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In A Hundred Anecdotes of Animals, a family was said to have watched a wren and her young in a nest built inside a box. The box was placed so that they could see the mother settle beside its opening, facing the chicks, and sing her whole song distinctly^[1].

One chick then tried to imitate her. It managed a few notes before its voice broke and it lost the tune. According to the anthology, the mother began again at the point where the chick had faltered and sang the rest. The chick tried once more, picking up where it had stopped; when it lost its way again, she supplied the remaining notes until it could finish^[2].

The account says she repeated her full song before each of the other young attempted it, responding in the same way whenever one faltered. The family reportedly saw these exchanges several times a day, day after day. It is the anthology’s account of what they observed, not a verified modern account of how wrens learn to sing^[3].

Imagine sinking into a low, deep seat surrounded by amber lamplight, natural wood grain, and soft textures that make the rest of the room fade away^[1][2]. Even in a rental with strict lease rules, you can carve out an inviting, hut-like retreat in a single awkward corner without drilling or renovating^[3].

Here are three renter-safe moves to set the scene:

• Lower the colour temperature: Swap your overhead bulb for a warm LED running between 2700K and 3000K to cast an amber, candle-like glow that instantly softens the space^[4].
• Angle your seating: Instead of pushing furniture flat against the walls, angle your chair forty-five degrees into the room to create an intentional destination and leave a hidden triangle of space behind it for cords^[5].
• Layer soft textiles and natural grain: Drape a heavy wool or chunky knit throw over the back of your seat, and place a low woven basket filled with split logs nearby to bring in organic texture without a fireplace^[6].

Why not try swapping out a single light bulb or angling a chair this week to see how the corner feels^[7]?^[8]

The 1977 NASA Ames study called for testing a fully closed life-support system because settlement agriculture was expected both to feed people and to help renew the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen, yet a large living system had not been operated in a closed loop^[1][2]. The study therefore recommended demonstrating complete closure first on a small scale, then on a large scale, before colonization began, while studying the microbes needed to keep agriculture, animals and people healthy^[3][4].

In Gibb’s account, the reported evidence is a fall of black dust on Shetland in October 1755. It looked like lampblack, smelled strongly of sulphur, coated the faces and hands of people working in the fields, and blackened their linen^[1].

The proposed source was Hekla, about 500 to 600 miles away. Gibb says that, because the wind was southwesterly, people presumed the dust had come from there; he added that he thought this was “undoubtedly true”^[2]. That is his historical judgment, not independent modern verification of where the dust originated.