Alom Shaha
@alomshaha.bsky.social
Dad. Science Teacher. Author of books including “Why Don’t Things Fall Up?”, "Mr Shaha's Recipes for Wonder" and “How to Find a Rainbow”. Lots of free stuff and more about me at alomshaha.com
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Alom Shaha
@alomshaha.bsky.social
· Oct 12
I’ve spent 25+ years teaching and “ communicating” science. As well as being a schoolteacher, I’ve worked with scientists and science institutions to help them explain their work to the public. This book is the culmination of all that work. Out in paperback Nov. 7th www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1529...
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Look at this *gorgeous* little Psion Series 3 handheld computer from 1991! Hinges and screen are perfect, but I like to reinforce the hinges with 3M tape, as this is a key point of vulnerability. 😍
February 18, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Look at this *gorgeous* little Psion Series 3 handheld computer from 1991! Hinges and screen are perfect, but I like to reinforce the hinges with 3M tape, as this is a key point of vulnerability. 😍
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Someone likened life to playing Space Invaders, getting increasingly harder and faster until you die
February 19, 2026 at 8:25 AM
Someone likened life to playing Space Invaders, getting increasingly harder and faster until you die
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Designing parks for teenage girls does not mean taking space away from others.
It means noticing who is not using parks and asking why.
It’s about not assuming what teenagers want.
It doesn't mean spaces just for teenage girls, it’s about designing spaces that girls, and others, want to use.
It means noticing who is not using parks and asking why.
It’s about not assuming what teenagers want.
It doesn't mean spaces just for teenage girls, it’s about designing spaces that girls, and others, want to use.
February 19, 2026 at 7:24 AM
Designing parks for teenage girls does not mean taking space away from others.
It means noticing who is not using parks and asking why.
It’s about not assuming what teenagers want.
It doesn't mean spaces just for teenage girls, it’s about designing spaces that girls, and others, want to use.
It means noticing who is not using parks and asking why.
It’s about not assuming what teenagers want.
It doesn't mean spaces just for teenage girls, it’s about designing spaces that girls, and others, want to use.
Reposted by Alom Shaha
This is a master class on how to reply to stupid questions.
Normalize laughing derisively in men's faces when they deserve it.
February 19, 2026 at 7:25 AM
This is a master class on how to reply to stupid questions.
“The sands of time run faster near the end” is title of a paper about how “grains exiting an underwater silo exhibit an unexpected surge in discharge rate as they empty” but also a pretty good summary of how I feel these days. Hoping I’m still a bit away from the end, but time seems to be flying by.
The sands of time run faster near the end
Grains exiting an underwater silo exhibit an unexpected surge in discharge rate as they empty. This contrasts with the constant flow rate of dry granular hoppers and the decreasing flow rate of pure liquids. Here we find that this surge depends on ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
February 19, 2026 at 7:27 AM
“The sands of time run faster near the end” is title of a paper about how “grains exiting an underwater silo exhibit an unexpected surge in discharge rate as they empty” but also a pretty good summary of how I feel these days. Hoping I’m still a bit away from the end, but time seems to be flying by.
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Hemingway was once bet that he couldn’t write the world’s happiest short story in just 5 words. He replied,
February 19, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Hemingway was once bet that he couldn’t write the world’s happiest short story in just 5 words. He replied,
Reposted by Alom Shaha
I imagine it was extremely disturbing
February 18, 2026 at 6:14 PM
I imagine it was extremely disturbing
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Shout out to everyone doing science communication for the greater good while some of the biggest names in science were conspiring to spread white supremacy and misogyny. Maybe don’t invite those people to your festivals anymore though?
February 18, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Shout out to everyone doing science communication for the greater good while some of the biggest names in science were conspiring to spread white supremacy and misogyny. Maybe don’t invite those people to your festivals anymore though?
Reposted by Alom Shaha
solar, wind, trains (including light rail), buses, district heating, heat pumps, fucking love trams
is there a technology that "the left" is excited about?
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...
