Cool Stuff Daily

Why we rely on idioms for communication and how some of the more nonsensical ones entered our lexicon. Plus, a company working on a sort of 10,000 g slingshot to launch satellites into space with zero emissions just pulled off their first successful test launch. And some reflections on reconnecting with the Earth in this era of the climate emergency, without appropriating indigenous cultures. Links: The Linguistic Case for Sh*t Hitting the Fan (JSTOR Daily) History of Swear Words (Netflix) Thanksgiving offers a way forward (Indian Country Today) This Company Wants to Launch Satellites Into Orbit Using a Giant Spinning Centrifugal Slingshot (Gizmodo) SpinLaunch's rocket-free kinetic launch system conducts first test flight (New Atlas) First Native to head the National Park Service (Indian Country Today) Senate confirms first Native American to lead National Park Service (NBC News) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could lunar explorers of the future be sucking air out of moon rocks? Could all of us? Plus, a device made from household objects could expand the world’s access to vaccines. And the psychological case for decorating for the holidays as early as you want. Links: The Moon's top layer alone has enough oxygen to sustain 8 billion people for 100,000 years (The Conversation) This Cheap Device Could Expand the World’s Access to Vaccines (Scientific American) India's Limit on Syringe Exports Hobbles Global Covid Vaccinations (NY Times) What is syringe nationalism - and how is it slowing the global COVID-19 vaccine roll-out? (World Economic Forum) Why It's Actually Good to Decorate 'Early' for Christmas, According to Science (LifeHacker) POV: Does decorating for the holidays early improve mental health? (Vital Record, Texas A&M) Adele gets Spotify to take shuffle button off all album pages (BBC) Adele Asks Spotify to Remove ‘Shuffle’ Button From Her Albums, and It Does — Kind of (Variety) Justice At Spotify (Union of Musicians) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A brief history of takeout and delivery. Plus, a What We Do In The Shadows actor’s previous career as an award-winning yo-yo-er. And the abomination that is RanchNog. Sponsors: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Tentree, Use code KOTTKE to get 15% off at tentree.com Links: How Apps Commandeered the Age-Old Idea of Takeout (Wired) Hidden Valley Ranch Releases RanchNog Kit (Food and Wine) Mark Proksch of 'What We Do in the Shadows' Pranked Midwest TV Stations as Yo-Yo Expert in the Early 2000s (Laughing Squid) FRI Apr 22: Mark Proksch 1 (ADrinkWithDave, YouTube) Zim Zam Yo-Yo Corp! (Doctor Popular) Instant replay: Alleged yo-yo champ dupes TV shows (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) K-Strass on WGN Morning News 5/18/09 (Taobeth, YouTube) Biden to transfer power to Harris during colonoscopy on Friday -White House (Reuters) Biden will temporarily hand power to Harris during medical procedure (Politico) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will we soon have a new Planet Nine? The first human trial for an Alzheimer’s nasal vaccine is about to be under way. And Papa John’s has changed their name. Technically. And AMC Theaters has said, “movies, who? Never heard of her. We’re a popcorn company now.” Sponsors: Tentree, Use code KOTTKE to get 15% off at tentree.com Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Links: Planet 9: Old data could uncover the Solar System's newest world, 38 years late (Inverse) A 1980s Space Telescope May Have Seen Planet Nine (Gizmodo) Mysterious Object Glimpsed Decades Ago Might Have Actually Been Planet Nine (Science Alert) In Depth | Hypothetical Planet X (NASA) First human trial of Alzheimer's disease nasal vaccine to begin at Boston hospital (CBS News) Brigham and Women’s Hospital is testing a nasal vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease (Boston Globe) Business Insider catches up with disgraced Papa John Schnatter (A/V Club) Papa John's redesigns its logo and stores (CNN) Papa John's drops apostrophe, is now Papa Johns (The Takeout) AMC Theatres Will Start Selling Popcorn Outside of Movie Theaters (Variety) AMC to start delivering popcorn straight to your house (A/V Club) The end of “click to subscribe, call to cancel”? One of the news industry’s favorite retention tactics is illegal, FTC says (Nieman Lab) Cancelling Cable (Saturday Night Live, YouTube) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The progenitors to on-demand streaming music, including the multiphone in the 1950s American west and the Théâtrophone in 1880s Paris. Plus, new findings about Jupiter’s Great Red Spot from NASA’s Juno spacecraft. And the woman whose own immune system seems to have effectively cured her of HIV. Sponsors: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Tentree, Use code KOTTKE to get 15% off at tentree.com Links: Early On-Demand Music Streaming Required Lots of Nickels (Atlas Obscura) Le streaming du XIXe siècle (ARTE Découverte, YouTube) Seattle's original streaming music service was launched in 1939 (NBC King5) Stop Everything and Behold this Mini Art Deco Telephone Jukebox circa 1935 (Messy Nessy) Jupiter: mission unveils the depth and structure of planet's shrinking red spot and colourful bands (The Conversation) Jupiter's Great Red Spot is deeper than we thought, NASA Juno spacecraft finds (NPR) NASA’s Juno spacecraft finds just how deep Jupiter’s Great Red Spot goes (The Verge) Scientists report finding a second person 'naturally' cured of HIV (STAT) Woman's own immune system has possibly cured her of HIV (NBC News) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The US finally has a national recycling strategy as of yesterday. Plus, what is the ultimate song to listen to at any time of the day or night? Scientists figured it out. The gendered history of car and road design. And the giant Reese’s cup “pie” that sold out in mere minutes. Sponsors: Tentree, Use code KOTTKE to get 15% off at tentree.com Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Links: The US finally adopts a national recycling strategy (The Verge) EPA finalizes first national recycling strategy (Washington Post) EPA unveils national recycling plan with goal of 50 percent rate (The Hill) This particular song is perfect any time day or night, scientists report (Boing Boing) 'Every Breath You Take' is the ultimate all-round song (according to science) (NPR) The Sorry History of Car Design for Women (JSTOR Daily) I Just Found Out About Reese’s Take On a Thanksgiving Pie and It’s Already Sold Out (The Mary Sue) Heinz Gravy 'Floa-lloonicle' Coming to Thanksgiving Day Parade (Nerdist) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zillow is out of the iBuying game. What does that mean for its competitors and for the future of real estate? Plus, a look into the Human Library. And