My child's homework tonight included the question "Is lead normally a gas or a metal?"

I, a chemist, am melting from the inside at the misconceptions inherent in that question, which is supposedly helping my kid practice their vocabulary

For non-chemists: Metal is an entirely different classification from solid/liquid/gas. Lead is still a metal even if you vaporize it. It's like asking if apples are usually red or fruit

Bismarck Monarch

A medium-sized pied monarch with a black face and throat. Back and wings black with a large white wing patch. Underside white, tail black. Clearly prefers primary forest; less common in secondary forest. Often found in bamboo thickets. Song is a descending series of weak whistles. Common calls include harsh churring notes.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/bltmon1
Photo Location: Papua New Guinea

My daughter had a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies left to sell, so we made up some "dragon-snails". People could adopt-a-snail (for the price of 3x boxes of cookies), and get 3x FREE boxes of cookies! Such a deal!

One (rear) had garnet cabochon eyes, and the other (front) had tigerseye cabochon eyes.

#dragonsnail #dragon #snail #epoxy #seashell

from a recent hike, SOOOO MANY diverse things in the fungal family, so I'll probably be doling them out for awhile 😅 first batch, for #FungiFriday

#fungi #mushrooms #mushroom #mushtodon #Mosstodon #lichensubscribe #NaturePhotography #insects #insect #forest #forestfriday

Ever seen witches’ butter? It’s found in forests around the world growing on dead branches, where it feeds on other #fungi. Researchers are studying it for the potential medicinal value of its bioactive compounds, including possible anti-inflammatory & antiallergic properties.

American Museum of Natural History
@AMNH #globalmuseum