Quote of the Week:
“I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.” –Michael Scott, The Office
Fact of the Week:
Like all wars, there are a great many stories told about the Civil War, some of which are true, and some of which are embellished for entertainment. There is one particular legend which turned out to be true, though the mystery behind it wasn’t solved until 2001.
Following the Battle of Shilo in 1862, more than 16,000 Union and Confederate soldiers lay wounded on the battlefield. The medical personnel were overwhelmed and could not attend to all of the injured, leaving many of the thousands lying in the rain and mud for days. However, when the sun went down, the field of carnage was transformed.
In the dark, many of the men’s wounds began to glow. The battlefield was lit up by thousands of fluorescent blue lesions, and, as the men came to find out, those whose injuries glowed brighter eventually fared better.
It wasn’t until 2001 that two 17-year-old's solved the mystery. They discovered that the wounds had been subject to a soil bacterium called Photorhabdus luminescens. Normally, this bacteria wouldn’t be able to live in the human body because of the body’s high temperature, but lying in the cold, the men’s body temperatures had lowered enough that the bacteria could enter from the soil. It actually helped the soldiers, for it cleaned out more harmful bacteria that was infecting the injuries. This is why those whose wounds glowed brighter (meaning they had more of the bacteria) ended up doing better.
The Smithsonian contributed to this article.
News Update:
Via CNN. Credit: Jenn Ackerman/The New York Times/Redux
A professor at Hamline University was fired for Islamophobia, yet has received support from the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), which is requesting her reinstatement.
Erika López Prater, an adjunct art history professor, supposedly offended a student by showing images of the prophet Muhammad. Hamline University President Fayneese Miller then wrote a letter last month apologizing for the incident and, according to Fox News, “arguing that not offending the school's Muslim students was more important than academic freedom.”
However, Prater specifically stated in her syllabus that the class would contain images of holy figures, and said students could contact her with any concerns. According to a report from the New York Times, no students reached out. Then, several minutes before showing the images during the class, Prater gave “anyone who might be offended by such imagery an opportunity to leave the classroom,” according to Fox.
Later, a student complained about the images, prompting Hamline University, which is located in Minnesota, to dismiss Prater.
Upon hearing of the incident, the MPAC released a statement voicing support for Prater. "It is with great concern that the MPAC views the firing of an art professor, Erika López Prater, from Hamline University on the grounds of showing a fourteenth-century painting depicting the Prophet Muḥammad," the official statement read. "We issue this statement of support for the professor and urge the university to reverse its decision and to take compensatory action to ameliorate the situation."
"As a Muslim organization, we recognize the validity and ubiquity of an Islamic viewpoint that discourages or forbids any depictions of the Prophet, especially if done in a distasteful or disrespectful manner. However, we also recognize the historical reality that other viewpoints have existed and that there have been some Muslims, including and especially Shīʿī Muslims, who have felt no qualms in pictorially representing the Prophet (although often veiling his face out of respect)."
Fox News contributed to this article.
Sports Update:
Via SB Nation. Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
After two instant-classic CFP semifinal games, the hype was high for the National Championship. Sure TCU were 13.5-point underdogs, but they’d been overcoming long odds all season. In fact, before the year began, they were at 200-1 odds (and 500-1 in some books) to win the title, and here they were, one game away. Unfortunately, the ride of a lifetime came to a devastating end.
After going down 10-0, quarterback and Heisman finalist Max Duggan ran in a touchdown to cut the lead to 10-7 with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter. That would be the last time TCU would score.
Georgia went on to put up another 55 points, walloping TCU 65-7. Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, who was also a Heisman finalist, threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns and ran in another two. It was a crushing end to the Cinderella story of the Horned Frogs, but they’ll return a number of starters next year as they try to complete their unfinished quest.
Georgia, despite losing many of their best players, are still predicted to be the number one team next season. This was their second straight championship and their fourth in the program’s history.
Want to win 50% off Last Cup Scaries’ Fire Island t-shirt? DM the correct answer of this riddle to lastcupclothing on Instagram, and if you’re the first person to respond correctly, we’ll send you a code! Previous winners are excluded.
What runs around the whole yard without ever moving?
A perimeter
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