Dan Mitchell
@specileptic.bsky.social
Folklorist, writer, comedian, storyteller. PhD candidate. Friend of nature, hugger of trees.
Uncommon Folk- my folklore podcast is available everywhere https://uncommonfolk.buzzsprout.com
Uncommon Folk- my folklore podcast is available everywhere https://uncommonfolk.buzzsprout.com
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
'Accounts described elephants selecting particular plants when they seemed unwell, and mothers reportedly giving medicinal plant material to their calves.
...the researchers concluded that the elephants use 35 different plant species, and that 25 of those are known locally to have medicinal uses.'
...the researchers concluded that the elephants use 35 different plant species, and that 25 of those are known locally to have medicinal uses.'
Elephants treat themselves with medicinal plants, witnesses say
African elephants use dozens of different medicinal plants to treat themselves and their families when they are sick, research reveals.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 25, 2026 at 7:09 AM
'Accounts described elephants selecting particular plants when they seemed unwell, and mothers reportedly giving medicinal plant material to their calves.
...the researchers concluded that the elephants use 35 different plant species, and that 25 of those are known locally to have medicinal uses.'
...the researchers concluded that the elephants use 35 different plant species, and that 25 of those are known locally to have medicinal uses.'
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
ended up talking to the 4th grader this morning about fascists, which can be hard to explain simply.
i said fascists get mad the world isn't how they want, so they make up a story: things used to be good, but certain people ruined it, and if we just get rid of them everything will be good again
i said fascists get mad the world isn't how they want, so they make up a story: things used to be good, but certain people ruined it, and if we just get rid of them everything will be good again
September 20, 2026 at 2:59 PM
ended up talking to the 4th grader this morning about fascists, which can be hard to explain simply.
i said fascists get mad the world isn't how they want, so they make up a story: things used to be good, but certain people ruined it, and if we just get rid of them everything will be good again
i said fascists get mad the world isn't how they want, so they make up a story: things used to be good, but certain people ruined it, and if we just get rid of them everything will be good again
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Look, guys, the data centers really need that water to make more csam
You don’t need to make drinking water a part-time job since too much of it doesn’t have any real health benefit.
🔗: on.wsj.com/4hUsBWd
🔗: on.wsj.com/4hUsBWd
August 28, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Look, guys, the data centers really need that water to make more csam
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Number 10 North just looks like an annoying restaurant in zone one where a mediocre burger is £26 and when it arrives you ask where the chips are the waiter tells you "those are ordered separately" and you order them and they're £7 and come in a little metal bucket for cunts.
July 27, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Number 10 North just looks like an annoying restaurant in zone one where a mediocre burger is £26 and when it arrives you ask where the chips are the waiter tells you "those are ordered separately" and you order them and they're £7 and come in a little metal bucket for cunts.
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
June 16, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
I suspect this Great British Potato is whistling the Colonel Bogey March
Times are difficult but I feel we should take inspiration from this plucky spud
May 21, 2026 at 9:12 AM
I suspect this Great British Potato is whistling the Colonel Bogey March
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
This is good, but we all know that really, it should be a long string of sausages and the fox should be being chased by a red faced, moustachioed, irate butcher who is wearing a blue and white striped apron and a straw hat
May 17, 2026 at 6:05 PM
This is good, but we all know that really, it should be a long string of sausages and the fox should be being chased by a red faced, moustachioed, irate butcher who is wearing a blue and white striped apron and a straw hat
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Congrats on “opening” a strait that was open six weeks ago, and all it cost was at least 13 dead service members, thousands of dead Iranian civilians, tens of billions in taxpayer dollars, our loss in global standing, and the Iranian regime’s increase in power. Phenomenal work.
April 17, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Congrats on “opening” a strait that was open six weeks ago, and all it cost was at least 13 dead service members, thousands of dead Iranian civilians, tens of billions in taxpayer dollars, our loss in global standing, and the Iranian regime’s increase in power. Phenomenal work.
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Oh DO fuck off.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has confirmed that the 2026 World Cup Final will host the tournament's first-ever 'halftime show'.
The event is set to be curated by Chris Martin of Coldplay and produced by Global Citizen.
The event is set to be curated by Chris Martin of Coldplay and produced by Global Citizen.
April 16, 2026 at 11:01 AM
Oh DO fuck off.
