Cool Stuff Daily

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Tue. 06/28 - The Return of the Moon Age Jun 28, 2022

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NASA’s Artemis mission returning us to the moon has officially begun… sort of. Here’s everything you need to know about today’s first step towards establishing a base in lunar orbit. Plus, why do so many of us love logging the books we read and movies we watch on tracking apps, and at what cost?

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Mon. 06/27 - Why Friends Smell Alike Jun 27, 2022

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Do groups of friends all smell alike? Plus, an astonishingly well-preserved 30,000 year old woolly mammoth baby was just discovered. And we finally have photographic evidence of that mysterious rocket stage that hit the moon in March.

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Friends smell like one another (The Economist)
People May Pick Friends Who Smell Like Them (Scientific American)
Scent of a friend: Similarities in body odor may contribute to social bonding (ScienceDaily)
Rare mummified baby woolly mammoth with skin and hair found in Canada (CBS News)
30,000-Year-Old Baby Mammoth Found Almost Perfectly Preserved in Canadian Gold Fields (ScienceAlert)
Gold miner in Canada finds mummified 35,000-year-old woolly mammoth (The Guardian)
Astronomers Found a Crater From The Mystery Rocket That Smashed Into The Moon (ScienceAlert)
Rocket Impact Site on Moon Seen by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (NASA)
New double crater seen on the moon after mystery rocket impact (CNN)
Alan Rickman's personal diaries set for posthumous release (A/V Club)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 06/24 - The Creatures That Live & Mate On Our Faces Jun 24, 2022

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The facts on how risky public bathrooms actually are when it comes to germs and disease transmission. Plus, the secret lives of skin mites––a bevy of new findings on the microscopic creatures that live on our faces. And, as a chaser, animal ASMR.

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How Bad Are the Germs in Public Restrooms, Really? (NY Times)
The Mites That Live and Breed on Your Face Have Anuses, Genome Study Finds (Gizmodo)
Don't freak out, but there are thousands of mites living all over your face (Vox, 2015)
Skin Mites That Mate on Our Faces at Night Are Slowly Merging With Humans (ScienceAlert)
The tiny mites that have sex on our faces have a problem (BBC)
We could all use a little animal ASMR about now (Boing Boing)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 06/23 - The "Anti-Hunger" Molecule Formed By Intense Workouts Jun 23, 2022

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A newly-identified molecule may explain why some workouts make you super hungry and others leave you without an appetite at all. Plus, a spectacular planetary conjunction is on display this weekend––how to catch sight of five planets at once. Researchers have a new theory for why all those fish fell from the sky in Texas last year. And a new J.R.R. Tolkien book is coming out in November. Sort of.

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Why Does a Hard Workout Make You Less Hungry? (NY Times)
The unexpected link between hunger and exercising (MIC)
'Anti-hunger' molecule forms after exercise, scientists discover (Stanford)
Five major planets to line up in rare planetary conjunction (BBC)
Five planets are aligned in night sky for first time in 18 years in June (Washington Post)
Rare 5-planet alignment comes into better view this week (Space.com)
Researchers figured out why fish fell from the sky in Texarkana, and it's pretty gross (The Dallas Morning News)
Mon. 01/03 - It's Raining Fish (Hallelujah) (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
New Tolkien Book, The Fall Of Númenor, Collects The Second Age Stories That Influence Prime Video's The Rings Of Power (SlashFilm)
New Tolkien book: The Fall of Númenor to be published (The Tolkien Society)
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is changing its name (CNN)
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Wed. 06/22 - Pinocchio, Fascism, & Guillermo del Toro Jun 22, 2022

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A deep dive into the origins, values, and many adaptations of The Adventures of Pinocchio––including how Guillermo del Toro’s dark upcoming stop motion animation could be the truest to the original yet. Plus, the mystery of eight thousand Iron Age frog skeletons found in a mass burial site in England. And, it’s Fat Bear Summer at Katmai National Park.