The left is missing out on AI
As a movement, it has largely refused to engage seriously with AI, ceding debate about a threat and opportunity to the right
www.transformernews.ai
February 18, 2026 at 12:38 PM
solar, wind, trains (including light rail), buses, district heating, heat pumps, fucking love trams
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Invite us scientists who took these Epstein stans down instead? It’s a cracking tale.
February 18, 2026 at 11:16 AM
Invite us scientists who took these Epstein stans down instead? It’s a cracking tale.
Shout out to everyone doing science communication for the greater good while some of the biggest names in science were conspiring to spread white supremacy and misogyny. Maybe don’t invite those people to your festivals anymore though?
February 18, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Shout out to everyone doing science communication for the greater good while some of the biggest names in science were conspiring to spread white supremacy and misogyny. Maybe don’t invite those people to your festivals anymore though?
Reposted by Alom Shaha
"📢The #BSW26 activity packs are live now!
We've published three FREE packs for children & young people from under 5s to secondary school students - there's something for everyone!
Download yours now & get the British Science Week fun started:
www.britishscienceweek.org/activity-pac...
We've published three FREE packs for children & young people from under 5s to secondary school students - there's something for everyone!
Download yours now & get the British Science Week fun started:
www.britishscienceweek.org/activity-pac...
January 20, 2026 at 2:51 PM
"📢The #BSW26 activity packs are live now!
We've published three FREE packs for children & young people from under 5s to secondary school students - there's something for everyone!
Download yours now & get the British Science Week fun started:
www.britishscienceweek.org/activity-pac...
We've published three FREE packs for children & young people from under 5s to secondary school students - there's something for everyone!
Download yours now & get the British Science Week fun started:
www.britishscienceweek.org/activity-pac...
Reposted by Alom Shaha
‘Well, look, if I’m going to import the cars anyway, then I’d rather import less oil. We may as well import the one that cleans up local air quality and is cheaper to buy.’
The Great Story of the Extraordinary EV boom in Ethiopia www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
The Great Story of the Extraordinary EV boom in Ethiopia www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Electric Vehicle Sales Boom as Ethiopia Bans Fossil-Fuel Car Imports
The East African country is making use of cheap hydropower and Chinese electric vehicles to ditch the internal combustion engine.
www.bloomberg.com
February 18, 2026 at 10:00 AM
‘Well, look, if I’m going to import the cars anyway, then I’d rather import less oil. We may as well import the one that cleans up local air quality and is cheaper to buy.’
The Great Story of the Extraordinary EV boom in Ethiopia www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
The Great Story of the Extraordinary EV boom in Ethiopia www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Kent County Council latest:
Seven KCC councillors have defected to Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain tonight.
They are Paul Thomas, Brian Black, Oliver Bradshaw, Maxine Fothergill, Isabella Kemp, Robert Ford, and Dean Burns.
Most had already been kicked out of Reform, with the exception of Burns.
Seven KCC councillors have defected to Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain tonight.
They are Paul Thomas, Brian Black, Oliver Bradshaw, Maxine Fothergill, Isabella Kemp, Robert Ford, and Dean Burns.
Most had already been kicked out of Reform, with the exception of Burns.
February 17, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Kent County Council latest:
Seven KCC councillors have defected to Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain tonight.
They are Paul Thomas, Brian Black, Oliver Bradshaw, Maxine Fothergill, Isabella Kemp, Robert Ford, and Dean Burns.
Most had already been kicked out of Reform, with the exception of Burns.
Seven KCC councillors have defected to Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain tonight.
They are Paul Thomas, Brian Black, Oliver Bradshaw, Maxine Fothergill, Isabella Kemp, Robert Ford, and Dean Burns.
Most had already been kicked out of Reform, with the exception of Burns.
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Reposted by Alom Shaha
The aesthetics of insecure masculinity feeling under attack.
February 18, 2026 at 10:30 AM
The aesthetics of insecure masculinity feeling under attack.
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Good piece. Clearly MPs need to be professionalised rather than being a bunch of one-person bands: overarching structures like HR, data gathering, admin support should be in place, maybe with a civil service for MPs. Also, MPs should not have side-hustles: it should be a full-time job.
