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Mon. 08/17 - Smog-Eating Murals & An Announcement Aug 17, 2020

Show notes

Scientists find the Butterfly Effect does not exist in the quantum world. Dennis Quaid has adopted a cat named Dennis Quaid. The mural in Warsaw that eats smog. The curious case of beer hidden in the shelves of the Walla Walla Public Library. And a special podcast announcement.

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Fri. 08/14 - A New Ice Cream Truck Song & A New Dinosaur Aug 14, 2020

Show notes

It’s a brand new world today. There’s a new ice cream jingle from Good Humor and RZA. A new dinosaur was discovered in England. Some books of classic literature are being published under new names. And a new use for Little Free Libraries.

Links:

‘George Eliot’ joins 24 female authors making debuts under their real names (The Guardian)
New Dinosaur Found on Isle of Wight Beach is Related to the T-Rex (Gizmodo)
New dinosaur related to T. rex discovered on Isle of Wight (BBC)
RZA Wrote a New Jingle for Ice Cream Trucks to Replace 'Turkey in the Straw' (Rolling Stone)
Recall That Ice Cream Truck Song? We Have Unpleasant News For You (NPR)
Little Free Pantries: Addressing food insecurity during COVID (Christian Science Monitor)
Mini Pantry Movement
Little Free Library
The Fast and the Furious (on a budget) (Budget Boyz, YouTube)

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Thu. 08/13 - The Australian Wastewater Treatment Plant Powered By Leftover Beer Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

Some facts about left-handedness for International Left Handers Day. Why you should invest in bird poop. Why Tony Hawk just renamed the “mute air” skateboard trick. And how Australian bars turned their excess expired beer from lockdown into renewable energy.

Links:

Left Handers Day, August 13th (Left Handers Day)
15 Things You Never Knew About Left-Handed People (Reader’s Digest)
Geneticists Are Untangling the Mystery of Left-Handedness (Gizmodo)
Why is left-handedness rare? It comes down to these 2 words (Fast Company)
Seabird poop is worth millions, say scientists trying to save the birds (CNN)
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Renames Trick To Properly Honor Its Deaf Creator (Kotaku)
Beer unsold during lockdown has been turned into renewable energy (CNN)
AMC theaters to return this month with 15-cent tickets and old favorites (Mashable)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 08/12 - Sleepover At the Last Blockbuster in the World Aug 12, 2020

Show notes

The “rumor clinics” that combated fake news during World War II. How scientists have turned ordinary bricks into supercapacitors. Why some groceries are still tough to come by. And your chance to have a sleepover at the last remaining Blockbuster in the world.

Links:

How 'Rumor Clinics' Fought Fake News 80 Years Ago (Mental Floss)
During WWII, 'Rumor Clinics' Were Set Up to Dispel Morale-Damaging Gossip (Atlas Obscura)
Clever chemistry turns ordinary bricks into electricity storage devices (The Conversation)
Why Are Some Groceries Still So Hard to Find During Covid? (Wall Street Journal)
You can soon rent the world's last Blockbuster on Airbnb (AV Club)
End of Summer Sleepover at The Last BLOCKBUSTER (Airbnb)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 08/11 - How To Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower Aug 11, 2020

Show notes

Is it a good idea to clean your face mask by putting it in the rice cooker? The weird defunct rides of Disney theme parks past. Why scientists want farmers to paint their cows butts. And how to watch the Perseid meteor shower tonight.

Links:

Decontaminate your N95 mask with a rice cooker (Popular Mechanics)
Electric cooker an easy, efficient way to sanitize N95 masks, study finds (Science Daily)
Defunct Disney Rides and Lands (Mental Floss)
Alien Encounter: The Life and Death of Walt Disney World's Scariest Ride Ever (Mental Floss)
Painting Eyes on The Butts of Cattle Can Protect Them From Lions, Research Shows (Science Alert)
Perseid Meteor Shower: Watch It Peak in Night Skies (NY Times)
Perseid meteor shower viewing guide (Syfy)
The Perseid Meteor Shower of 2020 Peaks tonight! Here's how to watch live. (Space.Com)
LiveMeteors.com: Listen live to meteors radio echoes

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Mon. 08/10 - Rent-A-Pineapple Aug 10, 2020

Show notes

A new face mask that can translate in eight languages. Tips for lifting your mood as lockdown measures and remote working stretch on. Why people used to rent pineapples. And the renaissance-era wine windows experiencing a comeback in Italy.

