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Tue. 01/11 - Wordle Wordle Everywhere Jan 11, 2022

Show notes

A human has received a genetically-altered pig’s heart in a transplant for the first time ever. Plus, China’s lunar lander found water on the moon. And a look into the origins and phenomenon of Wordle.

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Links:

In a First, Man Receives a Heart From a Genetically Altered Pig (NY Times)
In 1st, US surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient (AP)
First transplant of a pig heart into a person sparks ethics questions (STAT)
A gene-edited pig’s heart has been transplanted into a human for the first time (MIT Technology Review)
Chinese Lunar Lander Makes The First Ever On-Site Detection of Water on The Moon (Science Alert)
Chang'E-5 lander makes first onsite detection of water on moon (Phys)
China's Chang'E-5 lander finds first onsite evidence of water on the Moon (New Atlas)
Wordle Is a Love Story (NY Times)
Wordle creator overwhelmed by global success of hit puzzle (The Guardian)
Wordle creator promises viral game will stay simple and ad-free (BBC)
Done your Wordle for the day? Try out these spoofs instead (The Verge)
Heard Of Wordle? Now There's A Pokémon Version (Nintendo Life)
How to win at Wordle using linguistic theory (The Guardian)
The Physical Manifestation Of Wurdle Pounds My Butt As A Slightly Frustrating But Ultimately Rewarding And Meditative Daily Routine by Chuck Tingle
United States Mint Begins Shipping First American Women Quarters™ Program Coins (US Mint)
Maya Angelou becomes first Black woman to appear on US quarter as Treasury begins distribution (CNN)
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Mon. 01/10 - Deep Space Tardigrades Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Scientists are working on a plan to shoot tardigrades into interstellar space on lasers. Plus, the James Webb Space Telescope is so-far going better than anyone had dared to imagine. And alpaca’s favorite new year snack: Christmas trees.

Sponsors:

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Links:

Scientists Want to Send Tardigrades to Distant Stars With Massive Lasers (Vice)
Sending Life to the Stars (The UCSB Current)
All hail the Ariane 5 rocket, which doubled the Webb telescope's lifetime (Ars Technica)
Even NASA Seems Surprised by Its New Space Telescope (The Atlantic)
Bad Astronomy | James Webb Space Telescope ready to begin testing components (Bad Astronomy, Syfy Wire)
In a Truly Historic Milestone, JWST Has Been Successfully Deployed! Now What? (Science Alert)
Louth alpaca farmer delighted at Christmas tree donations (RTÉ)
The weird reason why alpacas and goats love Christmas trees (Suffolk Live)
Arby's new sandwich is so spicy it comes with a free shake (CNN)
Best Deals During National Pizza Week 2022 (Thrillist)
05/20/2020 episode about Chuck E. Cheese's ghost kitchen & character lore (Kottke Ride Home)
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Fri. 01/07 - Boaty McBoatface and the Doomsday Glacier Jan 07, 2022

Show notes

How Boaty McBoatface is helping diagnose the severity of the situation at the Doomsday Glacier in Antarctica. Plus, it looks like solar shingles are finally actually a thing. And something to try this weekend––the Dutch practice of uitwaaien.

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Links:

How Explosives, a Robot, and a Sled Expose a Doomsday Glacier (Wired)
Boaty McBoatface Is Set to Confront Antarctica's Doomsday Glacier (Gizmodo)
Doomsday Glacier in Antarctica Could Collapse Soon: New Research (Rolling Stone)
Scientists explore Thwaites, Antarctica's 'doomsday' glacier (AP)
What Antarctica's 'Doomsday' Glacier Could Mean For The World (Science Alert)
10/19/2020 - Grand Duke Travis of Westarctica Wants To Save the Planet (Kottke Ride Home)
The solar roof could finally become a reality thanks to GAF's nailable solar shingles (The Verge)
Solar shingles you can nail to a roof unveiled by GAF Energy (Venture Beat)
GAF Energy's easy-install solar shingles aim to outshine Tesla roofs and traditional panels (Tech Crunch)
Forget hygge, it's time for uitwaaien (Washington Post)
Uitwaaien: the Dutch invention you never knew you needed, until now (Dutch Review)
Uitwaaien, or Outblowing, Is the Dutch Cure for the Winter Blues (Mental Floss)
09/17/2020 episode - Practice Friluftsliv This Winter (Kottke Ride Home)
Corona's New Beer Adds Vitamin D, Removes Alcohol (AdWeek)
Corona Looks to Conquer the "Vitamin D Beer" Market With Odd New "Sunbrew 0.0" Non-Alcoholic Beer (Paste)
Wes Anderson to Direct Benedict Cumberbatch in Roald Dahl Film Adaptation (Collider)
Wes Anderson to make new Roald Dahl adaptation with Benedict Cumberbatch (The Guardian)
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Thu. 01/06 - 1922's Predictions for 2022 + FOVs (Fish-Operated Vehicles) Jan 06, 2022

Show notes

A look at predictions for today from a 1922 article in The New York Herald. Plus, move over self-driving cars, introducing fish-operated vehicles. And car commercials in France will soon require advertisers to tell people not to drive.

