Issue 151 – September 2025
Fireflies ‘autographing’ the sky and more striking similes
Scientists and science writers aren’t immune to the magic of fireflies, and have striking ways of describing their “bioluminescent wonder.”
For me, September is always a little bittersweet. While I appreciate spectacular fall leaves, summer is my season, and saying goodbye to it is hard.
Among its joys is spotting fireflies at dusk on a warm summer evening. Tracking their movements as their twinkling lights glow and dim is mesmerizing, and I had a chance to do this at my sister-in-law’s this summer. Of course the children on hand raced to try and catch the insects with wild swings of their butterfly nets. (I insisted on catch and release!)
Scientists and science writers aren’t immune to the magic of fireflies, and have striking ways of describing their “bioluminescent wonder.” Look at this:
“The most well-known [species of fireflies] come out during the evening or night to inscribe bursts of light into the air like species-specific autographs,” says science writer Joshua Sokol in BioGraphic.
“They fly along and they dip down as they start to flash and then rise up, kind of like skywriting the letter J,” echoes Tufts University biologist and firefly expert Sara Lewis.
Aren’t those lovely descriptions? Both are good examples of similes, which compare two things using “like” or “as.” Here are some other striking similes:
“We’re taking this transformative technology [AI] and using it to write blog posts and social media updates – the equivalent of buying a Bugatti Chiron just to take the dog to the park.” – Christopher S. Penn
“Triggered by intense bouts of rainfall, these debris flows...become more likely to occur after an intense wildfire has scorched an area’s slopes and vegetation…At least half of their volume is sediment, and it’s mixed with burned trees, cars and boulders. ‘It’s like concrete moving downhill,’ says geologist Jaime Kostelnik.’” – ScienceNews
“Recorded by microphones deep in the ocean, the unexplained sound — a low, sonorous grunting followed by a squeaky, mechanical echo, like a frog burping in space — first rumbled through a computer speaker about a decade ago.” – Melissa Hobston in Scientific American
“Even if a whale does surface for a photo, a 12.5-meter North Atlantic right whale only appears as an 83-pixel smudge on the sharpest satellite images… And since one satellite photo can cover up to 200 square kilometers, it’s like taking a picture of a toothpick on the sidewalk from an upstairs balcony.” – J. Besl in Hakai Magazine
This summer featured the return to Earth of Kosmos 482, a piece of a Soviet spacecraft that’s been stuck in orbit since the 1970s. It was expected to be “like a medium-sized car falling out of the sky,” hitting the planet at a speed comparable to an airplane in flight. - Astronomer Jonathan McDowell, quoted in ScienceNews
If you need inspiration for your own striking similes, look for expressive writing in newspapers, magazines and books. Notice especially when someone is explaining something. Listen. Keep a crib file. Pay attention to music lyrics; musicians are famous for using metaphors and simile, like Leonard Cohen's "like a bird on a wire."
Have you spotted any striking similes? Please hit "reply" and share. I’m always looking for good examples.
Related reading (and listening):
You can help fireflies by reducing light pollution and growing longer grass
When and how to write a simile
In the Red Jacket Diaries:
Assignment: Share how members celebrate their culture and community
Sharpies as a simile and more expressive writing
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