astronauts aboard the International Space Station were forced to take shelter in their return ships this morning due to on-coming space junk. Sponsors: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Tentree, Use code KOTTKE to get 15% off at tentree.com Links: Why Zillow Couldn’t Make Algorithmic House Pricing Work (Wired) Is that viral TikTok about housing market manipulation true? (Input) Redfin CEO explains how its iBuyer home buying program avoided pitfalls that sunk Zillow Group (Geek Wire) Zillow (Saturday Night Live, YouTube) This library lets you borrow people instead of books. It just may help bridge our bitter divisions (CNN) Space debris forces astronauts on space station to take shelter in return ships (Space.com) NASA was forced to change the orbit of the ISS due to space junk (Slash Gear) Space Station Space Debris and Human Spacecraft (NASA) Russia blows up a satellite, creating a dangerous debris cloud in space (The Verge) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White-tailed deer in America have been found to be transmitting SARS-CoV-2 among each other in higher than expected rates. Plus, next week will be the century’s longest partial lunar eclipse. A new, huge species of dinosaur was discovered on the Isle of Wight. And it’s not just shipping delays to be concerned with this holiday season, now we have a shortage of Santas. Sponsors: inkl, Get a 25% discount at inkl.com/ride Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Links: How SARS-CoV-2 in American deer could alter the course of the global pandemic (NPR) Maine experts respond to COVID-19 deer study out of Iowa (News Center Maine) White-tailed deer study hints at a frightening new era for Covid-19 (Inverse) Longest partial lunar eclipse this century: How to watch the moon darken Nov. 18-19 (CNET) Map of Partial Lunar Eclipse on November 19, 2021 (Time and Date) New species of big-nosed dinosaur discovered by retired doctor (The Guardian) New species of iguanodontian dinosaur discovered from Isle of Wight (Science Daily) Stuff your own stockings: There's a Santa Claus shortage (A/V Club) Is Santa Claus Coming to Town? Maybe Not. Blame the Labor Shortage. (Wall Street Journal) Last year's episode about virtual Santa visits (Kottke Ride Home) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The curious story of how sushi became popular in America. Plus, what would happen to dogs if all their humans disappeared? And in their latest stunt, Heinz says they’ve grown ketchup in Martian conditions. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews inkl, Get a 25% discount at inkl.com/ride Links: The Untold Story of Sushi in America (NY Times) Who could dogs become without humans in their lives? (Aeon) Heinz grew “Martian” tomatoes that are good enough for ketchup (Quartz) Introducing the Heinz Marz Edition (Heinz, YouTube) Instead of Making the Orange Cream Shake a Permanent Menu Item, Arby’s Is Giving Us French Fry Vodka (The Mary Sue) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A deep dive down the drain pipe to discuss why America has so few public restrooms. Plus, how Pinterest ruined Google Search, and a few options for fixing it. Sponsors: inkl, Get a 25% discount at inkl.com/ride Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Links: Why Public Bathrooms Disappeared From US Cities (Bloomberg) Which Cities Have The Most and Fewest Public Toilets? (QS Supplies) How Pinterest utterly ruined photo search on the internet (Input) Saturday Afternoon Ikea Trip Simulator Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another even more promising antiviral pill for COVID-19 has been announced, this time from Pfizer. Plus, why adults aren’t as good at learning new things as kids are, but is it such a bad thing? And the messy legacy of both Emily Dickinson and her favorite cake recipe. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews inkl, Get a 25% discount at inkl.com/ride Links: Pfizer says COVID-19 pill cut hospital, death risk by 90% (AP) Pfizer says its COVID-19 pill cuts disease's worst risks by 89% (NPR) Pfizer's Experimental Covid-19 Pill Found Highly Effective at Preventing Hospitalization and Death (Gizmodo) Why Children Learn Better Than Adults (Wall Street Journal) The Messy History of Emily Dickinson's Black Cake Recipe (Atlas Obscura) Dickinson (Apple TV+) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How would a universal coronavirus vaccine work and how close are we to having one? Plus, how cosplaying as a superhero can actually make you a better person, at least temporarily. And one of the most notorious serial killers in horror is getting his own killer breakfast cereal. Sponsor: Tentree, Use code KOTTKE for 15% off your first order at www.tentree.com Links: The Race Is On to Develop a Vaccine Against Every Coronavirus (Wired) Scientists in Africa are taking it upon themselves to create a COVID vaccine for the world's poor (Mother Jones) Superhero cosplay makes you a better person for one science-backed reason (Inverse) A photo of stoned Ghostface is all over TikTok (Daily Dot) Henry Winkler Auctioning Fonzie Jacket From 'Happy Days,' Ghostface Mask From 'Scream' (Collider) SCREAM Cereal Coming Next Year, Because There Are Rules to Having Breakfast (Collider) UK's biggest range of american cereal + poptarts (Cereal Killer) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New international space laws may soon be on the horizon. Plus, the brewing battles between artists using AI to reconstruct lost artworks and the estates of the original artists. And some steel igloos in Iceland that protect one of the most promising examples of carbon capture yet. Sponsor: Tentree, Use code KOTTKE for 15% off your first order at www.tentree.com Links: The United Nations Could Finally Create New Rules for Space (Wired) UK Wants UN To Create New Space Rules That Could Prevent Military Confrontations Outside Earth (Tech Times) From a hidden Picasso nude to an unfinished Beethoven, AI uncovers lost art — and new challenges (NBC News) A Neuroscientist and a Physicist Used AI to Recreate a Lost Painting Buried Under a Beloved Picasso Canvas (Artnet) Is Carbon Capture Here? (NY Times) Thu. 11/05 - Why Nebraska Splits Its Electoral Votes (Kottke Ride Home) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An abridged history of the McRib sandwich. Astronauts have leveled up their taco game by growing chile peppers in space. And Tropicana just introduced their own line of toothpaste. Sponsor: Tentree, Use code KOTTKE for 15% off your first order at www.tentree.com Links: What You Didn't Know About The McDonald's McRib (Mashed) History of McDonald's McRib: Military Experiments, the Flintstones & More (Thrillist) The Cult of the McRib (Maxim) The History of the McRib (Retroist) Was the McRib invented in Nebraska? (Nebraska.gov) The Invention of the McRib and