Fans of Welsh History, Folklore and Boardgames. Have you even seen or played the game of #Gwyddbwyll ? Its a game with similar vibes to chess mentioned in 11th/12th century Folktale classic the Mabinogi #Mabinogion and I've read differing descriptions of the game.
April 1, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Fans of Welsh History, Folklore and Boardgames. Have you even seen or played the game of #Gwyddbwyll ? Its a game with similar vibes to chess mentioned in 11th/12th century Folktale classic the Mabinogi #Mabinogion and I've read differing descriptions of the game.
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
objectively the funniest critique an american could level at another country
March 31, 2026 at 3:15 AM
objectively the funniest critique an american could level at another country
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
FRANCE: we're fancy
WORLD: ok
FRANCE: a fried ham sandwich is our national lunch
WORLD:
FRANCE: a fried ham sandwich with an egg is its wife
WORLD: ok
FRANCE: a fried ham sandwich is our national lunch
WORLD:
FRANCE: a fried ham sandwich with an egg is its wife
March 31, 2026 at 3:20 PM
FRANCE: we're fancy
WORLD: ok
FRANCE: a fried ham sandwich is our national lunch
WORLD:
FRANCE: a fried ham sandwich with an egg is its wife
WORLD: ok
FRANCE: a fried ham sandwich is our national lunch
WORLD:
FRANCE: a fried ham sandwich with an egg is its wife
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
STICK IT ON A FIVE POUND NOTE
Red kite with sausage roll snapped by Banbury photographer
Mark Hopkins managed to get some pictures of the bird from his back garden.
www.bbc.co.uk
March 18, 2026 at 5:05 PM
STICK IT ON A FIVE POUND NOTE
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
“But, as you see, it's a beautiful day, the Strait of Hormuz is open and people are having a wonderful time.”
March 13, 2026 at 10:09 PM
“But, as you see, it's a beautiful day, the Strait of Hormuz is open and people are having a wonderful time.”
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
That's because they coddle them too much now. Back in my day, it only took 20 years for T-Rexes to fully mature, because they had discipline. Spare the rod, spoil the terrible tyrant lizard.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
T. rex took 40 years to reach full size, study finds
Tyrannosaurus rex may have taken far longer to grow up than scientists once thought. By analyzing growth rings in fossilized leg bones from 17 tyrannosaur specimens and using new statistical methods, ...
www.sciencedaily.com
March 9, 2026 at 2:35 AM
That's because they coddle them too much now. Back in my day, it only took 20 years for T-Rexes to fully mature, because they had discipline. Spare the rod, spoil the terrible tyrant lizard.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Well, that explains the erratic delivery times.
March 3, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Well, that explains the erratic delivery times.
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
A modern-day tragedy, BUT YOU CAN HELP.
1 Like = 1 Pray
1 Share = 10,000 Prays
1 Like = 1 Pray
1 Share = 10,000 Prays
February 1, 2026 at 8:17 PM
A modern-day tragedy, BUT YOU CAN HELP.
1 Like = 1 Pray
1 Share = 10,000 Prays
1 Like = 1 Pray
1 Share = 10,000 Prays
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
This story is truly something. I'm imagining the 'tiny people' like the lemmings in the 90s video game phenomenon Lemmings. Marching towards you in a solemn line. Shaking their little heads at you.
www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...
www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...
'They saw them on their dishes when eating': The mushroom making people hallucinate dozens of tiny humans
Only recently described by science, the mysterious mushrooms are found in different parts of the world, but they give people the same exact visions.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 2:05 PM
This story is truly something. I'm imagining the 'tiny people' like the lemmings in the 90s video game phenomenon Lemmings. Marching towards you in a solemn line. Shaking their little heads at you.
www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...
www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Reposted by Dan Mitchell
Buttons are back. Knobs are back. Dumb devices are back. Own-it-forever software is back. Print is back. Personal websites and chronological feeds are back. Touching grass is back. People keep saying 2015, but it’s not far enough. The entire 2010s were a mistake. We must retvrn to… 2009.
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses.
Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its…
wrd.cm
December 28, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Buttons are back. Knobs are back. Dumb devices are back. Own-it-forever software is back. Print is back. Personal websites and chronological feeds are back. Touching grass is back. People keep saying 2015, but it’s not far enough. The entire 2010s were a mistake. We must retvrn to… 2009.