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Cover of the first issue

Infinity Science Fiction was an American science fiction magazine, edited by Larry T. Shaw and published by Royal Publications. The first issue (cover pictured) was on newsstands in September 1955, with a November cover date. Among the short stories in the first issue was Arthur C. Clarke's "The Star", about a planet destroyed by a supernova seen from Earth as the Star of Bethlehem; it won the 1956 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. Harlan Ellison's "Glowworm" appeared in the second issue. Shaw obtained stories from some of the leading writers of the day, including Brian Aldiss, Isaac Asimov, and Robert Sheckley, but the material was of variable quality. In 1958 the owner of Royal Publications, Irwin Stein, decided to shut down Infinity; the last issue was dated November 1958. The title was revived a decade later by Stein's publishing house, Lancer Books, as a paperback anthology series. Five volumes were published between 1970 and 1973, edited by Robert Hoskins. (Full article...)

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Inuit reindeer-hide parka with dog-fur trim

... that modern studies have shown that the characteristic fur-trimmed hood on traditional Inuit skin clothing (example pictured) is more effective at preventing heat transfer than manufactured winter clothing?
... that the heart of Pierre David was found in a Belgian fountain in August 2020?
... that a 10 cm³ (0.6 cu in) sponge Hymeniacidon kitchingi can filter 22.5 l (5 imp gal; 6 U.S. gal) of water per day?
... that the Detroit Lions' tackle Tony Furst saw combat action in the Guadalcanal campaign and later became a florist?
... that Aoimori Park features plants that are symbolic of each municipality in Aomori Prefecture?
... that Felix Mendelssohn subtitled Sechs Lieder, Op. 59, six songs for four voices setting poems by Eichendorff and others, "Im Freien zu singen" ("To be sung outdoors")?
... that conventional religion is positively correlated with authoritarianism?
... that Susan Lydon wrote about fake orgasm and real addiction?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic: Disease; Virus; By location; Impact; Portal

Yoshihide Suga

Yoshihide Suga (pictured) becomes Prime Minister of Japan, replacing Shinzo Abe.
Astronomers report the detection of phosphine, a possible signature of organic life, in the atmosphere of Venus.
In tennis, Naomi Osaka wins the Women's Singles and Dominic Thiem wins the Men's Singles at the US Open.

On this day

September 17: Constitution Day in the United States (1787)

Smoke rising above Amman during Black September

1176 – Byzantine–Seljuq wars: Seljuq Turks prevented Byzantine forces from taking the interior of Anatolia at the Battle of Myriokephalon in Phrygia.
1630 – Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony founded the city of Boston.
1970 – The Jordanian army entered Amman as part of operations to oust Palestinian fedayeen from the country in what became known as Black September (smoke over Amman pictured).
1980 – Solidarity, a Polish trade union, was founded as the first independent labor union in an Eastern Bloc country.

Earl Van Dorn (b. 1820)
Narendra Modi (b. 1950)
Eiji Toyoda (d. 2013)

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Today's featured picture

Microorganisms include all unicellular organisms and so are extremely diverse, living in almost every habitat, with some adapted to extremes such as very hot or very cold conditions, others to high pressure, and a few, such as Deinococcus radiodurans, which are adapted to high-radiation environments. Microorganisms also make up the microbiota found in and on all multicellular organisms. There is evidence that 3.45-billion-year-old Australian rocks once contained microorganisms, the earliest direct evidence of life on Earth. Microbes are important in human culture and health in many ways, serving to ferment foods and treat sewage, and to produce fuel, enzymes, and other bioactive compounds. This low-temperature electron micrograph shows a cluster of E. coli bacteria, magnified 10,000 times.

Photograph credit: Eric Erbe; colorized by Christopher Pooley

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