Cool Stuff Daily

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Tue. 09/27 - Giant Invisible Otters Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

How close are we to some kind of invisibility cloak? Plus, when giant lion-sized otters roamed the land. Yes, the land. And Hasbro wants to make you into an action figure.

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Links:

This Company Says It’s One Step Closer to an Invisibility Cloak (Wired)
Researchers Determine Fundamental Limits of Invisibility Cloaks (UT News)
World’s First Thermal-Camo Jacket Paves Way for ‘Invisibility Cloak’ (Gear Junkie)
The world’s first Thermal Camouflage Jacket. (Vollebak, YouTube)
In Prehistoric Ethiopia, Otters Were as Big as Lions (Atlas Obscura)
Otters the Size of Lions Once Roamed the Earth (Columbia Climate School)
Hasbro's Selfie Series Action Figures Will Be Available In the U.S. Starting Friday (Gizmodo)
Hasbro Selfie Series: Make Anyone a Hero With 3D Printing (Formlabs, YouTube)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 09/26 - GIFs Are Dead, Long Live the GIF Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

Thanks to a court filing from the largest search engine of its kind, it’s official: GIFs are cringe. How did they fall so far? Plus, the Colorado River is drying up and part of the reason has to do with politicians ignoring the science one hundred years ago.

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Links:

‘Gifs are cringe’: how Giphy’s multimillion-dollar business fell out of fashion (The Guardian)
Fri. 10/29 - Disease and the Vampire Myth + Hallowmeme History (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
How a 100-year-old miscalculation drained the Colorado River (Vox)
Science Be Damned: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River by Eric Kuhn and John Fleck
As Colorado River Dries, the U.S. Teeters on the Brink of Larger Water Crisis (ProPublica)
How to Watch NASA’s DART Spacecraft Slam Into an Asteroid (NY Times)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 09/23 - Asteroid SMASH Sep 23, 2022

Show notes

Why is NASA slamming a spacecraft into an asteroid on Monday and what will we be able to see of the collision? Plus, a new low-cost, no-lab-required COVID-19 antibody test that could set the stage for more personalized vaccination plans. And a new drill rap duo, made up of old white British men.

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Links:

NASA is ready to knock an asteroid off course with its DART spacecraft (New Scientist)
NASA's DART mission will put on an asteroid-smashing show next week (Space.com)
Last year's coverage of DART's launch (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Artemis Cryogenic Demonstration Test Concludes, All Objectives Met (NASA)
Artemis: Nasa's Moon rocket completes fuelling test (BBC)
Elon Says Starship Megarocket Could Perform First Orbital Flight in November (Gizmodo)
A quick test kit to determine a person's immunity against COVID-19 and its variants (ScienceDaily)
Why Omicron Might Stick Around (NY Times)
It’s Time for Northern Boy Autumn (Vulture)
The Northern Boys - Party Time (Sindhu World, YouTube)
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Thu. 09/22 - Fall Is Here & Your Phone Is Dying Sep 22, 2022

Show notes

It’s the first day of fall. Or is it? Everything you need to know about the equinox, plus some seasonal music recommendations. An app you can only use when your phone’s battery is less than 5%. And why Queen Elizabeth II and other royal family members are buried in lead-lined coffins.

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Links:

The first day of fall marks the autumn equinox, which is different from a solstice (NPR)
Fall equinox 2022: Not as 'equal' as you may think (CNN)
Fall equinox: explaining the beginning of autumn, end of summer (The Washington Post)
Amount of daylight across North American on Fall Equinox (Brian Brettschneider, Twitter)
Autumnal Equinox 2022: First Day of Fall | Facts, Folklore & More (Old Farmer’s Almanac)
Wed. 09/22 - The Wonders of Fall, and the Cosmos (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult - But the lyrics are Ai generated images (Daara, YouTube)
Fluxblog 386: let's get back to autumn 1991 (Fluxblog Newsletter)
Halloween Lite playlist (Jackson Bird, Spotify)
Weezer Ring in SZNZ: Autumn EP by Performing “What Happens After You” on Kimmel (Consequence)
This Chatroom Only Opens When Your Phone’s About to Die (VICE)
This Website Only Works When You’re Offline (VICE)
Offline Only
The Disconnect
Why Royal Family Members Are Buried in Lead-Lined Coffins (Mental Floss)
An exploding king: Why Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was lined with lead (Washington Post)
Why Is Queen Elizabeth II Going To Be Buried In A Lead-Lined Coffin? (IFL Science)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 09/21 - What is this? A podcast for ANTS?! Sep 21, 2022

Show notes

Scientists have conducted an ant census. Or at least that’s what I’m calling it. And the total number they came up with is out of this world. Plus, the return of the Shortage Report. This time? Craft beer. Its cause? An extinct volcano.

