Cool Stuff Daily

Latest Episodes:

Mon. 04/05 - Vaccine Side Effects: Myths & Tips Apr 05, 2021

Show notes

Busting some myths and sharing some doctor-backed advice on COVID vaccine side effects. The history of cigarette cards and how they played an important role in World War II. And how narwhal tusks act as a kind of history book, but the most recent chapters are a bit alarming.

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Links:

How to Prepare for Your COVID Vaccine & Reduce the Side Effects (LifeHacker)
Possible Side Effects After Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine (CDC)
When Cigarettes Came With a Prize (Study Marry Kill)
Cigarette Cards and Cartophily (Historic UK)
Cigarette Cards Tell History (American Antiquities)
Narwhal Tusks Tell a Troubling Tale (Ars Technica)
Space Jam: A New Legacy | Official Site
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 04/02 - When Ships Were Stuck at the Suez Canal for Eight YEARS & a Micronation Was Formed at Sea Apr 02, 2021

Show notes

It turns out we got lucky with how quickly the Ever Given was freed. The last time the Suez Canal was blocked, it dragged on for eight years and led to the creation of a micro-nation at sea with a separate postal service and even their own Olympic Games. How Finland celebrates Easter with trick-or-treating and Easter Witches. NASA’s InSight lander has observed two strong marsquakes recently, helping us measure the planet’s core, but what are quakes like on a planet without tectonic plates?

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Links:

The Last Time the Suez Canal Was Blocked a Utopian Communist Micronation Was Formed at Sea (Vice)
Suez: The Yellow Fleet trapped by the 1967 Arab-Israeli War (Al Jazeera)
Suez Canal Opens, but Shipping Will Be Snarled for Months (Wall Street Journal)
Wandering witches welcome Finnish Easter (This Is Finland)
NASA's InSight Detects Two Sizable Quakes on Mars (NASA JPL)
NASA's Insight spacecraft has recently measured the radius of Mars' core (Syfy)
NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) (Twitter)
'Game of Thrones' Play in the Works for Broadway, Will Revive Iconic Characters (Exclusive) (Hollywood Reporter)
OMEGA MART — “Grand Opening” (Meow Wolf, YouTube)
nonstandard mcdonald's (nonstandard mcdonalds, Twitter)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 04/01 - Slamilton: A Basketball Musical Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

Could humans evolve to be venomous? The man currently walking from Washington D.C. to New York City and tweeting all the way. The Hamilton/Space Jam mashup you never knew you needed. A brief roundup of corporate April Fools’ Day pranks we definitely didn’t need. And Chipotle is running a burritos and bitcoin contest that is miraculously not an April Fools’ Day prank. I think.

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Links:

Humans Will Probably Evolve to Be Venomous Popular Mechanics (Popular Mechanics)
Could humans ever be venomous? (Live Science)
Neil King's twitter thread of his journey (NKingofDC, Twitter)
Slamilton - A Basketball Musical (Full Album) (Psynwav, Youtube)
Slamilton: A Basketball Musical (Psynwav, Bandcamp)
Neutral Bling Hotel (Psynwav, Soundcloud)
April Fools' Day 2021: Duolingo toilet paper, Velveeta skincare and more pranks (CNET)
Where to Get Free and Cheap Burritos for National Burrito Day (LifeHacker)
BurritosOrBitcoin.com
Bitcoin millionaires forgetting passwords (Kottke Ride Home)
Enter the Age of the Vaccine Selfie (NY Times)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 03/31 - Why All The Galaxy Carpets In 90s Movie Theaters? Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

Why did every movie theater in the 90s install that galaxy-themed carpet? A mafia fugitive who got caught by authorities after starting a cooking channel on YouTube. And the theory that the remains of proto-planet Theia may still be residing deep inside the Earth.

