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The Saudification of America Is Under Way. “Jamal Khashoggi’s plight and murder...
The Saudification of America Is Under Way. “Jamal Khashoggi’s plight and murder was a warning sign for the US, of the impending loss of freedom and censorship that would sweep the country.”
Making Dark Chocolate Hilarious
Dark chocolate is very serious business. That’s why this ad for Bournville dark chocolate, which takes aim at dark chocolate snobbery, is so funny.
This one is so intense. It comes with a list of side effects.
Mine comes with a therapist.
To the uneducated palette, this tastes like burnt tire.
This one captures bitterness, astringency, and resentfulness. The taste is so grown up.
Oh, mine’s massively grown up.
This is only available under the counter of a pet store with no address.
This sugar was used by the Aztecs as currency.
Some believe this one’s haunted.
Mine’s flammable.
Tags: advertising · Bournville · chocolate · food · video
Edward O. Wilson in 2009: “The real problem of humanity is the...
Edward O. Wilson in 2009: “The real problem of humanity is the following: we have paleolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and god-like technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is now approaching a point of crisis overall.”
The Strange Afterlife of Hilma af Klint, Painting’s Posthumous Star. “As af...
The Strange Afterlife of Hilma af Klint, Painting’s Posthumous Star. “As af Klint’s fame has grown, so have the questions — about what she believed, whom she worked with, and who should be allowed to speak in her name.”
The Fascinating History of Tarot Card Decks: From the Renaissance to the...
The Fascinating History of Tarot Card Decks: From the Renaissance to the Modern Day. The V&A does an unboxing of a half dozen tarot card decks from the last 500 years.
Mary Beard: Hollywood Lied to You About Ancient Rome. Here’s the Truth.
In an interview lasting for more than an hour, classicist Mary Beard shares her knowledge & experience about how the picture of Rome we might have in our heads, inherited from Hollywood movies like Gladiator, is incomplete (and just plain wrong in some cases) and what ...
Raccoons Are Showing Early Signs of Domestication. “City-dwelling raccoons seem to be...
Raccoons Are Showing Early Signs of Domestication. “City-dwelling raccoons seem to be evolving a shorter snout — a telltale feature of our pets and other domesticated animals.”
Magnetikpunk: Playing Vintage Reel-to-Reel Tapes as Musical Instruments
A Japanese experimental music group called Open Reel Ensemble plays reel-to-reel tape recorders from the 70s & 80s as musical instruments (give it a sec to get going):
Brilliant! A YouTube commenter notes: “Very cool, looks like you’re fishing for sound waves.” Here’s...
The winners of the LIT Lighting Design Awards, encompassing the best work...
The winners of the LIT Lighting Design Awards, encompassing the best work in lighting architecture, product design (lamps, etc.), concerts, healthcare, streets, and many more categories.
A Beloved Clothing Store Closed. A Customer Bought All 4,500 Items. “Ms....
A Beloved Clothing Store Closed. A Customer Bought All 4,500 Items. “Ms. Szuflita said she had nearly broken even purely on the numbers. There’s also value in the still unfolding adventure.”
Football Stadium Turned Community Garden
As part of a city-wide urban greening program, Taipei turned an abandoned football stadium into a community garden. Here’s an overview of the terraced garden that’s taken over Zhongshan Soccer Stadium from James Stewart on Instagram. A couple of screenshots from the video:
So cool! (thx, alaina)
Tags: cities · Taiwan
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How Mira Nair Built the World That Made Zohran Mamdani. “Zohran has...
How Mira Nair Built the World That Made Zohran Mamdani. “Zohran has been marinated in love, not just from us, his parents, but from intergenerational family life. He’s so secure in knowing who he is.”
Stress Is an Ancient Superpower That Is Slowly Killing You
Stress in pre-modern times was a “biological superpower” that helped humans hunt for food and survive in harsh environments and situations. But our bodies can’t easily tell the difference between the stress of encountering a lion in the jungle and a worrying email from you...
How to Photograph an Active Volcano Without Getting Vaporized. “It’s dangerous and...
How to Photograph an Active Volcano Without Getting Vaporized. “It’s dangerous and completely mesmerizing. Everyone edges closer even though your brain’s screaming don’t. It’s pure moth-to-flame energy.”
Climate Change in America: Is It Too Late to Wake Up?
From Vann R. Newkirk II, a editor & journalist who hosts the Floodlines podcast (about Hurricane Katrina), a long piece about the climate chaos that’s taking hold in the US: What Climate Change Will Do to America by Mid-Century.
Over the next 30 years or so, the changes...
Clint Smith recently talked to students around the country about the “complexities...
Clint Smith recently talked to students around the country about the “complexities and contradictions” of US history (including slavery) and found they were receptive to it. “Doesn’t seem that hard. Just say both things.”
Kevin Kelly shares some essential apps & services for independent travel in...
Kevin Kelly shares some essential apps & services for independent travel in China. “A good rule of thumb is to download your apps outside of China before you leave, because most are behind their great firewall.”
All the Cats, Explained
From MinuteEarth, a quick tour of all the different kinds of cats in the world, extinct, wild, and domesticated, and how they are related to each other. Some interesting facts I learned:
The saber-toothed tiger was the largest cat to ever live and researchers now believe...
They’re making a live-action Legend of Zelda movie?...
They’re making a live-action Legend of Zelda movie?
The Sagrada Família has become the tallest church in the world, after...
The Sagrada Família has become the tallest church in the world, after workers placed the first part of a cross at the top of its central tower. The Barcelona church will top 564 feet when the rest of the cross is placed in the next few months.
A digital atlas of the Roman Empire’s entire road network (180,000+ miles)....
A digital atlas of the Roman Empire’s entire road network (180,000+ miles). “The data creation is a collaborative ongoing project edited by a scholarly community.”
Skydiving the Sun
Skydiver & musician Gabriel Brown and astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy teamed up to capture these incredible photos of Brown transiting the Sun while skydiving. You can see a video of the jump and some behind the scenes calculations on Instagram.
We had to find th...
“A Personal Business is run by people who are truly into what...
“A Personal Business is run by people who are truly into what they are doing, and invested enough to offer products, services, and/or experiences that are both high-quality and idiosyncratic.”
Jett Brunet carves incredibly realistic duck decoys....
Jett Brunet carves incredibly realistic duck decoys.
This Black Fungus Might Be Healing Chernobyl By Drinking Radiation. The fungi...
This Black Fungus Might Be Healing Chernobyl By Drinking Radiation. The fungi contain melanin, which “absorbs radiation, which is then converted into usable energy, allowing it to grow in areas with intense radioactive exposure.”
The Farmers’ Almanac, citing a “chaotic media environment”, will cease publication after...
The Farmers’ Almanac, citing a “chaotic media environment”, will cease publication after their 2026 edition. The almanac dates back to 1818. (The Old Farmer’s Almanac, started in 1792, is still going.)
This seems promising: researchers have demonstrated that a “nanoparticle-based vaccine can effectively...
This seems promising: researchers have demonstrated that a “nanoparticle-based vaccine can effectively prevent melanoma, pancreatic and triple-negative breast cancer in mice”.
After 230 years, the US Mint has ended production of new pennies....
After 230 years, the US Mint has ended production of new pennies. One of the very few things that incompetent stopped clock in the White House has gotten accidentally right.
The Northern Lights Put on a Show. “A powerful geomagnetic storm brought...
The Northern Lights Put on a Show. “A powerful geomagnetic storm brought spectacular light displays to night skies across the Northern Hemisphere, with sightings of pink, red, and green lights as far south as Florida and Oklahoma.”