Why It Disappears from McDonald’s (Chicago Magazine) If You Think a McRib-Inspired Cocktail Sounds Delicious Then You're in Luck (Ad Week) McRib Locator Thu. 09/02 - What Is Grimace & Why Are Hyperlinks Blue? (Kottke Ride Home) NASA Grew Chili Peppers in Space, Astronaut Used for Tacos (Business Insider) Astronauts grew green chile on the space station and made themselves space tacos (NPR) Plant Habitat-04 (NASA) Sick of Orange Juice That Tastes Like Dirty Pennies? Tropicana Toothpaste May Be the Solution (Ad Week) Tropicana Toothpaste Doesn't Make Your Orange Juice Taste Bad (Food and Wine) ​The Reason Orange Juice Tastes Bad After Brushing Your Teeth Is Surprisingly Complicated (Food and Wine) ‎Atlas Obscura Travel Guide (Apple App Store) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some tips for “rewilding your attention.” Plus, how to help NASA train future rovers to better navigate Mars. And what’s going on with those NFT billboards in Times Square… and also, the McRib is now an NFT? Sponsor: Tentree, Use code KOTTKE for 15% off your first order at www.tentree.com Links: 9 Ways to 'Rewild Your Attention' (Forge) Rewilding your attention. To find truly interesting ideas, step… (UX Collective) Rewild Your Attention (Tom Critchlow, Twitter) Rewilding Your Attention (CJ Eller) A Search Engine Designed To Surprise You (OneZero) The Inner Ring of The Internet by Ali Montag (Divinations) You Can Help Train NASA's Rovers to Better Explore Mars (NASA JPL) AI4Mars (Zooniverse) The McRib is back at McDonald's. It's also an NFT. (NBC News) The Sauciest Season of the Year is Here …the McRib is Back at McDonald's® USA This Fall (McDonald’s) McDonald's The Flintstones McRib Movie Tie-In Ad (1994) (YouTube) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A meditation on streaming entertainment, algorithms, and David Foster Wallace’s prescient writing on the illusion of choice. Plus, a possible functional cure for HIV has just been approved to enter human trials. And, the Wampanoag woman who grew heirloom corn on its original land for the first time in over three centuries. Sponsor: Tentree, Use code KOTTKE for 15% off your first order at www.tentree.com Links: How David Foster Wallace Anticipated Netflix’s Digital Gatekeeping (Literary Hub) Everything, All the Time, Everywhere: How We Became Postmodern by Stuart Jeffries One Complaint Per Table (Kottke.org) A Possible “Functional Cure” for HIV Will Soon Begin Human Trials (them.) Excision BioTherapeutics to Proceed with HIV Clinical Trial (Philadelphia Magazine) HIV/AIDS (WHO) Covid's global death toll now tops 5 million (NBC News) Covid death toll overtakes that of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. (Boing Boing) A Mashpee Wampanoag woman reconnects with a traditional corn (WCAI NPR) King Philip Corn (Truelove Seeds) King Phillip Corn - Arca del Gusto - Slow Food Foundation (Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity) Panic, lockdown and a rush to vaccinate in Tonga as first Covid case recorded (The Guardian) Covid Zero: China Locks Guests Inside Disneyland for Testing After Shanghai Case (Bloomberg) Vax declared Oxford English Dictionary's word of the year (BBC) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Digging up the origins of some of the most popular Halloween memes––from “Spooky Scary Skeletons” to the dancing pumpkin man, and also touching on the Disney Channel’s 1980s answer to MTV. Plus, how times of disease have historically led to an uptick in vampire fear and folklore. And, on a more optimistic note, hopefully meaning we’ll have one less thing to fear in the future, phase one vaccine trials for the most aggressive type of breast cancer have just begun. Sponsor: NetSuite, netsuite.com/kottke Links: Silly Symphonies - The Skeleton Dance (Walt Disney Animation Studios, YouTube) Spooky, Scary Skeletons (Undead Tombstone Remix) (Official Audio) (Andrew Gold, YouTube) Andrew Gold - Spooky Scary Skeletons (Official Audio) (Andrew Gold, YouTube) DTV Pop & Rock (ALurkingGrue, YouTube) Spooky Scary Skeletons (metal cover by Leo Moracchioli) (Frog Leap Studios) KXVO Pumpkin Dance (Original Taping, Unedited) (Dancing Pumpkin Man, YouTube) The Story Behind the Greatest Halloween Video Ever in the History of the Internet | Studio 360 (WNYC) More 'disease' than 'Dracula' – how the vampire myth was born (The Conversation) The Real Vampires of Europe (JSTOR Daily) A Vaccine Trial for the Most Aggressive Form of Breast Cancer Just Started (Gizmodo) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could we one day create sperm and egg cells from any human cell, even across the sexes? Plus, how BJ Novak from The Office’s face ended up on products all around the world without him knowing. And the latest drops from two of the internet’s leading mischief-making companies, including Andy Warhol forgeries and a vegan cannibal steakhouse. Sponsor: NetSuite, netsuite.com/kottke Links: How Silicon Valley hatched a plan to turn blood into human eggs (MIT Technology Review) B.J. Novak’s Face Is on Products Worldwide. He’s Not Sure Why. (NY Times) Why BJ Novak Is The Face Of Random Products Worldwide (BuzzFeed) Museum of Forgeries (MSCHF) The Vegan Cannibal Steakhouse by Liquid Death (Liquid Death) Photoshop will get a 'prepare as NFT' option soon (The Verge) 5 unbelievable tech sneaks from Adobe Max 2021 (Creative Bloq) Adobe brings new Creative Cloud apps to M1 Macs and the web (Ars Technica) Facebook just revealed its new name: Meta (The Verge) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It turns out that melting permafrost could unleash Cold War-era radioactive waste and millions of years old antibiotic resistant bacteria. Cool cool cool. Plus, a look back at when picnicking in cemeteries was a common past time––and not just for goths. And the annual drop of totally weird and probably disgusting candy cane flavors from Archie McPhee. Sponsor: NetSuite, netsuite.com/kottke Links: We're now at risk of radioactive waste exposure thanks to melting permafrost (Mic) Permafrost thaw could release bacteria and viruses (European Space Agency) Permafrost Thaw Could Unleash Pathogens and Radioactive Waste (Gizmodo) Finally: Hot dog flavored candy canes (Boing Boing) Candy canes episode from last year (Kottke Ride Home) Remembering When Americans Picnicked in Cemeteries (Atlas Obscura) The 10 Iconic Cemeteries That Made Death Beautiful (Atlas Obscura, 2016) Is This Timothée Chalamet’s Xbox Modding YouTube Channel? An Investigation (Vice) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could a new generation of AI simulations help solve the mounting supply chain disruptions? Plus, the history and future of haunted houses. And Jeff Bezos is basically trying to start a WeWork in space. Sponsor: NetSuite, netsuite.com/kottke Links: How AI could solve supply chain shortages and save Christmas (MIT