Sponsors:

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Ladder, ladderlife.com/kottke

Links:

If Y2K-Era Movie Theater Carpets Could Talk (A24)
For years, a mafia fugitive hid from police. Then they spotted his Italian cooking videos on YouTube. (Washington Post)
New theory suggests large blobs of material in Earth's mantle are remnants of protoplanet Theia (Phys.org)
Remains of impact that created the Moon may lie deep within Earth (Science Mag)
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine highly effective in adolescents (The Verge)
Photos: The Great Vaccination Campaign (The Atlantic)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 03/30 - Zombie Brain Cells Keep Going After We Die Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

The medieval version of the millennial avocado craze––if avocados were only eaten when rotten and commonly referred to with a sexual nickname, anyways. Turns out that after we die, certain “zombie cells” go into overdrive. And the super popular Twitch stream of… a stop sign. Just thousands of people watching a live feed of stop sign that cars never seem to pay attention to.

Sponsors:

Ladder, ladderlife.com/kottke
Gabi Insurance, gabi.com/kottke

Links:

The forgotten medieval fruit with a vulgar name (BBC)
There are zombie cells in your brain that go into overdrive after death (Syfy Wire)
'Zombie' genes? Research shows some genes come to life in the brain after death: Post-mortem changes may shed light on important brain studies (Science Daily)
Twitch's hottest new stream is just a stop sign nobody stops at (A/V Club)
Twitch Stop Sign Stream Temporarily Stops After Address Leaks, Neighbors Receive Pizzas (Kotaku)
stopsigncam (Twitch)
11 foot 8 bridge (yovo68, YouTube)
That Gibberish Tweet From US Strategic Command Came From A Child (The Daily Dot)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 03/29 - Why The Lawyer Cat Filter Was a Default on Thousands of Computers Mar 29, 2021

Show notes

A new fossil analysis that bolsters the theory that primates may have lived alongside dinosaurs––and somehow survived extinction. The high school girl who invented color-changing sutures that show when a wound has become infected. And why the filter made famous from the viral Lawyer Cat video was installed as a default setting on thousands of Dell computers.

Sponsors:

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Ladder, ladderlife.com/kottke

Links:

Did ancient primates walk alongside T. rex? New evidence backs up theory. (National Geographic)
Our earliest primate ancestors rapidly spread after dinosaur extinction (Berkeley News)
This High Schooler Invented Color-Changing Sutures to Detect Infection (Smithsonian Magazine)
That Zoom Call with the Lawyer-Cat, Explained (The New Yorker)
Zoom Cat Lawyer Rod Ponton Has Controversial Prosecutor Past (Insider)
Forever Given
NUMTOT Tinder Is a Dating Site for Transit Nerds (The Atlantic)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 03/26 - We Are All the Big Boat Stuck in the Suez Canal Mar 26, 2021

Show notes

The gargantuan container ship is still blocking traffic from flowing in the Suez Canal, but it has not stemmed the creativity of people online––from memes to fanfic, here’s your Ever Given round-up. Plus, archaeologists have found the oldest yet discovered mass production brewery. And Grape-Nuts are back! Where did they go and what’s the deal with Grape-Nuts anyways?

Sponsors:

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Links:

We Are All This Boat Now (Wired)
Suez Canal Blocked After Container Ship Gets Stuck (NY Times)
A Cargo Ship Drew a Giant Dick Pic in the Ocean Then Got Stuck in the Suez Canal (Vice)
Ship blocking Suez Canal prompts flood of memes (Al Jazeera)
Sweet Suez (All_My_Fandoms_Are_Killing_Me, Archive of Our Own) h/t Ryan Broderick
Sea shanty critique (Walter Hickey, Twitter)
Former sailor breaks down the "crash" (@Nature_Grrrl, Twitter)
Suez Canal Authority's dramatic videos of nothing happening (Josh Billinson, Twitter)
Cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal: Children have ideas for how to move it. (Slate)
Is the ship still stuck?
Archaeologists found the oldest mass-production brewery in ancient Egyptian ruins (Boing Boing)
Abydos beer factory: Ancient large-scale brewery discovered in Egypt (BBC)
Grape-Nuts to Offer Refunds to Those Who Overpaid (AARP)
Why You Can't Find Grape-Nuts Anywhere (Vice)
Thu. 12/17 episode about Kellogg Brothers (Kottke Ride Home)
Grape-Nuts Hot: Chorizo - Recipes (Post Consumer Brands)
Pepsi and Peeps Have Joined Forces to Create Marshmallow Soda (People)
Toilet Paper Shortage Could Return Due to Shipping Container Crisis (Bloomberg)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 03/25 - How to Cook & Eat Cicadas Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

