Good Things Thursday - 06.01.23
Much love for all of you today
Viral Physics | Shelter Adoptions | Good Samaritan | Inclusion | Baby!
Viral Physics Professor Uses Social Media to Encourage More Women to Join Her Field
Despite earning over 50% of bachelor’s degrees total, women make up only about one-fifth of degrees obtained in physics, according to the American Institute of Physics. Although this statistic has not deviated much over time — staying stagnant during the period between 2007 and 2017 — one female physicist is hoping to change that by inspiring young women to study science.
Tatiana Erukhimova, a physics professor at Texas A&M University, is using the power of social media to spread the message that women are just as capable as their male counterparts when it comes to pursuing a career in the field. And she’s certainly reaching the masses: Erukhimova’s viral TikTok videos have gotten millions of views over the past two years. They mainly show quick experiments, like using a banana as a hammer and removing ice cubes from a glass of water with a string, that highlight the fun of science.
Read more here.
Students’ Letter Writing Campaign Successfully Boosts Animal Shelter Adoptions
Second-grade teacher Kensey Jones was mulling over new writing assignment ideas for her students at St. Michael’s Episcopal School in Richmond, Virginia. Jones had become a volunteer at Richmond Animal Care and Control a few years earlier and so decided to combine her passion for animal welfare with her next school project: She had the kids write letters on behalf of the animals at the shelter.
Her students were thrilled by this chance to “actually make an impact on the world,” Jones told The Washington Post, and they took the assignment to heart. Some of the shelter’s most difficult-to-adopt residents (23 dogs and one cat), who had been in the shelter much longer than average soon found themselves with exuberant bios and colorful hand-drawn portraits attached to their kennels.
Read more here.
Good Samaritan stops bank robbery with a hug
When one California man recently walked into a regional bank, he wasn't expecting to leave as a hero.
Michael Armus Sr. was at Bank of the West depositing a check on Monday when police say 42-year-old Eduardo Placensia passed a note to a teller, claiming he had explosives and demanding money.
Armus said he recognized the suspect as a former neighbor and friend of his daughter and immediately knew he needed to step in. He said he heard irritation and depression in the sound of the suspect's voice.
"So, I just approached him, and I asked him, I said, 'What's wrong?... You don't have a job?'" said Armus. "He said, 'There's nothing in this town for me. Nothing in this town for me. I just want to go to prison.'"
Read more here.
Family Inclusion!
It takes a village to raise kids, and those villages look different for everyone. With some families including babysitters, grandparents, older siblings, aunts and uncles, and more, “grown-ups” is an inclusive, child-friendly, and all-encompassing term for the myriad caregivers who are helping to bring up the next generation.
See original tweet here.
Western Lowland Gorilla Born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
For the first time in five years, primate staff at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) are celebrating the birth of a western lowland gorilla—a critically endangered species. It was born between midnight and 6:15 a.m. May 27 to 20-year-old mother Calaya and 31-year-old father Baraka. They bred in September 2022 following a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP). This is the second offspring for both parents.
Animal care staff have observed Calaya nursing the infant who has been clinging closely to its mother, and they are cautiously optimistic that the newborn will thrive. They are leaving Calaya to bond with and care for her baby without interference, so it may be some time before they can confirm the infant’s sex.
Read more here.
“Hope will never be silent.” - Harvey Milk
Happy Pride Month! These are great, especially the animal shelter story.