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Squirrel Series part 1: Dissecting Our Neighbors

September 29, 2020 by Anna Morgan Leave a Comment

For those of you who don’t know, October is squirrel awareness month. Now, I imagine you’re thinking, “Hmm, what is the best way to celebrate such a momentous occasion?” Well, never fear, my friends. Word on the street tells me that a published mini-series on the squirrel is an acceptable form of celebration. Prepare yourself for the first installment of such a series.

This week’s article covers basic anatomy of the squirrel, describing how it scurries the way it does.

A squirrel is able to perform its acrobatics through three primary features: feet, claws, tail.

A squirrel’s back feet (also called paws) are double jointed. This trait allows them to easily and quickly spin to a different direction while in motion. A squirrel’s sharp sharp claws enable purchase on practically any surface. Working in conjunction with the spinning back feet, a squirrel can hang dangle itself down a tree trunk; the double jointed feet allow the animal to maintain an upward facing stance while dangling, and the sharp claws ensure that the animal can remain dangling (White, 2016).

As is the case for most tails, a squirrel’s tail helps maintain balance. Seeing as squirrels spend lots of their time scampering about on tree branches that have diameters smaller than those of pill bottles, it is understandable that a squirrel’s evolution has decided to keep the tail.

When the squirrel becomes too off balance for the tail to manage, the tail can work to compensate for its failure. As a squirrel falls, its tail acts like a parachute. The hairs separate, catching as much air as possible and slowing the animal’s fall (Wall, 2018).

A couple other notable facts about a squirrel’s anatomy include:

A squirrel’s teeth never stop growing, which means they can continue eating nuts without worrying about their teeth dulling into nothingness.

The world’s largest squirrel is considered to be the Indian Giant Squirrel, which weighs about 4 pounds and can reach a length of 18 inches (Bittel, 2019). For more information check out Bittel’s link pasted below.

Return next week to read more about campus’ most prevalent non-human resident.

(Bittel, 2019): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/04/indian-giant-squirrels-colors-camouflage/

(Wall, 2018): https://nuscimag.com/simple-squirrels-or-physics-prodigies-69e6b2ebd70c

(White, 2016): https://asknature.org/strategy/sharp-claws-increase-vertical-agility/#.Wqv3bFnwYsl

Walker and I Get Our Inner Horse Girls On? (or We Visit the Frist)

April 2, 2019 by MacKenzie Gleason

With all of the lovely weather that graced us this last week, Walker and I decided to head downtown and get our class on at the Frist Art Museum. With our luck, we planned our trip on the one cloudy and humid day of the entire week, but regardless, the museum was a sight to see. Located near the front of downtown, the Frist is about a 30-minute walk or a seven-minute drive, depending on how you want to get there (10/10 would recommend walking and hitting up McDonald’s for a $1 ice cream cone on the way). As Vandy students we get free admission — you’ll need your Commodore card as proof — and with your sick new wristbands (peep the photos) you’ll have access to the entire museum.

Now normally I’d recommend setting aside an hour or two to experience all of the beautiful art that the place has to offer, but due to an event that was starting soon, Walker and I only had 45 minutes to make it through everything. It was a hard task considering that everything is so regal and beautiful, but we did our best to document the hotspots of the trip (one of which was their insanely classy bathrooms … yes I did take a mirror selfie in it … I am only a little ashamed).

classy af
whoops…

The lower level exhibits of the museum are currently showcasing Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art, which ended up being a glorified animal painting fest with lots of doggos and cattle painted onto canvases. The best part of the lower exhibits, however, was a multi-room gallery dedicated solely to nineteenth-century horses. I don’t know whether “horse” is the museum’s new theme at the moment, but there were so many of said animal that I felt like I was in a horse girl’s dream and couldn’t find my way out. That being said, I got some bomb.com photos with the paintings and was able to find my way out in a speedy five minutes without hating the overwhelming aura of “stallions” too much (this may be me being a bit dramatic, the paintings are nice, I swear).

so. many. good. boys.
more horses?

Next, we went up to the second level to walk through the Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing exhibit. This exhibit focused on the documentary photographer, Dorothea Lange, whose breathtaking black and white portraits worked to expose injustice and inequalities in the twentieth century.

After making our way through the photographs, we ended up at my personal favorite place in the museum: the interactive children’s exhibit. We ended up spending 35 minutes of the entire 45 minutes we had at the museum in this area, and I do not regret a single thing. From a stop motion station to light boards and a portrait drawing circle (surprise, surprise, where you could draw horses), this place truly has it all. Now I’ve been waiting to hit up this area of the Frist since I first heard about it, so it might have just been me, but I could have spent hours in there. There was this sick heat motion sensor wall that worked kind of like how an Xbox Kinect does when it detects your body moving and we attempted multiple still shots including spelling out YMCA (Walker forgot how to spell and ruined it) and anchoring down (an even bigger fail).

This took us way more takes than it should’ve.

Walker’s favorite station was a soundwave board that moved sand into different patterns on the board as it changed frequencies, while mine was the stop-motion station where we created a short film. I tried to document it on video for the blog, but we accidentally hit delete instead of replay 🙁 (shoutout to the eight-year-old boy who tried to help us recover it even though we all knew it was too late).

we accidentally deleted it

What I love about the art museum is that you can go to appreciate the details and effort behind the paintings and photographs, or you can go to have a fun time making up stories about why each piece was created. Either way, as long as you’re respectful of the people around you, the guards are extremely nice and enjoy seeing people interact with the art. So whether you end up checking out the Frist for the art galleries inside, or just for the architecture of the building itself (which is beautiful and 100% photo-worthy), the Frist Art Museum will not disappoint. If you have a free afternoon or weekend and you are looking for something fun to do downtown, I’d highly recommend checking it out.

Frist Art Museum Hours:https://fristartmuseum.org/visit/hours-directions

McDonald’s Hours: Open 24/7… SO GET THAT CONE!

MCL Top 5: Dorm Room Essentials

August 27, 2018 by Catherine Seok Leave a Comment

5. Extension Cords:

The worst feeling is plugging your phone in, only to find it’s just barely too short to reach your bed. Thankfully, there’s a simple solution: extension cords! One or two Six-foot-long extension cords will make it easy that no cord is too short.

4. Desk Organizer:

Your desk is bound to get at least a little messy at some point during the semester. To keep your working space from looking like a disaster scene, a desk organizer will be your best friend. Whether you choose one with drawers for your paper clips or one with slots for your pencils and pens, desk organizers will definitely help you tidy up a little bit. There’s a variety of options, so there’s something for everyone!

3. Mementos from home:

Whether you’re from halfway across the country or just a town away, keeping photos and memories of your family, friends, and loved ones in your dorm brings home. Hanging photos on some string lights or framing your favorite pictures are simple ways to make your dorm feel a little more cozy and familiar.

2. Snacks:

If you find yourself staying up late and hearing your stomach growl, you most likely won’t be willing to go out to scavenge for some food. Keeping a stash of food in your drawers can prove to be useful — especially during those emergency midnight moments or when you have friends over!

1. Kitchen Appliances

As a college student, a coffee maker, microwave, and mini fridge will become your best friends. Coffee is an essential for many students’ mornings, and having a coffee maker in your dorm makes it simple to get your daily fix. Of course, no dorm is truly a dorm without a microwave — it makes it incredibly convenient to quickly heat up left overs or make some quick mac ’n’ cheese! The last of the trio is a fridge; it’s an absolute essential for keeping your drinks cold and left overs fresh.

Remember to consult Vanderbilt’s student handbook to ensure that all things brought to dorms follow regulations.