A much-touted 4K remaster of Mad Men recently premiered on HBO Max and they forgot to apply digital effects to scenes in some of the episodes so you can see crew in the background, etc.
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An Astonishing Graph
For most of human history, around 50% of children used to die before they reached the end of puberty. In 2020, that number is 4.3%. It’s 0.3% in countries like Japan & Norway.
This dramatic decline has resulted from better nutrition, clean water, sanitation, neonatal healthcare, vaccinations, medicines, and reductions in poverty, conflicts, and famine.
Before ~1800, almost every parent lost a child; now it’s such an uncommon experience that people have forgotten and want to ban vaccines.
Very Good Music Fun Facts from Go Jeff Go including: “Hall and...
Very Good Music Fun Facts from Go Jeff Go including: “Hall and Oates never referred to themselves as “Hall and Oates.” All their records say Daryl Hall and John Oates. Also, there is a 9-inch height difference between Hall & Oates.”
Level Devil. This game is hilarious and diabolical....
Level Devil. This game is hilarious and diabolical.
Retrospekt refurbs and sells retro technology (VHS tapes, cassette players, instant cameras,...
Retrospekt refurbs and sells retro technology (VHS tapes, cassette players, instant cameras, typewriters, iPods).
A Line in a Tom Stoppard Play Inspired a New Breast Cancer Treatment
In a letter to the Times of London, Dr. Michael Baum tells how a line in Arcadia by Tom Stoppard sparked an idea which resulted in adjuvant systemic chemotherapy, a therapy Baum helped pioneer which greatly increased the survivability of breast cancer.
Sir, In 1993 my wife...
I’m in Charge at This Hertz Location, and Buddy, You’re Not Getting...
I’m in Charge at This Hertz Location, and Buddy, You’re Not Getting a Car Today. “Tell me, honestly, when you reserved a rental car through Hertz, you thought… what? That we were going to set aside a special little car just for you? Seriously?”
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair
In just a few days (Dec 5), the entirety of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill duology will be released in theaters as one four-hour-long film. Here’s the trailer:
Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL: THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR unites Volume 1 and Volume 2 into a single, unrated epic—p...
A list of 25 Things to Say to Your Children, including “You...
A list of 25 Things to Say to Your Children, including “You can do hard things. I’ve seen you do them before and you can do them again.”; “I’m proud of you.”; and “It’s so brave to feel your feelings.”
Paul Ford on normalized AI & what happens when bubbles burst. “When...
Paul Ford on normalized AI & what happens when bubbles burst. “When the bubble is big, every idea feels like a billion-dollar idea. I yearn for cheap ideas from strangers.”
David Byrne’s Tiny Desk Concert
There are a few artists where you hear their name and “Tiny Desk” together and you think, well, that’s going to be great. David Byrne is one of those and his performance does not disappoint.
Though Byrne and his band do normally spread out across large stages, the set de...
100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025. The big end-of-year lists mostly...
100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025. The big end-of-year lists mostly feature books from big publishers; this list aims to spread the attention to smaller publishers.
Keene, NH has been replacing their stop-lighted intersections with roundabouts, resulting in...
Keene, NH has been replacing their stop-lighted intersections with roundabouts, resulting in big reductions in pollution, accidents & injuries, and costs. “Slowly moving is better than waiting at a light any day.”
Why Is Everyone Running In Rom-Coms?
I am not generally a fan of rom-coms so I didn’t think I was going to post Evan Puschak’s newest video, but he’s so good at them. Puschak argues that rom-coms are compelling because they reflect the modern challenge of finding meaning as individuals.
In the modern day, w...
I Was Stabbed in the Back With a Real Knife While Performing...
I Was Stabbed in the Back With a Real Knife While Performing Julius Caesar. “I realised what had happened while acting out my character’s death, and thinking: I have to lie here until the lights go down.”
On next-gen GLP-1 drugs. “A mere decade ago, obesity drugs powerful enough...
