Cool Stuff Daily

The six countries most likely to survive all-out societal collapse from climate change. Why is snow on the Alps turning red? And a website that will transport you back to sleepy nights in front of the TV in the early 2000s. Sponsor: Upstart, upstart.com/kottke Links: These 6 countries are most likely to survive a climate change-caused societal collapse (Mic) Study: Which Countries Will Best Surviv...

Edgar Allan Poe wasn’t just the sad author of spooky tales we all know and love, but also a passionate science journalist, and the writings he left behind can tell us a lot about our current relationship to misinformation and science communication. Plus, Starbucks officially sells more cold drinks than hot ones now, by a lot. What’s responsible for the trend and how do baristas feel about it? And...

What makes an Olympic sport an Olympic sport? And what does it take to get cut from the lineup? Namely, why is baseball getting cut once again in 2024, but breakdancing will make its Olympic debut? A breakdown of how it works. Plus, Boeing is trying again for a successful launch of their CST-100 Starliner tomorrow afternoon. What went wrong last time and what’s at stake? And, the mysterious jetpac...

I read a BuzzFeed article about virality and go on a rant about the creator economy. PornHub has a new campaign to help bolster museum tourism. And we may have found a fingerprint from Michelangelo… on a statue’s butt. Sponsor: Green Chef, go to GreenChef.com/kottke100 and use code kottke100 to get $100 off including free shipping Links: His Video Got 75 Million Views But He Didn't Make A Cent (Bu...

Why it could take you months to get a new sofa. Kids are trying to get out of class by using soda to fake positive COVID tests. And how to reinvigorate your health with a “microadventure.” Sponsor: Green Chef, go to GreenChef.com/kottke100 and use code kottke100 to get $100 off including free shipping Links: The reason there's a furniture shortage (sorry, couch and table buyers). (Slate) COVID-19:...

How a task force prevented the COVID-19 vaccines from being hacked because, yes, that was a real and valid concern. Plus, the sometimes controversial history of timekeeping at the Olympics and the AI-based innovations introduced this year. And, how the garbage industry is a lucrative one in the US because of course. Sponsor: Green Chef, go to GreenChef.com/kottke100 and use code kottke100 to get $...

The history and future of billboard advertising. The surprisingly big challenge of recycling bowling balls. And the YouTube Creator who just got hired by Lucasfilm. Sponsor: Green Chef, go to GreenChef.com/kottke100 and use code kottke100 to get $100 off including free shipping Links: Billboard History: How Outdoor Advertising Came to Cover the Landscape (Tedium) Ford Wants to Bring Billboards Ins...

A look back at when the Olympics used to give out medals in artistic categories, including the designing of Olympic medals, and the case for why they should bring that back this year in particular. Plus, some more background on how the wildfires on the west coast of Canada and the US are affecting weather and health all the way in New York City and beyond. And, the Cleveland baseball team has offi...

Rounding errors may cause winners to become losers and losers winners, Bezos and James Webb both fall to Earth, and beyond lobster shortages, now crabs. Links: The floating point: Rounding error in timing devices (American Journal of Physics) Apple’s weather app won’t say it’s 69 degrees (The Verge) Progressives call out Jeff Bezos’s space flight as “self-indulgent” and renew calls for wealth tax ...

Your payments for dog walking and, er, “love hotels” via Venmo are now no longer subject to global scrutiny, neutron stars have wee tiny mountains, smaller than predicted, pool parties by the hour via Swimply, and former Colombian guerrillas tour you through the beauty of the jungle they still inhabit. Links: Venmo drops the global social feed that could make your payments visible to strangers (Th...

How did paper sizes fall into their century-long groove, how low-wage workers seem to have the upper hand in the job market despite pandemic job losses, and the very newest, freshest words are in. Links: The Reason Why a Standard Piece of Paper Is 8.5 Inches by 11 Inches (Mental Floss) Grandma’s Cooking Secret (Snopes) Who decided our paper should measure 8.5” x 11”? (International Paper Company)...

Was the Chinese seed scare of mid-2020 just a matter of delayed orders and pandemic memory? The Ever Green clogging the Suez Canal is probably a sign of things to come, not a one-off accident. And Wally Funk returns from space—oh, also, Jeff Bezos was there and he gave a bunch of money to the Smithsonian. Links: 2016 clown sightings (Wikipedia) Invasion of the Clowns (New York Times) The Truth Beh...

