Sketchplanations
Big Ideas Little Pictures

Sketchplanations in a book! I think you'll love Big Ideas Little Pictures

Sketchplanations podcast photo of Rob Bell, Tom Pellereau and Jono Hey

Prefer to listen?
Try the podcast

Like Sketchplanations?
Support me on Patreon

Explaining the world one sketch at a time

Proprioception illustration: someone demonstrating to a police officer they aren't drunk as they can touch their nose with their eyes closed while standing on one leg

Proprioception

Our ability to sense position and movement of joints and limbs. It’s how you can tell where your right foot is now even without looking. Alcohol screws with it and touching your nose with your eyes closed if often used as part of sobriety tests. Maybe try it yourself next time you’re drunk?
Read more…

Don’t cut the nose off brie

Sacré bleu! Don't cut the nose off brie. Or camembert cheese, for that matter. Share the ripe middle by cutting strips.
Read more…

Asymmetry of returns

It’s a funny thing, when you think about it, that if you owned a stock in the market and the value went up 50%, and then went down 50%, that it wouldn’t end up at what it started. Another way to look at it, is if you owned something worth 100 and it lost 50%, it’d be worth 50. To get back to being worth 100 you’d then need a 100% gain.  Huh.
Read more…
Venomous vs Poisonous the difference explained: Venomous animals inject venom through bites, stings and the like.  Poisonous animals poison you if you absorb, consume, or inhale.

Venomous, poisonous - what’s the difference?

What is the difference between venomous and poisonous? Venomous animals inject venom through bites, stings and the like, though they often avoid it—think snakes, spiders, stingrays, wasps, etc. Poisoning is when a poison is passively transferred to us through absorbing, consuming or inhaling it—think amphibians, plants, fungi, etc. It might be through touching the skin of a poisonous frog, eating a poisonous animal or breathing in poisonous spores. Just a few animals manage to be both venomous and poisonous, such as some snakes that inject venom and also have toxic skin from eating poisonous toads. And a third category you'll know to steer clear of is toxungenous animals that spray, fling or spit toxins toward potential threats. These include the skunk or the aptly named bombardier beetle that sprays acid from its rear. Fortunately, our instincts are well-trained from centuries of evolution and experience to avoid anything venomous or poisonous, but one day, it may pay to know the difference. This sketch features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures Here's the original
Read more…

Bortle Scale

The clarity of the night sky. A low number means clear, black and amazing stars. Higher numbers mean gradually more urban environments with increasing light pollution. At 9 you’ll barely spot a star being pretty much in Piccadilly Circus or Times Square. More detail needed? John Bortle, Light Pollution And Astronomy: The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, Sky and Telescope, July 18 2006. HT: Paul Lewis
Read more…
Buy Me A Coffee