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Links:

Image 87 of The New York herald (New York, N.Y.), May 7, 1922 (Library of Congress)
"One Hundred Years From Now" poem by Mary A. Ford (Library of Congress, LOC Serendipity)
What the World Will Be Like in a Hundred Years (1922) (Hacker News)
Scientists train goldfish to drive a fish-operated vehicle on land (Ars Technica)
Not to Alarm Anyone, but Scientists Taught Goldfish to Drive (Gizmodo)
Scientists Defy God, Teach Goldfish to Drive on Land (Vice)
Car ads in France soon must encourage more environmentally friendly travel (NPR)
'Opt for cycling': French car ads required to back travel alternatives from 2022 (France24)
French Car Ads Will Soon Be Required by Law to Tell You Not to Drive a Car (Gizmodo)
Kew scientists name new tree after Leonardo DiCaprio (BBC)
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Wed. 01/05 - The Climate Emergency: Reasons to Hope Jan 05, 2022

Show notes

Gravity as a possible solution to one major drawback of wind and solar power, and reasons to be cautiously optimistic about our prospects for the climate overall. Plus, the link between physical strength and mental health. And the CDC’s zombie preparedness guide.

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Links:

Gravity Could Solve Clean Energy's One Major Drawback (Wired UK)
Gravity Energy Storage Will Show Its Potential in 2021 (IEEE Spectrum)
The rare spots of good news on climate change (MIT Technology Review)
What's the Difference Between a Rise of 1.5, 2, and 3 Degrees Celsius? (Global Citizen)
On the Surprising Link Between Physical Strength and a Healthy Brain (Literary Hub)
How the CDC would act in a zombie outbreak (Boing Boing)
Preparedness 101; zombie pandemic (CDC)
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Tue. 01/04 - Time Capsules in a Confederate Statue & the History of the Future Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

The history and future of predicting the future. Plus, a new “open-source” COVID vaccine that could help way more people around the world get vaccinated. And, after taking down a statue of Robert E. Lee in Virginia, local experts found two time capsules inside its base.

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Mon. 01/03 - It's Raining Fish (Hallelujah) Jan 03, 2022

Show notes

A fresh argument for reclassifying Pluto as a full-fledged planet that would open the doors for way more planets than just the OG nine. Plus, it was raining fish in Texas last week. And if you’ve been trying to remember the title of a book you read as a kid, a new community on Instagram might be able to help you out.

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Links:

Pluto should be reclassified as a planet, scientists argue (NBC News)
Scientists avenge Pluto, claim 150 planets in our solar system (A/V Club)
Moons are planets: Scientific usefulness versus cultural teleology in the taxonomy of planetary science (ScienceDirect)
Fish fell from the sky in East Texas (NBC News)
It rained fish over a Texas town this week in a bizarre weather event (CNN)
Strange Rains (National Geographic)
Can it rain frogs, fish, and other objects? (Library of Congress)
Still looking for that picture book you loved as a kid? Try asking Instagram (NPR)
Pease Porridge Press (@myoldbooks) (Instagram)
52 Things I Learned in 2021 (Kottke.org)
52 things I learned in 2021 (Tom Whitwell, Fluxx)
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Wed. 12/29 - Why Donuts Are Emblems of America (& some NYE traditions from around the globe) Dec 29, 2021

Show notes

A history of the humble donut as a symbol of American patriotism, and a circular source of joy world round. Plus, a round-up of New Year’s traditions from around the world––in case you’re looking for a little inspiration on this perhaps quieter-than-usual New Year’s Eve.

Links:

Doughnuts: The fried treat that conquered the modern world (BBC)
The Delicious Democratic Symbolism of...Doughnuts? (JSTOR Daily)
The History of the Doughnut (Smithsonian Mag, 1998)
Everything You Need to Know About the Great American Doughnut (Eater, 2015)
How doughnuts became Australia's symbol of Covid hope (The Guardian)
New Year's Good Luck Traditions: 7 food rituals to ward off misfortune in 2017 (Mic, 2017)
New Year's Traditions from Around the World (Old Farmer’s Almanac)
7 New Year's Eve traditions from around the world to try at home (Washington Post)
Tracing the Origins of a Black American New Year's Ritual (NY Times)
New Year's Eve In Spain Is All About The Grapes — Save The Cava For Later (NPR, 2016)
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Tue. 12/28 - Emojis As Folklore & Cows On Waterbeds Dec 28, 2021

Show notes

The argument for emojis as folklore, the top emojis of 2021, and why an emoji reference site is being archived in the Library of Congress. Plus, it turns out gray hair can return to its original color… sometimes, and temporarily. And, waterbeds didn’t fully go away after the early 90s. Their main consumer base just shifted… to cows.

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Links:

Emojis Are Folklore (Emojipedia)
The Most Frequently Used Emoji of 2021 (Unicode)
Emoji to Scale
7/17/20 episode about World Emoji Day (Kottke Ride Home)
Gray Hair Can Return to Its Original Color--and Stress Is Involved, of Course (Scientific American)
What Ever Happened To Waterbeds? (Mental Floss, 2016)
Cows Deserve Waterbeds, Too (TIME, 2012)
Yep, Dairy Cows Really Love Water Beds (Modern Farmer, 2019)
Cow Waterbeds: How Advanced Comfort Technology Sold A Crazy Idea To Dairy Farmers (HuffPost, 2013)
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Mon. 12/27 - I'm Disgusted Dec 28, 2021

Show notes

What is the real driver of all of humanity’s innovations, doctrines, and oddities? According to some psychologists, disgust. Plus, the surprisingly recent history of counting down to midnight on New Year’s Eve. And forget smell-o-vision, now there’s a TV you can taste.

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Links:

How Disgust Explains Everything (NY Times)
Why Do We Count Down to the New Year? (Zócal)
Would You? (Gizmodo)
Tasty TV: Japanese professor creates flavourful screen (Reuters)
Where Is Webb? (NASA)
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