• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Science & Technology / The International Journal Of Open Thread

The International Journal Of Open Thread

by Tim F|  May 8, 20085:36 pm| 45 Comments

This post is in: Science & Technology

FacebookTweetEmail

An online teaser in this week’s Science:

A 47-year study of great tits in Britain…

Disappointingly, the paper turned out to be about birds and climate change.

***

Report your own studies here.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Open Thread
Next Post: Why Is Hillary Disenfranchising Michigan? »

Reader Interactions

45Comments

  1. 1.

    Rex

    May 8, 2008 at 5:41 pm

    The BBC headline for that story was Great Tits Cope Well with Warming which was a relief to me.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7390109.stm

  2. 2.

    Krista

    May 8, 2008 at 5:44 pm

    The BBC headline for that story was Great Tits Cope Well with Warming

    I wonder if the copy editor managed to keep a straight face.

    Those cheeky, cheeky Brits.

  3. 3.

    nightjar

    May 8, 2008 at 5:45 pm

    Birds don’t have tits, do they?

  4. 4.

    jake

    May 8, 2008 at 5:46 pm

    Intrest in ornithology and the environement among males aged 11 – 110 increased by eleventy million percent today …

  5. 5.

    4tehlulz

    May 8, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    TITS OR GTFO

  6. 6.

    RSA

    May 8, 2008 at 5:49 pm

    Birds don’t have tits, do they?

    Back when I worked in a restaurant, the cooks would announce that a chicken breast-based dish was ready to be served by calling out, “Chicken tits up!”

  7. 7.

    El Doh

    May 8, 2008 at 5:57 pm

    Birds don’t have tits, do they?

    In parts of the UK, where the study’s apparently from, “bird” used to be (is?) slang for a woman — q.v. “chick”.

    So…

  8. 8.

    Dreggas

    May 8, 2008 at 6:01 pm

    Nah here’s a headline:

    Center for underaged camel jockeys opens

  9. 9.

    frogspawn

    May 8, 2008 at 6:01 pm

    I believe the original headline atop this Beeb article was “Nude Playboy Airwoman Faces Probe”; it was up briefly on the morning of Sat, Jan 13 2007 before they changed it.

  10. 10.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    May 8, 2008 at 6:03 pm

    A 47-year study of great tits in Britain…

    I’m sure great should be modifying Britain here.

  11. 11.

    nightjar

    May 8, 2008 at 6:05 pm

    Back when I worked in a restaurant, the cooks would announce that a chicken breast-based dish was ready to be served by calling out, “Chicken tits up!”

    Sounds like an upscale diner. Mel’s Chicken Tit SPECIAL

  12. 12.

    joe

    May 8, 2008 at 6:07 pm

    A 47-year study of great tits in Britain…

    …found that they droop after a while?

  13. 13.

    El Doh

    May 8, 2008 at 6:07 pm

    I’m sure great should be modifying Britain here.

    It’s the name of a bird. There’s also a Blue Tit and a Coal Tit and quite a lot of others.

  14. 14.

    Scott H

    May 8, 2008 at 6:10 pm

    Sure, only the great tits get the attention and concern.

  15. 15.

    HumboldtBlue

    May 8, 2008 at 6:11 pm

    Cliff Schecter just finished a study of the west’s biggest dicks, needless to say, he wrote a piece about the modern GOP.

  16. 16.

    El Doh

    May 8, 2008 at 6:12 pm

    Well, it is the place where “The Sun” is from — page 3 and all that.

  17. 17.

    nightjar

    May 8, 2008 at 6:13 pm

    There’s also a Blue Tit and a Coal Tit and quite a lot of others.

    Oh, OK , like the Bushtit here where I live. And no that’s not a joke about the commanderguy.

  18. 18.

    SamFromUtah

    May 8, 2008 at 6:13 pm

    A 47-year study of great tits in Britain…

    Rupert Murdoch made the last 39 years of it easier with that whole Page 3 thing.

  19. 19.

    Dreggas

    May 8, 2008 at 6:21 pm

    El Doh Says:

    I’m sure great should be modifying Britain here.

    It’s the name of a bird. There’s also a Blue Tit and a Coal Tit and quite a lot of others.

    I saw a pair of blue tits once before someone undid the rope binding them. Come to think of it they were purple tits.

  20. 20.

    ThymeZone

    May 8, 2008 at 6:26 pm

    Oh man. When I saw the title, I thought, okay, no websurfing tonight, I found the material I was looking for.

    And then wham! It’s about birds.

    Another gigantic letdown. Thanks a lot.

  21. 21.

