Maris Fessenden

 

Maris Fessenden is a freelance science writer and artist who appreciates small things and wide open spaces.

Almonds on a tree, ready for harvest in California

Watch How Farm Machines Shake Down Almond Trees

California grows 80 percent of the world’s almonds, for now

This Hoppin’ John dish is all wrong

Don’t Make Hoppin’ John for New Year's Without Heirloom Beans

The original dish didn’t use black-eyed peas, plus the rice and bacon you have is probably wrong

A summer thunderstorm in Utah

Cloud Seeding Study Suggests We Could Boost Rain And Snow by 15 Percent

After comparing the effect of cloud seeding generators on snowfall in two nearby mountain ranges, researchers think a program might help

A happy solar system stays in orbit around the Sun

If the Earth’s Orbit Stopped We Would Have About A Month To Contemplate Our Doom

Fortunately, this is just a thought experiment

Venus's southern hemisphere

Venus Was Once Awash in Oceans of Carbon Dioxide

The planet’s pressure and temperature created a supercritical state where carbon dioxide has properties of a liquid and a gas

a photocomposite of a dust mite and a fecal pellet

Travel Spreads Dust Mite Poop All Over The World

Dust mites’ ubiquity comes in part from their ability to digest dead skin cells (which is what makes us allergic to their waste)

Snowflakes All Fall In One of 35 Different Shapes

The latest categorization of solid precipitation types inspired a cool graphic

Birds Get Drunk And Sing Drunken Songs

Like humans, birds just don’t sing as well drunk as they do when sober

Americans Love Cheesy Art

The most searched for artists, according to one website, run the gamut from classic masters to Duck Stamp contest winners

A Few Things You Can Do With Unneeded Presents

The first challenge is saying thank you for something you can’t use, but here’s some ideas about what to do next

In Catalonia a Christmas Log Delivers Presents in An Unusual Way

Called Tió de Nadal, the log is decorated with a smiling face and fed until Christmas, but that’s not the strangest part of the tradition

Why There's a Dangling Thing In Our Throats

The riddle of the uvula may not be solved yet, but it looks like we have some ideas

Meet The Culprits Behind Bright Lights And Strange Floaters in Your Vision

So-called entoptic phenomena remind us that what we see isn’t always a clear view of the world around us

Mercury Was Once Bigger, Then It Shrank

As the planet cooled, it contracted and shut off the surface lava flows about 3.8 billion years ago

How Candy Canes Are Made by Hand

Hand made sweets are still crafted in specialty shops

Never Mind Mars, What About a Trip to Venus First?

There's a serious proposal to send astronauts to a floating cloud city in Venus's atmosphere before heading to Mars

Don’t Give Your Kids Gifts to Show Affection

Setting up a connection between things and reward early in life primes people to be materialistic

A Megalodon tooth -- not the one found recently in California

Fossil Hunting Is Best After Big Storms

California’s storms unearthed treasures along beaches and in foothills including a Megolodon tooth and a Steller’s sea cow ribs

One Conversation Can Change Same-Sex Marriage Opponents’ Minds

Voters change their stance after a face-to-face conversation with a gay or lesbian person hoping to get married

Both the Hubble Space Telescope (blue) and the ALMA Observatory contribute to this image of the Boomerang Nebula

This Dying Star Is the Coldest Place We’ve Found in the Universe

The Boomerang Nebula is just one degree above absolute zero

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