Amazon is starting to open checkout-free Whole Foods stores -- you scan your palm, the store watches you & maintain
Very Abstract Pixel Art
From former Nintendo art director Takashi Maeda, a collection of very abstract pixel art that’s free to download and u
Red Sprites and Blue Jets: Massive Luminous Displays in Stormy Skies
Sometimes the sky above powerful thunderstorms can light up in massive displays of color; they’re called transient lum
Catwoman vs. the White House
In 1968, singer, actress, and activist Eartha Kitt was invited to a “Women Doers” luncheon at the White House by Lady
Four Quick Links for Friday Noonish
In this brief TED-Ed lesson, we learn about the process by which Supreme Court justices are appointed. [youtube.com]
Th
A Regular Guy Tries to Compete at Olympic-Level Curling
In this video, complete curling novice Clay Skipper spends a day getting trained up by some of the best curlers in wor
A Regular Guy Tries to Compete at Olympic-Level Curling
In this video, complete curling novice Clay Skipper spends a day getting trained up by some of the best curlers in wor
How to Make Potatoes While Dread Presses In from Every Direction
John Green shares his technique for roasting potatoes while fighting “the creeping sense of dread” that many of us may
John Oliver Explains Critical Race Theory
I don’t know if it was the plan for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver to become Funny Cliffs Notes for Important Soci
How American Conservatives Turned Against the Vaccine
From Vox’s Joss Fong, a video essay on how conservatives turned against the Covid-19 vaccine in the US.
President Don
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Good morning, everyone. As you have likely heard, Russia invaded Ukraine earlier today. Here’s the news from Reuters, N
Tarantino’s Fan Fiction: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
From Kirby Ferguson (Everything is a Remix), a short video essay about how Quentin Tarantino remixed reality in Once U
Two Quick Links for Wednesday Noonish
Inside the Super Positive Community of Competitive YouTube Water Drinkers. "You do kinda have to follow some rules — it
The Overthrow of Hawaii
In this TED-Ed video, Hawaiian scholar Sydney Iaukea tells the abbreviated story of how Hawaii came to be a territory
Colorful Wavy Portraits by Foster Sakyiamah
These striking portraits are by Ghanaian artist Foster Sakyiamah. You can check out more of his work on Instagram.
T
Two Quick Links for Wednesday Morning
Yes, this, exactly: who gives a shit about plot holes in a movie when the rest of it works? Plot killjoys begone! [deno
Four Quick Links for Tuesday Afternoon
Inside the Underground Economy of Solitary Confinement. How prisoners undergoing the torture of solitary confinement "u
The Winners of 2021 International Landscape Photographer of the Year Contest
All of the winners and shortlisted entries of the 2021 International Landscape Photographer of the Year contest loo
Three Quick Links for Tuesday Noonish
Tom Holland lip syncing to Rihanna always cheers me up. Instant mood lifter. [twitter.com]
Paul Farmer, Pioneer of Glob
An Explanation of the US Interstate Numbering System
From CGP Grey, here’s an explanation of the numbering system used by the US Interstate Highway System. Here’s the basi
Five Quick Links for Monday Noonish
An American gun company is selling an AR-15 for kids that "operates just like Mom and Dad's gun". A semi-automatic assa
La Demoiselle d’Instagram
Using an app called Prequel, Savannah Cordova ran a portrait of herself through the app’s Cartoon filter several times,
Alien in 60 Seconds
In just one minute and with what seems like a budget of only $60, these folks made their own version of Alien. The eff
Four Quick Links for Friday Afternoon
"You can never underestimate how terrible art can give you permission to do your own. Like, go on Instagram and look at
Three Quick Links for Friday Noonish
The Moral Danger of Declaring the Pandemic Over Too Soon. "What would it mean to move into a future in which a common f
How Insulated Glass Changed Architecture
Before the invention of insulated glass (i.e. double-paned windows) in the 1930s, builders and architects had to balan
Slow Motion Helicopter Blade Rotation
Here’s what a whirring helicopter blade looks like, from the perspective of a GoPro strapped to the blade. The video i
Do You Know Where You’re At?