Coca-Cola brings your dead taste buds back to life with a new Coke Zero formulation that probably definitely certainly won’t produce a New Coke outrage, Olympic athletes can perform team gymnastics on the beds provided in Japan, and how to watch Jeff Bezos fly into space with all his money. All that and duck-tape fashion. Links: Coca-Cola Is Changing the Flavor of a Soda. Again. (New York Times) T...

The flood of robocalls may soon abate due to a technology named after James Bond’s martini instructions to bartenders, an ethical debate over whether we can revive the dead’s voices to simulate what they said or wrote in life after a documentary filmmaker deep-faked Anthony Bourdain, and dropping fish from planes, Among Us in Irish, and the Hubble, rebooted. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit...

It’s not mind reading, but a man’s ability to convey words is partially restored through electrodes and machine learning; NASA carefully prepares to press Control-Alt-Delete on the Hubble Space Telescope; look to the skies, the Perseids are coming; inexplicable black ice worms emerge by the billions from glaciers; and happy 22nd birthday, MetaFilter. Sponsors: Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast...

It’s all greeked to me, some new history about the old text “lorem ipsum”; Europa may hide its secrets more deeply than previously thought; and a man happily discovers 160 bowling bowls under his house. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast Links: Lorem Ipsum: Filler Fail, Killer Tale (Antigone) De finibus bonorum et malorum (Internet...

Archeologists dig up a massive cache of 15th century metal printing type in South Korea, a baby beaver is born in Exmoor, what if ice cream but also macaroni and cheese, a video-game breaks records and may indicate a sales bubble, and Nic Cage’s Pig: probably good? Sponsors: Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Links: Earliest Hangeul metal mov...

Houseplants became Instagram models in 2020 driving sales up by billions and overwhelming mail-order and garden-supply stores; we know a lot more about the bulbous shape of the sun’s shield against the ravages of the interstellar medium due to data gathered over a decade; and creators learn more about reclaiming their copyright after decades have passed. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at ...

New findings in the debate about whether the dinosaurs were actually already in a sharp decline before the asteroid hit the Earth. A rumination on private ownership and how, by 2030, we might not own anything at all, just subscribe to services. And an upcoming Pride and Prejudice-themed reality dating show. Links: Scientists propose wild new theory for what originally killed the dinosaurs (Inverse...

Could lead poisoning have led to the fall of Rome? The Australian craft brewery using algae to offset their carbon emissions. And Moderna has started human trials of their mRNA flu vaccine. Sponsor: Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast Links: The White House killed William Henry Harrison (Washington Post) How Lead (Maybe?) Caused the Downfall of the Roman Empire (Reactions, YouTube) Did lead pois...

Why do we have a five-day work week and could changes from the pandemic be enough to finally implement the long held fantasy of the four-day work week? Are we looking at a passwordless login landscape in our near future? And vinyl is more popular than CDs, but could disruptions to supply and demand change that? Sponsor: Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast Links: Will the post-Covid world include...

The restaurant that inspired Taco Bell, its larger legacy, and the question of authenticity. Plus, the new species of beetle that was discovered in some fossilized dinosaur dung. And the communities of people who devote their time to uncovering the mystery of dogman. Sponsor: Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast Links: How Taco Bell 'stole' the taco (BBC) Newsletter: The best thing our restaurant...

This week has proven we need air conditioners more than ever, but we also need them to be better than ever. Here are some of the innovations being considered. Plus, one of the women from the secret Mercury 13 program at 1960s NASA is finally getting the chance to go to space this month. And the UAE’s Hope orbiter on Mars has picked up something scientists have never before been able to capture on...

What’s with the on-going trend of horror films and TV shows being set in the 1980s? Is sunscreen worse in the United States compared to Europe? And one of the sports returning to the Olympics next month has a deadly precedent. Sponsor: Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast Links: Screams, slashers and Thatcher: why horror films are going back to the 80s (The Guardian) Why So Many Modern Horror Mov...

Why exactly were McDonald’s french fries so good back in the day? Why did they change and can the secret original recipe be recreated? Plus, a new sort of post-post-punk subgenre is emerging in the post-Brexit United Kingdom. And, a completely pointless but wonderful website I discovered last week. Links: My Hunt for the Original McDonald's French-Fry Recipe (Atlas Obscura) McMenu  Grinding It Out...