    JGabriel

    May 8, 2008 at 6:27 pm

    Scott H.:

    Sure, only the great tits get the attention and concern.

    Oddly, they had trouble getting volunteers for the study on witches tits.

    .

  22. 22.

    JGabriel

    May 8, 2008 at 6:29 pm

    Thymezone:

    Another gigantic letdown.

    It’s rude to brag.

    .

  23. 23.

    AkaDad

    May 8, 2008 at 6:39 pm

    That was udderly fascinating.

  24. 24.

    Krista

    May 8, 2008 at 6:48 pm

    I saw a pair of blue tits once before someone undid the rope binding them. Come to think of it they were purple tits.

    Ow. Goddamn, dude.

  25. 25.

    Dreggas

    May 8, 2008 at 6:53 pm

    Krista Says:

    I saw a pair of blue tits once before someone undid the rope binding them. Come to think of it they were purple tits.

    Ow. Goddamn, dude.

    That’s not what she was saying. Actually it didn’t really hurt her, it just was some heavy tying that restricted circulation for a bit. Not even any clips or needles.

  26. 26.

    D-Chance.

    May 8, 2008 at 7:20 pm

    Birds still fly south for the winter; ergo, it must still get cold up north. Although there’s nothing wrong with tits in the winter.

  27. 27.

    w vincentz

    May 8, 2008 at 7:24 pm

    I’m devastated!
    Here I’ve been spending endless hours constructing teeny tiny bras that would fit under the wings of these cute little birds, and now I find that they don’t have tits!
    Think of what can be learned at Balloon Juice!
    Back to my next invention, athletic supporters for GOP DICKS.
    What? They don’t have them either?

  28. 28.

    Dreggas

    May 8, 2008 at 7:24 pm

    D-Chance. Says:

    Birds still fly south for the winter; ergo, it must still get cold up north. Although there’s nothing wrong with tits in the winter.

    Yeah though it does get a tit bit nipply in the winter.

  29. 29.

    Dreggas

    May 8, 2008 at 7:24 pm

    D-Chance. Says:

    Birds still fly south for the winter; ergo, it must still get cold up north. Although there’s nothing wrong with tits in the winter.

    Yeah though it does get a tit bit nipply in the winter.

  30. 30.

    Keith

    May 8, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Elizabeth Hurley has the greatest British tits, IMO

  31. 31.

    ed

    May 8, 2008 at 7:41 pm

    Oddly, they had trouble getting volunteers for the study on witches tits.

    That’s cold.

  32. 32.

    ThymeZone

    May 8, 2008 at 7:46 pm

    Another huge letdown.

    It’s rude to brag.

    Well, everything is relative …

  33. 33.

    Fulcanelli

    May 8, 2008 at 8:15 pm

    An online teaser in this week’s Science: A 47-year study of great tits in Britain…

    Keeley Hazell.

    End of story.

  34. 34.

    w vincentz

    May 8, 2008 at 9:01 pm

    Keith,
    Two words:
    B-a-r-b-a-r-a W-a-l-t-e-r-s.

    Or, for those that don’t read as fast as I type, I’ll say it:
    Bawbwa Wahltuz

  35. 35.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    May 8, 2008 at 9:02 pm

    Darn, I was hoping for a Lucy Pinder update.

  36. 36.

    D-Chance.

    May 8, 2008 at 9:24 pm

    Fat liberal slob Bernie Ward… g’bye.

    Between the falling-down drunk Randi Rhodes on the East Coast and pedophile Bernie Ward on the West, it appears the pickings among liberal talking heads are getting slimmer by the day.

  37. 37.

    Brachiator

    May 8, 2008 at 9:42 pm

    jake Says:

    Intrest in ornithology and the environement among males aged 11 – 110 increased by eleventy million percent today …

    There must be some junior high school science class where a student with a wicked sense of humor is asking some earnest teacher, “Can we talk about the effect of Global warming on Great Tits?”

    And thanks to Wikipedia, one can learn that the Great Tit is Parus Major. Strangely enough, although the Japanese Tit — also known as the Oriental Tit — is Parus Minor, it is not known as the Lesser Tit.

    The Wikipedia article also has such great lines as the following (Great Tit):

    most Great Tits do not migrate

    Great Tits are easy to recognize

    Great Tits come in many races, but they fall into three groups.

    In the 1st Movement of Bruckner’s 4th Symphony several Great Tit songs are strung together in a very realistic manner

    A study published in 2007 found that Great Tits helped to reduce caterpillar damage in apple orchards by 50%

    And of course, the best reference book on Tits is Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers.

