Cool Stuff Daily

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Tue. 05/31 - Unionized Ghosts, Cat Burglars, & Quantum Bubbles May 31, 2022

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A supremely weird “trivia” cartoon on Netflix. Plus, physicists made bubbles of gas atoms colder than space . And why the Buzzfeed News’ union contract includes legal protection against ghosts.

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The Weirdest Thing on Netflix (Slate)
Cat Burglar: Bringing Tex Avery-Style Cartoons to Interactive Gaming (Indie Wire)
'Black Mirror' creator's Netflix video game 'Cat Burglar' cleverly skips the obvious choice (Mashable)
Ultracold gas bubbles on the space station could reveal strange new quantum physics (Space.com)
Researchers Made Ultracold Quantum Bubbles on the Space Station (Wired)
Ultracold Bubbles on Space Station: New Quantum Research Experiments With an Exotic State of Matter (SciTechDaily)
Buzzfeed News' union contract includes legal protections against ghosts (Boing Boing)
Here's why the BuzzFeed News Union's contract includes protections from ghosts (Poynter)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 05/30 - Angry Angry Hamsters May 30, 2022

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Scientists accidentally created super aggressive mutant hamsters. Meanwhile other scientists have devised a method for pulling drinking water out of thin air with a super affordable thin gel. Different strokes for different folks. And tonight’s possible meteor storm, which could produce thousands of shooting stars an hour. Or not. It could be nothing. Why that is and how to watch just in case.

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CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing approach can alter the social behavior of animals (ScienceDaily)
CRISPR Editing Accidentally Turns Hamsters Into Angry Bullies, The Opposite Of Researcher's Intentions (IFL Science)
Super-Absorbent Gel Pulls Fresh Water Out of Thin Air (Gizmodo)
Cheap gel film pulls buckets of drinking water per day from thin air (New Atlas)
Episode about SOURCE Global's hydropanels from July 2020 (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
Tau Herculids meteor shower could unleash 1,000 shooting stars per hour (Washington Post)
You May See a New Meteor Shower in Night Skies, or Nothing at All (NY Times)
Meteor shower outburst from new tau Herculids possible May 30 (Space.com)
Tau Herculid meteor shower livestream (Virtual Telescope Project)
'Merch!' Documentary Looks to Examine Music Merchandising from Elvis Presley to the Grateful Dead and Beyond (Collider)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 05/27 - Viruses Are Behaving Weirdly May 27, 2022

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Why viruses are starting to act in unexpected ways. Plus, the Sex Pistols re-rerelease “God Save the Queen” just in time for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and at least one DIY collective is running an anti-jubilee punk festival. And some follow-up’s to previous stories, including those ABBA-tar holograms.

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Viruses that were on hiatus during Covid are back — and behaving in unexpected ways (STAT)
Sex Pistols to re-release God Save the Queen ahead of Jubilee (BBC)
Bristol pubs announce 'F*** the Jubilee' three day punk festival (Bristol Post)
In Pistol, punk gets a lavish TV treatment (A/V Club)
Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century by Greil Marcus
ABBA Premiere “ABBA Voyage” Hologram Concert: Setlist + Video (Consequence)
Salem's ‘Last Witch' Has Her Name Officially Cleared, 329 Years Later (NBC Boston)
Taco Bell's 'Mexican Pizza: The Musical' just got postponed (Today)
Stranger Things' fourth season premiere adds warning label following Uvalde shooting (A/V Club)
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Thu. 05/26 - Winnie the Pooh: Horror Villain May 26, 2022

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The first human genome from a victim of the eruption in ancient Pompeii has been sequenced. Plus, a global mushroom art scavenger hunt is afoot. And Winnie the Pooh is joining the gritty origin story bandwagon with a new horror take on the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood.

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Scientists Sequence DNA of Man Who Died In Pompeii Eruption for First Time (Vice)
Scientists Sequence First Human Genome From The Ruins of Ancient Pompeii (ScienceAlert)
Ancient DNA reveals secrets of Pompeii victims (BBC)
Game of Shrooms, the worldwide art scavenger hunt, returns June 11 (Boing Boing)
Game of Shrooms 2022 (Yum Factory)
'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' — Violent New Horror Film Reworks A Childhood Classic (Dread Central)
'Winnie the Pooh' Horror Movie 'Blood and Honey' Explained by Director (Variety)
Teen Lives Are the Real Bother in New Horror Film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (Consequence)
New Horror Movie Turns Winnie the Pooh Into a Serial Killer (Gizmodo)
How ‘Public’ is the Public Domain? Winnie-the-Pooh Illustrates Copyright Limitations of Public Domain Works (IPWatchDog)
Wed. 08/26 - Netflix's Enola Holmes Hit With Lawsuit From Doyle Estate (Cool Stuff Ride Home)
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Wed. 05/25 - Don't Forget To Take Your Daily Tomato May 25, 2022

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Why NASA is sending a bunch of brewer’s yeast up to space on Artemis 1. Plus, scientists have created genetically-edited tomatoes pumped up with vitamin D. And a COVID-19 memorial that will be purposefully burnt down on Saturday.