Technology Review) Cardboard shortages deal another blow to strained supply chains (Ars Technica) A Brief History of the Haunted House (Smithsonian Mag) Blue Origin: Jeff Bezos unveils plans for 'space business park' (BBC) Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin plans to build a 'business park' in space (Mashable) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The countercultural witchcraft music of the 1960s, and a study exploring what it is about certain songs that give us a spine-tingling chill. Plus, elephants in Mozambique have evolved to be born without tusks. And the guy who discovered a budget hack for spending just $150 on meals all year: eat every meal at Six Flags. Sponsor: NetSuite, netsuite.com/kottke Links: 13 Vintage Halloween Songs from the 1910's, 20's, & 30's (History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday, YouTube) A Look Back at America's Psychedelic Countercultural Witch Music (Atlas Obscura) The Munsters - At Home With The Munsters - Vinyl LP (Rough Trade) Researchers analyzed 700-plus songs known to give people chills. Here’s the playlist (Quartz) Songs To Give You Chills playlist (Quartz, Spotify) Tuskless Elephants Escape Poachers, but May Evolve New Problems (NY Times) Poaching drove the evolution of tusk-free elephants (Ars Technica) Meet the Guy Who Spends Just $150 a Year to Eat All His Meals at Six Flags (Mel Magazine) Iron-stomached man discovers savings benefits of eating meals at a Six Flags par (A/V Club) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to a collab between trees and the sun, we can now pinpoint an exact year that the Vikings were in North America. Plus, are sirens actually effective tools for emergency vehicles? And why are apples associated with Halloween? Like what is up with apple bobbing? Sponsor: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Links: Vikings visited North America in 1021 AD, long before Columbus (Syfy) Vikings Were in the Americas Exactly 1,000 Years Ago (NY Times) Sirens: Loud, Ineffective and Risky, Experts Say (NY Times) The Secret, Steamy History Of Halloween Apples (NPR) Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night by Nicholas Rogers How to Tell If Your Onions Are Linked to a Salmonella Outbreak (LifeHacker) Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Onions (CDC) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Open captions are coming to the big screen as AMC Theaters takes a big step towards accessibility, and a look at captions’ growing popularity among the hearing. Plus, how some of the most popular memes are completely inaccessible. And the group of museums who have started an OnlyFans account. Sponsor: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Links: AMC Is Expanding Its Open Film Captioning Support Across the U.S. (Gizmodo) Do deaf people go to the movies? (Quora) Lauren Ridloff, MCU's First Deaf Hero in 'Eternals,' on Her Superpower (NY Times) AMC to Add Onscreen Captions at Some Locations (NY Times) How to Watch Netflix's Squid Game (or Any Translated Show) With the Right Subtitles (LifeHacker) The Real Reason You Use Closed Captions for Everything Now (Wired, 2018) The red flag meme is a red flag for accessibility (Tech Crunch) Vienna museums have started a fine arts OnlyFans account (A/V Club) Vienna museums open adult-only OnlyFans account to display nudes (The Guardian) Bone up on your math studies with calculus tutorials on Pornhub (A/V Club) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A brief history of one of the most famous pizzas on the internet. Surgeons have successfully transplanted a kidney from a genetically-altered pig to a human. And how to watch the Orionid Meteor Shower this week, if the big ol’ full moon doesn’t get in your way. Sponsor: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Links: "On this day in history: "None pizza with left beef" was first..." (Adam Quinn, Twitter) The Great Pizza Orientation Test (The Sneeze) None Pizza with Left Beef | Special Delivery Instructions (Know Your Meme) Reflections on the 10th Anniversary of None Pizza With Left Beef (Gizmodo) Sexy None Pizza With Left Beef Halloween Costume (Talia, Twitter) None Pizza With Left Beef's Creator Steve Molaro Interview (Intelligencer) The Truth about None Pizza with Left Beef (Vlogbrothers, YouTube) Pig-to-human transplants come a step closer with new test (AP) In a First, Surgeons Attached a Pig Kidney to a Human — and It Worked (NY Times) October's full Hunter's Moon of 2021 rises tonight! Here's what to expect. (Space.com) Full moon in October will obscure Orionid meteor shower (CNN) Orionid meteor shower 2021: When, where & how to see it (Space.com) Facebook plans to change company name to focus on the metaverse (The Verge) Facebook Plans to Change Its Name Because the Brand is Toxic (A/V Club) A Plague of Nosebleeds Hit Twitch Streamers, But It Was All an Apple TV+ Stunt (Ad Week) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A look at the micronation of Westarctica, whose Grand Duke Travis started a nonprofit arm of the micronation to raise awareness about the consequences of the climate emergency in Western Antarctica. Plus, AstroAccess successfully completed their first zero-g flight with their disability ambassadors, taking an important step towards space accessibility and inclusivity. And, in our latest shortage report: the 12 foot Home Depot Skeletons. Sponsor: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Links: Westarctica, Antarctica: A Micronation With a Mission (Afar) Micronations in the United States prepare for coronavirus, send messages of goodwill to the American people (Newsweek) Fake Countries Have a Hard Time Dealing with the Pandemic, Too (Wall Street Journal) Westarctica, Land of the Brave (Lyric Video) (Westarctica, YouTube) Disability ambassadors successfully complete Zero-G flight (Space.com) They ordered a 12-foot skeleton online. They got a 12-inch one instead. (Input) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How the push to search for signs of life on exoplanets fueled the development of the technology we use in our latest generation of smartphones. Plus, what your punctuation habits can say about you as a writer––and a new website based on a 2016 art project that allows you to visually analyze those findings. And walruses from space! Sponsor: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Links: How the Search for Extraterrestrial Life Helped Make Your Smartphone’s Screen Possible (Wall Street Journal) NASA Spinoff (NASA) NASA Home & City (NASA) What I Learned About My Writing By Seeing Only The Punctuation (Creators Hub) Punctuation in novels. (Adam J. Calhoun) just the punctuation WWF'S Walrus From Space Project Seeks Volunteer 'Walrus Detectives' (NPR) Where’s walrus? Scientists seek public ‘detectives’ to spot giant animals from space. (Washington Post) Walrus From Space (WWF) Tech Meme Ride Home Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A proposal for approaching this next phase of the pandemic less like an epidemiologist and more like an engineer. Plus, new findings from the Mars Perseverance rover that has NASA breathing a sigh of relief. And product placement in novels, added without the author’s knowledge. It’s a real thing that I hope remains in the past. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Raycon, Get 15% off at buyraycon.com/kottke Links: Reimagining our pandemic problems with the mindset of an engineer (MIT Technology Review) A Prayer for Our Next COVID Era (The Atlantic) Mars scientists now know where to look for life (BBC) Boulders On Mars Suggest a Warm and Humid Past (Time) The time Terry Pratchett’s German publisher inserted a soup ad into his novel. (Literary Hub) Pratchett anecdote and responses with photos (Neil Gaiman, Twitter) Terry Pratchett and the Maggi Soup Adverts (Stuffed Crocodile) Heinz Halloween Tomato Blood Costume (Heinz) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should you read the spoilers for horror movies before you watch them? Plus, a butterfly species in Finland with parasitic wasps in its belly… and even more wasps inside of that one. And, what if instead of lamps we one day use glowing plants to light our homes? Sponsors: Raycon, Get 15% off at buyraycon.com/kottke Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Links: Read Spoilers First So You Can Watch a Horror Movie Without Feeling Terrible (Lifehacker) Spoiler alert: spoilers make you enjoy stories more (UC San Diego) 17 Unscary 'Horror' Movies For Halloween Wimps (Lifehacker) Butterflies released in Finland contained parasitic wasps – with more wasps inside (The Guardian) ‘Russian doll' set of stomach-bursting parasites released inside butterfly on remote Finnish island (LiveScience) The next generation of glowing plants (MIT News) Engineers create plants that glow (MIT News, 2017) Does the platform matter? Social media and COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs in 17 countries (New Media & Society) via Today In Tabs Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How candy corn went from a year round candy marketed at farmers to the love-to-hate it Halloween treat it is today. Plus, a new interactive image gallery that starkly shows what effects three degrees of global warming will have on coastal cities around the world. And, in ten years, one of the biggest comets ever recorded will be passing by Earth. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Raycon, Get 15% off at buyraycon.com/kottke Links: Why Is Candy Corn the Most Hated Halloween Candy? (Eater) Episode Three - Satan's Earwax (Preserve Halloween Podcast) Where Our Love/Hate Relationship With Candy Corn Comes From (The Atlantic) The Saccharine History of Candy Corn (National Geographic) Why Brach's Turkey Dinner Candy Corn Might Taste Different This Year (Mashed) All About Candy Corn (National Confectioners Association) ​What To Know About Confectioner's Glaze (Taste for Life) Why is there shellac in my chocolate mints? (McGill) How Candy Corn is Made | Unwrapped (Food Network, YouTube) See how climate change could drown landmarks around the world (The Verge) What sea level rise will do to famous American sites, visualized (The Guardian) Google AR Brings Endangered Swedish Animals Into Your Living Room (Gizmodo) One of the largest comets ever seen is headed our way (National Geographic) Largest comet ever observed will come close to Earth in 2031 (A/V Club) The Biggest Comet Ever Discovered, Bernardinelli-Bernstein, Is Headed Our Way (The Daily Beast) Here's how to watch live coverage of NASA's next asteroid mission (Space.com) More about the Lucy Mission from the 09/22 episode (Kottke Ride Home) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is it that makes spiders so frightening to us, and why do most of us kill them without sparing a second thought? Plus, a Scottish nightclub that’s using the body heat of their dancing patrons to heat and cool the venue. And Prince Charles, trying to out British everyone else, fuels up his Aston Martin with England’s finest wine and cheese byproducts. Sponsors: Raycon, Get 15% off at buyraycon.com/kottke Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Links: Why so many of us are casual spider-murderers (BBC) Scottish nightclub to generate power from dancers' body heat (Planet Ark) This green nightclub traps dancers' body heat for later (Fast Company) Introducing a radical plan to power SWG3 using body heat (SWG3 TV) Prince Charles’ Vintage Car Runs on Wine and Cheese Because Of Course It Does (Gizmodo) Blue Origin readies for space launch with William Shatner aboard (CBS News) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day. More and more local governments are making it official, but why did we start celebrating Columbus Day to begin with? Plus, the impressive and gnarly competition to be crowned Miss Navajo Nation. And the history of National Coming Out Day, including the connection between Pride celebrations and Halloween. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Raycon, Get 15% off at buyraycon.com/kottke Links: Biden is first president to mark Indigenous Peoples' Day (AP) Indigenous Peoples' Day, as explained by Native Americans (NPR) Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples' Day? How the holiday has been shaped by oppression (National Geographic) Miss Navajo Nation is a pageant like no other (LA Times) Reservation Dogs (FX) All My Relations Podcast Native Appropriations | Representations Matter Notable Native People by Adrienne Keene Dallas Goldtooth (@dallasgoldtooth) (Instagram) The history of National Coming Out Day contains both pride and pain (The 19th) Statement by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on National Coming Out Day (White House) International Day of the Girl Child (UN Women) #GirlsGetLoud Day of the Girl (Twitter) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The winners of the Nobel Peace Prize have been announced! As well as the winners in Chemistry and Literature. More on each winner, as well as a question about whether we really need the Nobel Prize. Plus, the remnants of the oldest Black church in the US have been uncovered in Colonial Williamsburg. And a Google AI has recreated famous works of art by Gustav Klimt that were lost in World War II. Sponsors: Novo, BankNovo.com/kottke Links: Maria Ressa is only the 18th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in its 126-year history. (NY Times) The Nobel Peace Prize 2021 - Press release (Nobel Prize) Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov win Nobel Peace Prize (Washington Post) Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded to Scientists for Creating a Tool to Build Molecules (NY