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Links:

This Japanese face mask translates into eight languages (CNN)
Startup Developed a Smart Face Mask That Translates Speech Into Eight Different Languages (iTech Post)
How to lift your mood during the long-haul of remote work (Fast Company)
The Super Luxe History of Pineapples—And Why They Used to Cost $8000 (Mental Floss)
How Hawaii Lost Its Last Queen, Liliuokalani, to the Fruit Tycoons at Dole (Newsweek)
Italy Used "Wine Windows" During The Plague And Now They Are Open Again Because Of The Coronavirus (BuzzFeed)
Florence's Forgotten Renaissance 'Wine Windows' Are Open Again for Business (Wine Spectator)
NEWS & SO (Buchette del Vino)

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Fri. 08/07 - Netflix's Rejected Goat Sound Logo & the Vegetable Orchestra Aug 07, 2020

Show notes

Today is International Beer Day! How to celebrate and why it exists. How the Netflix sound logo came to be, and what goats and wedding rings have to do with it. And the orchestra that uses fresh produce as instruments.

Links:

Here's the story behind Netflix's iconic intro sound. A goat is involved. (Mashable)
100 | Ta-dum! It's Netflix (Twenty Thousand Hertz)
MOUTH SOUNDS (Neil Cicierega)
About International Beer Day (International Beer Day)
Here's a List of All the Beer Drinking “Holidays” in 2020 (Just Beer)
International Beer Day 2020 deals from Miller Lite, Peroni and more (Newsweek)
'Vegetable Orchestra' Musicians Perform Songs Using Only Fresh Veggies Before Cooking Spare Parts for the Audience (Good News Network)
The Vegetable Orchestra
SONG CHALLENGE: BEETS (Andrew Huang, YouTube)
99 Red Balloons - played with red balloons. (Andrew Huang, YouTube)
Can't Feel My Face - played with dentist equipment. (Andrew Huang, YouTube)

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Thu. 08/06 - Excel Error Causes Genes To Be Renamed Aug 06, 2020

Show notes

Further findings into just how much of our speech dogs can understand. An American highway that’s been repaved with recycled plastic. Taika Waititi’s new anti-racist website. Scientists who had to rename human genes due to a Microsoft Excel error. And a smoke detector that wakes you up by spitting wasabi scents in your face.

Links:

Brain researchers: Dogs process speech just like humans do (Fast Company)
America now has a stretch of highway paved with recycled plastic (Optimist Daily)
Voice of Racism
Taika Waititi’s Voice of Racism is an interactive website revealing the damaging effects of ceaseless micro-aggressions (It’s Nice That)
Scientists rename human genes to stop Microsoft Excel from misreading them as dates (The Verge)
Sonic Hedgehog, DICER, and the Problem With Naming Genes (Pacific Standard)
Wasabi fire alarm a lifesaver for the deaf (Reuters)
Wasabi fire alarm scoops Ig Nobel prize for Japanese scientists (The Guardian)

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Wed. 08/05 – Crystal Pepsi and the Harbingers of Failure Aug 05, 2020

Show notes

Do you live in a zip code that’s a Harbinger of Failure? The newly discovered secret to anglerfish’s parasitic success. The woman who returns items left behind in used books to their owners. And the 87 year old athlete who just became the oldest man to complete the Ironman World Championship.

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Links:

The "Harbinger Customers" Who Buy Unpopular Products & Back Losing Politicians (Kottke)
"Harbinger households": neighborhoods that consistently buy products that get discontinued, buy real-estate that underperforms, and donate to losing political candidates (Boing Boing)
Harbingers of Failure (Journal of Marketing Research)
The Surprising Breadth of Harbingers of Failure (Journal of Marketing Research)
Odd immune system lets anglerfishes fuse males to females (Futurity)
A Song About an Anglerfish (Hank Green, YouTube)
Emma Smreker scours used books for mementos and gives them to the original owners (Washington Post)
@inusedbooks (Instagram)
This 87-Year-Old Triathlete Just Became the Oldest Man to Finish the Ironman World Championship (Men’s Health)
The 85-year-old Ironman World Champion (On)

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Tue. 08/04 - The Anti-Mask League… of 1918 Aug 04, 2020

Show notes

Cool armor-like technology that butterflies have on their wings to protect them from the rain. How to use Slack without annoying all of your coworkers, or being annoyed yourself. And what 1918 anti-mask culture can teach us about our own mask debates today.

Links:

Armor on butterfly wings protects against heavy rain (Phys.Org)
How to Use Slack Without Driving Your Coworkers Crazy (Wired)
The 1918 Flu, Masks and Lessons for the Coronavirus Pandemic (NY Times)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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