The workload facing MPs and their staff is growing, in ways that aren't visible to the public: casework and the inbox.
For @thehousemag.bsky.social, I delved into what the workload looks like, why it's growing, and what this means for how MPs can balance the different aspects of their role
For @thehousemag.bsky.social, I delved into what the workload looks like, why it's growing, and what this means for how MPs can balance the different aspects of their role
Casework Crisis: Increase In Constituency Caseload Takes Its Toll
The inexorable growth in casework is stopping MPs from fulfilling their other roles. Alice Lilly sifts through the inbox looking for what might be ...
www.politicshome.com
February 18, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Good piece. Clearly MPs need to be professionalised rather than being a bunch of one-person bands: overarching structures like HR, data gathering, admin support should be in place, maybe with a civil service for MPs. Also, MPs should not have side-hustles: it should be a full-time job.
Reposted by Alom Shaha
I am shocked, shocked, to learn that people who invested money in a company famously run by a pair of dickheads may lose it all.
I invested £12,000 in Brewdog - I think I've lost it all
More than 200,000 people bought Equity for Punks shares in the craft brewer but many now believe they are worthless.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 18, 2026 at 10:01 AM
I am shocked, shocked, to learn that people who invested money in a company famously run by a pair of dickheads may lose it all.
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Romania has decoupled economic growth from pollution faster than anywhere else in EU. Its net greenhouse gas emissions intensity fell 88% between 1990 & 2023, so each euro’s worth of economic activity heats planet 10 times less. Emissions have plunged by 75%. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘The trend is irreversible’: has Romania shattered the link between economic growth and high emissions?
Emissions have plunged 75% since communist times in the birthplace of big oil – but for some the transition has been brutal
www.theguardian.com
February 17, 2026 at 8:53 AM
Romania has decoupled economic growth from pollution faster than anywhere else in EU. Its net greenhouse gas emissions intensity fell 88% between 1990 & 2023, so each euro’s worth of economic activity heats planet 10 times less. Emissions have plunged by 75%. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Lent 🤝 Ramadan. Shoutout to everyone in austerity mode for the next month
February 18, 2026 at 8:34 AM
Lent 🤝 Ramadan. Shoutout to everyone in austerity mode for the next month
Reposted by Alom Shaha
I agree with the Stop Ecocide folks that this needs to be criminalised. They can always budget for fines. CEOs or whoever makes these calls must face prison time or there will never be any real protections of these ecosystems and the people who inhabit and rely on them 🥺
February 18, 2026 at 7:29 AM
I agree with the Stop Ecocide folks that this needs to be criminalised. They can always budget for fines. CEOs or whoever makes these calls must face prison time or there will never be any real protections of these ecosystems and the people who inhabit and rely on them 🥺
Reposted by Alom Shaha
$55 million is pittance against the money they'll have made from the bauxite, it's just another line in the budget. Not a deterrent to further ecocide.
"US mining giant Alcoa has been forced to pay $55 million after unlawfully clearing parts of a Western Australian native forest to mine bauxite."
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...
Alcoa hit with record fine for clearing world's only jarrah forests
US mining giant Alcoa is forced to pay $55 million after unlawfully clearing parts of a Western Australian native forest to mine bauxite.
www.abc.net.au
February 18, 2026 at 7:22 AM
$55 million is pittance against the money they'll have made from the bauxite, it's just another line in the budget. Not a deterrent to further ecocide.
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Imagine doing this with your one precious life. Other people are out there teaching children and curing cancer and you decide to spend your time telling outrageous, laughably unbelievable lies about a dementia-addled rapist and fraud whose legacy will be nearly ending US democracy
Leavitt: "I think it's frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit. He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service."
February 18, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Imagine doing this with your one precious life. Other people are out there teaching children and curing cancer and you decide to spend your time telling outrageous, laughably unbelievable lies about a dementia-addled rapist and fraud whose legacy will be nearly ending US democracy
Reposted by Alom Shaha
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.
before antibiotics did people just die all the time from everything?
February 17, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.