The Pudding needs your help to replicate a study about how we perceive randomness. Does a person’s ability to be random
The Discomfort of Self-Immolation
In the wake of climate activist Wynn Bruce setting himself on fire in front of the Supreme Court on Earth Day to protes
Kevin Kelly: 103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known
On the occasion of his 70th birthday (happy birthday!), Kevin Kelly shares 103 bits of wisdom he wished he had known wh
How We Do Money in America Is Insane
I enjoyed this roast of how we handle money in America by The Daily Show’s Ronny Chieng.
He goes after income & sa
Mars Helicopter Spots Perseverance Rover’s Landing Debris
On the 26th flight of Ingenuity, NASA’s helicopter on Mars, it spotted and photographed the wreckage of the Persevera
Two Quick Links for Thursday Noonish
Interesting thread about content moderation on social networks and why it's not censorship. [twitter.com]
The results o
Clever Cutout Portraits
Rudy Willingham holds up paper cutouts of people (and Muppets!) against carefully chosen backgrounds and photographs th
A History of Birth Control
From Lindsay Holiday, an engaging history of birth control, covering the ineffective and often dangerous methods used
Four Quick Links for Wednesday Noonish
Always worth reading an interview with Werner Herzog. Of a Buster Keaton moment in a film, he says: "I rejoice for havi
Earth Clock
Earth Clock is a digital clock where the digits are satellite photos of geographic and architectural features that look
Swirling Ink Cosmos
There is something deeply soothing to the human brain, at least to this human brain, about watching liquids flow. A bu
Two Quick Links for Tuesday Noonish
An astounding statistic: 1 out of every 125 Americans over 50 years old has died of Covid-19 in the past 2+ years. [twi
Michelle Yeoh and the Daniels Break Down a Scene from Everything Everywhere All At Once
I saw Everything Everywhere All At Once a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it — best movie I’ve seen all year and I
Solving the World’s Hardest Puzzle Would Take You Until the Heat Death of the Universe
In an excerpt in The Atlantic from his new book about puzzles, A.J. Jacobs writes about the puzzle he commissioned from
Massive New Book Collection Offers Unprecedented Views of the Sistine Chapel
There are famously no photos allowed when visiting the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. So, this new book series “that
Feynman’s Ode to the Wonder of Life
In the last installment of a video series called The Universe in Verse, Maria Popova, Yo-Yo Ma, and Kelli Anderson hav
Man Self-Immolates in Front of the Supreme Court on Earth Day in Protest of Climate Change Inaction
Hoping to draw attention to the climate crisis, activist Wynn Bruce set himself on fire in front of the Supreme Court o
Three Quick Links for Monday Morning
The Brooklyn Public Library is offering free electronic library cards to teens around the country in order to ensure ac
Three Quick Links for Friday Noonish
BirdCast's Migration Dashboard allows you to watch bird migration patterns in your area in near real time, "including e
The Birdsong of Printed Circuit Birds
As part of her Circuit Garden project, artist Kelly Heaton makes birds out of electronic circuitry that can be adjusted
A Custom-Built Moon Motorcycle
Based on a digital rendering by Andrew Fabishevskiy, motorcycle design company Hookie Co. built a real-life prototyp
The Mass Delusion of the Pandemic Being Over
Theater historian Debra Caplan published a Twitter thread yesterday about Eugene Ionesco’s 1959 play, Rhinoceros.
In 1
Three Quick Links for Thursday Noonish
A profile of computer scientist Pattie Maes, whose group at MIT developed several of the ideas behind social networks o
Contra Chrome
Back in 2008, Google commissioned comic artist Scott McCloud to create a comic book to celebrate/explain the launch of
The Fluid Dynamics of Oreo Cookie Twisting
You may have noticed, while twisting apart Oreos (aka the world’s favorite “trilayer laminate composite”) to get at th
Two Quick Links for Thursday Morning
The writer we're familiar with as Louisa May Alcott (Little Women), asserts @peytonology after two years of deep resear
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Sees Solar Eclipse on Mars
Wow, NASA just released a video shot by the Mars Perseverance rover of a solar eclipse by the moon Phobos. The video d
Out Sick Today
Welp, I woke up feeling like garbage and it seems I’ve finally gotten the cold that’s been going around in my family f
High-Res View of a Martian Crater
Seán Doran strikes again. In this short flyover rendered in 8K resolution by Doran, we’re treated to a detailed look a
Messy Modern Type
I love this messy modernist typeface from LA-based designer Adam Goldberg. Maybe the J is my favorite?