Times) Abdulrazak Gurnah wins the 2021 Nobel prize in literature (The Guardian) The flaws in the Nobel Prizes in medicine, physics, chemistry, and economics (Vox) Why COVID vaccines didn't win a science Nobel this year (Nature) Remnants of Black church uncovered in Colonial Williamsburg (AP) Colonial Williamsburg Project Unearths Foundation of First Baptist Church (NY Times) The Quest to Unearth One of America's Oldest Black Churches (Wired, 2020) Google used AI to recreate Gustav Klimt paintings burned by Nazis (Mashable) Klimt vs. Klimt (Google Arts & Culture) 'The case remains open': FBI rebuts claim Zodiac Killer case is solved (NBC News) 'Hot Garbage': Zodiac Expert Calls 'Bulls---' on Possible ID of Infamous Serial Killer (Rolling Stone) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The WHO has officially approved the first-ever malaria vaccine. The United States Postal Service is trying out being a bank. And the story of a white-naped crane named Walnut who fell in love with a human named Crowe. Sponsor: Novo, BankNovo.com/kottke Links: World Health Organization Approves First Malaria Vaccine (NY Mag) Malaria vaccine: When will it be available? (BBC) World's first malaria vaccine gets WHO recommendation (NPR) WHO recommends groundbreaking malaria vaccine for children at risk (WHO) The USPS is testing out becoming a bank, and it's about damn time. (Boing Boing) USPS Begins Postal Banking Pilot Program (Prospect) The crane who fell in love with a human (Washington Post, 2018) Crowe and Crane "It's complicated." (Amanda Deibert, Twitter) The 9,090-Piece Titanic Is Now the Largest Lego Model Ever Released (Gizmodo) Accurate Titanic Model (bikekill, TikTok) Wandavision Agatha Harkness Marvel Spinoff at Disney+ (iO9) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Russian film crew have arrived on the International Space Station to shoot the first-ever feature length film in space. A woman has received a brain implant that is successfully treating her depression by painlessly zapping her hundreds of times a day. And the seventeenth century health trend that was all the rage in Europe: corpse medicine. Sponsor: Novo, BankNovo.com/kottke Links: This Russian duo are set to make the first feature film in space (Euro News) Russian film crew in orbit to make first movie in space (AP) A Russian actor blasts off to make a movie on the International Space Station (NPR) This woman’s brain implant zaps her with electricity when it senses she’s getting depressed (MIT Technology Review) A surgically implanted brain stimulation device could help treat severe depression (The Verge) European 'Corpse Medicine' Promised Better Health Through Cannibalism (Atlas Obscura) Zodiac Killer Allegedly Identified by Team of Independent Investigators (Complex) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we prepared to reckon with how much of the world came to a stop when Facebook went down yesterday? Plus, thanks to a new discovery, you may soon be able to find out if you had an identical twin in the womb using just a simple cheek swab. And it’s Nobel Prize week! The winners announced thus far produced groundbreaking work using everything from spin glass to chili peppers. Sponsor: Novo, BankNovo.com/kottke Links: ​​Why Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp All Went Down Today (Wired) Millions of people rely on Facebook to get online. The outage left them stranded. (MIT Tech Review) Facebook’s Apps Went Down. The World Saw How Much It Runs on Them. (NY Times) Why Facebook and Instagram went down for hours on Monday (NPR) All identical twins may share a common set of chemical markers on their DNA (Science News) DNA markers reveal if you shared a womb with twin that didn't survive (New Scientist) Identical twins carry genetic modifications no one else has (Science) Medicine Nobel goes to scientists who discovered biology of senses (Nature) Scientists Studied Spicy Chili Peppers and Cool Menthol for Their Nobel Prize–Winning Research on Heat and Touch (Smithsonian Mag) Nobel Prize in Physics Honors Work on Climate Change (NY Times) Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann win half of Nobel prize for modeling Earth's climate, Giorgio Parisi wins other half for describing fluctuating physical systems (Washington Post) Netflix establishes scholarship in Chadwick Boseman's name (A/V Club) Denzel Washington Paid for Chadwick Boseman to Study at Oxford (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, YouTube) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The sexist history of the rollerboard suitcases. Plus, the facts about Merck’s new COVID-19 antiviral pill, including its connection to Thor. And the return of Nick Lutsko’s absurdist Spirit Halloween music videos. Sponsor: Novo, BankNovo.com/kottke Links: Meet molnupiravir, Merck’s Thor-inspired pill that hammers COVID (Ars Technica) How Merck's Covid-19 pill molnupiravir could change the Covid-19 pandemic (Vox) Merck's antiviral pill reduces hospitalization of Covid patients (STAT) How Merck's antiviral pill could change the game for COVID-19 (National Geographic) The hedge fund manager behind a long-shot coronavirus pill (Financial Times, 2020) Mystery of the wheelie suitcase: how gender stereotypes held back the history of invention (The Guardian) Who Actually Invented the Wheeled Suitcase? (Interesting Engineering) Reinventing the Suitcase by Adding the Wheel (NY Times) Spirit Halloween Planet (Nick Lutsko, Twitter) Halloween Planet EP (Nick Lutsko, Bandcamp) Spirit Halloween Theme - FULL TRILOGY (Nick Lutsko, YouTube) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The persisting myth of tampered-with and tainted trick-or-treat candy, and why it’s an urban legend that will never die. Plus, how we humans produce speech and a website that shows you both the beautiful engineering and the chaos of our mouths. And a selection of haunted houses you can sleep over at in case you’re looking to up the ante on your spooky experiences this month. Sponsor: NetSuite, netsuite.com/kottke Links: For the Last Time: No One Is Trying to Give Your Kid Edibles (LifeHacker) Could THC candies make it into your child's Halloween haul? (The Takeout) Are People Really Trying to Drug Kids With Marijuana-Laced Halloween Candy? (Reason) Big Candy Is Angry at Look-Alike THC Treats (NY Times) Halloween: The History of America's Darkest Holiday by David J. Skall Those Treats May Be Tricks (NY Times, 1970) Pink Trombone From Grunting To Gabbing: Why Humans Can Talk (NPR, 2010) You can spend Halloween with Dewey Riley at the original 'Scream' house (Mashable) Stay somewhere spirited (Airbnb) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The very American history of the Chinese takeout box, and a look at the new “Americancore” trend. Plus, archaeologists have uncovered a hidden neighborhood in the ancient Maya city of