Cool Stuff Daily

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Mon. 04/19 - Super League, Explained (w/ Brian McCullough) Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

You may have heard about a bit of a shake-up in the world of soccer today with a dozen of the world’s biggest teams forming what they’re calling the Super League. To help explain what the heck is going on, we’re joined today by Tech Meme Ride Home host Brian McCullough who shares the context, the consequences, and how this affects way more than just the world of soccer, or even sports. That is in the second half of today’s extra long show, but first: NASA has officially flown a helicopter on Mars. Why is it such a big deal? And pizzly bears. Grizzly and polar bear hybrids that are apparently growing in number due to the climate crisis.

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NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succeeds in Historic First Flight – NASA's Mars Exploration Program (NASA)
How NASA Flew a Helicopter Flight on Mars (Intelligencer)
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter achieves historic powered flight on Mars (The Verge)
NASA's Dragonfly Mission to Titan Will Look for Origins, Signs of Life (NASA)
Are 'Pizzly Bears,' a Polar-Grizzly Mix, Real? (Snopes)
The European Super League Explained (NY Times)
Tech Meme Ride Home
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Fri. 04/16 - Human-Monkey Chimera Embryos Are a Reality Now Apr 16, 2021

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Scientists have created human-monkey hybrid embryos––yes, you heard that right. Archaeologists have found an entire lost city in Egypt. We have even more pterosaur news this week! And a very delicious false alarm in Krakow.

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Scientists Created the First Embryo With Human and Non-Human Primate Cells (TIME)
Embryos That Are Part Monkey, Part Human Raise Ethical Concerns (NPR)
Controversial 'Chimera' Embryos Made by Scientists Are Part Human, Part Monkey (Science Alert)
First monkey–human embryos reignite debate over hybrid animals (Nature)
Archaeologists discover 3,000 year-old 'lost' city in Egypt (CNN)
'Lost golden city of Luxor' discovered by archaeologists in Egypt (National Geographic)
Archaeologists find “lost golden city” buried under sand for 3,400 years (Wired)
Adorable 'Porg' Pterosaur Flapped Above Jurassic China (Gizmodo)
Mystery tree beast turns out to be croissant (BBC)
Krakow's very own lizard cryptid turns out to be a croissant (A/V Club)
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Thu. 04/15 - What Do Spiderwebs Sound Like? Apr 15, 2021

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The CDC says we should wait two weeks after our final COVID-19 vaccination to be considered fully vaccinated, but why? What do spiderwebs sound like? These scientists turned them into music. Google Earth’s latest feature shows us how destructive we’ve been to the planet. And the new YouTube channel I can’t get enough of featuring Hot Wheels on a treadmill.

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Covid vaccine: Why it's wise to wait two weeks after your shot (Mashable)
Antibody persistence graph (Ian Haydon, Twitter)
Scientists Turned Spiderwebs Into Music, And It's Hauntingly Beautiful (Vice)
Spider songs (Markus J. Buehler, YouTube)
Google Earth Now Shows You Our Planet’s Slow Deterioration (Wired)
Google Earth’s historical 3D time lapses show the ravages of climate change (The Verge)
Die-Cast Treadmill Series (Steve Wilkins, YouTube)
5/18 episode with Marble Racing segment (Kottke Ride Home)
Kominers’s Conundrums: Can You Escape This Column? (Bloomberg)
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Wed. 04/14 - A Pterosaur With Opposable Thumbs? Apr 14, 2021

Show notes

We’ve all been talking about Zoom Fatigue for the past year, but a new study has the facts on the phenomenon. Have you tried booking a rental car and noticed they’re all sold out or only going for exorbitant prices? Here’s why. And, a double dose of pterosaur news today! A look at the unique structure of their vertebrae that enabled the giant creatures to take flight and new evidence that one species of pterosaur may have been the oldest animal yet discovered with an opposable thumb.

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'Zoom fatigue' may be with us for years. Here's how we'll cope. (National Geographic)
Wait, Where Did All the Rental Cars Go? (Wall Street Journal)
Paleontologists Describe 'Monkeydactyl,' Pterosaur With Opposable Thumb (Gizmodo)
How the Largest Pterosaurs Supported Giraffe-Like Necks (NY Times)
How to shut down Spot the robot 'dog,' should you ever need to (Mashable)
Boston Dynamics' Spot is now a beer-peeing robot (Mashable)
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Tue. 04/13 - A Methane-Eating Bacteria Inside of Trees Apr 13, 2021

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Researchers have found a methane-eating bacteria living in a common species of Australian tree. The UK is considering a legal “right to disconnect” for remote workers. Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia have uncovered evidence of the oldest domesticated dog in that region in what could be the beginning of huge insights about the development of human society across the Middle East. Uber just had their biggest month ever in a sign that certain businesses might not have much trouble bouncing back from last year’s losses. And what happens if a shark bites your arm off after you get your COVID vaccine? Do you have to get another dose? Dr. Akiko Iwasaki has the answer.

