Why do movie characters hyperventilate into paper bags, and why is that BAD? The history of breathing science is full of good ideas peppered with wrong guesses born of limitations. The "breathe into a paper bag" advice is an artifact of one such guess! #ScienceHistory #MilitaryHistory

How many Musk bros do you think realize that money is a zero-sum game, so to accumulate that much does mean you took it from others? And that SpaceX does not provide a product, so it was not from people making purchases?

When UK sailors captured this Italian "human torpedo" during #WWII what did they do?? JOY RIDE! Yes.... it is a torpedo with saddles and controls. These "Maiale," meaning "pig" because they were difficult to steer, had a range of 3-5 miles, and the Brits got to try it out Dec 1943-Jan 1944

Science of D-Day countdown last day!! D-1: breathing AND working at the same time…. A shockingly novel concept Thank you for joining me on this countdown adventure #WWII #DDay #MilitaryHistory #ScienceHistory

Science of D-Day countdown continues! D-2: how NOT to get stuck in the sand, and the operators who risked their lives to make sure the Allies didn’t. #WWII #MilitaryHistory #ScienceHistory #DDay

Science of D-Day countdown continues! D-3: the LACK of body armor, and why that was a good thing #DDay #MilitaryHistory #ScienceHistory

Science of D Day countdown! D-4: explosives, and blowin’ things up… strategically of course #MilitaryHistory #ScienceHistory

Science of D Day countdown! D-4: explosives, and blowin’ things up… strategically of course #MilitaryHistory #ScienceHistory

For this D Day anniversary, I am counting down my top 6 scientific innovations during WWII that helped bring the Allies success D-5: DICING PHOTOGRAPHY #DDay

NEW LIL GUY NEW LIL GUY

One of my favorite historical blast photos. YES, plungers used for explosions in cartoons EXISTED! Modern switches use redundant toggles or buttons for safety, but people used to build switches with wire or whatever metal they had on hand. From @hagleymuseum archives

What is this delightful work of art? It's the bomb-damaged remnant of an X-craft, a mini-sub built by the British during WWII, @I_W_M This X-craft ("X-7") was used in Operation Source, a valiant attempt by UK mini-sub crews to attack German warships at harbor... (1/4)

What happens when your algorithm hates you 😉

PLOT TWIST Giant worm fighting for the Nazis

Buy it for me and I will make the breathing system

There is a cost to delaying childhood vaccines and that cost is quantified in infections.

Iranian media have published several images of US/Israeli cluster munition dispensers and submunitions reportedly deployed during the war.

yes take my money yes www.gmtgames.com/p-963-infern...

I post this, and then 11 months later #POTUS claims he doesn't need to give his documents to archives. ....coincidence????

I've been invited to do a Reddit AMA about old-timey submarines! Tune in and grill me, Wed Apr 22 at 9 am, r/history.

Apparently victims prevail in employment discrimination cases in America so rarely that the ability to report the income and fees correctly is not even programmed into @intuit-turbotax.bsky.social AMERICAN ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW IS THAT BAD.

Nothing says “my book is under consideration for a serious award” like cover letters submitted in submarine format! Never stop submarining.

Trying to maintain a social media presence through a divorce and severe workplace abuse was one of the hardest thing I’ve ever failed at. My executive function spoons were used up by feeding myself and hygiene.

New Hunley article in Popular Mechanics. It’s a nice piece but I shake my head at how many people STILL buy into the Neo-Confederates’ revisionist attempts to marginalize me. FYI: when I wrote that paper, I had finished my PhD, and I wrote it from my desk… on a US Navy base. @nkoas.bsky.social

If you see a mushroom cloud... it does NOT mean nuclear weapons! And other common myths about explosives debunked, with marvelous explainer images 💣🍄🤯, by former Army EOD @easybakeovensz.bsky.social of @bellingcat.com #IranWar #MIddleEastWar #MilitaryAction www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...

What should the control group be for this experiment? A puddle?

Do not touch the spicy rocks. www.reddit.com/r/whatisit/c...

Is there a vaccine against existential crises?

Let’s get to work, y’all.

