain’s 1881 Census of Women’s Occupations. The data not only show that a woman’s place has never just been in the home, but that 12,709 British women in 1881 were employed as “Inn or Hotel Keeper, Publican” – a tradition we are proud to keep alive, if only virtually.

I was reminded while singing my daughter a “lullaby” that this employment is also referenced in the classic drinking song The Wild Rover:

I went to an alehouse I used to frequent,
And told the landlady my money was spent.
I asked her for credit. She answered me, “Nay.”
Saying, “Custom like yours I could have any day.”

Nauga indecora

I’m pretty sure we had one of these around the house when I was young.

via James Vaughan (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

In the same way that a sea otter’s pelt looks better on the sea otter, I think the Nauga is prettier than the chair.

*Hat tip to Rusty Blazenhoff of Laughing Squid.

 

In Memory of Helen

We received the tragic news that we lost Helen Chappell today. You can read about Helen in her own words here.

Helen was an invaluable member of the science communication community and the human community. I first met in person at ScienceOnline. Every experience I had with Helen was delightful and, she was always very positive about what we are doing here at The Finch & Pea.

Helen, Eric & Ursula

We are left to support her partner Eric and their infant daughter, Ursula. Friends have established a fund to help support her family and offset the costs of her medical care. If you have anything to spare, please consider helping to support her family in this time of need.

WiFi + Fire + Happy Red Jellybean by Helen Chappell

Feminalist Science Posters

by Hydrogene (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Hyrdogene generally creates minimalist posters around science-y themes. The set of six she created celebrating women who made a big impact on science and the world is particularly compelling. According to the FAQs, an online store selling the posters will be opening up this summer, hopefully in time for my birthday.

Running Low – Science for The People

#259 - News from the Dark
#260 – Running Low

This week, Science for The People looks across the Periodic Table and assesses the scarcity of modern society’s essential elements. They’re joined by Dr. Thomas Graedel, Director of the Center for Industrial Ecology at Yale University, to talk about the rare metals that play a role in our electronic devices. They’ll also speak to physics Professor Dr. Moses Hung-Wai Chan about our dwindling supply of helium. And they’ll talk about the phosphorous that plays a critical role in modern agriculture, with ecology professor Dr. James Elser, co-organizer of the Sustainable Phosphorus Initiative at Arizona State University.