FYI February 13, 2019

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On This Day

 
 
1867 – Work begins on the covering of the Senne, burying Brussels’s primary river and creating the modern central boulevards.
The covering of the Senne (French: Voûtement de la Senne, Dutch: Overwelving van de Zenne) was the covering and later diverting of the main river of Brussels, and the construction of public buildings and major boulevards in its place. Carried out between 1867 and 1871, it is one of the defining events in the history of Brussels.

The Senne/Zenne (French/Dutch) was historically the main waterway of Brussels, but it became more polluted and less navigable as the city grew. By the second half of the 19th century, it had become a serious health hazard and was filled with pollution, garbage and decaying organic matter. It flooded frequently, inundating the lower town and the working class neighbourhoods which surrounded it.

Numerous proposals were made to remedy this problem, and in 1865, the mayor of Brussels, Jules Anspach, selected a design by architect Léon Suys to cover the river and build a series of grand boulevards and public buildings. The project faced fierce opposition and controversy, mostly due to its cost and the need for expropriation and demolition of working-class neighbourhoods. The construction was contracted to a British company, but control was returned to the government following an embezzlement scandal. This delayed the project, but it was still completed in 1871. Its completion allowed the construction of the modern buildings and boulevards which are central to downtown Brussels today.

In the 1930s, plans were made to cover the Senne along its entire course within the greater Brussels area, which had grown significantly since the covering of the 19th century. By 1955 the course of the Senne was changed to the downtown’s peripheral boulevards. In 1976, the disused tunnels were converted into the north-south axis of Brussels’ underground tram system, the premetro. Actual purification of the waste water from the Brussels-Capital Region was not completed until March 2007, when two treatment stations were built, thus finally cleansing the Senne after centuries of problems.

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Born On This Day

 
 
1916 – Dorothy Bliss, American invertebrate zoologist (d. 1987)
Dorothy Elizabeth Bliss (February 13, 1916 – December 26, 1987) was an American carcinologist and curator of invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, with which she was associated for over 30 years. She was known as a pioneer in the field of hormonal control in crustaceans.[1][2] She was editor-in-chief of the 10-volume series The Biology of Crustacea, and author of the popular book Shrimps, Lobsters and Crabs. She served as president of the American Society of Zoologists and was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[3]

Early life and education
Bliss was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, to parents Orville Thayer and Sophia Topham Bliss (née Farnell).[4] She attended Pembroke College (now Brown University), earning a bachelor’s degree in 1937 and a master’s degree in 1942. She taught at Milton Academy in Massachusetts from 1942 to 1949, and was a teaching fellow at Radcliffe College from 1947 to 1951 while performing doctoral research in the lab of John Henry Welsh. Her dissertation research focused on the neural and hormonal structures in the eye stalks of the land crab Gecarcinus lateralis, a species which she would study in the lab and field throughout her career. She earned a PhD in 1952 from Radcliffe, and continued as a research fellow until 1955.[5]

Career
In 1956 Bliss joined the staff of the American Museum of Natural History in New York as assistant curator of invertebrates, becoming associate curator in 1962 and curator in 1967. From 1974 to 1977 she served as chair the department of fossils and living invertebrates. She retired in 1980, becoming curator emerita until 1987. Bliss also held several teaching positions, including anatomy professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1956–1964), adjunct biology professor at City University of New York (1971–1980), and adjunct zoology professor at the University of Rhode Island (1980–1987).[3][4]

Bliss was known as a pioneer in the field of crustacean hormonal control.[1] She was among the first to establish the role of the X-organ-sinus gland complex in hormone secretion,[1] She performed laboratory studies on molting, and salt and water balance, and field research in Florida, Bermuda, and Bimini, studying aspects such as land crab burrowing and spawning and the impact of moisture different species distributions.[6] She produced over 40 scientific papers, and was editor-in-chief of The Biology of Crustacea (Academic Press) an influential 10-volume work begun in 1977 and continuing until 1986.[2] Her research was supported by the National Science Foundation from 1957 through 1978.

She was on the editorial boards of several journals, including American Zoologist, Curator, Journal of Experimental Zoology, General and Comparative Endocrinology, as well as the popular science magazine Natural History.[4]

In 1982 she published Shrimps, Lobsters and Crabs (New Century Publishers), a book for the general public. It was reprinted by Columbia University Press with a new introduction in 1990.[7] She received an honorary Doctor of Science from Brown University in 1972, and a symposium honoring her and fellow invertebrate zoologist Lewis Kleinholz was held at the annual meeting of the American Society of Zoologists in 1983.[1] The Crustacean Society bestowed upon her their Excellence in Research Award in 1987.

In her later years, Bliss lived in Wakefield, Rhode Island. She died of cancer at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence on December 26, 1987, at the age of 71.[3][4]

 
 

FYI

 
 
Gizmodo Science: Rare Spider Fossil Preserves 100-Million-Year-Old Glowing Eyes; Newly Discovered African Titanosaur Had a Distinctly Heart-Shaped Tailbone and more ->
 
 
 
 
By Julia Jacobo: Florida school arming guards with rifles to provide ‘advantage’ over armed intruders: Reports Guards will be provided with handguns and 17-inch semi-automatic long-guns.
Should an armed intruder make his or her way onto the campus of the Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto, Florida, the gunman will be met with deadly force, Principal Bill Jones told the Bradenton Herald.
 
 
 
 
Trophy hunting disgusts me.
By Farnoush Amiri: Texas businessman pays $110k to kill rare mountain goat The species, which was considered endangered four years ago, is known as the national animal of Pakistan.
 
 
 
 
The Rural Blog: Native American Journalists Assn. to help Native media outlets cover tribal governments, which are often secretive; Big conservation and historic-sites bill passes Senate 92-8; Scientists warn deer’s chronic-wasting disease could spread to humans; guide shows hunters how to minimize exposure and more ->
 
 
 
 
By Nick Fouriezos: The Priest Restoring Trust in the Catholic Church — by Exposing Its Sins
Why you should care
Because he is revealing abusers and bringing justice for victims.
 
 
 
 

By Christine Schmidt: How Capital Public Radio covered a community’s high suicide rate (and developed a tool for residents to keep)
 
 
 
 
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The Passive Voice: The Quest for Queen Mary; The Heart Never Forgets; The Future; Nine Lessons from a Small Indie Publisher; Beneath the Streets of Paris, in Search of the Cataphiles
 
 
 
 
Open Culture: Hear Siouxsie Sioux’s Powerful Isolated Vocals on “The Killing Jar,” “Hong Kong Garden,” “Cities In Dust” & “Kiss Them for Me”; “Odyssey of the Ear”: A Beautiful Animation Shows How Sounds Travel Into Our Ears and Become Thoughts in Our Brain; An Animated Reconstruction of Ancient Rome: Take A 30-Minute Stroll Through the City’s Virtually-Recreated Streets and more ->
 
 
 
 
By Adino Mayo: Things to Try for Knots in Your Neck and Shoulders

Ideas

 
 
By Hometalk Highlights: 15 Lovely Repurposed Items Perfect For Your Garden
 
 
Bob Thacker Bob Thacker Hometalker Northfield, MN: Turning Dreaded Buckthorn Into an English Wattle Fence
 
 
Chas Crazy Creations: To Grandma’s House We Go Link Party 126
 
 


 
 

 
 

Recipes

 
 
By Kate Bernot: Ranchception: Hidden Valley debuts ranch-dipped-pizza-flavored ranch
 
 
By Kevin Pang: How to make Chinese takeout-style honey garlic crispy beef

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