Have you ever wondered who or what comes up with the explanatory blurbs beneath trending terms on Twitter? I’ve got your answer. Your guide to eating and enjoying the Brood X cicadas. And a website to help you out when a word is just on the tip of your tongue.

Sponsors:

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Links:

Twitter trends: Who comes up with the descriptions for trending topics? (Slate)
The 17-Year Cicadas Are Returning to the East Coast This Summer—and Yes, You Can Eat Them (Food and Wine)
Mon. 03/15 - Brood X and Self-Sabotaging Zoom Calls (Kottke Ride Home)
The Best Wine and Bug Pairings, According to an Expert (Food and Wine)
You Can Eat 17-Year Cicadas Emerging In Georgia (Patch)
Cicada-Licious: Cooking and Enjoying Periodical Cicada (University of Maryland Cicadamaniacs)
OneLook Reverse Dictionary
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 03/24 - Oops All Shrimp Tails! The Cinnamon Toast Crunch Saga Mar 24, 2021

Show notes

The saga of the shrimp tails in the Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and what it has to do with Chance the Rapper, women’s basketball, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, and Topanga. Scientists have identified the first “space hurricane.” And a round-up of the free stuff you can get if you get your vaccine.

Sponsors:

Audible, audible.com/kottke or text kottke to 500-500 to start your 30-day free trial
NordVPN, Get 70% off a two-year plan at nordvpn.com/kottke or use coupon KOTTKE

Links:

Man Says He Found Shrimp Tails in Cinnamon Toast Crunch (NY Times)
"A man named Karp..." (@HarveyBar22, Twitter)
Who Are The Pistol Shrimps? Aubrey Plaza Plays For This LA-Based Basketball Team (Romper)
Shrimp tails in Cinnamon Toast Crunch? Jensen Karp says yes (LA Times)
Chance the Rapper's connection to Shrimp Tails Guy (Chance the Rapper, Twitter)
Cinnamon Toast Crunch tempura shrimp (Chef Andy Lunique, Twitter)
My glass-laden salsa (Jackson Bird, Tumblr)
Scientists spot a 'space hurricane' for the first time (National Geographic)
Here are a few of the freebies for getting the Covid vaccine (CNBC)
Krispy Kreme will give you a free doughnut every day this year — if you've been vaccinated (CBS News)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 03/23 - How Fast Did Forrest Gump Run? Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

How fast was Forrest Gump running when he jogged across the country? The running community on Reddit did the math. A study has confirmed that some people do actually age faster than others, quite a bit faster in fact. And turns out AIs are way better at coming up with pick-up lines than us humans are.

Sponsors:

NordVPN, Get 70% off a two-year plan at nordvpn.com/kottke or use coupon KOTTKE
Audible, audible.com/kottke or text kottke to 500-500 to start your 30-day free trial

Links:

108 thoughts on “Forrest Gump's Running Route” (Centives)
(Request) how many miles did Forrest Gump run (r/TheyDidTheMath)
Forrest Gump running pace? (r/running)
Study confirms that some people age more slowly (United Press International)
By Midlife, Some People Are Already on the Path to the Frailties of Old Age (Duke Health)
GPT-3 tries pickup lines (AI Weirdness)
Which one is correct: O.K., OK, ok, or okay? (Literary Hub)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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