I’m so glad someone asked this – the cockeyed squid is one of my favourite molluscs for this exact reason. Here’s what they look like, for those who don’t know:
Cockeyed squid is actually a genus (Histioteuthis) that comprises quite a few species, including the one pictured above which is known by the adorable name, strawberry squid (Histioteuthis heteropsis), but they all have the famous odd-sized eyes – something that’s not seen in any other bilaterally symmetrical animal.
The reason for this is each of their eyes is adapted for a different type of vision. Cockeyed squid live in the mesoplegaic (or twilight) zone where sunlight is almost non-existent, and they generally float like in the picture above, with their large left eye facing slightly upwards, and their smaller right eye facing downwards.
The role of the fairly normal-looking right eye is to pick up up the bright bioluminescence of creatures in the dark below them. Their left eye, however, is specially adapted to break the counter-illumination of creatures swimming above them. Counter-illumination is a strategy adopted by many creatures in the deep sea, where they illuminate the underside of their bodies just enough to “counter” their silhouette made by the small amount sunlight coming from above. The squid’s large eye sees past this as it is very sensitive to light, and the greenish-yellow lens helps to filter out the sunlight, making the creatures stand out.
I just stumbled upon this awesome post showing a way to keep pinback buttons from falling off of your backpack/purse/etc. using safety pins.
However, it reminded me of another method that I’ve used since high school, and continue to use to this day: Rubber earring backs.
You know…these things:
I had originally bought a package of them to keep my nose stud from falling out while I slept (it was the “screw” type), but then after losing a button off of my high school backpack, I stumbled upon an even better use for them.
If you place them on the pinback of the button, just ahead of where it closes, the pins can’t slip off.
It doesn’t matter what size or shape the button is. Also, I happened to find one that wasn’t closed when I went to take pictures:
The earring back basically acts as a rubber stopper. They’re made specifically to NOT slide off in order to keep earrings in place, so they work just as well keeping buttons in place, even if the buttons aren’t closed.
Considering the backpack that I had in high school…
…I can tell you with complete certainty that rubber earring backs are, bar none, THE best method of making sure you never lose another button ever again. Also, they’re cheaper than safety pins (which can also pop open, thus allowing the button to slide off) and you won’t have to poke extra holes in whatever you’re putting buttons on.
Or hell, combine the rubber earring backs WITH the safety pins! Your buttons will be COMPLETELY UNLOSE-ABLE!
Things to consider before making a woke Holocaust reference for current events:
are over 6 million Jewish people dead via a concentrated extermination campaign
If the answer is “no,” just shut up. Just literally shut the fuck up.
are millions of Romani people dead via a
concentrated extermination campaign
If the answer is also no then also just shut the fuck up
Hard disagree, y’all are full of shit. We aren’t there yet. We’re headed there. FAST. Sure, it might be a different ethnicity being targeted, but if you’re freaking about that now, you’re missing the point to a terrifying degree. This is the time we freak out and actually look at the parallels, instead of doing “how dare you compare oppressions” performative virtue. How do you think this started?
Actual Holocaust survivors also think you’re full of shit, btw.
We must all hang together or most assuredly, we shall hang separately–and I mean that just as literally as it was meant when it was originally said. We need not to go, “Well, how DARE you compare this thing that’s happening to the thing that happened to US before because our experience was worse and this trivializes it, get off my lawn”, or each and every one of our groups will end up on gallows. Make no mistake, that’s what this administration wants. Do not think for a second that these “tender age shelters” are anything but internment camps–and given the stories of abuse coming out of them right now, concentration camps becomes a more and more accurate moniker by the moment. Do not believe for a second it will stop here.
They will do whatever they can get away with.
By the time these comparisons become 100% accurate, there will be too many lives lost for them to be useful.
Secondary reason this makes me real grumpy: we focus on the Holocaust as something that is specially horrific, and at least in my schooling, this was to the exculsion of other horrific things that happened during WWII, including the Rape of Nanjing, which is part of my family history (whether great-grandfather died then, or at the hands of the Communist Party is still in question).
Putting one thing above the others, one thing that should never be compared to others, is a huge mistake.
We’ve had genocide after genocide after genocide just since then, and I think this “don’t compare” attitude doesn’t do anyone any good because it blinds us to the horrors of the others, gives us an excuse not to interfere or freak out, because it’s not as bad. Are millions of Jews/Romani dead? No? Carry on!
Millions of brown and black bodies? eh whatevs
Similar policies building momentum that can lead to those millions of bodies very soon? omg stop comparing these things, neoliberal
Never again seems to only apply to Europeans.
Yep. There are also a couple groups the op and first commenter didn’t even mention (*coughdisabledpeoplecough*) and… if you’re using “what happened to x group” as your barometer there’s something Not Right about leaving some out.
Like, the separation of children and parents actually fits under the international law definition of genocide.
It’s not that much of a reach.
Now they’re going for indefinite detention.
Meanwhile, we’re probably going to see food prices go up, and access to discounted food programs go down, we’re seeing disability services being cut, we’re seeing medical care being cut, we’re seeing queer rights undermined… all of these things lead down a similar path. Just because the demographics are different doesn’t mean the end result isn’t the same.
BettSplendens Tumblr Evac 