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The Transformations of Pinocchio (New Yorker)
Is the Original Pinocchio Actually About Lying and Very Long Noses? (Literary Hub)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Carves a New Path: An Exclusive First Look (Vanity Fair)
Pinocchio enlisted by fascists in Guillermo del Toro's version (A/V Club)
Mass frog burial baffles experts at iron age site near Cambridge (The Guardian)
The fat bear cams are live and baby, WE GOT BEARS (Mashable)
Brown Bear Cam - Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park (Explore.org)
Before "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," Rankin-Bass produced "The New Adventures of Pinnochio" (Boing Boing)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 06/21 - Queerness in Colonial Williamsburg Jun 21, 2022

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More and more countries are banning single-use plastics, but what alternatives are available? One team of scientists have developed an antimicrobial spray that could replace plastic food packaging. Plus, how Colonial Williamsburg is working to incorporate more of its queer past.

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Scientists develop antimicrobial, plant-based food wrap designed to replace plastic (ScienceDaily)
Single-use bags and plastic wet wipes face ban in Wales (BBC)
Canada to ban making, importing many single-use plastics from Dec (Reuters)
Cutie Polluties (Liquid Death, YouTube)
Plastic waste: What are the alternatives? (BBC, 2018)
Excavating a Queer History of Colonial Williamsburg (Atlas Obscura)
This is not a drill. The Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared TV series trailer is (finally) here (It’s Nice That)
Everything We Know About Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (ScreenRant)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 06/20 - Peecycling Jun 20, 2022

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Would you use your own pee in your garden? Or donate it to a local farm? Some folks around the world see it as the future of fertilization. Plus, some scientists want to rename summer “danger season.” And astronomers have discovered a new multiplanet system not too far away with two Earth-sized rocky planets.

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Meet the Peecyclers. Their Idea to Help Farmers Is No. 1. (NY Times)
Peecycling: could donating your urine to farmers help feed the world? (The Guardian)
Some Scientists Coined a New Name for Summer: 'Danger Season' (Wired)
Thu. 06/09 - Heat Waves May Get Names, Like Hurricanes (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Astronomers discover a multiplanet system nearby (MIT News)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 06/17 - Space-Based Solar Power Jun 17, 2022

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Ahead of Juneteenth, a reminder of what emancipation did and didn’t do. Plus, a newly discovered group of polar bears who are able to survive on less sea ice than should be possible. And a promising milestone achieved in the field of space-based solar power.

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Juneteenth celebrates just one of the United States' 20 emancipation days – and the history of how emancipated people were kept unfree needs to be remembered, too (The Conversation)
Black Ghost of Empire by Kris Manjapra
On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed
Watch 13TH (Netflix)
Poet Amanda Gorman reflects on what lies beneath the celebrations of Juneteenth (NPR)
Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
Juneteenth 2020 segment (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Juneteenth 2021 segment (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Meet the unique group of polar bears living with less sea ice (The Verge)
These Polar Bears in Greenland Can Survive With Less Sea Ice (NY Times)
Secret population of polar bears found living in seemingly impossible habitat (ScienceAlert)
China built a 246-foot tower to test an emerging solar power system (Interesting Engineering)
New Tower in China Brings Us a Step Closer to Space-Based Solar Power (Gizmodo)
For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
5 Takeaways From Drake’s New Album Honestly, Nevermind (Pitchfork)
"I, too, am excited about that Drake drop!!!!" (Preeti Chhibber, Twitter)
Tim Drake's Story Continues in New Series 'Tim Drake: Robin' (DC Comics)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 06/16 - An AI RBG Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

The Large Hadron Collider has been booted up once more, but will it ever find anything as huge as the Higgs boson again? Plus, an AI model that’s turning Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s words into a magic eight ball. Beyoncé has announced a new album and Beavis and Butt-Head are about to do the whole universe.

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Links:

Ten years after the Higgs, physicists face the nightmare of finding nothing else (Science.org)
Particle Hunters Can Spend a Lifetime Searching for Answers (Wired)
As the Large Hadron Collider Revs Up, Physicists' Hopes Soar (NY Times)
How the revamped Large Hadron Collider will hunt for new physics (Nature)
This AI model tries to re-create the mind of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Washington Post)
Ask RBG
Beyoncé Announces Release Date for New 16-Song Project 'Renaissance' (Complex)
Beavis and Butt-Head's Mike Judge on the Revival's 21st Century Updates: There's "YouTubers" and "TikTok Stuff" (Consequence)
Deep in the Heart of Beavis & Butt-Head (Texas Monthly)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 06/15 - Is This the Origin of the Black Death? Jun 15, 2022

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A new lead on the origin of the Black Death. Plus, monkeypox will soon––thankfully––be getting a new name. And Internet Explorer is being put to rest today. RIP.

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