In 1981, Coevolution Quarterly published a 20 question quiz written by Leonard Charles, Jim Dodge, Lynn Milliman, and
The Broken Tech/Content Culture Cycle
Anil Dash writes about the 24 stages of the growth-fueled “broken tech/content culture cycle” that VC-driven Silicon V
Three Quick Links for Thursday Noonish
Great profile of Venus and Serena Williams by @tressiemcphd. "...those braids said everything we needed to know. They w
Three Quick Links for Thursday Noonish
Great profile of Venus and Serena Williams by @tressiemcphd. "...those braids said everything we needed to know. They w
When the Giant Cruise Ships Came to Town
Over the last decade, cruise ships began to visit the city of Stavanger, Norway. Soon, their size and the frequency of
Three Quick Links for Wednesday Noonish
The Millions of People Stuck in Pandemic Limbo. @edyong209 writes about the millions of immunocompromised people in the
Jonny Greenwood Pretended to Play the Keyboard When He First Joined Radiohead
This is the kookiest thing I have heard all week: Jonny Greenwood didn’t know how to play keyboard when he first joined
A Robotic Caterpillar Slowly Climbs a Woodpile
This is almost beyond meditative: watch Reuben Margolin’s robotic caterpillar very slowly scale a woodpile.
The woodp
“OK Computer but Everything Is My Voice”
YouTuber shonkywonkydonkey takes songs and reworks them using only his voice — all the original instruments, vocals, so
Letterpress Prints of Birds Printed Using Lego Bricks
Designers Roy Scholten and Martijn van der Blom have created a series of letterpress prints of birds made by using
Four Quick Links for Tuesday Noonish
Why did the countries "most prepared" for a pandemic have the worst outcomes? "Rich countries had the policies in place
Titanic with a Cat
What if Titanic, but with a cat in a leading role alongside Leonardo DiCaprio? This is pitch-perfect, right down to th
An Unbelievably Tiny RC Car
YouTuber diorama111 took a 1/87 scale model car — about the size of a Jolly Rancher — and converted it into an incredi
Three Quick Links for Monday Afternoon
In case you've forgotten: the Covid-19 vaccines "are a freaking miracle". [statnews.com]
To reduce Covid-19 deaths in t
Fun Online Traffic Simulator
Oh wow, I spent far too much of my time this afternoon playing with this online traffic simulator. You can place stop
Measles Makes Your Immune System Forget Its Protections Against Past Illness
Historically, contracting the measles has been linked to subsequent illness (and possibly death) from other causes. In
Four Quick Links for Monday Noonish
A comprehensive overview of Disney Animation Studios' filmmaking process, using Encanto as an example. [disneyanimation
AI Creates Photorealistic Portraits of Cartoon Characters
Using AI image processing software, Hidreley Diao creates photorealistic portraits of familiar cartoon characters.
Graphs Built With Townscraper Buildings
This is neat: Clive Thompson built a little app that converts tabular data into a bar chart using houses from the vide
Six Quick Links for Friday Noonish
This is a great rule of thumb: the Seatbelt Rule for Judgment. "My willingness to judge something should be proportiona
When the Mediterranean Sea Dried Up
About 5.9 million years ago, due to a combination of tectonic movements and changes in climate, the Mediterranean Sea
When the Mediterranean Sea Dried Up
About 5.9 million years ago, due to a combination of tectonic movements and changes in climate, the Mediterranean Sea
When the Mediterranean Sea Dried Up
About 5.9 million years ago, due to a combination of tectonic movements and changes in climate, the Mediterranean Sea
The Best Optical Illusions of the Year
The winners of the Best Illusion of the Year Contest for 2021 have been announced and among the top 3, the one that rea
Casino Cheating Expert Reviews Card Counting and Casino Scams From Movies
Sal Piacente is an expert in casino game protection (aka he thwarts cheaters & people who are beating the house) a
Star Trek Warp Jumps Through the Years
Along with the transporters and communicators, one of the marquee bits of technology in the Star Trek universe is the
“It’s Your Friends Who Break Your Heart”
Well, this article about the importance and difficulty of friendships as you grow older by Jennifer Senior just hit me
Hold That Parking Spot!
In major US metropolitan areas like Boston and Chicago that see significant winter snowfall, there’s a tradition of sav
Three Quick Links for Tuesday Evening
A 70s board game called The Campaign for North Africa takes around 1500 hours (~62 days) to complete. [openculture.com]
What If the Moon Crashes Into the Earth?
No doubt motivated by this month’s release of Moonfall, the latest movie from disaster shlockmeister Roland Emmerich,
Cancel Culture Is a Moral Panic
Michael Hobbes, late of You’re Wrong About, has made a video essay arguing that “cancel culture” is a moral panic and
The Giant Chainmail Box That Stops a House From Dissolving
The Hill House in Helensburgh, Scotland is considered an architectural masterpiece, but it’s falling apart in the wet
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