Dr. Sophie Kay
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scientistsoph.bsky.social
Dr. Sophie Kay
@scientistsoph.bsky.social
6.4K followers 1.4K following 810 posts
Pro Genealogist & Scientist at www.khronicle.co.uk, #Genealogy Expert for Time Team. Oxford D.Phil.(SysBio), Fiend for #maps & #research methods. Big hair, big heels, weakness for cake.She/her.

Blog: www.parchmentrustler.com
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scientistsoph.bsky.social
Thanks, Julie - will be great to have you with us tonight!

All set here and there'll be a combo of quiz questions and mid-session discussion alongside the talk and Q&A, so bring your best #DNA chat 😊 #GeneticGenealogy
Six Hats for Genetic Genealogy, a talk by Dr. Sophie Kay of Khronicle. A DNA helix and several images of hats are arranged around the title slide
November 4, 2025 at 11:47 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
7am start today to head up country for my #DNA session at #bsf25. Hopefully into Liverpool for midday!

May I also remind you that Awesome #Science demands the very best shoes. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise 😉
woman's foot wearing a chunky, high-heeled shoe in a bright turquoise colour
September 13, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Well, folks - my first day back on social media in a while. Combo of a wildly busy year & an emergency medical incident in May (of the ambulance to hospital kind). Recovery is important.

Consider this thread your virtual 'water cooler': tell me your news. Surprise me. What did I miss?
Illustration of people standing around a water cooler. Image c/o Getty Images, licensed via Unsplash+
September 3, 2025 at 5:45 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
A couple of things about our #bsf25 session, #DNA and Identity...
👉 We've had a venue change from the original listing and are now on at the fab Bluecoat on School Lane
👉 Advance tickets have SOLD OUT but some walk-ins will be permitted on the day, subject to capacity
👉 Expect LOTS of audience Q&A!
Find us at venues across Liverpool - British Science Festival, Liverpool, 10 - 14 Sep 2025
September 3, 2025 at 12:49 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
In Liverpool on 13 Sept? The Mixed Museum & I are delivering one of the Presidential sessions for the British #Science Festival #bsf25

We're talking about the power, positives & pitfalls of DNA testing - and how to navigate them:
britishscienceassociation-tickets.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...
British Science Festival, Liverpool 10 - 14 September 2025. All events are free - book now!
September 3, 2025 at 12:43 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Tonight we're delving into search strategies: wildcarding, how Soundex really works, and how to deal with negative searches... There'll be plenty of (optional) hands-on exercises to get you progressing your own #FamilyHistory #research as we go!
Research Skills Studio - week 1: search superpowers, by Dr. Sophie Kay. Graphic shows a magnifying glass floating in the air
April 29, 2025 at 1:40 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
And so you can continue learning and honing skills beyond the weekly live sessions, all Studio attendees also receive a digital copy of my #ResearchSkills Workbook, offering an array of articles & printable worksheets...
Family History research skills workbook from Family Tree, by Dr Sophie Kay. Practical worksheets, case studies and exercises to hone your search strategies
April 29, 2025 at 1:32 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
It's back! Tonight it's Week 1 of my Research Skills Studio for Family Tree Plus: 4 sessions of #FamilyHistory training in #research methods.

I'm aiming for fun & informative: each 60 minute webinar is followed by a 'Zoom afterparty' for chat & questions...

www.family-tree.co.uk/store/geneal...
Promotional slide showing a magnifying glass over the top of historical photos and documents. The Research Skills Studio from Family Tree Plus, running 29 April to 20 May 2025
April 29, 2025 at 1:30 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
About time for a little heads-up from me.

I've been navigating some medical bumps in the road here, so social media has taken a back seat...and the #OccupationOfTheDay is taking a break too.

Looking forward to some awesome #science & #history conversations with you once I'm back in action!
Composite of historical images from various eras and places, each depicting a separate occupation. We have chorus girls, nuremaids, shoemakers, glass blowers, street merchants, washerwomen and pedlars
April 18, 2025 at 11:28 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…COKE INSPECTOR:

At a gas works, a worker who "investigates complaints from customers as to quantity and quality of coke supplied."

