In Case You Missed It…Assorted Oddities from Around the Web

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Archie takes the Long Dirt Nap

Pop culture icon Archie Andrews will die in issue #36 of Life with Archie. The comic series, in which Archie and his Riverdale friends are portrayed as adults, will end its five-year run with issue #37. Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater says he expects, “some level of shock, outrage and surprise — followed by understanding.” Goldwater was mum on the details, but did disclose that Archie is killed while, “in his usual selfless way”, saving the life of a friend.

Archie will still be alive in the Archie Comics series. That series, in which the main characters are perpetual teenagers, will continue. Issue #4 of Afterlife with Archie, in which Archie is a zombie, is available now.

Confirmed: Neanderthals Bred with Humans

A recent study published in science journal Genetics claims to resolve the long-standing question as to whether Neanderthals procreated with the ancestors of modern humans. The debate has centered on either interbreeding between the species, or Neanderthals splitting off from a common ancestor.

The study’s co-author, Dr Konrad Lohse of the University of Edinburgh, used a a Neanderthal fossil and the genomes of an African, non-African, and chimpanzee to determine that humans and Neanderthals interbred throughout Eurasia. As a result, modern Africans have far fewer Neanderthal genes than modern Europeans and Asians: 1.5 – 2.1% as opposed to 3.4 – 7.3%.

Is the Internet Killing Religion for Americans?

Research from Massachusetts’ Olin College proposes a correlation between an increase in Americans’ internet usage and a decline in their religious affiliation. The study, Religious Affiliation, Education and Internet Use, by Olin computer scientist Allen Downey, uses a sociological survey performed by the University of Chicago to attribute internet use as the cause for a 25% drop in Americans’ religious affiliation since 1980. Downey accounts another 5% to higher education.

The study suggests the internet takes some of the mystery out of existence – typically a role of the church. Says Downey, “For people living in homogeneous communities, the Internet provides opportunities to find information about people of other religions (and none), and to interact with them personally.”

A New Geep for Ireland

Farmer Paddy Murphy of Ballymore Eustace, Ireland, has a new-born geep. A goat/sheep hybrid resulting from a male goat mating with a female sheep, the rare animals are usually stillborn. Surviving examples are typified with legs longer than those of a sheep, and with the coarse hair and horns of a goat. Murphy notes that his geep’s horns are already coming in.

Murphy remarked that he’d seen one of his goats mating with a sheep, but assumed nothing would come of the union. The geep has been “a great source of craic (gossip) for the lads in the pub,” he says. The pub, owned by Murphy, may hold a competition to name the geep.