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NASA plans to launch an unexpected organism to space to study cosmic radiation (Inverse)
BioSentinel (NASA)
Around the Moon with NASA's First Launch of SLS with Orion (NASA)
Gene-edited tomatoes could provide new source of vitamin D (Nature)
Scientists CRISPR'd Tomatoes to Make Them Full of Vitamin D (Gizmodo)
Scientists create tomatoes genetically edited to bolster vitamin D levels (The Guardian)
The Public Will Be Invited to Safely Burn Down a New COVID-19 Memorial (Architectural Digest)
Visitors 'overwhelmed' by Bedworth Covid memorial Sanctuary (BBC)
'I feel your country's anger' – why the memorial to Britain's Covid dead will be set ablaze (The Guardian)
The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE (Penguin Random House, YouTube)
The Unburnable Book
Over 1,000 Musicians Honor Taylor Hawkins with "My Hero" Cover: Watch (Consequence)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Tue. 05/24 - Monkeypox: How Concerned Should We Be? May 24, 2022

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Everything you need to know about monkeypox––what is it, how is it spread, and how concerned should we be? Plus, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is returning to Earth on Wednesday, after just a few hiccups on its first successful trip to the ISS. And Coca-Cola is introducing new bottle caps that you can’t remove from the bottle.

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Why monkeypox isn't like Covid-19 (Vox)
Rare monkeypox outbreak in U.K., Europe and U.S.: What is it and should we worry? (NPR)
The symptoms and causes of monkeypox infections, which CDC calls an 'emerging issue' (NBC News)
U.S. monkeypox case reported, as Spain, Portugal report infections in growing outbreak (STAT)
Monkeypox global case tracker (Global.health)
Monkeypox (WHO)
Spread prediction from modeling expert (Thomas House, Twitter)
Thread on transmission and vaccines (Bill Hanage, Twitter)
The Monkeypox Virus Is Affecting Queer Men, but Has Nothing to Do With Being Queer (them)
Monkeypox: UNAIDS 'concerned' about stigmatizing language against LGTBI people (United Nations)
Unfair monkeypox labeling must stop before our image goes from Curious George to Typhoid Mary (USA Today)
How to watch Starliner capsule return to Earth on Wednesday (Digital Trends)
Boeing Starliner problems go beyond thrusters (Washington Post)
Watch the Starliner capsule live (NASA)
Coke's new bottle cap doesn't come off (CNN)
Coca-Cola's attached bottle cap is rock bottom of hokey greenwashing (TechCrunch)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Mon. 05/23 - The Forest At The Bottom Of A Sinkhole May 23, 2022

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The ancient forest that was discovered at the bottom of a giant sinkhole in China. Plus, a moth species not seen since 1912 was found in the luggage of a passenger at the Detroit airport. And the first patient has been injected with an experimental virus meant to destroy tumors.

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Links:

Ancient forest found at bottom of huge sinkhole in China (The Guardian)
Giant sinkhole with a forest inside found in China (ScienceAlert)
In a massive Chinese sinkhole, scientists find a secret forest (Washington Post)
karst (National Geographic)
TSA on Instagram
Moth Species Not Seen Since 1912 Was Intercepted at Detroit Airport (NY Times)
'Very flashy' moth not seen in more than a century found in bag at Detroit airport (NBC News)
First Patient Injected With Experimental Cancer-Killing Virus in New Clinical Trial (ScienceAlert)
Oncolytic Virus Therapy That Destroys Cancer In Solid Tumors Given To First Patient In New Trial (IFL Science)
First Patient Dosed With Experimental Cancer-Killing Virus in New Trial (Gizmodo)
Trailer for David Bowie’s Moonage Daydream Doc Promises a “Cinematic Odyssey” (Consequence)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Fri. 05/20 - 1930s Shopping Cart Haters May 20, 2022

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The history of the humble shopping cart, and why people absolutely did not like them when they first came out. Plus, a parasite that might make you more attractive—but like, don’t try it. And a tiny pub in an English village that stood up to Condé Nast, and won.

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Why people hated shopping carts when they first came out (CNN)
How a Basket on Wheels Revolutionized Grocery Shopping (Priceonomics)
Mind-Altering Parasite May Make Infected People More Attractive, Study Suggests (ScienceAlert)
Toxoplasmosis - General Information (CDC)
Vogue magazine threatens to sue Cornish village pub of the same name (Cornwall Live)
Village pub asked to change name by Vogue magazine (BBC)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Thu. 05/19 - In Defense of "Like" May 19, 2022

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Why do we judge each other so harshly for saying “like,” even though most of us say it way more often than we’d admit to? Plus, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is launching mere hours after recording… probably. Here’s everything you need to know about the second contender in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. And introducing Pepsi™-Roni Pizza.

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Links:

Why do people, like, say, 'like' so much? (The Guardian)
Boeing Is Ready to Launch Starliner, a Rival to SpaceX's Dragon (Wired)
What You Need to Know about NASA's Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (NASA)
How to Watch Boeing Launch Its Beleaguered Astronaut Capsule to the ISS (Gizmodo)
Boeing Starliner OFT-2 Launch (Official NASA Broadcast) (NASA, YouTube)
Landmark Mars robot will run out of power, ending historic mission (Mashable)
NASA's InSight Still Hunting Marsquakes as Power Levels Diminish (NASA)
Just When We Settled Our Differences About Pineapple on Pizza, Pepsi Entered the Chat With Pepsi-Roni (The Mary Sue)
Finally, a New Pepsi Flavor We Can Get Behind (The Takeout)
Pepsi™-Roni Pizza in NYC (Pepsi, Eventbrite)
Jackson Bird on Twitter

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Wed. 05/18 - Music Made From DNA Sequences May 18, 2022

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The history and future of making music out of DNA sequences, particle vibrations, and more. Plus, a new study indicates that cats recognize the names of their cat friends and their human roommates; they’re just ignoring you because they want to, not because they don’t understand. And Alamo Drafthouse is hitting the road for their twenty-fifth anniversary.

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