Dict Occup'l Terms (1927)
📷 Selling Coke at the Gas Works (Tidmarsh, 1893-4) c/o M'cr Art Gallery
Pen and ink sketch of people labouring at a works, moving coke around in barrows and sacks. In the middle is a man in a bowler hat, possibly a salesman of some kind, in conversation with a waistcoated working man. A young woman in a shawl looks on.
March 28, 2025 at 9:36 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…SERVANT:

"A person engaged to attend or wait upon, or to obey the directions & meet the needs of, a particular person, or to perform specified tasks in a particular household or establishment..."

OED (2025), buff.ly/4RC18mz
📷 Hogarth's Servants (c.1750-5) c/o Tate
Oil painting of three women, two men and a boy in 18th century attire. The women wear bonnets and the men have longish hari reaching to their shoulders
March 27, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…CALICO PLAITER:

A textile worker who "folds calico backwards and forwards, in folds of a given length, for convenience in passing it through calico printing machines."

Dict Occup'l Terms (1927)
📷 Calico printing process (1835) c/o Wellcome Coll'n
Historical engraving of a room in a calico factory. The space is dominated by two huge machines which drawf the workers nearby. Cloth is running through the visible machines and a pattern can be seen along their length. In the background are worktables where other workers are attending to smaller scale tasks, possibly involving printing blocks
March 26, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…FLAP KEEPER:

"greases and clears obstructions daily from iron flaps, fitted to sewer outlets to prevent entry of tidal wave."

Dict Occup'l Terms (1927)
📷 Sewer worker (1958) c/o Seattle Municpal Archives, CC-BY 4.0
Heritage photo in black and white. A young man in his twenties. He wears heavy overalls and an overcoat, both of which are discoloured and splashed with moisture from the sewer environment. He wears a hat on his head and one of his bare hands rests on the stopcock of a pipe in front of him. In his other hand he holds a hammer,
March 25, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Here's 23andMe's own statement on the implications for, and legal protections governing, the onward use of their #genetic and personal data: #GeneticGenealogy #FamilyHistory #DNA
What does this mean for my genetic data The filing does not change how we store, manage, or protect customer data. Through the sale process, 23andMe will look to secure a partner who shares in its commitment to customer data privacy and will further its mission of helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. Any buyer will be required to comply with applicable law with respect to treatment of customer data. Our users’ privacy and data are important considerations in any transaction, and we remain committed to our users’ privacy and to being transparent with our customers about how their data is managed. You can opt into and out of our research at any time by updating your consent status in your account settings. If you opt out, we will stop using your information for research going forward (we cannot affect studies that have already been completed) and will discontinue use of your data within 30 days.
March 24, 2025 at 10:50 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
At this stage much uncertainty comes from the road ahead being largely a blank page. Difficult to know what shape the company might take post-sale & if this would leave 23andMe largely intact or (more likely I think) the more valuable parts of it being acquired - see thier statement below:
If approved by the Bankruptcy Court, the Company will actively solicit qualified bids to acquire all or parts of 23andMe
March 24, 2025 at 10:45 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…CHAPE FILER:

A skilled metalworker who made mountings for scabbards and/or small fixings such as buckles.

📷 Sabre with highly ornamented scabbard, c/o Met Museum
modern photograph of a sabre and a scabbard. The hit of the sword and the entire body of the scabbard are covered with ornamental metalwork and an array of precious stones
March 24, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…THREE BRANCH HAND:

Term given to a workman who offers multiple skills, typically combining the work of a plumber, glazier and house painter.

📷 Jobs of a three branch hand, c.early 19thC
Colour sketch of a man at work in three different tasks in turn: house painter, where he is painting a door; glazier, in which he is fitting some glass; and plumber, where he is tending to some pipes
March 23, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…HAIR BLEACHER:

"bleaches hair for wig making by immersion in solution of hydrogen peroxide, etc., to produce artificial white hair, or to reduce intensity of existing colour."

