Episode #704
News Items
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Science
The Spix macaw, made famous by the 2011 movie Rio, was declared extinct in the wild in 2018, with the only remaining specimens in captivity. https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/spixs-macaw-heads-list-first-bird-extinctions-set-be-confirmed-decade
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Item #2
Science
The eastern cougar was declared extinct in 2018, even though the last sighting was 80 years ago. https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/the-eastern-cougar-declared-extinct-after-not-being-seen-for-80-years/
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Item #3
Fiction
The last living northern white rhino died in captivity in 2018. https://rhinos.org/species/white-rhino/
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
‘Hucksters want their claims to look like science for a reason. Science works hard to ascertain facts. But just looking like science is not the same as having all the evidence. Pseudoscience is like a magician’s trick. It seems believable, but it is all crafty illusion.’ – Douglas Allchin, historian and philosopher of science and science educator