  38. 38.

    protected static

    May 8, 2008 at 9:55 pm

    Oddly, they had trouble getting volunteers for the study on witches tits.

    That’s cold.

    I found it kind of brassy, myself…

  39. 39.

    jake

    May 8, 2008 at 10:30 pm

    There must be some junior high school science class where a student with a wicked sense of humor is asking some earnest teacher, “Can we talk about the effect of Global warming on Great Tits?”

    Depending on where he is he’d either be suspended, expelled or handed over to the cops under the school’s Zero Tolerance for Humor policy.

    Best literary reference to a tit goes to Richard Adams (I think from The Plague Dogs): “The great tit is ringing in its tree!”

    In the U.S. they’re called titmice which says something really unpleasant about our attitude towards tits and mice.

  40. 40.

    Keith

    May 8, 2008 at 11:11 pm

    Keith,
    Two words:
    B-a-r-b-a-r-a W-a-l-t-e-r-s.

    What does Barbara Walters have to do with British tits? I know she’s sorta topical right now, but she’s about 75 and AMERICAN

  41. 41.

    Mike

    May 8, 2008 at 11:57 pm

    On a tree by a river a little tom-tit
    Sang “Willow, titwillow, titwillow!”
    And I said to him, “Dicky-bird, why do you sit
    Singing Willow, titwillow, titwillow’?”
    “Is it weakness of intellect, birdie?” I cried,
    “Or a rather tough worm in your little inside?”
    With a shake of his poor little head, he replied,
    “Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!”

    He slapped at his chest, as he sat on that bough,
    Singing “Willow, titwillow, titwillow!”
    And a cold perspiration bespangled his brow,
    Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!
    He sobbed and he sighed, and a gurgle he gave,
    Then he plunged himself into the billowy wave,
    And an echo arose from the suicide’s grave —
    “Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!”

    Now I feel just as sure as I’m sure that my name
    Isn’t Willow, titwillow, titwillow,
    That ’twas blighted affection that made him exclaim
    “Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!”
    And if you remain callous and obdurate, I
    Shall perish as he did, and you will know why,
    Though I probably shall not exclaim as I die,
    “Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!”

  42. 42.

    Brachiator

    May 9, 2008 at 1:12 am

    In the U.S. they’re called titmice which says something really unpleasant about our attitude towards tits and mice.

    In the US, they’re also called chickadees, which says something really pleasant about our attitude towards dees and chicks.

    And titmouse goes back to 14th century Old English, not anything particularly American (Tit (bird)):

    The name titmouse is attested from the 14th century, composed of the Old English name for the bird, mase (Proto-Germanic *maison) and tit, denoting something small. The spelling was influenced by mouse in the 16th century.

  43. 43.

    Xenos

    May 9, 2008 at 3:13 am

    Dreggas-

    I finally narrowed it down as to what manner of queer bird you are –

    Either the Agile Tit Tyrant, or the Lesser Tit Tyrant. (couldn’t ge the link to work for the book on Columbian Birds, sorry)

    Some direct observation might be neccesary to peg you correctly, but I am not up for that sort of intensive fieldwork!

  44. 44.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    May 9, 2008 at 6:18 am

    I just can’t resist:

    http://www.celebparasite.com/1958/Lucy_pinder_is_gorgeous_in_these_sexy_photoshoots.html

  45. 45.

    b-psycho

    May 9, 2008 at 11:55 am

    tit, denoting something small.

    Funny, since the phrase “nice tits” today refers to big ones.

    I wonder how quickly I’d get slapped if I said to a large-breasted woman who happened to be a bird enthusiast that I was curious how her great tits would feel in my hands…

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - lashonharangue - Along the Zambezi River [2 of 2] 8
Image by lashonharangue (7/8/25)

World Central Kitchen

Donate

Recent Comments

  • Baud on Wisconsin Is A Reminder of Why We Should Never Give up (Jul 9, 2025 @ 5:22am)
  • donatellonerd on On The Road – dmkingto – SF Bay Area Scenes (Jul 9, 2025 @ 5:11am)
  • Baud on On The Road – dmkingto – SF Bay Area Scenes (Jul 9, 2025 @ 5:11am)
  • jonas on Wisconsin Is A Reminder of Why We Should Never Give up (Jul 9, 2025 @ 4:55am)
  • Bruce K in ATH-GR on Wisconsin Is A Reminder of Why We Should Never Give up (Jul 9, 2025 @ 4:13am)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
No Kings Protests June 14 2025

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

Feeling Defeated?  If We Give Up, It's Game Over

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!