iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Finally got Metazooa in 1! You’ll notice that my number of games played is small. The game keeps forgetting me and I lose my streak and history. Weird. 🐕 Animal #1159 🐛 I figured it out in 1 guess! 🟩 🔥 3 | Avg. Guesses: 5.2 metazooa.com #metazooa

metazooa.com

Metazooa

Find the mystery animal in this daily biology game by navigating the phylogenetic tree.

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

TW @twesq.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

This goes hard

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Put ear plugs in this morning for doing yard work, then brushed my teeth with an electric toothbrush. Sounded like a WWII fighter plane was taking off in my mouth.

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Standing stone at the entrance of the W passage at Knowth, Co. Meath, Ireland. Largest Neolithic passage tomb in the world, 3200 BCE. The stone’s shadow falling on decorated curbstones may have had ritual significance. Pic taken by me on Thursday. #StandingStoneSunday #IrishArchaeology

A large standing stone rises in front of a nearly-hidden dark entrance beneath a huge grass-covered mound. A large grey decorated curbstone lies in front of the entrance. In between this curbstone and the standing stone lies a “pavement” of smaller rocks - a mix of white quartz and darker stones such as gabbro.

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Brownshill portal tomb (dolmen), Co. Carlow, Ireland. It has what is perhaps the heaviest capstone in Europe at ca. 150 tons, and dates to 4000-3000 BCE. I took this photo on June 14. #StandingStoneSunday #IrishArchaeology #Neolithic

A portal tomb, or dolmen, stands alone in a circular freshly mown field. Wheat fields surround it at a distance of 25 m, and trees are visible in the background beyond. Standing stones, or orthostats, hold up an enormous boulder capstone, which lies at a 45 degree angle. The orthostats at the back are much shorter than those in the front. As such, they (the back stones) are best characterized as recumbent.

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

Acid Rain @bearysweet.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Surgeons are able to cure blindness by implanting a tooth inside an eye now? Wow, science. OOKP (Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis), the "tooth-in-eye" surgery, is a complex, multi-stage ophthalmic procedure used to restore vision in patients with severe, end-stage corneal blindness. #science #progress

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Met an 80-y.-o. man today who learned I study ancient people. He said he had recently read a great book on prehistory, and I was really worried it was “Sapiens” - so imagine my surprise/relief when the book in question was “The Dawn of Everything.” @dunsworth.bsky.social

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Thanks for doing us this service, Holly; I couldn’t do it. The most I did was a comment on a Goodreads friend’s review of it, and make a passing reference to it in my own Goodreads review of a different book:

Trenton wrote: “Great review, Matal. For years, students kept telling me I needed to read it, so eventually I did - the whole thing - and I *hated* it. Unfortunately, it’s really awkward to tell enthusiastic undergraduates that I hate the book that inspired them to take my class (grimace emoji).”

Trenton wrote: “Any time I read a broad book like Eve, when I find problems in a section for which I have a solid background, it makes me wonder about the veracity of the sections for which I am less knowledgeable. Jared Diamond is like that for me. Perhaps the problem, then, is the genre of broad narrative bridging multiple fields of study? And please, let’s leave Yuval Noah Harari out of this - in Sapiens almost every page was fingernails on a chalkboard. But I digress.”

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Haven’t ever won Metazooa on the first guess, but guessing in two is always fun! 🐯 Animal #978 🦚 I figured it out in 2 guesses! 🟧🟩 🔥 31 | Avg. Guesses: 6.2 metazooa.com #metazooa

metazooa.com

Metazooa

Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Just saw this bobcat on my in-laws’ driveway.

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

My father-in-law says he’d rather be lucky than smart - that was today’s Metazooa for me. In other news I gave my class extra credit for doing 10 Metazooa games and in so doing created more fans. 🐶 Animal #959 🦢 I figured it out in 2 guesses! 🟥🟩 🔥 12 | Avg. Guesses: 6.3 metazooa.com #metazooa

metazooa.com

Metazooa

Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

The estate sale people found an old diary at my parents’ house that features cartoons I drew as a teenager, including this gem:

Cartoon drawing of a walrus pointing a pistol at a man who’s holding his hands up. The caption reads “Jim was surprised to learn that the walrus who mugged him had a criminal record.”

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

Dr Matt Pope @mattpope.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Just heard of another major British Palaeolithic site falling through the planning & protection net and being green-lit for development. That's 3 confirmed in 3 years, with 2 others I'm investigating. The failure to schedule Palaeolithic sites & the erosion of planning protections are to blame. 🚨🦣🏺

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

🐅 Animal #944 🐡 I figured it out in 3 guesses! 🟥🟨🟩 🔥 4 | Avg. Guesses: 6.3 metazooa.com #metazooa

metazooa.com

Metazooa

Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Whistling ducks at Audubon Park this morning.

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

Evolution Soup @evolutionsoup.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

✨NEW INTERVIEW✨ NEANDERTHALS VS THE ICE AGE - 100,000 Years of Cold ~ with PROFESSOR TRENTON HOLLIDAY @trentonholliday.bsky.social @lemoustier.bsky.social #evolutionsoup #evolution #paleoanthropology #science #fossils 👇🏿👇🏽 youtu.be/M633cJCT3G4

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

This year’s citrus crop is *almost* ripe in New Orleans. We just need some cooler temperatures to sweeten it up. Anyway, I saw this today on my way home from sending a package to my daughter:

A small orange tree, with but a single orange visible, on which someone has taken a Sharpie and written a one-word admonition- “Don’t.”

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

This stop sign in my neighborhood looks like it’s in the Halloween spirit!

Residential street corner, with wood frame house in background. Stop sign in foreground has scary-looking letters that look like they’re melting or dripping.

