Free Republic

Imagine the last thing you see before you die being a sentient plastic bag. Image credit: uwkwaj via iNaturalist, CC BY-NC 4.0 Nudibranchs quite literally come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, but most recently we’ve been losing it over the perplexing body plan of Melibe viridis, also known as the green melibe. Its elongated body is lined with sticky lobes that act a little like legs but also as decoys when under attack, and it’s easy to see how a predator could become confused when grappling with such a bizarre creature. The leading characteristic of green melibes is their...

LOS ANGELES – Barack Obama hasn’t been the president for nearly two years, but his fame is still spreading – at least when it comes to naming things after him. The nation’s first African-American president need not go far around the country these days to find something that carries his name. There’s Barack Obama Way in New Albany Township, Indiana, and Barack Obama Boulevard in Pahokee, Florida. There’s a long list of schools now named for him, like Barack Obama Academy for Academic & Civic Development in Plainfield, New Jersey, and Barack Obama Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia. Obama even...