Exploring American History, Wednesday, December 11, 2024

[heroic_jawline]

Since it was bucketing in Washington, DC, today, Steve had chosen to visit the National Archives. He had been hoping Tony would be, well, Tony-shaped again but instead he was crouched down on the marble steps of the building having a hissed conversation with a deeply unimpressed looking cat.

"--no, I can't smuggle you inside a federal building, Tony," Steve was saying for the fifth time in a row. "You can hide in a bush if you're so concerned about getting wet."

The look the cat shot Steve promised something horrifying in Steve's shoe when he was least expecting it.

"Welcome to the National Archives!" Steve said, standing up and greeting the class with a blithe disregard for the hell that cat was going to inflict upon him. "We are not here to steal the Declaration of Independence."

...and now the guard was giving him a look. "Movie reference," Steve said hastily. "We're not planning grand larceny, I promise. As I said last week at the Reagan Library, the National Archives is charged with keeping our most valuable documents safe. Today we'll see the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, or what the Archives calls the Charters of Freedom. Please make sure that you notice the murals in the rotunda as well. They're beautiful!"

Fandom Library, Wednesday, December 11th

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Today was a little rowdier in the library than Arden really would have liked, but while sentient balls of sugar were cute, they were not good for library books. So she was spending her shift chasing the sugar balls - who seemed to assume this was some kind of fun game - with a dustpan and broom to try to gently herd them into the dustpan where she could then dispose of them in the hallway.

Which, okay yes, she could see how they might consider that a fun game, rolling back inside any time the library doors were opened so they could play again.

At least she never lacked for cardio around here.

Introduction to Fossils - Wednesday Period 1

[itsananomaly]

“Good morning,” Cutter began that week’s class, Connor was still busy helping Prospero so he still by himself, “this week we’re going to be covering shark fossils,” he explained, “Sharks first appeared in the geologic record 450 million years ago during the Silurian Period. Due to this lengthy fossil record, sharks are often referred to as "living fossils." Occasionally a fossilized vertebra (bones comprising the spinal column) will be discovered, but usually the teeth are the only elements of a shark that will undergo fossilization.”

“Sharks belong to a group of creatures known as cartilaginous fishes, because most of their skeleton is made from cartilage rather than bone, The only part of their skeleton not made from this soft, flexible tissue is their teeth.”

( cut for a rambling lecture on shark teeth )

“The megalodon is not related to the great white shark and it is believed that they may have been in direct competition with the great white shark’s ancestors which evolved during the Middle Eocene (45 million years ago) from broad-toothed mako sharks.,” Cutter finished the lecture.

“For today’s class I have brought in a couple of examples of fossil teeth for you to have a look at and as always if there’s any questions I’ll be happy to help answer them,”