Icon by @ThatSpookyAgent. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. BlueSky: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. The X-Files. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
WHAT’S TRUE: At least four companies have announced intent to manufacture synthetic or fake rhino horn genetically identical to its real counterpart.
WHAT’S FALSE: Conservation and wildlife groups almost universally rejected the idea; it’s unclear whether producing fake rhino horn will decrease demand for real rhino horn; and it’s uncertain whether the synthetic product can be legally sold under extant anti-poaching laws.
The International Rhino Foundation says this, among other things (my bolding):
Selling synthetic horn does not reduce the demand for rhino horn or dispel the myths around rhino horn and could indeed lead to more poaching because it increases demand for “the real thing”
More than 90% of “rhino horns” in circulation [already] are fake (mostly carved from buffalo horn or wood), but poaching rates continue to rise annually.
The availability of legal synthetic horn could normalise or remove the stigma from buying illegal real horn.
So… not so much the great thing the original post makes it out to be.
No fault at all to anyone who was excited to see this, I was too - I just have time to research these things and enjoy doing it. :)
my favorite out of context quotes from my archeology professor so far in no particular order
and floridians are just as human as you and me!
and the moral of the story is that there are no deadly snakes native to alaska
you might know this guy as one of the only archaeologists cool enough to be mentioned by indiana jones
it’s my dream to have my name said by harrison ford
i’m not going to apologize for having this class at 6am because you paid for it and it’s your fault.
we don’t all dress like lara croft. i tried to get it to be a thing on a dig and my colleagues yelled at me.
they were pretty good archaeologists except they were too racist to realize anything they found.
i take back what i said about us not dressing like lara croft because lewis binford here is wearing nothing but short shorts and a cowboy hat. take notes for an academic halloween costume!
archaeologists can be good artists! not me, though. or anyone i know. but if you can draw just know you have options.
sometimes you find dead bodies when you dont really expect it and you just have to deal with it
archaeologists are the only people allowed to get exited when they find corpses.
once i ruined thanksgiving dinner when i told my family i had gotten my degree in archaeology and my uncle commented he liked dinosaurs too
the closest i’ve ever been to a grizzly bear is when i left my glasses in my tent on a dig in alaska, saw a big rock in the distance, and almost screamed
additional quotes
ah yes. archaeologists. or, as i love to call us, pottery analysts
i mean he was kind of a good guy for helping us beat britain but he owned slaves so that really cancelled it out.
archaeology is like cultural anthropology, except after you interview the person you turn around and shoot them in the head.
do not use trees! trees are bad! don’t do it!
usually you find shards, but it’s super exciting when you find a really big shard
it’s basically like a waterpark, except you’re fully clothed and walking through a dark tunnel knee deep in muddy water. so, basically splish splash.
i dont believe in curses but my colleagues and i like to encourage the idea of them so people stop touching our stuff
usually, you would find a knife in a kitchen. or underneath your pillow to really freak out your roommate who is a history nerd and has no idea why you would sleep with a knife under your pillow and he’ll get really scared and freaked out and okay i’m getting off topic
no matter what the other scientists say, archaeology is a real science.
don’t worry, i promise you, and whatever government agency that’s spying on me right now, that i’m not a crazy communist trying to overthrow the government
by now you’ve noticed the big “POP QUIZ” written on the board. there isn’t one, but i wanted to see the looks on your face when you saw it. but you’re all dead inside so it’s not really funny.
everything was fine except the citizens of pompeii just woke up dead the next day
the number one question you should ask when you read old archaeology papers is “how the hell do you know?”
nothing pisses off old men more than young people asking “why” and “prove it” so do that as often as possible
this is incredible! all it takes is a computer the size of this room!
School teaches you that ignorance is shameful, rather than being a person’s default AND ENTIRELY FIXABLE state. Sucks the fun outta learning, if you let it.
I may have posted something to this effect before, but it bears repeating if so: This is a marvelous way of looking at the world, and may be one of the best lessons Randall Munroe has ever taught us. It certainly prompted a change in my own behavior. “You’re one of today’s lucky 10,000″ leads to a lot more fun in life than “What do you mean you don’t know about _____?”
Common sense is something you learned so long ago that you forgot learning it, and it’s extremely regional.
