Maris Fessenden

 

Maris Fessenden is a freelance science writer and artist who appreciates small things and wide open spaces.

A handprint from an eight-year-old boy after he came in from playing outside

Here's What Happens When You Culture the Bacteria on an Eight-Year-Old’s Hand

Lots of cooties grow

There's Only One Way to Make a Dark 'n' Stormy Without Breaking the Law

The cocktail has a surprising, and litigious history

The Most Popular Eating Banana Might Soon Go Extinct

The Cavendish banana is succumbing to a disease that wiped out its predecessor

Visit the Pacific’s Deepest Hydrothermal Vents With Underwater Robots

Researchers spotted the vents nearly 12,500 feet beneath the surface during an expedition mapping the floor of the Pescadero Basin

An eight-week old human fetus attached to its placenta

There’s no Sound Evidence That Placenta Eating is a Good Idea

The scientific literature is skimpy and the organ’s biology indicates there might be reasons to abstain

There is an Ikea Museum at the Company’s Headquarters in Sweden

The main focus is Ikea's designs throughout the decades

An African American soldier is shown cooking at the camp kitchen of 2nd New York Regiment during the Civil War

The Civil War’s Division of North and South is Reflected in Cookbooks

Naval blockades kept the South starving for salt and other foods, a fact reflected in the recipes of the time

In 1938, the NY Times Wrote About a Weird New Food: The Cheeseburger

Apparently, cheese on meat needed some explanation

An artist’s concept of NASA’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator

NASA Will Launch a Flying Saucer Soon

Weather has kept the test vehicle, designed to land softly on Mars, grounded for the moment but the launch window is still open

Snail shells found in Lebanon indicate humans were using modern tools before they reached Europe

Tools Weren’t Invented in Europe, They Were Carried There 50,000 Years Ago

Analysis of shells and human bones from a site in Lebanon suggests modern tools were in use

How People Write Down Their Laughter Has Changed Over Time

"Hehe" means something different than "heehee"

Jeanne Villepreux-Power described how the Paper Nautilus grew its own shell

A 19th Century Shipwreck Might Be Why This Famous Female Naturalist Faded to Obscurity

Jeanne Villepreux-Power invented the aquarium and studied cephalopods, but today few recognize her name

Jellyfish Lake, Palau

Watch One Snorkeler Swim Through a Lake of Pulsating Jellyfish

Jellyfish Lake is a popular tourist destination

The cemetery at St. Philomena’s church in Kalaupapa

Should a Colony Where Leprosy Patients Were Once Exiled Become a Tourist Destination?

The discussion gets sticky with concerns over how to respect the largely Native Hawaiian residents past and present

Two Factions Are Battling for Control in an Alternate Reality Game

The aliens are here and some want them to stay

The Independent Bookstore Is Not Dead Yet

Membership in the American Booksellers Association is up

A female Saiga antelope grazing in Russia’s Black Earth Nature Reserve

Half of the World’s Saiga Antelopes Are Dead From a Mysterious Disease

The already endangered antelope started dying in the thousands this month

Like many ancient statues, this Medusa is missing a nose

A Museum Keeps The Fake Noses That Once Replaced Those Missing on Ancient Sculptures

The exhibit is a testament to art restoration’s changing values

Detail of "Apollo at the Forge of Vulcan" by Velázquez

3D Copies of Art Let the Blind Experience Classic Works in New Ways

In this museum, touching the paintings is allowed

A glacier in Svaldbard

As Glaciers Retreat, They Give up the Bodies and Artifacts They Swallowed

Around the world global warming is exposing bodies lost in glaciers

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