@MarkOutThere

Husband, dad, cartoonist, artist, writer, volunteer Firefighter/EMT, Creative Services guy. Opinions my own.

Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A.
Joined October 2009
Mark Ryan. Out There. retweeted
John Tyler might be the weirdest President in American history, and almost nobody talks about him. He was Vice President for 31 days. When William Henry Harrison died in April 1841, the Constitution didn't clearly say whether the VP became President or just temporarily handled the job. Tyler didn't wait for anyone to decide. He took the oath and moved in. Critics called him "His Accidency." He sent back letters addressed to "Acting President" unopened. Then it got worse. He vetoed his own party's bills so often that almost his entire cabinet resigned on the same day in 1841. The Whigs threw him out of the party. Congress introduced the first impeachment resolution ever filed against a President. It failed. He also became the first President to have a veto overridden. In 1844, he was aboard the USS Princeton when a massive naval gun exploded during a demonstration. It killed the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Navy, and a New York politician named David Gardiner. Tyler was below deck and survived. Four months later he secretly married Gardiner's daughter Julia. She was 24. He was 54. He was the first President to get married while in office. He had 15 children, more than any other President. His last child was born in 1860, when Tyler was 70. After leaving office, he named his Virginia plantation "Sherwood Forest" because he saw himself as a political outlaw. The Tyler family still owns it. In 1861, he chaired a peace conference trying to prevent the Civil War. When it failed, he sided with the South and was elected to the Confederate Congress. He died in Richmond in 1862 before taking his seat. Washington never officially acknowledged his death. He was buried with a Confederate flag over his coffin. And here's the part that breaks people's brains: John Tyler was born in 1790, during George Washington's first term. His grandson Harrison Ruffin Tyler died in 2025.
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Mark Ryan. Out There. retweeted
BREAKING: A new penguin species has been identified for the first time in over 100 years! 🐧 Genetic research revealed that gentoo penguins are actually 4 distinct species, including a newly described species found on the remote Kerguelen Islands. bit.ly/4ACbG1h
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Mark Ryan. Out There. retweeted
He got it from his mama. Bear 89, aka Backpack, is the 2026 Fat Bear Week champ. Turns out hefty runs in the family. His mom, Holly the Duchess of Density, won in 2019. She carried him on her back as a cub and helped him survive a serious leg injury. Now her little Backpack has a crown of his own. 👑
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The Department of Homeland Security has tapped $20 million to pay for the campaign-style ads glorifying President Donald Trump that have drawn widespread criticism from Republicans and Democrats as a misuse of taxpayer dollars that likely runs afoul of anti-propaganda law. to.pbs.org/46W8fFh
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“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.” — Bertrand Russell
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Mark Ryan. Out There. retweeted
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” - Josh Billings Heart of the Beast (2026) is a survival drama starring Brad Pitt as a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who finds himself stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness with Odin, his retired military dog. Surrounded by unforgiving terrain and pushed to their limits, the pair must depend on courage, trust, and their powerful bond to stay alive. Set against the striking beauty and danger of the wilderness, the film combines a tense survival story with an emotional tale of companionship and perseverance. It explores loyalty, healing, resilience, and the remarkable connection between people and animals. More than a fight against nature, Heart of the Beast is ultimately about discovering strength through friendship when nearly everything else has been taken away. Through Pitt’s performance and the relationship between a soldier and his devoted canine companion, Heart of the Beast presents a story of endurance in the face of overwhelming hardship. At its core, the film shows how hope, determination, and loyalty can survive even under the most brutal circumstances.
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Our Smile mission is ready for science. Its ultraviolet camera has already captured this substorm rippling through the northern lights around Earth’s North Pole. Smile will study how Earth responds to the solar wind, helping us better understand space weather. Read more: esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
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Mark Ryan. Out There. retweeted
A photographer captured a family of owls and accidentally ended up with the perfect cover for a music album.
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Mark Ryan. Out There. retweeted
The #WordOfTheDay is ‘epistemic.’ ow.ly/i1IT50ZSSoA
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Mark Ryan. Out There. retweeted
There can only be one winner of Fat Bear Week. After a week of fierce competition, Bear 910 and Backpack have emerged as the final contenders to be named the heftiest bear of Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve. to.pbs.org/4rJTEXe
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Mark Ryan. Out There. retweeted
A seal was spotted climbing the steps outside a cathedral in Wellington, New Zealand, over the weekend. abcnews.link/qhHF3ct
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Mark Ryan. Out There. retweeted
There’s something about a bookshop on a rainy day.
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Rain returns today with highest chances near Lake Michigan before spreading further south and east on Thursday into Friday morning. #INwx #MIwx #OHwx
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In Scottish language, wolf is uolfes, voff, and wolfis Wolf is often portrayed as more gullible than the cunning fox; and in one Scottish folk tale, fox’s trickery results in wolf losing his tail. art: Lily Seika Jones
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Thank you to everyone who's generously donated to The Otis Fund. Our founder Charlie Annenberg has matched over 350k in donations. Inspired by your generosity, he'll continue to match donations through week that exceed the original goal: katmaiconservancy.org/the-ot…
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Mark Ryan. Out There. retweeted
English has some weird quirks. A number of words in English are NOUNS when you stress the FIRST syllable... But VERBS when you stress the SECOND syllable. -SUSpect/susPECT -CONflict/conFLICT -PROtest/proTEST -CONvert/conVERT
Replying to @MerriamWebster
but why is it pronounced 'PROduce' if it comes from the word 'proDUCE'
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Chesterton, Indiana Depot, c1900. (Indiana State Library)
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Grey wolves
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