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Evidentialism Factslap: Redwoods are the Tallest Beings on the Planet

With a narrow range stretching for about 450 miles, from Big Sur to southern Oregon, coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) are the tallest living beings in the world — and one in particular surpasses them all. Named after a titan in Greek mythology and found in California’s Redwood National Park, Hyperion stands 380 feet tall. That’s 65 feet taller than London’s Big Ben and 10 feet taller than the previous record holder, another coast redwood. 

A redwood’s size is only one of its many fascinating features. Their root systems are relatively shallow (only 6–12 feet deep), but can grow more than 100 feet outward from the trunk, giving them stability against heavy winds and flooding. They’re also old — really old — with some redwoods alive today estimated at more than 2,000 years old. That means they were around during the Roman Republic (sempervirens means “always flourishing,” after all). In fact, their age may be one reason these trees can grow so tall. And today, redwoods are more important than ever, because they soak up more CO2 than any other tree on Earth. A typical coast redwood removes 250 tons of carbon from the atmosphere during its lifetime, compared to just one ton for a typical tree. That’s why scientists are now finding ways to clone some of the oldest coast redwoods that have ever lived, in the hopes of combating climate change.

The Parkland Generation

Cassandra Ridder was broken-hearted when her 12-year-old son Brody came home from school last week with only a few signatures in his yearbook — including his own.

“Hope you make some more friends. — Brody Ridder,” the rising seventh-grader wrote in his own yearbook, which was signed by only two classmates, two teachers and himself.

So mom, of Colorado, posted the self-signature on Facebook. And, as it is capable of occasionally being, social media became real media.

Another parent saw the post, and sent it to her daughter, without a word. And this thoughtful generation took it from there.

Popular juniors got together and surprised Brody in his homeroom class to fill his yearbook to the margins. Then others signed. And others photographed.



Which got me thinking: What would students draft as gun legislation? Because, one day, the Parkland Generation be presiding over it.


Original photo by Album/ Alamy Stock PhotoEvery film actor John Cazale appeared in was nominated for Best Picture.There are impressive filmographies, and then there’s John Cazale’s. The actor only appeared in five films during his lifetime, all of which were nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards: The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974), The Godfather Part II (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and The Deer Hunter (1978). Even more remarkably, three of them — both Godfathers and The Deer Hunter — won the top prize. The last of these was released after Cazale’s untimely death from bone cancer in March 1978, at which time the 42-year-old thespian was the romantic partner of fellow great Meryl Streep. (He was also in 1990’s The Godfather Part III via archival footage, which didn’t break his streak — that sequel was also up for Best Picture.)

Described by no less an authority than his Godfather costar Al Pacinoas “one of the great actors of our time — that time, any time,” Cazale remains best known for playing the tragic Fredo Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s mafioso saga. Revered by everyone from contemporaries Gene Hackman and Robert De Niro to more recent admirers such as Michael Fassbender and Steve Buscemi, he was the subject of the 2009 documentary I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale. The film was well-received upon its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and further cemented Cazale’s status as one of the most respected performers of his generation.