100 years ago today, December 17, 1925: The Balto Monument, a statue of the heroic sled dog, was unveiled in New York City's Central Park. The Siberian Husky led his team of dogs for the final 55 miles of the Great Serum Run of 1925 that stopped a deadly diphtheria outbreak in Nome, Alaska.

On Jul 30, 1916 German agents blew up Black Tom, NJ and the devastation reached miles into Manhattan Pleased to announce this scene kicks off my next book, a true spy-vs-spy thriller of bombs, sabotage, invisible ink, and America's first female Special Agent! #AmWriting @pegasus-books.bsky.social

Did you know that much of what we know about diving links back to research for D-Day? Catch the Chamber Divers episode re-run today on @nprfreshair.bsky.social ! www.npr.org/programs/fre...

I asked ChatGPT to write a limerick about my scientific work! (it's not great) There once was a sub called Hunley, so small, That launched its black‑powder torpedo against a war’s wall. Though no bullet or breach Marred the hull—yet the screech Of the blast wave inside proved fatal for all.

Everything you think you know about O2 and diving may be wrong... and it's definitely stolen! Today's episode of The Great Dive Podcast wraps up their series on how the body uses (and gets abused by) O2 when diving. It also corrects a decades-old theft Listen: www.thegreatdivepodcast.com/podcasts

I worked 9 years as a federal civil servant, through a couple shutdowns. They suck. Imagine an unplanned 20% pay cut, with no known end date. I was forced to work through furlough hours anyway, unpaid. There is a chance this is part of the plan to make civil servants quit. #Shutdown #CivilService

Trying to decide if I should write about how hyperbaric chamber fires start? www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Reminder: mRNA vaccines have been in safe use in humans since 2013, starting with trials to develop cheaper rabies vaccines. Most have not come to market because they weren't effective enough YET, not because of safety concerns. by @bethmariem.bsky.social arstechnica.com/health/2025/...

I have reviewed the Titan report from @uscg-official.bsky.social and I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS about the boat design, outside of the obvious hull issues that I and others have discussed to death. I've pitched my analysis of the breathing gas supply as an article, stay tuned. #Titan #TitanReport

No matter what, documentarians make the truth known in the long run. Look out for the silent library types. www.npr.org/2025/05/12/n...

Sandy Rendel, everyone, offspring of Jim & Joan Rendel from CHAMBER DIVERS! Geneticist Jim Rendel volunteered his body in a WWII experiment to stop the Nazis. It ruptured his lung, which collapsed on occasion for the rest of his life. It was an honor getting to talk to family members like Sandy!

I think I'm over paying to see movies where women exist only to get kidnapped, raped, and murdered to motivate the menfolk. #TheAmateur #AWorkingMan #TheEqualizer #Taken #Reacher #CarryOn #JohnWick #MonkeyMan #Nobody #Carter #SoManyActionMovies

In 1911 an accidental massive explosion occurred at a railyard in NJ, about 500 feet from Ellis Island. The island was damaged. People were hurt. But maintaining bad practices for explosives was profitable for NJ, so they told NY to f off Just a note about the point of federal government. #history

Today I stumbled on the US Military's classified files monitoring W.E.B. DuBois #BeAnAgitator #BlackHistory catalog.archives.gov/id/118057367...

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you're dropping all the balls??

Durham Library is screening the new @pbs.org #IndependentLens film FREE FOR ALL Mar 20th at 7 pm! I'm not able to go (medical reasons), but am excited about this documentary about public libraries and "the quiet revolutionaries who made a simple idea happen." www.eventbrite.com/e/pbs-ncs-in...

"Nessel said the defendants unscrupulously put children’s bodies at risk through unaccredited and debunked treatments, simply because it brought cash through the door." Hyperbaric therapy has been studied and shown NO effect for autism, ADHD, TBI, or PTSD. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Well, it's official, Twitter broke me. Find me and all my history fun facts here and on Instagram (same handle) from now on. #HelloWorldTake2

Can't get enough #DDay #history? Bananas for underwater science, diving, or mini-subs? Like free stuff? Enter the Goodreads galley giveaway to win a free advance copy of CHAMBER DIVERS, open now through Nov 27.