Elizabeth Preston
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inkfish.bsky.social
Elizabeth Preston
@inkfish.bsky.social
5.4K followers 480 following 550 posts
Science journalist, humor writer and aspiring cephalopod. Author of THE CREATURES' GUIDE TO CARING, coming in 2026.

elizabethgpreston.com
elizabethgpreston.substack.com
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inkfish.bsky.social
I asked my kindergartener if she'd chosen a candle for her "spa bath" and she said "I can't decide between grapefruit and cheddar blossom."
A Trader Joe's candle labeled "Cedar Balsam."
November 7, 2025 at 2:50 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
I wasn't planning to post pictures of my kids' Halloween costumes BUT my feed is telling me it's #WorldJellyfishDay?! 🧪
Two children carrying clear umbrellas decorated to look like jellyfish, with dangling ribbons and strips of bubble wrap, and lights inside
November 3, 2025 at 1:49 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
"Pumpkin garden," also by @akpresto.bsky.social
A scene built out of Lego in which a farmer with a jack-o-lantern head stands next to a shed and waters vines that are growing human heads
October 31, 2025 at 4:12 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Your spooky Lego art for the day: "Pumpkin carving," by my sister @akpresto.bsky.social

(On non-spooky days, she makes Lego art about climate, cities and data: aangles.ghost.io)
A scene built out of Lego in which a human minifig lies on a surgical bed, while a sinister doctor with a jack-o-lantern head stands nearby holding a dagger
October 31, 2025 at 4:10 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
GULP! I hope I am not so STIFF and SPOOKed that I can only speak in GRUNTs and BONK into things when I interview the legendary Mary Roach onstage about her new book REPLACEABLE YOU! See you there?? www.harvard.com/event/mary-r... @harvardbookstore.bsky.social 🧪
September 29, 2025 at 1:18 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Not disproving the idea that everything evolves into crabs, my 5-year-old left this picture on my desk of "Mama as a crab." 🧪
A child's drawing in green pen, showing a smiley face with long hair, six straight lines for legs coming out underneath, and two long arms with pincers
September 8, 2025 at 12:13 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Can any insect people tell me who this bee is? I saw several in one place yesterday in Cambridge, MA. Little black-and-white character, zippy, very round. Big fuzzy white area on the back legs. 🧪
Close-up photo of a small black-and-white bee on a purple flower
August 19, 2025 at 5:36 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
While in Cape Cod last week, I heard something I'd never heard before: a coyote pack! They returned multiple times, barking, yipping and howling. I'd love to know more about this behavior. In this video you can hear them making a ruckus and then stopping all at once. 🧪
August 5, 2025 at 1:54 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Timeline cleanse (family bath):
A swan and three baby swans preening themselves at the edge of a pond, seen from a boardwalk above.
July 2, 2025 at 3:26 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
A family walk to cleanse your timeline:
A female mallard and four ducklings walking down a path, cautiously but adorably.
June 30, 2025 at 2:17 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
I’m not trying to be a jerk here, but not even this 25-word post made it to publication without two errors.
Original post by me: “I’ve been sharing this information with pretty much anyone who asks how my book is going. I tell them to check the acknowledgments, and if no fact-checker is thanked, assume the book you’re reading has errors (possibly a lot).” Quote post by Maureen Ogle: “What the hell????? Kids, I assume [sic] you that my books do [sic] have errors. Period. And they’ve never been fact checked. This is a ridiculous statement.”
June 17, 2025 at 11:03 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
I can't help but notice that the article cites an AI research company named after a character in the Matrix—the movie that's the basis for the delusions experienced by one subject of this article. The way companies talk about AI has helped to create this problem.
"Vie McCoy, the chief technology officer of Morpheus Systems, an A.I. research firm, tried to measure how often chatbots encouraged users' delusions. She became interested in the subject when a friend's mother entered what she called 'spiritual psychosis' after an encounter with ChatGPT."
June 13, 2025 at 1:41 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Me reading email before coffee: "Geez, my book isn't even coming out until next—oh it's from the doctor's office"
Screenshot from an email inbox: sender is "do_not_reply," subject line is "Have you arrived?" and preview reads "Hello Elizabeth, Let us know if you've reached the clinic reception area..." Time is 6:30 AM.
June 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Actually not what I meant in this neuroscience passage, thanks though? 🧪
Screenshot from a Word doc reading "shrinkage. Dads who lost the most gray matter were also," on the first line and "postpartum mental illness" on the second line. There's a blue underline under the words "most gray," and a popup box suggesting "grayest" as a substitute.
May 28, 2025 at 1:08 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Yesterday I messed up at A (putting me on an unfamiliar route), managed B (only because traffic was at a dead stop), and messed up at C. My 30-minute trip home was 45. Anyway if you're a Boston-area driver, please cheer me up by sharing the spaghetti intersection that has personally attacked you?
