News sites seem to have an abnormal fascination with solstices and equinoxes

Every year it’s the same. Everyone and his and/or her brother writes a feature story about these times of the year as though we’ve never heard of them. That seems as unnecessary as writing an essay about why the sun rises and sets. Didn’t we learn about day and night and the seasons in grade school?

EarthySky headlines its 2024 vernal equinox page with: “March equinox 2024: All you need to know”

When it comes down to it, most of us don’t need to know anything unless we synchronize our planting with moon phases and the seasons. Otherwise, the day will come and go without notice, alien landings, frogs falling from the sky, or a higher than usual number of wild boar attacks in shopping malls.

USA TODAY headlines:What to know about the 2024 vernal equinox that brings on a new seasonThe Associated Press says:The spring equinox is here. What does that mean?

Does it embarrass you as a human being to be spoon-fed this kind of information every year? It should. If you didn’t learn it al in elementary school, weren’t you barraged with the whole story last year and the year before?

It’s hard to escape the news coverage.

–Malcolm