On next-gen GLP-1 drugs. “A mere decade ago, obesity drugs powerful enough for people to routinely drop double-digit percentages of their body weight were unheard-of. Today, there are two, and they feel ubiquitous.”
A short video that explains *a lot* about the modern world &...
A short video that explains *a lot* about the modern world & conservatism. “They also want to feel normal. They want to walk around and see that most other people have made the same choice they made.” And that last line!
This Is Always Interesting: “52 Things I Learned In 2025”
One of my favorite end-of-year lists is Tom Whitwell’s annual record of 52 things he’s learned in the past year. Some favorites of mine from the 2025 installment:
4. You can unlock the wheels on a shopping cart by playing sounds on your phone. [Joseph Gabay]
5. In the UK...
Photographing the Microscopic: Winners of Nikon Small World 2025. “Overall Winner: A...
Photographing the Microscopic: Winners of Nikon Small World 2025. “Overall Winner: A rice weevil perched on a grain of rice.”
Adding to an “overwhelming body of evidence”, a recent study showed that...
Adding to an “overwhelming body of evidence”, a recent study showed that “suicidality scores dropped significantly an average of two years and up to five years after [trans youth] received gender-affirming treatment”.
The Atlantic hurricane season has come to a close and Google’s DeepMind...
The Atlantic hurricane season has come to a close and Google’s DeepMind AI-based hurricane model performed really well in predicting track and intensity of storms.
Q: “Want to Feel Old?” A: “Yes.”
In 2010, Randall Munroe’s fiancée (now wife) was diagnosed with cancer. Every once in awhile, he updates his audience at XKCD on how that’s going. The most recent missive: Fifteen Years.
If you’re not up on XKCD lore, here’s an explanation. 💞
Tags: cancer · comics · Randall Munroe · XKCD
Macaulay Culkin Watches Home Alone With His Kids Who Don’t Realize He’s Kevin
On tour for the 35th anniversary of Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin said his kids love the movie, but don’t know he’s Kevin. They’re only three and four years old, so this makes sense, but it’s still hilarious.
And while they will even get excited when they see the young charac...
Rebecca Solnit: A Year on From Trump’s Victory, Resistance Is Everywhere. “There...
Rebecca Solnit: A Year on From Trump’s Victory, Resistance Is Everywhere. “There has, in fact, been a tremendous amount and variety of resistance and opposition and it’s mattered tremendously.”
Atul Gawande of Harvard’s School of Public Health: The Trump regime’s destruction...
Atul Gawande of Harvard’s School of Public Health: The Trump regime’s destruction of USAID “has already caused the deaths of six hundred thousand people, two-thirds of them children”.
A long profile of comics legend Alan Moore. “For the first time...
A long profile of comics legend Alan Moore. “For the first time in his 45-year career, Alan Moore is alone on the page.”
I’m still working on the KDO gift guide for this year. In...
I’m still working on the KDO gift guide for this year. In the meantime, here’s the 2024 edition, which has aged well and includes these popular Japanese nail clippers.
“Australia is on course to meet a target of eliminating cervical cancer...
“Australia is on course to meet a target of eliminating cervical cancer by 2035, which, if achieved, will make it the first country to do so.” This is due in large part to their HPV vaccination campaign.
What Are You Thankful For?
It’s been a really tough year for many of us, the citizens of the world. But on this day of thanksgiving in the US, I wanted to ask you all: what are you thankful for today?
I’m thankful that I was able to travel to say goodbye to a friend, thankful for the time I’ve spent with my kids over their holiday break, and thankful for all of you, especially those who support the site with a membership, a small front in what feels like the final stand of the open web. Thank you.
Tags: holidays
All of the Rivers
Perhaps inspired by All Streets, Ben Fry’s map of all the streets in the US, Nelson Minar built a US map out of all the rivers in the country.
Minar put all the data and files he used up on Github so you can make your own version.
[This is a vintage post originally from Jun 2013.]
Tags: Ben Fry · maps · Nelson Minar · timeless posts · USA