Tikal that sheds new light on the imperialism of the Teotihuacán. And a lost David Bowie album is finally being released. Sponsor: NetSuite, netsuite.com/kottke Links: The Chinese Takeout Box is As American As Baseball and Apple Pie (The Dieline) Chinese Food Delivery Containers, Explained (Eater) The Chinese-Takeout Container Is Uniquely American (NY Times) Takeout and Delivery Food Can Teach You American History (TIME) America as an Internet Aesthetic (The New Yorker) Panda Express (Yuki Chikamori, TikTok) chinese food box (R & D Tool Engineering & Fourslide Production, YouTube) Ancient Maya City of Tikal Had a Teotihuacán-Like Neighborhood (Gizmodo) Startling Discovery Reveals Mysterious Citadel Hidden in Ancient Maya City (Science Alert) In Guatemala, archaeologist from Brown helps to uncover hidden neighborhood in ancient Maya city (Brown University) Lost Maya Neighborhood Is a Mini Replica of Teotihuacan Citadel, New Research Finds (ARTnews) David Bowie’s Lost 2001 Album, Toy, Receiving Long-Awaited Release (Consequence of Sound) David Bowie’s Unreleased Album Toy Set for Release (Pitchfork) International Podcast Day Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What will happen to the bodies of people who die on Mars? Plus, AI has indicated that a famous painting at the National Gallery might be a phoney. And festival-goers at Glastonbury are endangering rare eels with their drug-addled refusal to use public toilets. Sponsor: NetSuite, netsuite.com/kottke Links: How Would Humans Decompose on Mars? (Discover) What Happens If Someone Dies on Mars? (Atlas Obscura) How to die on Mars (Space) Was famed Samson and Delilah really painted by Rubens? No, says AI (The Guardian) AI study suggests a London gallery's been exhibiting a fake for years (The Next Web) Glastonbury Festival: Levels of illegal drugs high enough to harm wildlife found in river running through site (Sky News) Glastonbury: drug traces from on-site urination could harm rare eels (The Guardian) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could removing methane from the atmosphere be a viable strategy for slowing global warming? And are all of these disparate new ideas and strategies to solve the climate crisis going to lead to real solutions? Plus, pulling back the curtain on the on-going supply chain problems. And the crypto-trading hamster showing up the pros. Sponsor: NetSuite, netsuite.com/kottke Links: Pulling methane out of the atmosphere could slow global warming—if we can figure out how to do it (MIT Technology Review) Climate Change Is the New Dot-Com Bubble (Wired) The Supply-Chain Mystery (The New Yorker) No End In Sight For The COVID-Led Global Supply Chain Disruption (Forbes) An Excerpt from My New Anxiety Dream Where I Personally Break the Global Supply Chain (McSweeney’s) Brexit means Brexit (r/LeopardsAteMyFace) Mr Goxx, the crypto-trading hamster beating human investors (BBC) A Hamster on Twitch Is Trading Crypto and Beating the Stock Market (Vice) mr_goxx (Mr. Goxx, Twitch) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How 19th century New Yorkers took advantage of a loophole in the strict drinking laws and ended up creating the world’s worst sandwich. Plus, a supernova that’s been missing since the twelfth century has been found! And how a young woman on Tiktok accidentally caused havoc to thousands of scientific studies. Sponsor: NetSuite, netsuite.com/kottke Links: To Evade Pre-Prohibition Drinking Laws, New Yorkers Created the World's Worst Sandwich (Atlas Obscura) A supernova missing since 1181 AD has finally been found (Syfy) Astronomers solve 900-year-old cosmic mystery surrounding Chinese supernova of 1181AD (University of Manchester) A teenager on TikTok disrupted thousands of scientific studies with a single video (The Verge) 'Great British Bake Off' Goes by Different Name in US Due to Trademark (Insider) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ancient footprints discovered in New Mexico are shaking up what we thought we knew about when humans first arrived in the Americas. Plus, how much plastic do we unknowingly ingest each year? The answer is probably more than you’re comfortable with, but it also turns out that babies take in way more of it than adults. And a new, very unauthorized website that will bring you Chick-fil-A on a Sunday. Sponsors: Novo, BankNovo.com/kottke Raycon, Get 15% off at buyraycon.com/kottke Links: Ancient Footprints Suggest Humans Arrived In Americas During Ice Age (NY Times) Fossil footprints prove humans populated the Americas thousands of years earlier than we thought (The Conversation) Fossil footprints challenge theory of when people first arrived in Americas (National Geographic) Erosive forces tweet (Michael Roston, Twitter) Baby Poop Is Loaded With Microplastics (Wired) Infants have more microplastics in their feces than adults (Science Daily) You can now risk eternal damnation by buying Sunday Chick-fil-A (A/V Club) Chick-fil-A’s Owner Is Bankrolling Hate Groups Targeting Trans Kids (them.) MSCHF Sunday Service Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The dark side of the history of epidemiology. Plus, a study that proves, yes actually, birds were louder and more numerous during lockdown. And two women in their hundreds who have lived incredible lives and refuse to quit doing what they love. Sponsors: Raycon, Get 15% off at buyraycon.com/kottke Novo, BankNovo.com/kottke Links: How Transatlantic Slave Trade Shaped Epidemiology Today (TIME) Birds Thrived During Covid-19 Lockdowns, New Study Shows (Wall Street Journal) Fri. 05/15 - Have Birds Gotten Louder During Lockdown? (Kottke Ride Home) 107-Year-Old French Pianist Colette Maze Has A New Album (NPR) ‘America’s Oldest Park Ranger’ Is Only Her Latest Chapter (NY Times) A few details NYT left out (Jennifer Schuessler, Twitter) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sharing some reflections, some poetry, and a bit of a historical context on what it is that makes fall strike such a strong chord with so many of us, in honor of this first day of fall. And a look at NASA’s upcoming Lucy mission to Jupiter’s asteroids that somehow includes facts about the Beatles, Mexican track and field athlete Norma Enriqueta Basilio Sotelo, and The Iliad. Sponsors: Novo, BankNovo.com/kottke Raycon, Get 15% off at buyraycon.com/kottke Links: Between Restlessness and Rapture: Autumn and the Sensual Urgency of Aliveness (Brain Pickings) A Sunset of the City (Gwendolyn Brooks, Poetry Foundation) Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me… (William Shakespeare, Poetry Foundation) To Autumn by John Keats (John Keats, Poetry Foundation) John Keats: “To Autumn” by Caitlin Kimball (Poetry Foundation) Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night by Nicholas Rogers The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature a book by J. Drew Lanham