Explaining the world one sketch at a time

Simplifying complex ideas through fun and insightful sketches. Explore topics from science, creativity, psychology, and more explained in pictures.

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How to identify a Bactrian or Dromedary Camel: The Bactrian camel (on the left) has 2 humps like the capital letter B turned on its side. The Dromedary camel has 1 hump (on the right) like the capital letter D turned on its side. If you can count the humps, you know the first letter.

Bactrian or dromedary camel? Never be confused again

How do you know which is a Bactrian or a Dromedary camel? Which camel has 1 hump and which camel has two? And how can you remember it? After sharing my original camel identification sketch a reader shared with me a foolproof way to tell whether you're looking at a Bactrian camel or a Dromedary camel. The Bactrian camel has 2 humps, just like a B on its side The Dromedary camel has one hump just like a D on its side Never wonder again which is which. The Bactrian camel is found in central Asia, for instance in the Gobi desert. The Dromedary camel is generally found in the Middle East and Northern Africa. You may also like: stalactites or stalagmites, tortoise or turtle, crocodile or alligator, dolphin or porpoise, how to tell a centipede from a millipede More "what's the difference between" sketches for things that are easily confused.…How do you know which is a Bactrian or a Dromedary camel? Which camel has 1 hump and which camel has two? And how can you remember it? After sharing my original camel identification sketch a reader shared with me a foolproof way to tell whether you're looking at a Bactrian camel or a Dromedary camel. The Bactrian camel has 2 humps, just like a B on its side The Dromedary camel has one hump just like a D on its side Never wonder again which is which. The Bactrian camel is found in central Asia, for instance in the Gobi desert. The Dromedary camel is generally found in the Middle East and Northern Africa. You may also like: stalactites or stalagmites, tortoise or turtle, crocodile or alligator, dolphin or porpoise, how to tell a centipede from a millipede More "what's the difference between" sketches for things that are easily confused.

21 Sep 2019

The Shirky Principle

Named after the brilliant Clay Shirky his principle broadly states that: Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution. Sometimes this may manifest itself as blindness towards new or different ways of doing things, other times it’s the challenge of and innate resistance to making oneself obsolete. Examples include there being more money in life-long illnesses than cures, traditional newspapers’ resistance to alternative online news forms, planned obsolescence of products, committees requiring the presence of committees, or resistance to self-checkouts at a supermarket. Some exceptions include Vitality health insurance in the UK that rewards a healthy lifestyle, and the lightbulb industry, in its move towards ultra long-lasting and efficient LED lights, boldly eliminating the need to replace most of its products for a lifetime. I’m still waiting for a breakdown service to reward people for taking care of their cars rather than focusing on fixing the breakdowns.…Named after the brilliant Clay Shirky his principle broadly states that: Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution. Sometimes this may manifest itself as blindness towards new or different ways of doing things, other times it’s the challenge of and innate resistance to making oneself obsolete. Examples include there being more money in life-long illnesses than cures, traditional newspapers’ resistance to alternative online news forms, planned obsolescence of products, committees requiring the presence of committees, or resistance to self-checkouts at a supermarket. Some exceptions include Vitality health insurance in the UK that rewards a healthy lifestyle, and the lightbulb industry, in its move towards ultra long-lasting and efficient LED lights, boldly eliminating the need to replace most of its products for a lifetime. I’m still waiting for a breakdown service to reward people for taking care of their cars rather than focusing on fixing the breakdowns.

14 Sep 2019

Does this spark joy?

Japan’s — if not the world’s — tidying guru, Marie Kondo, proposes this simple and rather beautiful criteria for deciding which of your possessions to keep and which to discard: does it spark joy? If you follow this benchmark for which of your posessions to keep you will surround yourselves only with the things that you really treasure and that give you a small thrill of joy.…

8 Sep 2019

Capitonym

A capitonym is a word that changes meaning and sometimes pronunciation when capitalised. You'll be familiar with many examples: turkey/Turkey may/May march/March august/August lent/Lent reading/Reading mobile/Mobile polish/Polish alpine/Alpine china/China For years as a kid, no joke, I couldn’t understand why there was a polish club at the bottom of our road. Yes, it was a Polish club. Capitonyms are also heteronyms when they change pronunciation as for polish and Polish. Also see acronym or initialism…A capitonym is a word that changes meaning and sometimes pronunciation when capitalised. You'll be familiar with many examples: turkey/Turkey may/May march/March august/August lent/Lent reading/Reading mobile/Mobile polish/Polish alpine/Alpine china/China For years as a kid, no joke, I couldn’t understand why there was a polish club at the bottom of our road. Yes, it was a Polish club. Capitonyms are also heteronyms when they change pronunciation as for polish and Polish. Also see acronym or initialism

31 Aug 2019

Strand line

The strand line is the often lovely line of interesting seaweed, driftwood and things to find left behind by the waves at the top of high tide. Hopefully, with not too much plastic. More lines: Browse line Plimsoll line Draw smooth lines Choose the fast line The coastline paradox More beaches: Surfing breaks Beaches—amazing for play Gastropod anatomy Sea jelly—sea star…

24 Aug 2019

Weather and Climate illustration: weather is likened to the notes and loose change kept in your purse and the climate is likened to a graph showing your financial status over a long period of time.

Weather and climate: an analogy

If weather is like the money in your pocket on any one day, climate is like your net financial worth over time. I liked this simple analogy to distinguish between weather and climate in a New York Times article by Kendra Pierre-Louis. While there are many causes of extreme weather, keeping this analogy in mind helps keep some overall context even when you’re in the midst of an unexpected cold snap.…If weather is like the money in your pocket on any one day, climate is like your net financial worth over time. I liked this simple analogy to distinguish between weather and climate in a New York Times article by Kendra Pierre-Louis. While there are many causes of extreme weather, keeping this analogy in mind helps keep some overall context even when you’re in the midst of an unexpected cold snap.

18 Aug 2019

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