Better Science News

[minoanmiss]

I refuse to let the previous science-and-society post bring me down. Here's some more.

The Smithsonian was abundant this issue! dine's post about the potential Minoan structure reminded me to look at the issue and I found two other articles that caught my eye.

Ancestry Releases Records of 183,000 Enslaved Individuals in America

Preserved Fruit From the 18th Century Found at George Washington’s Estate

Discovery of 4,000-Year-Old Structure in Greece Stumps Archaeologists

Comments

[sovay]

Preserved Fruit From the 18th Century Found at George Washington’s Estate

"The artifacts likely haven’t been exposed to sunlight since before the American Revolution, according to the statement, and may have been forgotten when George Washington left to take command of the Continental Army."

I really want to know what this means we can learn about eighteenth-century cherries!

[acelightning73]

The preserved fruit demonstrates that "home canning" works well enough to preserve the fruit for over 200 years. None of my homemade jam ever lasted that long (it got eaten quickly, because it was both homemade and tasty).

And I saw a cartoon of a crabby old lady complaining that her new doctor was only 41 years old. "I've got a jar of pickles in my cellar that's older than he is!"

[amaebi]

Wow, the records of enslaved persons is painful gold.

[amaebi]

One of the things that cheers me about the Minoan discovery is that people are willing to say "We have no idea what this is about!" instead of proclaiming that it's a religious artifact.

But it just generally life-giving to think of all these previous lives.