All posts tagged: penguin

Under a giant penguin sign, Mel’s Drive-In marks the end of Route 66

Under a giant penguin sign, Mel’s Drive-In marks the end of Route 66

Published by Sam Flores

Famous signs along the nearly 2,500 miles of Route 66 include the 66-foot soda bottle at Pops in Oklahoma, the wagging neon tail of Albuquerque’s Dog House and the hand-painted slogans for Snow Cap Drive-In in Arizona. But in L.A., none is so iconic as the giant looming penguin that signifies milkshakes, burgers, oldies playlists and sheer Americana at the end of the road. Stories, photos and travel recommendations from America’s Mother Road The Mother Road that stretches from Chicago to the West Coast unofficially ends at the Santa Monica Pier, but at its technical terminus, Mel’s Drive-In declares the “ROUTE ENDS HERE,” inlaid in terrazzo beneath that jumbo tuxedoed penguin. It’s been a beacon for decades, and though the beloved restaurant space recently was listed for sale for $26 million, Mel’s owners hope it remains a diner and destination for generations. For much of its history, the diner at the end of Route 66 was the 1959-founded Penguin Coffee Shop, a Googie-architecture marvel of angular windows, rock walls and little cartoons of penguins hanging …

Penguin ‘toxicologists’ find PFAS chemicals in remote Patagonia

Penguin ‘toxicologists’ find PFAS chemicals in remote Patagonia

Published by Jenni Sidey

Penguins living along the Patagonian coast of Argentina can serve as living monitors of their environment by using small, chemical-detecting leg bands, according to a study from the University of California, Davis, and the State University of New York at Buffalo. For the proof-of-concept study, published in the journal Earth: Environmental Sustainability, UC Davis scientists outfitted 54 Magellanic penguins with silicone passive samplers placed gently around their legs for a few days during the 2022-24 breeding seasons. The sensors safely absorbed chemicals from the water, air and surfaces the penguins encountered while the unwitting “toxicologists” foraged to feed their chicks. Once retrieved, the samplers were sent to University at Buffalo-SUNY for testing, which revealed that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — often called “forever chemicals” — were detected in more than 90% of the bands, even in this remote region.  Magellanic penguins in Argentina served as sentinels of their own environment by wearing chemical-detecting leg bands for a few days during their breeding season in a UC Davis and SUNY-Buffalo study. (CREDIT: Ralph Vanstreels/UC Davis) “The only …

Penguin Press Founder Ann Godoff, a Powerhouse Editor of Bestsellers and Prize Winners, Dies at 76

Penguin Press Founder Ann Godoff, a Powerhouse Editor of Bestsellers and Prize Winners, Dies at 76

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — Ann Godoff, a leading book publisher for more than 30 years with an eye for timely and timeless works from “Alexander Hamilton” and “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” to current bestsellers by Gisèle Pelicot and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, has died. She was 76. Godoff died of cancer Tuesday in Albany, New York, according to a statement from Penguin Press, which she had founded in 2003. “Ann’s impact on American book culture over the past four decades is incalculable,” Penguin Press publisher Scott Moyers said in a statement. “An editor of immense range in fiction, nonfiction and poetry, Ann shepherded into print innumerable New York Times bestsellers, multiple winners of every major award, and works that have appeared on all manner of best books lists — of the year, the decade, and the century.” A onetime NYU film student who studied under then-faculty member Martin Scorsese, sold cars and assisted on Dr. Joyce Brothers’ television show, Godoff was a late bloomer who didn’t begin her publishing career until …

Researchers find Antarctic penguin breeding is heating up sooner : NPR

Researchers find Antarctic penguin breeding is heating up sooner : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

FILE – Adelie penguins stand on a block of floating ice at Yalour Islands in Antarctica, Nov. 24, 2025. Mark Baker/AP hide caption toggle caption Mark Baker/AP WASHINGTON — Warming temperatures are forcing Antarctic penguins to breed earlier and that’s a big problem for two of the cute tuxedoed species that face extinction by the end of the century, a study said. With temperatures in the breeding ground increasing 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) from 2012 to 2022, three different penguin species are beginning their reproductive process about two weeks earlier than the decade before, according to a study in Tuesday’s Journal of Animal Ecology. And that sets up potential food problems for young chicks. “Penguins are changing the time at which they’re breeding at a record speed, faster than any other vertebrate,” said lead author Ignacio Juarez Martinez, a biologist at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. “And this is important because the time at which you breed needs to coincide with the time with most resources in the environment and this is …

Aquarium welcomes third endangered penguin chick in less than a month

Aquarium welcomes third endangered penguin chick in less than a month

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Last December, staff at Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey, celebrated the arrival of two newly hatched African penguin chicks (Spheniscus demersus). Their births marked a big moment in conservation efforts for the critically endangered species, but even more good news was apparently on the way.  Less than a month after welcoming Duffy and Oscar to the flock, Adventure Aquarium has announced another newcomer. But instead of naming the facility’s 53rd penguin themselves, aquarium handlers are turning to local visitors for input. Adventure Aquarium’s youngest penguin isn’t Duffy and Oscar’s younger sibling, but the second hatchling from penguin parents Mushu and Hubert (for reference, Duffy and Oscar’s parents are named Myer and Cornelia). In a statement, the facility’s African penguin primary biologist, Maddie Olszewski-Pohle said she and her coworkers are “very excited” for the latest addition. “Both parents did an exceptional job feeding and caring for this chick, who is the biggest this season,” she added. Three newborn African penguin chicks …

Newborn African penguin named after a hot dog

Newborn African penguin named after a hot dog

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. An aquarium in New Jersey welcomed two new residents, just in time for the holidays. On December 20, staff at Adventure Aquarium in Camden revealed the recent births of Duffy and Oscar, a pair of African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) and some much needed good news in light of ongoing conservation concerns. “These milestones are incredibly important for the critically endangered African penguin population, and we couldn’t be more proud to play a role in their future,” the aquarium just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania wrote in a social media post. Although the current climate crisis has undoubtedly exacerbated the issue, the African penguin’s battle against diminishing numbers stretches as far back as 22,000 years. Also known as black-footed, Cape, or jackass penguins, these birds once thrived across 15 large islands off the coast of South Africa during the Last Glacial Maximum period. At their peak, their populations reached an estimated 6.4 million and 18.8 million individuals at their peak. However, around 15,000 …