by J. Drew Lanham NASA's Lucy mission will visit at least 8 asteroids on a loop-de-loop trajectory (Bad Astronomy, Syfy) Queta - The Story Behind the Name - Lucy Mission (NASA) Where Is Lucy? Netflix buys Wonka author Dahl's catalog (AP) Roald Dahl's Family Apologizes For His Anti-Semitic Comments (NPR) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Ted Lasso filled a whole stadium for a crowd scene during the pandemic, and how advances, especially in AI, are beginning to change filmmaking. Plus, a Colorado man has won a yearlong treasure hunt for golden tickets, making him the new owner of a candy factory. That last part wasn’t a joke. It was literally a golden ticket competition for a candy factory. And finally, an ambient noise website for the most chaotic among you. Sponsors: Raycon, Get 15% off at buyraycon.com/kottke Novo, BankNovo.com/kottke Links: How Fake Crowds Are Made For Movies And TV (Insider, YouTube) AI might help edit the next generation of blockbusters (The Verge) Andrew Maas won The Gold Ticket competition after clues led him to Kokomo, Ind. (Washington Post) Colorado man wins candy factory after finding golden ticket in Highland Park (Kokomo Tribune) Wed. 09/09 - Modern-Day Willy Wonka Is Giving Away His Candy Factory (Kottke Ride Home) Ambient Chaos Last year's segment on Demi Adejuyigbe's 9/21 series (Kottke Ride Home) 9/21 videos (Demi Adejuyigbe, YouTube) Sept21st.com Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The history and science of mosh pits. Exciting developments in the treatment of poison ivy reactions, including a possible vaccine. And how to catch tonight’s Harvest Moon, and why we call it that. Sponsors: Novo, BankNovo.com/kottke Raycon, Get 15% off at buyraycon.com/kottke Links: Moshing: The History, Anatomy & Art Of The Dance Form (Consequence of Sound) The Science Behind Mosh Pits (Professor Politics, YouTube) Moshpits.js (Jesse Silverberg et al) Mosh Pits Teach Us About the Physics of Collective Behavior (The Atlantic) A Vaccine against Poison Ivy Misery Is in the Works as Scientists Also Explore New Treatment Paths (Scientific American) The full Harvest Moon of 2021 rises tonight: Here's what to look for (Space.com) Harvest Moon 2021: All you need to know (EarthSky) Celebrate The End Of Summer With Monday's Harvest Moon (NPR) What Is the Harvest Moon? | Harvest Moon Facts and Folklore (Old Farmer’s Almanac) The world's tallest nation is getting shorter (CNN) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The history and future of food trucks, and a look at the old tradition of “night lunch.” The visually-striking lanternfly that eastern US states are begging people to kill. And why you may not be getting that book you ordered anytime soon. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Upstart, upstart.com/kottke Links: Before Food Trucks, Americans Ate 'Night Lunch' From Beautiful Wagons (Atlas Obscura) The Rise of the Taco Truck (JSTOR Daily) Taco Bell's Subscription Service: We've Gone Too Far (The Atlantic) Die, Beautiful Spotted Lanternfly, Die (NY Times) The Book Biz Tries to Avoid Supply Chain Disruptions (Publisher’s Weekly) Supply Chain Challenges: Put Your Book Orders In Now For The Holidays (Book Riot) Booksellers warn over Christmas supplies amid UK lorry driver shortage (The Guardian) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How the social lives of the characters from Jane Austen’s novels are analogous to our digital ones today, and what we can learn from them about being over-stimulated. Plus, a study illustrating how we could build bases on Mars out of astronaut blood. And a couple of updates from the world of LEGO. Sponsors: Upstart, upstart.com/kottke Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Links: Is Jane Austen the Antidote to Social Media Overload? (JSTOR Daily) Scientists Want to Build Mars Bases Out of Human Blood (Vice) ​Concrete on Mars Could Literally Be Made Out of Astronaut Blood, Sweat, And Tears (Science Alert) LEGO releasing fabulous Queer Eye loft set (Digital Spy) European Championships 2022 to Feature LEGO Wheelchair Ramps (Mental Floss) 22,000 LEGO bricks for Munich 2022 (European Championships) Colorado Gov. Jared Polis' Wedding Marks 1st Same-Sex Marriage Of Sitting Governor (NPR) Nonbinary 'Hacks' Star Carl Clemons-Hopkins on Being an Emmys First (The Advocate) Nonbinary Performers Say Gendered Award Categories Ignore Their Identity (NPR) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SpaceX’s Inspiration4 all-civilian crew is blasting off tonight in Cape Canaveral. Here’s everything you need to know about the historic launch. Plus, the Māori Party in New Zealand has introduced a petition to rename the country its Māori language name, Aotearoa. And a newly identified species of insect has been named after RuPaul. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Upstart, upstart.com/kottke Links: SpaceX's Latest Mission Will Launch Four People Into Orbit (NY Times) SpaceX Mission: How to Watch the Inspiration4 Launch (NY Times) Inspiration4: Why SpaceX’s first all-private mission is a big deal (MIT Technology Review) Private astronauts are not 'space tourists' (op-ed) (Space.com) SpaceX’s All-Civilian Inspiration4 Crew Readies for Launch (Wired) The era of orbital private spaceflight truly begins with today’s launch (Ars Technica) Inspiration4's call signs: The crew of SpaceX's all-civilian mission have special nicknames (Space.com) Inspiration4 Launch: Where to Watch Netflix Livestream (Indie Wire) Māori Party campaigns to change New Zealand's name to Aotearoa (CNN) Bilingual road signs in Aotearoa New Zealand would tell us where we are as a nation (The Conversation) ‘A neat trick’: critics aim to shift Aotearoa debate, but historical fidelity no longer matters (The Guardian) ‘Rainbow colours and legs for days’: Australian fly species named after drag star RuPaul (The Guardian) Endangered fly with 'legs for days' named after drag queen RuPaul (ABC Australia) RuPaul fly among species named by CSIRO (CSIRO) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How gas stations actually make money, and their prospects for the future. Steve Wozniak says Don’t Mess With Space. And, a timeless question for the ages: how many s’mores could you make from the giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters? Sponsors: Upstart, upstart.com/kottke Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Links: Why most gas stations don't make money from selling gas (The Hustle) Apple Cofounder Steve Wozniak Starting Space Company Privateer (Business Insider) Steve Wozniak Announces Privateer, a New Space Company (Gizmodo) Steve Wozniak's latest moonshot is a private space company (Engadget) How Many S'Mores Can You Make from the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man? (Mel Magazine) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices