Articles by Jess Zimmerman

An ode to scary mutant fruits

Awl editor Alex Balk found out that farmers have been tinkering with plant genetics to create cross-breeds like "pluerries," and it inspired him to heights of lyrical brilliance:

Please Don't Make The Fruits Do Sex To Each Other

The freakish fruits that Science spawns—
The pros we know, but not the cons
What laws of nature might we breach
By blending apricot and peach?

How Gmail saves energy

There are a lot of benefits to cloud computing. For instance, if you believe the commercials, it lets you replace your family’s heads with better heads! Also, it saves you storage space and means you can access your data with multiple devices. But this might be the best argument so far: Switching from local email […]

Rick Perry: Just because global warming is a 'fact' doesn't mean it's real

Oh, Rick Perry. He's like a feudal lord who was just defrosted from the 13th century, only better-coiffed and less handy with a lance. He's like his own personal Renaissance Festival. Science? Forsooth, milord, what dost thou mean?

In last night's debate, Perry offered the following extremely convincing (to other 13th-century refugees) argument against global warming:

1. Not all scientists believe in it, I am pretty sure.
2. I can't name any scientist who doesn't, but then, I can't name any scientists at all.
3. Even if they do say it's a fact, that doesn't mean it's true.
4. Because Galileo.
5. Hey, Galileo! He's a scientist who probably didn't believe in global warming!
6. QED.

The Dalai Lama and other Peace Prize winners ask Obama to reject Keystone XL

If Obama won't listen to the Tar Sands Action protesters, will he listen to nine of his fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureates? Because they've all but told him -- in their very kind and Peace-Prizey way -- that they'll be embarrassed to share the medal with him if he doesn't.

Nine laureates, including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have written Obama a letter urging him to nix the pipeline.