Cool Stuff Daily

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Mon. 1/25 - The Moon Rock in Biden's Oval Office: A History Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

The word “robot” was coined one hundred years ago today in a play about robots taking over the world. Good thing that hasn’t happened yet! ...right? The story behind the moon rock in President Biden’s newly redesigned Oval Office. And the first-known tyrannosaur embryo fossils have been found, shedding new light on the T-Rex’s cousins.

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Links:

On the 100th Anniversary of ‘Robot,’ They’re Finally Taking Over (Wall Street Journal)
The Czech Play That Gave Us the Word ‘Robot’ (The MIT Press Reader)
Moon rock origins thread (Dr. Robin George Andrews, Twitter)
A look inside Biden's Oval Office (Washington Post)
Baby tyrannosaurs dinosaurs were the 'size of a Border Collie' (BBC)
Baby tyrannosaurs were about the same size as a dog (CNN)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 1/22 - The Swedish Secret to Happy, Productive Work Days Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

NASA trained an AI to detect craters on Mars. A possible discovery of giant prehistoric carnivorous worms. A new Swedish practice to adopt. And a mobile site that will match you with your film critic soulmate.

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Links:

NASA Is Training an AI to Detect Fresh Craters on Mars (Wired)
Researchers Say They've Found Ancient Dens of Giant Carnivorous Worms (Gizmodo)
Is This a Fossilized Lair of the Dreaded Bobbit Worm? (Wired)
This four-letter word is the Swedish key to happiness at work (Quartz)
Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break, with Recipes for Pastries, Breads, and Other Treats by Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall
Swedish fika series (Sweden, YouTube)
Find Your Film Soulmate with Movie Critic Matchmaker (Nerdist)
Movie Critic Matchmaker
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 1/21 - Biophilic Recharge Rooms for Healthcare Workers Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

Recharge Rooms are helping frontline healthcare workers cope with the continued toll the pandemic is taking on their well-being. How bats are helping scientists create better biologging instruments and the discoveries being made with the technology. The nonprofit working on a coast-to-coast, entirely off-road bike trail across the US. And the inevitable generator that transports Senator Bernie Sanders and his folding chair anywhere in the world.

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Links:

These Recharge Rooms Are Helping Health Care Workers Cope (Wired)
Seals With High-Tech Hats Are Collecting Climate Data in the Antarctic (Smithsonian)
Today I learned bats are trendsetters in tracking tech (The Verge)
Weird West Tale Books by Mike Resnick
A new way to travel across the US (BBC)
Great American Rail-Trail (Rails to Trails)
Next Stop Adventure zines (Matt Gauck, Etsy)
A Website That Lets You Add Bernie Sanders Sitting at the Inauguration to Any Location on Google Maps (Laughing Squid)
Put Bernie Anywhere! (Nick Sawhney)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 1/20 - Baby Megalodons & The Muppet Gatsby Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

New findings into the cannibalism and sheer size of baby megalodons. Teaching AIs to become our teachers. And The Great Gatsby has only been in the public domain for twenty days and things are already getting weird.

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Links:

Baby Megalodons Were 6-Foot-Long Womb Cannibals, Study Suggests (NY Times)
AI can solve Rubik's cube—and tell us how it did it. (Fast Company)
Vampire Great Gatsby? Fitzgerald's classic novel gets an undead spin now that it's in the public domain (CNET)
For ‘Gatsby’ fans, 2021 will be the start of remakes. First up: ‘Nick’ (Washington Post)
The Great Gatsby Performed By NPR's Planet Money (NPR)
Somebody wrote a 104-page Gatsby adaptation for the Muppets (A/V Club)
Muppet Show coming to Disney Plus in February 2020 (A/V Club)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 1/19 - Should Sea Shanty TikTok Take Its Leave and Go? Jan 19, 2021

Show notes

A synthetic cornea implant has successfully helped a legally blind man regain his sight. Team USA and Team Canada women’s hockey players can’t stop falling in love and living happily ever after together. And a deep dive into the briny waters of the sea shanty trend––how it started, some standout covers, why the trend has taken off, and if we should even care.

