Happy first day of summer! LA had a gray day, but we have some wonderfully colorful #Ologiesart to brighten up your evening. Enjoy! Today’s talented artists: @avavarszegi @rachaelbeeartwork @batsceramics @nicoleparishart @samfucile @ginkgozee @ana_li_gresham_art @zoodraws_comic @mcgee_pottery @tintyart Want to submit your own art? Either tag @ologies in your post or dm us pls.
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 21, 2025Instagram
There’s an old phycological adage saying bull kelp has enough carbon monoxide to kill a chicken. And it’s true. A pneumatocyst — aka a gas bladder — is the bulbous part of many brown algae that allows the seaweed to float. By inflating their bladders full of gas, bull kelp grow straight up underwater and get closer to the sun for photosynthesis. The presence of carbon monoxide in bull kelp was established in 1917. A paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society reported a guinea pig, a canary, and a chicken all died in vessels pumped with kelp gas. “Post-mortem examination… showed the characteristic appearances associated with carbon monoxide poisoning.” Those trials were retested in 2020 without harming any animals, and the gas bladder as murder weapon theory held water. “Given that carbon monoxide concentration of 0.01% could kill or render a person unconscious, the largest pneumatocyst analyzed in this study (which held about a wine bottle full of gases), had a CO concentration of 1.6%, resulting in total concentration of 15 times greater than the maximum concentration of carbon monoxide someone with [an average] lung capacity could tolerate before passing out.” So yeah, don’t huff a bull kelp bulb. Maybe a lot of the gas would escape outside of laboratory settings, I don’t know. But if it doesn’t kill you, it still might taste like a sandy fish butt. Macrophycology (SEAWEED) is available to listen at the link in bio or wherever you get your podcasts. Photos via @tiarebuoys (1 & 2), @justinhofman (3), @elakhaalliance (4), @seaforest.ca (5)
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 17, 2025Instagram
Ologies is thrilled to be your hiking companion - @kdev355! Thanks for showing your support out in nature. We hope you saw many cute animals and ID’d many plants and trees. Want to be featured in your #ologiesmerch? Tag @ologies in your pics or dm us 🤗
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 17, 2025Instagram
Have you ever read every word of The U.S. Constitution? You don’t have to, because I read it with my mouth into your brain in this weird but vital episode on civil liberties. And of course, there are little sidenotes to make sure we both understand it. There has never been a better time to know what your legal protections are. This episode is a follow up to Nomology (CONSTITUTIONAL LAW) with the legendary law scholar Professor Franita Tolson, @lawdeantolson the Dean and Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law USC’s Gould School of Law. Start there for the basics and learn why knowing your rights and using your voice can change the future. Be safe. Stick up for yourself, and each other.
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 14, 2025Instagram
You made it through the week! You deserve to ganger at some gorgeous #OlogiesArt. Scroll through and support these artists in the comments. If you’ve got a seaweed tattoo tag us for next weeks post! Today’s creatives: @rainbows_in_the_grey_crochet @courtney_noh @danibo.art @cjsearles @poptortstudio @jpopstudios @threadhandedjill @ginkgozee @palm__sunday @dianateeterart
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 14, 2025Instagram
Hey, at least it’s a GREAT week for seaweed! Please enjoy this bonanza of FIVE #Macrophycology experts talking about: kelp, seaweed tattoos, ruined wedding photos, sushi, plant film-flam, pet bacteria, salad dissection & climate solution propositions. Drs. Patrick Martone, Charlie Yarish, and the lovely Danielle McHaskell aka @seaweedsista and Angela Jones of @bimscience and @biobiteswithbecky Becky Swerida. Do enjoy. I did. Get Marcophycology wherever you listen to your podcasts. Oh, and his tattoo was done by @tattoosbymichie in case you’re in Vancouver. 🌊🌱
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 13, 2025Instagram
As they say, 2025 has been a rough decade. Los Angeles, my home of 25 years now, has in just a few months seen wildfires raging, friends displaced, homes destroyed, rents gouged, its own people blamed for their oppression, and now I C E raids descending on school graduations, ripping families apart, racially profiling and abducting people without cause or due process. From November 5, we knew shit was going to get much, much worse. Even in my horror, I didn’t anticipate the cruelty and idiocy would go this far this fast. Between the racism, the attack on LGBTQ+ rights and dignity, the misdirects away from their own corruption, the mismanagement of funds, the invasions of privacy, the pandering to billionaires, the censoring of any DEI language on government science sites, the CDC epidemiology departments gutted, I don’t even know what fucking direction to rage. So I guess, we calmly deliberately rage toward it all. Please use your voice. Please peacefully protest if you can. Please counter misinformation. Look for mutual aid groups to support. Take breaks and care for your mental health. We put up a seaweed episode last night — all hands on deck — while keeping one ear and eye on our neighbors afraid to leave their homes, our peaceful, mellow downtown full of singing, dancing demonstrators invaded by military forces who have been shooting at journalists, trampling protestors on horseback, firing rubber bullets point blank at unarmed Angelenos. Protestors are coming in peace with voices raised, as they should against an authoritarian administration which is violating their constitutional rights. They’re being met with excessive force to cause panic. Don’t believe reports of LA being on fire and chaotic: it’s simply fucking not. Downtown has a few blocks of mostly mellow protests. Five empty Waymos were vandalized. Some bad-faith burglars break into stores, which happens across America on any given night. Those make good headlines, those pictures get clicks, they make America stay scared. They’re not the reality. The reality is that we should not fear each other, but we should fear and protect against a regime that turns us on each other for their economic benefit
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 11, 2025Instagram
“Were it not for the Navajos*, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.” -Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer Typically, foreign languages are not considered secret codes since they are intended for communication. A code is meant to deliberately hide the meaning of something. Still, Native Americans fluent in both their Indigenous language and English were successfully able to send secret messages for the United States military, most notably during World War II. Navajo soldiers were selected for a few reasons. Dr. Simon Singh explains in our Cryptology (SECRET CODES) episode that the US military “needed a tribe big enough to supply the men that would be needed, had a high level of literacy, and hadn’t been studied by German anthropologists (because that would’ve compromised the code).” Dr. Singh continues, “Navajo soldiers traveled with radio units and all the messages would be given in Navajo, spoken to a Navajo soldier at the other end, who would then translate them back to English.” The code talkers developed a system using their Indigenous language as a base for ciphers, substituting Navajo words for the 26 letters of the alphabet. And North America being home to a broad variety of Native languages, it was difficult to learn or guess which one was being used. In fact, several other Nations served as code talkers, including the Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, and Meskwaki. It was a highly effective system essential for the Allied victory in World War II. Were the Navajo publicly celebrated and given parades after WWII? Of course not. All of this remained classified until the 1960s. It wasn’t until 1982 that President Reagan recognized their service and declared August 14 as Navajo Code Talkers Day. *The traditional name for Navajo is Diné. “Navajo” was coined by the Spanish. Pictured: Native American heroes during WWII (1-3), Veteran Navajo code talkers in 2005 (4), Veteran Navajo code talker Thomas Begay (5), Veteran Navajo code talker Peter MacDonald (6), Navajo Code Talkers Memorial in Window Rock, AZ (7)
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 11, 2025Instagram
Before the digital age, one of the toughest codes to crack was the Enigma. The device that enciphered (and deciphered) that code was the Enigma machine. In our latest episode, Cryptology (SECRET CODES), Dr. Simon Singh explains how we got to the Enigma: “Cryptography develops because, you know, I break your code and I need a better code. Cryptography also develops as a result of communications technology advancing. So when the telegraph was invented, we needed more secure forms of encryption. When the radio was invented, we needed even more effective encryption.” Enter: the Enigma. When a key is pressed on an Enigma machine, electrical signals get scrambled through a mess of wires so if you press a letter, the machine spits out a different letter, all depending on the settings of the machine. Enigma machines could encode messages trillions of different ways. If you and I had the same setup, we could communicate with each other. For everybody else, it was impossible to guess. Learn how the Enigma was employed — and broken — during World War II. Listen to Cryptology (SECRET CODES) at the link in bio or wherever you get your podcasts. Video via @natlcybercenter
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 8, 2025Instagram
Friday night is for showing off #ologiesart! We’ve got bugs, rats, flowers, woodland creatures and a little knit turtle - they’re all just stellar. Give these talented Ologites their well deserved flowers in the comments. Tag or dm us your work to be featured. Artists: @cade_a_lorena @dianateeterart @ginkgozee @thebirchbunnyus @m.lorain.art @ana_li_gresham_art
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 7, 2025Instagram
Secret ciphers. Hidden treasure. Enigma machines. Mysterious manuscripts. Invisible ink. Indigenous code-talkers. And … hog Latin. Cryptologist & author of the best-seller “The Code Book” Simon Singh answers all sorts of secret code questions, including whether or not quantum computers will cause a security apocalypse. Fun! This is chock-a-block with historical stories and there’s a little secret message to decrypt at the end, of course. Also my tripod was short so I was writing on my knees and tripped over a rug, but whatever. #cryptology
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 5, 2025Instagram
Island foxes: when little gray foxes get littler. Island foxes (Urocyon littoralis) live *only* on the Channel Islands off the coast of California. Confined to a small ecosystem, island foxes evolved from mainland gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) to have smaller bodies; a natural process called “insular dwarfism.” I had to take a ferry for like an hour and a half to get to the Channel Islands, so how did the island foxes get there? In our latest episode, Urocyonology (LITTLE GRAY FOXES), conservationist Bill Leikam tells us there’s still a debate. “Some people say native people living on the mainland exported them out to the islands in their travels. Others say, no, it was when the islands were part of the mainland and broke off millions of years ago, that they took [gray foxes] along with it.” Island foxes only weigh around 4 or 5 pounds, half the size of the average housecat! And the National Park Service notes that the Indigenous Chumash revered these foxes as sacred and thought they helped usher in dreams. And now I personally would follow them into the beyond. For more on these cute faces, bushy tails and stinky butts, listen to Urocyonology (LITTLE GRAY FOXES) at the link in bio or wherever you listen to podcasts. Photos via @joelsartore (1 & 10), @jhoffertphotography (2), @momoboforeal (3), @aquabirdy (4), @wildlifebyhayden (5), @kreature_encounters (6), @jimmyb_intothewild (7), @catalinaconservancy / Karl E. Huggins (8), @chelseamayerphotography (9)
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 3, 2025Instagram
It’s #Urocyonology [LITTLE GRAY FOXES] with Bill Leikam, whose license plate says FOX GUY. It turns out, #grayfoxes aren’t even in the same genus as red ones and they have a revered place in canine history. Learn all about these cat-sized gray fluffballs and why Bill became an expert in them, when he was already in his 70s. Oh I love this one.
ologiesmerch.com
Jun 1, 2025Instagram
![It’s #Urocyonology [LITTLE GRAY FOXES] with Bill Leikam, whose license plate says FOX GUY](https://assets.particl.com/instagram%2F2738621%2F2025%2F06%2F01%2Fshort_code_DKVu3ujp_b0%2Fdisplay_image.jpeg)
Our favorite eco-odorologist, Kayla Fratt of @k9.conservationists, is offering an online course to learn more about detecting data alongside your dog. This course is super welcoming and comprehensive, with 18 weeks of material and 10 guest instructors. You’ll learn about selecting a working dog, training, odor dynamics, field safety, and so much more. Scholarships are available if you apply by June 9. They’re also offering one full-ride Sade and Simba Memorial Scholarship, which specifically supports young queer eco-odorologists. Find scholarships and sign up at K9Conservationists.org under “Learn to be a K9 Conservationist.”
ologiesmerch.com
May 31, 2025Instagram
SEASON FINALE! Today’s debate pairs a nimble climber with a silent slitherer – it’s Goats vs. Boa Constrictors! @radiolab co-host and science historian Latif Nasser is here to give us the goods for Team Goats and writer, podcast host and TV personality @alieward will bring the squeeze for Team Boa Constrictors. Who will be crowned the Smash Boom Best?
ologiesmerch.com
May 29, 2025Instagram
An Ologite love story for you tonight! One year ago these two lovebirds showed off their ologies caps on vacation in Vancouver Island. This year, they sported their caps in Iceland and are now engaged (she said yes!). Congratulations!!! 👩❤️👨 @melissadewoskin #ologiesmerchmonday #ologitelove #love
ologiesmerch.com
May 27, 2025Instagram
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