I also quite l
Two Quick Links for Tuesday Noonish
After a federal judge ruled against mandatory mask protections for travelers yesterday, several airlines and transit sy
The Magic of Invisible Mending
A father and daughter at a tailoring workshop in Japan have mastered kaketsugi, the art of invisibly mending clothes —
Why Algorithms Are Called Algorithms
Because of their relevance to social media, the algorithm has become an everyday concept. Why do we see the posts we s
Coming Soon: Muppet Lego Minifigs
Starting on May 1, Lego is introducing minifigs of The Muppets!
The Muppets are such a sprawling concern that not al
How Did Roman Aqueducts Work?
I had always heard that the engineering of Roman aqueducts was impressive, but as this video demonstrates, I didn’t kn
How Loud Can Sound Physically Get?
Is there a physical limit to how loud a noise can be? As you might imagine, the answer is somewhat complicated, even if
Can Documentaries Change the World?
The Thin Blue Line got Randall Adams out of jail after 12 years. Blackfish almost bankrupted Seaworld and pressured th
Two Quick Links for Friday Morning
Happy blogging anniversary to Andy Baio as @waxy turns 20 years old! Still one of my favorite sites on the web. [waxy.o
Haboob: A Decade of Dust Storms
I’ve featured storm chasing photographer Mike Olbinski’s work here on kottke.org pretty frequently. His latest video c
Three Quick Links for Thursday Noonish
What 'Severance' Gets Right About Infantilizing Office Perks. "Who wants to give up the two hours a day they gain by no
An Interview with a Professional Jump Roper
I have to admit: before watching this video, I was unaware that there were professional jump ropers. But of course the
Garry Kasparov: Stand With Ukraine in the Fight Against Evil
In an uncompromising TED Talk from a few days ago, Garry Kasparov warns we must confront “true evil” in the world when
Black Sun: Starling Murmurations
For his project Black Sun, Danish photographer Søren Solkær travelled all over Europe to capture the murmurations of
Time Lapse of a Very Busy Day in the Port of Amsterdam
The port of Amsterdam is one of the busiest seaports in Europe. But it gets really busy when there are tall ships from
Three Quick Links for Wednesday Noonish
A visualization of what a supermassive black hole would look like in space, "rendered (almost) entirely through physica
Visualizing How Rich Jeff Bezos Is
In 9 Ways to Imagine Jeff Bezos’ Wealth, Mona Chalabi provides us with some data visualizations that can help us wrap
How Ukrainians Are Saving Art During the War
Building on the lessons of World War II, Ukrainians are trying to save their art and other important cultural artifact
Two Quick Links for Tuesday Noonish
Back of Your Hand, a map-based quiz game that tests your knowledge of your local roads. [backofyourhand.com]
"Shame is
Life on Delay: Making Peace with a Stutter
In January 2020, John Hendrickson wrote an article for The Atlantic about Joe Biden’s stutter…and his own. Hendrickson
Life Advice from NYC Chess Hustlers
Anne Kadet interviewed some chess hustlers in Washington Square Park about their chess work in the park and what they’v
Three Quick Links for Monday Noonish
Brendan Koerner on a podcast that ripped off an article he wrote for The Atlantic and didn't attribute or do any origin
Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure
Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure is a new exhibition of the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, curated by his
Tales of Filmmaking From Edward Zwick
On his Twitter account, filmmaker Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai) is writing these amazing
Four Quick Links for Friday Noonish
Lauren Groff has "a few tips about how to take care of yourself as a writer". [twitter.com]
Scientists at Fermilab repo
Giving Is a Form of Attention
I’ve been reading David Whyte’s Consolations over the past couple of weeks, skipping around, seeking illumination, coun
Four Quick Links for Thursday Noonish
Famous Authors On Rollercoasters. Emily Dickinson: "Aah aaaaaaah – ah aah aaah – ah aaaah – / Aah aaah aaah ah aah aaaa
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