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We found methane-eating bacteria living in a common Australian tree. It could be a game changer for curbing greenhouse gases (The Conversation)
Ministers urged to give UK home-workers a ‘right to disconnect’ (The Guardian)
Google is accelerating partial reopening of offices and putting limits on future of remote work (CNBC)
Archaeologists uncover earliest evidence of domesticated dogs in Arabian Peninsula (EurekAlert)
285: A Pill Meant for Horses (Dear Hank and John, Spotify)
Antibody response after removal of muscle (Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, Twitter)
Differential dependence on target site tissue for gene gun and intramuscular DNA immunizations (National Library of Medicine)
Uber Posts Record Demand for March (Wall Street Journal)
Airbnb/Vrbo inventory sold out (Rafat Ali, Twitter)
AirDNA Market Review | US March 2021 (AirDNA)
Airbnb is trying to preemptively cancel post-pandemic bacchanals (The Verge)
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Mon. 04/12 - Is An Art Movement Happening On TikTok? Apr 12, 2021

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Genetically-modified mosquitoes are set to be released in Florida, but will locals thwart the project? A new technology that can 3D print bones directly inside of patients’ bodies. Is TikTok our latest great art movement? No really, stay with me on this one.

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First GMO Mosquitoes to Be Released In the Florida Keys (Undark)
This ceramic ink can 3D-print bones directly into a patient’s body. Here’s how (World Economic Forum)
Scientists use novel ink to 3D-print ‘bone’ with living cells (UNSW Newsroom)
TikTok Duets Are Reviving the Exquisite Corpse (Wired)
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Fri. 04/09 - The Sound of Our Future Depends On Electric Vehicles Apr 09, 2021

Show notes

The story of the woman whose decades of research helped make the mRNA COVID vaccines possible. Plus, electric cars don’t make much noise, which means we have the opportunity now to design what the future will sound like. And the co-founder of Elon Musk’s Neuralink casually mused over the weekend that they could technically build Jurassic Park if they wanted to.

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Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus (NY Times)
The story of mRNA: From a loose idea to a tool that may help curb Covid (STAT News)
How Electric Cars Could Craft the Soundscape of the Future (TIME)
Fri. 08/07 - Netflix's Rejected Goat Sound Logo & the Vege… (Kottke Ride Home)
Elon Musk's Neuralink Co-Founder Says They Could Build Jurassic Park… if They Wanted To (IGN)
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Thu. 04/08 - Who Invented the High Five? Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

Where did the high five come from? Who came up with it? And why has it persisted for so long? Plus, what if we could turn the entire Earth into a telescope? One astronomer has drawn up the plans. And, how bad is blue light for you, really?

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From the archives: The wild, mysterious history of sports' most enduring gesture -- the high five (ESPN)
The Gay History of the High Five (The Advocate)
Who invented the high five? (Getting Better, Together)
An astronomer has come up with a way to use the entire Earth as a telescope: The Terrascope (Syfy)
What Happens to Your Eyes When You Stare at Screens All Day (LifeHacker)
Prince’s ‘Welcome 2 America,’ an Unreleased Album, Is Due Out in July (NY Times)
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Wed. 04/07 - The 1970s Clubhouse Precursor Apr 07, 2021

Show notes

When social media happened over the phone. Have physicists found a new force of nature? And the long-lost Lord of the Rings made-for-TV-movie produced by Soviet Russia.

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The Prototype for Clubhouse Is 40 Years Old, and It Was Built by Phone Hackers (OneZero)
Remote learning isn't new: Radio instruction in the 1937 polio epidemic (The Conversation)
What Did the Old Telephone Network Sound Like? Overview of the Recordings (Evan Doorbell, YouTube)
'Strong' evidence found for a new force of nature (BBC)
Muon g-2 Experiment at Fermilab Finds Hint of New Particles (Quanta Magazine)
Fermilab’s latest muon measurements hint at cracks in the Standard Model (Ars Technica)
Finding From Particle Research Could Break Known Laws of Physics (NY Times)
The long-lost Lord of the Rings adaptation from Soviet Russia is a glorious fever dream (The Verge)
Soviet TV version of Lord of the Rings rediscovered after 30 years (The Guardian)
The Emoji Story: You should never have this much fun learning about Unicode (Ars Technica)
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Tue. 04/06 - A New Bacteria Discovered on the ISS That Could Help Grow Plants on Mars Apr 06, 2021

Show notes

A new bacteria was discovered on the International Space Station and it could mean interesting things for our future on Mars. The latest shortage in the US has left restaurant owners scrambling to catch up. And are seasonal allergies sexist? Of course not. But kind of...

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