“My name is Steve Kleinedler, supervising editor for the American Heritage Dictionary, where I have worked since 1997. One of my many responsibilities is pronunciation. The tattoo is a stylized version of a phonetic vowel chart — it shows the relative position of the tongue in the mouth when those vowel sounds are articulated. I had a smaller, simpler version done on my upper back in 1993, and I’ve been wanting to get the full version for quite some time.

“The design is by Kyle Nelson of Stoltze Design and the tattoo artist was Mike Helz of Stingray Body Art.”

Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium.

Originally published December 26, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.

So the wife and I are ready to investigate our distant past and discover all sorts of unsettling things about our ancestors. Anyone care to recommend any particular genealogical DNA testing outfit? I know of the Genographic Project and a few others, but I don’t know how full or accurate a profile they offer.

Originally published December 25, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.

How does a scientist study a million genes? In my latest podcast I talk to John Wooley, a leading figure in the new science of metagenomics. Check it out.

Originally published December 24, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.

Photographer Alex Wild picks his favorite images of insects from the year. Bugilicious.

Originally published December 23, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.

There comes a time in every science writer’s career when one must write about glass duck vaginas and explosive duck penises.

That time is now.

To err on the side of caution, I am stuffing the rest of this post below the fold. My tale is rich with deep scientific significance, resplendent with surprising insights into how evolution works, far beyond the banalities of “survival of the fittest,” off in a realm of life where sexual selection and sexual conflict work like a pair sculptors drunk on absinthe, transforming biology into forms unimaginable. But this story is also accompanied with video. High-definition, slow-motion duck sex video. And I would imagine that the sight of spiral-shaped penises inflating in less than a third of second might be considered in some quarters to be not exactly safe for work. It’s certainly not appropriate for ducklings.

So, if you’re ready, join me below the fold.

Continue reading “Kinkiness Beyond Kinky” →