Today, March 23, 2005, marks the Panda’s Thumb weblog first year of service. Now we have nearly 900 posts, nearly 22,000 comments, and over 450,000 visits logged by Sitemeter. We’re around ranking #508 in the “Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem”. Site traffic runs about two-thirds that of the TalkOrigins Archive. Happy Birthday, Panda’s Thumb!
This past year, PT brought its readers the first public notice of the Stephen C. Meyer article in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. As a scoop, it was a doozy, leading notice in Nature, Science, and other venues. PT also led with a technical critique of a paper by Michael Behe and David Snoke on evolving complex adaptations. (Both of these are also linked in the “Must Read” sidebar on the right of the PT main page.) This sort of leadership did not go unmissed: Panda’s Thumb ran high in the vote tallies for the Koufax Awards in the “Best Group Blog” category.
We’ve had a lot of laughs at the expense of the Discovery Institute Media Complaints Division, but we’ve also kept in touch with the serious side of all this, which is the integrity of science education in our public schools. There is humor to be had while we take care of serious business, and we’ll be keeping this in mind in the coming year. I’m not sure what to say to the Panda’s Thumb Bar Crew besides, “Thanks, and another round, please.”
22 Comments
Paul Flocken · 23 March 2005
Happy Birthday PT.
Three Cheers.
Hip-Hip Hooray
Hip-Hip Hooray
Hip-Hip Hooray
May we be cheering you 150 years from now as we do Darwin's great contribution that started it all.
Sincerely,
Paul
rampancy · 23 March 2005
Here's to another year of fighting the good fight guys. PT ranks right up there with Slashdot and Engadget as the first sites I go to every morning.
Wayne Francis · 23 March 2005
happy birthday .... I was on here at 12:15am (bathroom wall) wishing you a happy birthday :)
afarensis · 23 March 2005
Happy Birthday!
Keep up the good work.
Engineer-Poet · 23 March 2005
Here's to Panda's Thumb: may it remain a light of reason's light in the darkness of supersition until light shines everywhere...
and may its battle be won and become of historical interest as soon as possible!
(I know, I know. But we really do have better things to do, if the anti-science clowns would just grow brains.)
timfc · 23 March 2005
Kids... It's time to take your fight to the pages of the Washington Post.
Jay Matthew's, the Education writer has an editorial today in which he basically says: throw ID into the class with evolution and let the kids debate em.
write! write! write!
letters@washpost.com
the Ticktockman · 23 March 2005
I've been lurking here for some time, but now seems an appropriate moment to thank the contributors for their efforts and the energy with which they pursue the goals of the site. Cheers,
-TTm
Ed Darrell · 23 March 2005
Here's to the folks at Panda's Thumb!
They celebrate their inaugural year.
For their work, the world's a little less dumb.
That's a cause of good cheer!
Maastrictian · 23 March 2005
Congradulations! Keep up the good work.
--Chris
NelC · 23 March 2005
Many, many happy returns!
I hope your birthday is troll-free....
Greg · 23 March 2005
Panda's Thumb has become a mainstay of my day, often the only real intellectual stimulation I get, and the source of innumerable facts and ideas I use in frequent debates. I'm glad there is an official opportunity like this to thank you and wish you continued success.
386sx · 23 March 2005
Cheers!
Chasmosaurine · 23 March 2005
Congratulations! Kudos for enlightening the world, and staving of the forces of darkness. As a theistic evolutionist, I find myself having to constantly fight those who misuse the faith in order to spread their own tale of lies. This is a place I frequently turn to in order to keep myself informed about the war.
Chasmosaurine · 23 March 2005
Congratulations! Kudos for enlightening the world, and staving of the forces of darkness. As a theistic evolutionist, I find myself having to constantly fight those who misuse the faith in order to spread their own tale of lies. This is a place I frequently turn to in order to keep myself informed about the war.
Joshua White · 23 March 2005
Happy birthday and many more!
Boyce Williams · 23 March 2005
Congrats, PT is clearly an "intelligent design."
Frank J · 23 March 2005
Henry J · 23 March 2005
Re "Congrats, PT is clearly an "intelligent design."
But was it front loaded?
Henry
jonas · 24 March 2005
And some more congrats! It's really beneficial (and hopefully adaptive for some people) to have you on the web.
Savagemutt · 24 March 2005
Happy Birthday, PT!
Thanks for helping to educate a guy who didn't pay enough attention in high school.
William Dembski · 30 March 2005
A big happy birthday from me too. I'll be cooking up some chunky BBQ beef joints (perfect examples of intelligent design!) down at Brazos tonight in honour of my worthy PT adversaries!
William Dembski · 30 March 2005
A big happy birthday from me too. I'll be cooking up some chunky BBQ beef joints (perfect examples of intelligent design!) down at Brazos tonight in honour of my worthy PT adversaries!