Thankfully, we don’t need to worry too much about lions and tigers when we take to the mountains and forests to hike or camp. (Well, cougars in some locations, but that seems to be pretty rare). What is not so rare is to encounter a bear! Population sprawl has driven bears into suburban communities and [...]

Even the Romans knew that lead was poisonous, and yet they so enjoyed its diverse everyday uses, they couldn’t stop using it. Roman aqueducts were made of lead, as well as utensils and wine vessels, and the upper crust of Roman society in particular consumed lead in vast amounts over time leading to illness, madness, [...]

The headlines are downright scary. “Craigslist Home Invasion Robbery Ends in Murder.” “Craigslist Laptop Seller Held at Gunpoint.” “Medical Student Charged as Craigslist Killer.” Somewhat less frightening but equally disturbing are the abundance of scams attributed to the classified site. One might think it is a depository of depravity, but of the nearly 50 million [...]

Motorcyclists grumble about wearing a helmet. Residents resist evacuating under an imminent threat of a hurricane. Employers circumvent safety regulations. Workers grouse about hard hats, safety meetings, and fire drills. Why in the world do people behave this way? Human nature, mostly. Bombarded with “Breaking News” alerts, people tend to become desensitized to threats to [...]