Boys will be boys! (Until climate change says otherwise.)
Boys will be boys! (Until climate change says otherwise.) fstop123/Getty Images

Orcas have it rough: But they have it especially rough every other year due to a new biennial trend researchers recently found in the data. They noticed that more whales die in even years than odd years. No, astrologists, it had nothing to do with the position of Mercury. Pink salmon seem to be the culprit. The species, which returns to the Salish Sea every other year, has flourished under conservation efforts and interferes with the orcas' preferred prey: Chinook salmon.

Federal workers rally outside Sea-Tac: Air-traffic controllers have stressful enough jobs as it is, so adding the financial stress of going almost a month without pay isn't the best recipe for getting planes to land safely. I don’t know if you seen Breaking Bad, but stress didn’t work out so well for the New Mexico airspace. The regional vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Eddie DeLisle, told the Seattle Times, “One missed paycheck is a problem, two is a crisis, and three is a full-on disaster. You’re taking an already exhausted workforce and stretching them thin.” Federal workers will miss their second paychecks this Friday if the government doesn’t open.

I-5 is a parking lot today: Northbound and southbound traffic is fucked this morning after a semitruck collision in Tacoma brought all lanes to a standstill. So for all you out there stuck in traffic, here are some ways to pass the time: Here’s a mash-up of Kendrick Lamar’s "Backseat Freestyle" and A-Ha’s "Take on Me." You’re welcome! Or maybe throw it back to a simpler time and listen to Prince absolutely killing it at the age of 19. The man was cooler at 5 years old than I could ever hope to be.


Mexico has highest ever homicide rate in 2018: Our neighbor to the south reported 33,341 homicides last year, shattering the previous record of 28,866 set only the year before. For reference, there were only 17,284 reported homicides in the United States in 2017—and remember, Mexico is less than half the size of the United States. Homicides increased in every Mexican state except Sinaloa and averaged out to 91 deaths a day.

Did you watch the Rams vs. Saints game? It may be the missed call of the century. An interference call so blatant, so obvious that even I, the guy who couldn’t name a player on the field to save his life, could see it. Now a New Orleans attorney is suing the NFL to get them to overturn the call. It’s okay, man, dance the pain away on Bourbon Street.


Cascade concrete: As my roommate runs out the door, snowboard in hand, I’m seething with jealousy about the amount of snow that fell last night in the Cascades. For the rest of us, it’s just looking wet and gray.


Let’s nerd-out for a second: Climate change might mean fewer baby boys. Wait, let me back up. In most mammals, including humans, the stress in the mother's environment can influence the sex of the baby and how long gestation lasts. In an absolutely mind-blowing study, researchers looked at the gestation times before and after 9/11, not in New York, but in California. Even thousands of miles away from the terrorist attack, women showed significantly longer gestation times before having their babies, because the world was so fucking scary. It’s basically a mother’s body saying, “Well this is a shitshow, let’s wait a few weeks before I bring a baby into this world."

So now to climate change. Natural disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis, and mudslides may impact the global sex distribution due to the environmental stress and our bodies' tendency to produce more girls in time of stress. A recent study in Japan after three different earthquakes show that nine months later, the proportion of baby boys declined as much as 14 percent.

Scientists aren’t quite sure how it works, but the numbers clearly show that baby boys are the most vulnerable group of people on earth. They are weaker than baby girls (take that, patriarchy). Don’t even get me started on sex ratio changes in reptiles that are entirely dependent on temperature.

Tonight's best Seattle entertainment options include: A rock show with the original lead guitarist of KISS (Ace Frehley), the new stand-up night Camel Toe Comedy, and the Tony-winning social-media-themed musical Dear Evan Hansen.