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

(Dr) Rena Maguire @justrena.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

I find comfort in these landscapes where people worked land on rath and ringfort. They've had the same fears for future. They're us. "How very special are we For just a moment to be Part of life's eternal rhyme How very special are we To have on our family tree Mother Earth and Father Time"

Mist coming down from the mountains against late gold sunrise

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

🐂 Animal #785 🐏 I figured it out in 2 guesses! 🟨🟩 🔥 75 | Avg. Guesses: 6.6 metazooa.com #metazooa

metazooa.com

Metazooa

Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

Jaspertine @jaspertine.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

For those of us whose strongest connection to this song is Pulp Fiction. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW6q...

youtube.com

The original Misirlou - Μισιρλού (Τέτος Δημητριάδης -1927)

YouTube video by Xorisame

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

Carin Ruff @carinr.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Google Maps thinks I can walk from Dublin to Glasgow in just under three days. But it wants to be sure I know there are stairs in the way.

Screenshot of Google Maps showing the walking route from Dublin to Glasgow

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

The Beaverton @thebeaverton.com · 30/08/2025

Obviously, when it does happen you'll hear it here first, because of our many inside sources. Or, as the Americans would write it, sorces.

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 25/08/2025

Do you need a pygmy sea horse break? Here's my story on the deep lesson about evolution they have to teach us. Gift link: nyti.ms/4mrKIC8

Pygmy sea horse pretending to be a piece of pink coral. Photo by Richard Smith.

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

Soapy @soapy2019.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Thomas Deininger uses plastic waste to create sculptures,or should I say,works of Genius!!!!!!

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

🐭 Animal #754 🦅 I figured it out in 4 guesses! 🟥🟧🟨🟩 🔥 44 | Avg. Guesses: 6.8 metazooa.com #metazooa

metazooa.com

Metazooa

Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

🦙 Animal #734 🐩 I figured it out in 2 guesses! 🟥🟩 🔥 24 | Avg. Guesses: 6.9 metazooa.com #metazooa

metazooa.com

Metazooa

Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

#StandingStoneSunday Grange Stone Circle, Lough Gur, Co. Limerick. Ireland’s largest stone circle at 46 m, it has 113 mostly limestone standing stones. The biggest, L in my 2022 photo, is 40 tons. Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic in age (ca. 3000-2500 BCE), but many of the stones were added in the 1870s.

Large ring of standing stones packed cheek-by-jowl on grassy rise. One large stone on the left is much larger than the others.

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

This is not drawn from today’s puzzle, but when I said to my ornithologist friend that Metazooa had shown me I know nothing about bird phylogeny, he said no one does; “it changes every week still.” 🐎 Animal #691 🐺 I figured it out in 2 guesses! 🟧🟩 🔥 107 | Avg. Guesses: 7 metazooa.com #metazooa

metazooa.com

Metazooa

Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Spectacular Poulnabrone Neolithic portal tomb, County Clare, Ireland. Built nearly 6,000 years ago, all that remains is its skeleton. First time to see it!

Against a cloudy backdrop, a megalithic monument stands alone on a grassy moor. Four grey standing stones support a roof made of a large, flat, tilted capstone.

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

Posting this feels a bit like cheating, and if you play today’s game, you’ll understand why. 🦬 Animal #677 🦅 I figured it out in 2 guesses! 🟨🟩 🔥 93 | Avg. Guesses: 7.1 metazooa.com #metazooa

metazooa.com

Metazooa

Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

A while back I posted a link to an unusual (albeit interesting and kind) review of my book Cro-Magnon. Sadly, it was paywalled within a day. It’s available for free now: europeanreviewofbooks.com/art-before-a...

europeanreviewofbooks.com

Art before art – The European Review of Books

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Doubt I’ll be able to outdo this one (in the game Metazooa) 🪱 Animal #606 🐻 I figured it out in 2 guesses! 🟥🟩 🔥 22 | Avg. Guesses: 7.7 metazooa.com #metazooa

metazooa.com

Metazooa

Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

If you’re in Lisbon on Friday, please come see my free talk at the Autonomous University. Infelizmente, meu português é muito mau, so the talk will be in English. #Neanderthal

Image of a Neandertal with title “Neandertals, Homo sapiens and Modern Human Behavior.” 6 March, Auditorium 1, 18h.

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Did I really just see a Chevron commercial citing their drilling in the “Gulf of America?” Pathetic.

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

This is from my backyard in New Orleans yesterday. 10.5” (26.5 cm) - an absolutely crazy amount of snow. City is still shut down, and my university will remain shut down tomorrow.

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Reposted by Trenton Holliday

Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 15/10/2024

New interview with me dropped on “Evolution Soup”- a bit of a preview of the book I’m (supposed to be) writing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NzJ...

youtube.com

The Human Ape ~ Origins of the Genus Homo - with TRENTON HOLLIDAY

YouTube video by Evolution Soup

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 15/10/2024

New interview with me dropped on “Evolution Soup”- a bit of a preview of the book I’m (supposed to be) writing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NzJ...

youtube.com

The Human Ape ~ Origins of the Genus Homo - with TRENTON HOLLIDAY

YouTube video by Evolution Soup

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 13/02/2024

Happy Mardi Gras to all who celebrate it!

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 13/02/2024

Here’s my Google Scholar word cloud (many thanks to @morinryan.bsky.social - this is a really cool idea - so much fun!).

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 21/01/2024

This is unusual review of my book, Cro-Magnon, that is briefly available without the paywall: europeanreviewofbooks.com/art-before-a...

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Trenton Holliday @trentonholliday.bsky.social · 04/11/2023

Here's my interview about my new book <i>Cro-Magnon</i> (published by Columbia University Press in July 2023) on the New Books Network: newbooksnetwork.com/cro-magnon

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