Posted by Hoyt Smith on December 19, 2007
The Times put it best with the headline “Homo erectus extinctus”. 
According to recent research by Oxford Univeristy professor Bryan Sykes, author of the book Adam’s Curse, defects in the Y chromosome can cause it to disintigrate over many generations which will eventually result in male infertility. Women will have to reproduce by themselves. “The core sex is female,” he says. “Male infertility is high because genes on the Y chromosome are packing up all the time. Many species become extinct because their Y chromosomes apparently disintegrate. In the end, the same thing will probably lead to the extinction of the male gender.” My guess is we’ll be missed and I’ll let you pick your own reasons why. You can read the Times article here.
Our Whiz Kid Wednesday question concerned what has been described as mankind’s largest construction project ever in terms of time, materials and human labor. The first few answers were for the Pyramids of Egypt and the Panama Canal. Both are spectacular structures that did take time, material and human lives. David from Fremont won with his correct answer…The Great Wall of China (1700 years in the making, so I’ve read). More chances Thursday and Friday mornings at 6:30 in the Commuter Quiz.
The Soviet Union started jamming broadcasts from the Voice of America the same year that Leroy Anderson wrote the holiday favorite “Sleigh Ride”. I’m sure their music critics hated it (“pointless, overly sentimental capitalist mush”). Our 8:30 am Blind Date music and events happened in 1948.
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This is not related to your post, although I do find it interesting. I’ve wondered for years if that is her real name. My cousin’s name is Dusty Trail, go figure. Anyway, one of your co-workers suggested that I copy a post I made this morning about The Flight of the Bumblebee. So…. here it is:
Very different…
Oct. 18th, 2007 | 07:20 am
mood: Inspired
I just heard the most amazing performance of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and Vytautas Sondeckis playing the bumblebee on a cello! First of all, I would have thought that to be almost impossible, obviously I was wrong, but even moreso, it was perfect absolutely perfect. As I listened, I could see in my mind’s eye, an ungainly bumble bee buzzing from flower to flower and the stem bending under it’s weight as it sat upon the petals to partake of its nectar. The deep throatiness of the cello accurately portrayed the almost impossible task that this creature performs every time it takes to the air. Aerodynamically, bumblebees should not be able to fly, but they do anyway. Thank you KDFC, you adjusted my attitude this morning, and for the better!
Comment by notdefined — October 18, 2007 @ 1:51 pm