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Rick LeCouteur
Inviting young readers to marvel at the wonder of nature's creatures
Rick's Blog
#bunyipsbooksbeyond
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Rocketing Toward Climate Disaster: The true cost of an 11-minute space flight (#305)
Last week, six women boarded Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket and made headlines for their 11-minute suborbital flight. It was hailed as...
RIck LeCouteur
1 day ago3 min read
2 views
0 comments
Growing Up Under the Stars: Trailblazer Edna Zigenbine (#301)
In the vast, untamed landscapes of Northern Australia, where the sky stretched endlessly and the land whispered stories of resilience, a...
RIck LeCouteur
3 days ago3 min read
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Rethinking “Pet Parent”: Language, Expectations, and Animal Welfare (#300)
A fellow veterinarian recently asked me why I object to the term pet parent. It’s a fair question. After all, it’s everywhere: in...
RIck LeCouteur
Apr 113 min read
147 views
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Wi-Fi to Why Try? The rise and stall of Aussie science (#284)
It’s a classic pub-quiz trivia question: Who invented Wi-Fi? The answer, Australians love to say with pride, is: We did! Not so fast...
RIck LeCouteur
Mar 253 min read
3 views
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Nikola Tesla’s Pigeon: Love, loneliness, and a global vision (#277)
Nikola Tesla , the brilliant inventor whose name is synonymous with electricity and wireless technology, was a man of boundless intellect...
RIck LeCouteur
Mar 173 min read
23 views
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More Than a Story: Branding in children's picture books (#276)
Admiral William H. McRaven, renowned for his distinguished 37-year career as a U.S. Navy SEAL and leadership roles, including overseeing...
RIck LeCouteur
Mar 163 min read
12 views
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Elephants and Cancer: Peto’s paradox (#275)
Cancer is a disease that affects millions of species, including humans, yet some animals have developed remarkable resistance to it....
RIck LeCouteur
Mar 163 min read
23 views
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Veterinary Business Practices: Lessons from the Boxer Rebellion (#274)
You have to know the past to understand the present Carl Sagan The Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) was more than just an anti-foreign...
RIck LeCouteur
Mar 145 min read
22 views
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Whiskers and Worship: The Enigmatic Cats of Gokogu Shrine (#272)
Nestled in the coastal town of Ushimado, Japan, the Gokogu Shrine stands as a testament to harmonious coexistence between humans and a...
RIck LeCouteur
Mar 123 min read
4 views
0 comments
The Nostalgia Effect: How memories shape our well-being (#267)
There’s something about nostalgia that tugs at the heartstrings. A bittersweet feeling that blends joy with longing, and warmth with...
RIck LeCouteur
Mar 93 min read
15 views
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International Women’s Day: Exploring inclusivity (#266)
For years, I have celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD), honoring the achievements of women in veterinary medicine and beyond. But...
RIck LeCouteur
Mar 93 min read
19 views
0 comments
Hierarchy of Life: How humans rank the natural world (#264)
Anthropocentrism and speciesism are closely related but distinct concepts. Both involve human attitudes toward other species, but they...
RIck LeCouteur
Mar 53 min read
38 views
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Failing Forward: A lesson, not a verdict (#263)
Failure is a universal experience, yet it remains one of the most feared aspects of life. We are conditioned to avoid it, to view it as...
RIck LeCouteur
Mar 43 min read
8 views
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Building America: The immigrant influence (#262)
The United States has long been a nation built by immigrants. Many who arrived on its shores seeking a better life went on to make...
RIck LeCouteur
Feb 283 min read
21 views
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Dual Citizen, One Heart: My story as a proud immigrant (#261)
An immigrant to the United States is an individual who relocates from another country with the intention of residing permanently. Until...
RIck LeCouteur
Feb 283 min read
33 views
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NIH Funding Freeze: A crisis for comparative oncology research (#258)
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) , the largest public funder of biomedical research globally, has been forced to halt the...
RIck LeCouteur
Feb 253 min read
12 views
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A Promise to Pay: A woman who wouldn’t accept charity (#250)
The first time I saw her, she was sitting at the traffic light near my neurosurgery practice in Sydney. A small figure wrapped in layers...
RIck LeCouteur
Feb 132 min read
30 views
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Folding the Umbrella: The power of perspective (#240)
This cartoon uses irony and metaphor to depict how people often create their own problems or fail to see the bigger picture. The people...
RIck LeCouteur
Jan 261 min read
6 views
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A Silent Shift: Corporate ownership in dentistry and veterinary medicine (#239)
In recent years, the dental landscape has undergone a significant transformation as privately-owned dental practices are increasingly...
RIck LeCouteur
Jan 265 min read
102 views
0 comments
Is Your Mail Safe? The security risks of USPS arrow keys (#238)
When we think about the safety of our mail, most of us trust the robust systems put in place by the United States Postal Service (USPS) ....
RIck LeCouteur
Jan 255 min read
10 views
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