A screenshot from Google Maps labeled "A," showing an uncountable number of roads, including route 93, overlapping each other A screenshot from Google Maps labeled "B," showing a spaghetti-like intersection of several roads, including route 90 and Soldiers Field Road A screenshot from Google Maps labeled "C," showing yet another chaotic intersection of several winding roads, including Memorial Drive and Gerrys Landing Road
May 18, 2025 at 1:35 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Clearing out my inbox over coffee:
- horrors
- horrors
- horrors
- 300 penis bones 🧪
A figure showing two rows of long, narrow bones labeled 0–29, under the title "Morphology and development of the baculum in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina)"
May 8, 2025 at 2:17 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Let me bless your timeline with this gorgeous green bee I unearthed yesterday while gardening (sorry bee!!). Internet tells me she's Agapostemon virescens, and will team up with her buddies to defend a nest. 🧪
May 4, 2025 at 1:07 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Waiting to hear back on a few pitches, so I made erasure poetry out of a list of words that will reportedly get your NSF grant flagged. (Original list at docs.google.com/document/d/1..., shared by @jengolbeck.bsky.social) Anybody want to try their own? 🧪
The following words and phrases, broken into three columns: "activism activists advocacy advocate advocates barrier barriers biased Biased toward biases Biases towards bipoc black and latinx community diversity community equity cultural differences cultural heritage culturally responsive culturally responsive disabilities disability discriminated discrimination discriminatory diverse backgrounds diverse backgrounds diverse communities diverse community diverse group diverse groups diversified diversify diversifying diversity and inclusion diversity equity enhance the diversity enhancing diversity equal opportunity equality equitable equity ethnicity excluded female females fostering inclusivity gender gender diversity genders hate speech excluded female females fostering inclusivity gender gender diversity genders hate speech hispanic minority historically implicit bias implicit biases inclusion inclusive inclusiveness inclusivity Increase diversity increase the diversity indigenous community inequalities inequality inequitable inequities institutional lgbt marginalize marginalized minorities minority multicultural multicultural polarization political prejudice privileges promoting diversity race and ethnicity racial racial diversity racial inequality racial justice racially racism sense of belonging sexual preferences social justice socio cultural socio economic sociocultural socioeconomic status stereotypes systemic trauma under appreciated under represented under served underrepresentation underrepresented underserved undervalued victim women women and underrepresented" All the words in the previous list are erased, except for: "a sense of belonging is the victim"
April 11, 2025 at 3:09 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Scientists observe captive cockatoos dipping their pasta in blueberry soy yogurt, confirm cockatoos are actually 8-year-old human children www.cell.com/current-biol... 🧪
Screenshot of video from Zewald & Auersperg 2025: A white cockatoo is perched on the rim of a shallow red food dish with purple yogurt inside. The cockatoo is using one foot to hold a yogurt-covered piece of pasta up to its beak.
February 11, 2025 at 2:06 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Four-year-old: “What does the disco button do?”
Photo of the lower left corner of a MacBook keyboard. The corner button says “fn” and has an icon that looks like a…globe?
February 10, 2025 at 2:45 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
At least my book fact-checker will be glad I grabbed a screenshot yesterday before the government took down this study on (checks notes) preventing the murder of newborn babies 🧪
Banner reads: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Article headline: Infant Homicides Within the Context of Safe Haven Laws—United States, 2008–2017 Date: October 2, 2020 Authors: Rebecca F. Wilson, PhD, Joanne Klevens, MD, PhD, Dionne Williams, MPS, Likang Xu, MD
February 1, 2025 at 2:15 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
Words of wisdom from Moominmamma.
A panel from Moomin Winter, by Tove Jansson: A hippo-shaped character on the left, looking tired and despondent, is saying "But Mamma, what can one do all winter?" Another hippo-shaped character on the right is holding a kettle and plate of food and saying "At the moment we'll have coffee."
January 27, 2025 at 2:44 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
The people who name woodpeckers are gaslighting us, right?
On the left, a photo labeled "red-bellied woodpecker." The bird has a red head, black and white wings, and white belly. On the right, a photo labeled "golden-fronted woodpecker." The bird has a golden head, black and white wings, and white front.
January 24, 2025 at 7:42 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
I’m not sure which direction would help at this point, but if anyone’s looking to travel to the past or “futer,” my kids made this time machine yesterday.
Closet door with a sign taped to it, written and decorated by children. Sign reads “TIME TRAVEL” and “FUTER/PAST.” Underneath is a plastic baggie and a sign reading “insert coins here”
January 21, 2025 at 4:43 PM
inkfish.bsky.social
OK, robins aren't very exciting, but it still seems rude for science to call them flying turds? 🧪
Photo of a robin perching and eating red berries. Caption underneath says "American Robin/Turdus migratorius"
January 14, 2025 at 4:02 PM