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Links:

Scientists have calculated how many ants are on Earth. The number is so big it's 'unimaginable.' (Washington Post)
The ants go marching one by one - 20 quadrillion of them (Reuters)
U.S. beer shortage looms with gap in carbon dioxide supply (Axios)
US CO2 shortage worsened by contaminated gas from an extinct volcano (New Scientist)
Craft breweries shutting down due to U.S. carbon dioxide shortage (NBC News)
What you really need to know about the CO2 shortages (Washington Beer Blog)
The Pez Outlaw Trailer Reveals the Incredible Story of a Candy Criminal (Collider)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 09/20 - The Lost Moon of Saturn Sep 20, 2022

Show notes

How did Saturn get its jaunty tilt and cool rings? A new study says it could’ve been caused by an hither-to-unknown ancient moon that got torn apart by its planet. Plus, new findings on just how much misinformation is being spread around TikTok.

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Links:

Saturn’s rings and tilt could be the product of an ancient, missing moon (MIT News)
Saturn’s Rings Might Be Made From a Missing Moon (The Atlantic)
Saturn’s rings could be remains of moon that strayed too close, say scientists (The Guardian)
Could the destruction of a large icy moon explain both Saturn's tilt and its rings? (Bad Astronomy, Syfy Wire)
Visible planets and night sky September and October 2022 (EarthSky)
Lawmakers Grill TikTok Executive About Ties to China (NY Times)
Beware the ‘New Google:’ TikTok’s Search Engine Pumps Toxic Misinformation To Its Young Users (NewsGuard)
TikTok's search suggests misinformation almost 20 percent of the time, says report (Mashable)
TikTok search results riddled with misinformation: Report (AP)
Many Gen Zers don’t use Google. Here’s why they prefer to search on TikTok and Instagram. (NBC News)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 09/19 - Did Volcanoes Kill the Dinosaurs? Sep 19, 2022

Show notes

It’s not all about the asteroid. Some scientists are still debating what caused the dinosaurs to go extinct and a new study provides some interesting evidence for the role of volcanoes in the mass extinction event. Plus, we know concrete isn’t great for keeping buildings cool, but just how bad is it? And what other greener methods did its adoption stamp out that could be revived?

Sponsors:

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Links:

What Killed Dinosaurs and Other Life on Earth? (Dartmouth)
Did Volcanic Eruptions Drive Dinosaurs to Extinction? (Discover)
Examining what killed the dinosaurs in depth (Phys.org)
Keep buildings cool as it gets hotter by resurrecting traditional architectural techniques (The Conversation)
When in Need, What to Read: Introducing our new advice column for book lovers. (Literary Hub)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 09/16 - What Is Going On In England? Sep 16, 2022

Show notes

From informing the bees to muting self-checkout machines, the many shades of mourning––and not––in the United Kingdom. And, from ice cream prescribed with chemotherapy to synchronized heart beats signaling romantic attraction –– here are the winners of the 2022 Ig Nobel Prizes.

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Links:

When the Queen Died, Someone Had to Tell the Bees (NY Times)
Queen Elizabeth funeral: the surreal (and sinister) scenes I've seen around Britain. (Slate)
Scenes from the end of an Elizabethan age (Financial Times)
Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral: Closing vital services ‘against King Charles III's wishes’ (The Telegraph)
From Center Parcs to Bing bunny: The brands that made a mess of their tributes to Queen Elizabeth (The Telegraph)
The UK Government Is Directing Mourners to North Carolina to Stand in Line for Queen Elizabeth (Gizmodo)
King Charles III won't reign like 'King Charles III' (Mashable)
KING CHARLES III on MASTERPIECE | Official Trailer (PBS, YouTube)
Here are the winners of the 2022 Ig Nobel Prizes (Ars Technica)
Ig Nobel Prize 2022 Ceremony (Improbable Research)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 09/15 - The People's Joker & Lunar Crystals Sep 15, 2022

Show notes

China has discovered a new lunar mineral––and more dispatches from space, including the asteroid NASA is intentionally crashing into next week. Plus, a trans DIY retelling of The Joker that got pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival after just one screening.

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Links:

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Wed. 09/14 - The Dream of the 90s Is Alive on the Internet Archive… But For How Much Longer? Sep 14, 2022

Show notes

Several major publishing houses are suing the Internet Archive. Why? And what could the ramifications of the lawsuit have on the archive and on digital access to knowledge more broadly?

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