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Links:

Synthetic cornea helped a legally blind man regain his sight (Engadget)
Team USA and Team Canada Women's Hockey Players Keep Marrying Each Other (them.)
Why TikTok (and Everyone Else) Is Singing Sea Chanteys (Wired)
The Scottish postman behind 'Sea Shanty TikTok' (BBC)
Tiktok: The Sea shanty 'Wellerman' has gone viral (Polygon)
"All Star" shantified (Basscho, TikTok)
Original Nathan Evans "Wellerman" dueted (Johnny Stewart, TikTok)
Kermit "Wellerman" (artmonkeyworld, TikTok)
C++ Shanty (Josh Millard, Metafilter)
COVID-19 Vaccine Shanty (Tim Blais, TikTok)
Sea shanties like the Wellerman are trending on TikTok (Vox)
Why we're singing shanties in a high-stress state (Dan Olson, Twitter)
Decemberists burn (Garrett Bridger Gilmore, Twitter)
Microwave Tok (Shmangomungo, TikTok)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 1/18 - When the FBI Spied on Martin Luther King Jr. Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

Several of the women who influenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and left their own marks on the civil rights movement. A new documentary tracking the FBI’s surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent Black activists, using documentation recently released by the National Archives. And a run-down of the many ways this week’s US Presidential Inauguration will differ from years past.

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Links:

From Coretta Scott King to Ella Baker: These women's ideas were key to MLK's work (NBC News)
Documentary Exposes How The FBI Tried To Destroy MLK With Wiretaps, Blackmail (NPR)
When the FBI Spied on MLK (The Atlantic)
The FBI and Martin Luther King (The Atlantic)
The Filmmaker as Historian: Sam Pollard and ‘MLK/FBI’ (NY Times)
How LA's Amanda Gorman became Biden's inauguration poet (LA Times)
Inauguration Playlist (Biden Inaugural, Twitter)
What Time Does The Inauguration Start? And What Else To Know : Biden Transition Updates (NPR)
Inauguration Guide: Schedule of Events, Performances and How to Watch (Wall Street Journal)
Inauguration Schedule (Biden Inaugural)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 1/15 - Wikipedia As An MMORPG & A Pigeon on Trial Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

A couple of stories for the birds today. First, ravens at the Tower of London are living up to their collective name of a conspiracy of ravens by possibly foretelling the fall of Britain. And a pigeon in Australia who was almost sentenced to death by government officials. Plus, the many ways in which Wikipedia is like an MMORPG. And, because I know we all want to relive it so badly, introducing 2020: The Game.

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Links:

A Raven Queen Vanishes, and Britain Checks a Prophecy (NY Times)
Fake US leg band gets pigeon a reprieve in Australia (AP)
US pigeon that crossed Pacific to Australia faces death (The New Daily)
Wikipedia Is Basically a Massive RPG (Wired)
Wikipedia is an MMORPG (Wikipedia)
2020 Game
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 1/14 - How We Narrowly Avoided an Emoji Shortage Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

The workaround the Unicode Consortium used to make sure we still get new emojis in 2021, pandemic or not. Facial hair is biologically useless. So why do some humans have it? And the SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule returning this evening will be carrying on it a case of twelve unopened bottles of red wine. But why?

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Links:

The Emoji That Nearly Weren't (Jennifer Daniel, Substack) via Today In Tabs
Emoji ZWJ Sequences: Three Letters, Many Possibilities (Emojipedia)
Facial Hair Is Biologically Useless. So Why Do Humans Have It? (Wired)
Wild Study Suggests Human Beards Evolved to Absorb Punches to The Head (Science Alert)
Our Skulls Didn't Evolve to be Punched (National Geographic)
French wine, vines headed home after year in space (AP)
Wed. 12/9 - Space Booze: It's... For Science (Kottke Ride Home)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 1/13 - Pablo Escobar's Hippos Are Out of Control Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Pablo Escobar’s pet hippos have multiplied and are ravaging part of Colombia’s capital. An AI that can create very impressive and artistic images from text commands. Maybe a little too impressive. And a discovery in England this week that could’ve been way worse.

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Links:

Pablo Escobar's hippos are the world's largest invasive species (Washington Post)
American Hippo by Sarah Gailey
American Hippopotamus (Atavist Magazine)
A radish in a tutu walking a dog? This AI can draw it really well (CNN)
DALL·E: Creating Images from Text (OpenAI)
'Human foot' in Gateshead field turns out to be potato (BBC)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 1/12 - 16th Century Disease Prevention & Beer Can Archaeology Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

The sixteenth-century manual on containing the spread of disease that is eerily reminiscent of current COVID guidelines. Bitcoin millionaires who can’t access their digital wallets due to forgotten passwords. And the guy whose massive beer collection is playing an important role in archaeological studies.

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Links:

The 432-year-old manual on social distancing (BBC)
As Bitcoin Prices Swing, Millionaires Lose Sleep Over Lost Keys (NY Times)
The Archaeologist Who Collected 4,500 Beer Cans (Atlas Obscura)
Kottke.Org
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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