Snake Species Named After Harry Potter
Findings published in Zoosystematics and Evolution revealed that researchers in India discovered a new species of green pit vipers and gave the species a name after a Harry Potter character. If you know even just a little bit about Harry Potter, I’m sure you’ve already guessed the species was named after Salazar Slytherin: “The researchers said in their findings that they chose the name Trimeresurus salazar for the snake, though they prefer it to be commonly known as Salazar’s pit viper.”
Wartime Posters Get Pandemic Makeover
Being that it had over 100 wartime posters–created by the Canadian government during the world wars–in its digital collection, the Toronto Public Library decided the posters could be updated to the current pandemic and asked people to remix them. The library’s subreddit had 70 responses: “One of the most popular images was a redesigned Second World War poster on which a stack of toilet paper replaced an elephant, keeping the same wartime message: ‘If you don’t need it … Don’t buy it!’”
If Cats Disappeared from the World
Genki Kawamura’s novel If Cats Disappeared from the World—about a terminally ill Japanese man given the option to live an extra day for disappearing one thing entirely from the world–is being adapted! The author will produce, along with the production company that adapted the 2016 Japanese film, the creator of Sorry for Your Loss will write the screenplay, and Masi Oka (from Hereos!) will also be producing.