Steven Haddock
Compliance Officer
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Insufferable know-it-all, mostly law, science, politics and Canadian football.
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What exactly is the krill paradox, and why did krill numbers drop when whale populations decreased due to whaling?
When humans wiped out two million whales in the 20th century, biologists expected their primary prey—krill—to explode in numbers. Instead, krill populations plummeted by 80%. In what marine biologists now call the "krill paradox," this baffling phenomenon puzzled researchers for decades, until a deep…
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What is the most ridiculous reason for which you have been fired?
Not be but my friend. He caught the company's golden boy stealing a sale at Macy's. What happened was my friend sold 6 pair of shoes at $90 each for a bridal party. One of the bridesmaid had to exchange their pair for another size. She had the receipt. The guy returned all six pairs and rerang them un…
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France has a large number of universities—over 60 public universities—but many of them have limited international recognition, especially compared with institutions in the US, UK, or even Germany. Why?
France produces world-class scientists and groundbreaking research. Yet its education system was historically rigged to ensure its public universities would fail in global rankings. An illustration of a classic French university building featuring neoclassical architecture. The issue stems from a uniq…
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Are creationists ever going to stop talking about Darwin? Biology moved beyond Darwin decades ago.
No, because the people they listen-to keep using “Darwin” as a straw man and they don’t have much else to leverage their arguments.
Why was Charlie Chaplin exiled from the United States?
Chaplin was banned for political reasons. The right, and the FBI accused him of being communist - this was at the height of the Red Scare. When he went to London to premiere his film Limelight the AG revoked his return visa and said he would need to submit to an interview before being allowed back i…
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Why do evolution BELIEVERS always say that evolution is a fact even if they have no facts?
We have millions of facts. I'll give you a fact: antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They didn't exist. Now they do. That's evolution at work.
Why do evolution BELIEVERS always say that evolution is a fact even if they have no facts?
We have millions of facts. I'll give you a fact: antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They didn't exist. Now they do. That's evolution at work.
What are some arguments against 12-person juries?
The standard 12-person jury isn't based on legal efficiency or psychological science—it was likely adopted to match the twelve apostles. Today, strong arguments emerge against this large panel. * Social loafing and uneven participation: Psychological studies of group dynamics consistently show that as…
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Are there replicators in "Star Trek: The Original Series"?
No, and this is the most difficult retcon of them all, and one that the great continuity fixer Manny Coto never did fix satisfactorily. This scene from “The Trouble With Tribbles” says it all. Captain Kirk dictates an order in the rec room for a chicken sandwich and coffee. He dictates this, not to a…
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Why are soldiers trained to lie down when being shot at? Wouldn't running to cover be a better idea?
Because you can't shoot what you can't see. Go out into the countryside with a friend. Stand 100m apart and get your friend to lie prone. Can you see them? More often than not the answer is going to be “no”. You might be surprised how little undergrowth or variation in the ground it takes to hide a p…
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Was Katz's Delicatessen made famous by "When Harry Met Sally," or was it already a beloved deli?
When cameras rolled for When Harry Met Sally in 1989, Katz's Delicatessen had already been serving pastrami for exactly one hundred years. The film just turned a local legend into a global icon. An illustration of a classic New York City corner delicatessen at dusk. Established in 1888 on Manhattan’s…
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In Star Wars, why do generals fight on the front lines instead of coordinating larger operations like they would in a real military?
In the real military, it’s not uncommon to find generals up to the two-star rank actually involved in front line battles, and three-stars not far behind their troops keeping an eye on things. On D-Day, there were a hell of a lot of brigadiers in front of the troops. One of them was in his early fifti…
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Why is knowing when to stop talking such a powerful tactic for lawyers in court?
TV lawyers win cases with impassioned monologues. But in a real courtroom, an attorney's most dangerous weapon isn't a silver tongue—it's absolute silence. The most famous trap for attorneys is asking "one question too many" during cross-examination. Trial lawyers are taught early on to establish a s…
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Why was the BAE 146 considered perfect for airports like London City with short runways and steep approaches?
To land at London City Airport, a jet must plummet at a steep 5.5-degree angle. To survive this drop without gaining lethal speed, the BAe 146 literally split its own tail in half. For decades, this four-engine regional jet—affectionately nicknamed the "Jumbolino"—ruled the tight confines and dramati…
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What factors contribute to the complacency in addressing safety concerns at nuclear power plants like Chernobyl?
Soviet officials once claimed their nuclear reactors were so inherently safe they could be built in Red Square. It is tempting to look at a disaster like Chernobyl and see a purely technological failure, but catastrophic events of that scale are almost always rooted in organizational psychology. Com…
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What is "pothole politics" that Mayor Zohran Mamdani refers to in his approach to delivering public goods?
This is actually a philosophy dating back to the 1970s and mayor William Schaefer of Baltimore, who later became governor of Maryland. Baltimore was in bad shape when he was elected in 1971 and a great part of that was the fact that city taxes were high, the government payroll was high, but city serv…
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What made Roman water systems so advanced, and how did they manage to supply water across entire cities?
Roman water systems didn't use a single mechanical pump. To supply a sprawling city of over a million people, engineers moved millions of gallons using nothing but staggering precision and gravity. This engineering ecosystem was so refined that it rivaled modern networks and remained unmatched until…
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Why do some MLB ballparks have such odd shapes and quirky features, and how do teams decide what will benefit them the most?
Fenway Park’s iconic 37-foot "Green Monster" wasn't engineered for a strategic advantage. It only exists because a city street was in the way. Baseball is the only major sport where the playing surface is explicitly designed to be different in every single professional venue. While a basketball court…
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Why do so many people who win in small claims court never actually see a dime of the money they were awarded?
Winning your small claims lawsuit isn't the hardest part. The real battle begins when you realize the judge's gavel strike guarantees exactly zero dollars will appear in your bank account. When a judge rules in a plaintiff's favor, they issue a judgment. A judgment is simply a formal, legally binding…
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What are some historical examples of the oppressed becoming the oppressors?
Liberia. Started out as a colony of African Americans, many of them ex-slaves that travelled to Africa to set up a new life away from slavery. As literal ex-slaves, it’s hard to think of people more oppressed than them. They even incorporated freed captives from slave ships that were intercepted. Aft…
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Why is the John Cleese cameo in "Silverado" significant?
Largely because it upends an old assumption that existed in decades of “westerns” produced in Hollywood - that pretty much everyone in the old west was American. And that was certainly not the case. About 25% of residents of the western United States in the old west period (roughly 1865 to 1900) were…
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