Dict Occup'l Terms (1927)
📷 Trade card (c.1765) c/o British Museum, CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0
18th century printed trade card, advertising the Hand and Lock Of Hair, Fleet Bridge, London. The wording promotes 'fresh live hair in the sweat or ready curl'd'
March 22, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is...ODD WORKER or ODD FILER (cycles):

A worker who "finishes parts of cycles, with file, etc., at a bench."

Dict Occup'l Terms (1927)
📷 Inventor in bicycle workshop, Netherlands (1945) c/o Wiki Commons
Black and white heritage photo of a man in a suit standing in a bicycle workshop. He holds a chisel in his hand and is using it to file down the components of a bike gear system, which is held in a clamp in front of him
March 21, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…FLOWER MODELLER & PLANT MOUNTER:

Skilled worker (usu. temp) employed by the British Museum's Natural History dept. to mount & arrange displays of flora for models of animals shown in natural habitats.

Dict of Employments Open to Women (1898)
📷 'Edward's Dodo'(c.1620)
Colour oil painting of a dodo, with a parrot in the background. Around the animals is a range of plant types
March 20, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…PUNCHCLOD:

"A low peasant, a ploughman, one engaged in agriculture." Dialect term, chiefly Yorks.

English Dialect Dictionary (1898-1905)
📷 The Ploughing Lesson (c.1890) c/o North Lincs Museums, CC-BY-NC 4.0
Oil painting of an agricultural scene. We can see a field and two workers in profile; an older man and a young boy are standing behind a plough drawn by two horses. The boy receives instruction from the bearded man in how to guide the plough across the field
March 19, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…GAITNER:

A skilled agricultural worker whose job it was to reshape bound sheaves into a configuration which allowed for ease of carrying and good drainage and drying.

📷 'Summer' (c.1644), Teniers the Younger, c/o National Gallery
Oil painting of an agricultural scene. Several workers are in a field; in the background workers with scythes are cutting the crop. In the foreground, dominating the scene, is a man in a white shirt and black pantaloons, holding a sheaf of corn which is as tall as he is
March 18, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is...ROTARY KILN BURNER:

"in charge of rotary kiln [for cement manufacture]; regulates supply of slurry (mixture of limestone/chalk & clay with water) to kiln...regulates heat from furnace."

Dict Occup'l Terms (1927)
📷 Rotary kiln burners (1926) c/o Wiki Commons
Black and white heritage photo of an enormous room in a cement works. Vast cylindrical drums forming cement kilns are ranged along one side of the room; controls wheels for the machinery, ladders and pipes are visible along the length of the space. To the right of this, two workers - quite blurred in the exposure - are visible. Caption reads: Photo no. 69. Rotary kilns in new mill of Pacific Portland Cement Company, Solano County
March 17, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is...LORRY MAN or LURRY MAN (or woman!):

"drives a heavy four-wheeled vehicle known as a lorry, or, in the North of England, a lurry."

Dict of Occup'l Terms (1927)
📷 17 yr old lorry driver (1958) c/o Nat'l Library of Wales, CC-BY-SA 4.0
Black and white photo from the 1950s of a teenage girl sitting behind the wheel of a lorry. The window is open and she is slightly leaning through the space, wearing a leather jacket. The door is painted with the company name - O G Jones, Bryn Owen, Haulage Contractor, Anglesey
March 16, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is...SYRINGE COTTONER:

"binds cotton, by hand, round plungers of syringes; usually also boxes and wraps up syringes"

Dict of Occup'l Terms (1927)
📷 Enema syringes c/o Wellcome Coll'n, CC-BY 4.0
Image of four enema syringes made variously of brass, ivory,ebony and pewter. The difference in materials is highly apparent from the variation in colour
March 15, 2025 at 9:30 AM