Cool Stuff Daily

Scientists have created human-monkey hybrid embryos––yes, you heard that right. Archaeologists have found an entire lost city in Egypt. We have even more pterosaur news this week! And a very delicious false alarm in Krakow. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Skillshare, Get a free trial of Premium Membership at skillshare.com/kottke Links: Scientists Created the First E...

The CDC says we should wait two weeks after our final COVID-19 vaccination to be considered fully vaccinated, but why? What do spiderwebs sound like? These scientists turned them into music. Google Earth’s latest feature shows us how destructive we’ve been to the planet. And the new YouTube channel I can’t get enough of featuring Hot Wheels on a treadmill. Sponsors: Skillshare, Get a free trial of...

We’ve all been talking about Zoom Fatigue for the past year, but a new study has the facts on the phenomenon. Have you tried booking a rental car and noticed they’re all sold out or only going for exorbitant prices? Here’s why. And, a double dose of pterosaur news today! A look at the unique structure of their vertebrae that enabled the giant creatures to take flight and new evidence that one spec...

Researchers have found a methane-eating bacteria living in a common species of Australian tree. The UK is considering a legal “right to disconnect” for remote workers. Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia have uncovered evidence of the oldest domesticated dog in that region in what could be the beginning of huge insights about the development of human society across the Middle East. Uber just had their...

Genetically-modified mosquitoes are set to be released in Florida, but will locals thwart the project? A new technology that can 3D print bones directly inside of patients’ bodies. Is TikTok our latest great art movement? No really, stay with me on this one. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Skillshare, Get a free trial of Premium Membership at skillshare.com/kottke Li...

The story of the woman whose decades of research helped make the mRNA COVID vaccines possible. Plus, electric cars don’t make much noise, which means we have the opportunity now to design what the future will sound like. And the co-founder of Elon Musk’s Neuralink casually mused over the weekend that they could technically build Jurassic Park if they wanted to. Sponsors: Mint Mobile, Get a new wir...

Where did the high five come from? Who came up with it? And why has it persisted for so long? Plus, what if we could turn the entire Earth into a telescope? One astronomer has drawn up the plans. And, how bad is blue light for you, really? Sponsor: Mint Mobile, Get a new wireless plan for just $15 a month mintmobile.com/kottke Links: From the archives: The wild, mysterious history of sports' most...

When social media happened over the phone. Have physicists found a new force of nature? And the long-lost Lord of the Rings made-for-TV-movie produced by Soviet Russia. Sponsor: Mint Mobile, Get a new wireless plan for just $15 a month mintmobile.com/kottke Links: The Prototype for Clubhouse Is 40 Years Old, and It Was Built by Phone Hackers (OneZero) Remote learning isn't new: Radio instruction i...

A new bacteria was discovered on the International Space Station and it could mean interesting things for our future on Mars. The latest shortage in the US has left restaurant owners scrambling to catch up. And are seasonal allergies sexist? Of course not. But kind of... Sponsors: Mint Mobile, Get a new wireless plan for just $15 a month mintmobile.com/kottke Fitbod, Get 25% off a membership at Fi...

Busting some myths and sharing some doctor-backed advice on COVID vaccine side effects. The history of cigarette cards and how they played an important role in World War II. And how narwhal tusks act as a kind of history book, but the most recent chapters are a bit alarming. Sponsors: Fitbod, Get 25% off a membership at Fitbod.me/kottke Mint Mobile, Get a new wireless plan for just $15 a month min...

It turns out we got lucky with how quickly the Ever Given was freed. The last time the Suez Canal was blocked, it dragged on for eight years and led to the creation of a micro-nation at sea with a separate postal service and even their own Olympic Games. How Finland celebrates Easter with trick-or-treating and Easter Witches. NASA’s InSight lander has observed two strong marsquakes recently, helpi...

Could humans evolve to be venomous? The man currently walking from Washington D.C. to New York City and tweeting all the way. The Hamilton/Space Jam mashup you never knew you needed. A brief roundup of corporate April Fools’ Day pranks we definitely didn’t need. And Chipotle is running a burritos and bitcoin contest that is miraculously not an April Fools’ Day prank. I think. Sponsors: Ladder, lad...

Why did every movie theater in the 90s install that galaxy-themed carpet? A mafia fugitive who got caught by authorities after starting a cooking channel on YouTube. And the theory that the remains of proto-planet Theia may still be residing deep inside the Earth. Sponsors: Gabi Insurance, gabi.com/kottke Ladder, ladderlife.com/kottke Links: If Y2K-Era Movie Theater Carpets Could Talk (A24) For ye...

The medieval version of the millennial avocado craze––if avocados were only eaten when rotten and commonly referred to with a sexual nickname, anyways. Turns out that after we die, certain “zombie cells” go into overdrive. And the super popular Twitch stream of… a stop sign. Just thousands of people watching a live feed of stop sign that cars never seem to pay attention to. Sponsors: Ladder, ladde...

A new fossil analysis that bolsters the theory that primates may have lived alongside dinosaurs––and somehow survived extinction. The high school girl who invented color-changing sutures that show when a wound has become infected. And why the filter made famous from the viral Lawyer Cat video was installed as a default setting on thousands of Dell computers. Sponsors: Gabi Insurance, gabi.com/kott...

The gargantuan container ship is still blocking traffic from flowing in the Suez Canal, but it has not stemmed the creativity of people online––from memes to fanfic, here’s your Ever Given round-up. Plus, archaeologists have found the oldest yet discovered mass production brewery. And Grape-Nuts are back! Where did they go and what’s the deal with Grape-Nuts anyways? Sponsors: Audible, audible.com...

Have you ever wondered who or what comes up with the explanatory blurbs beneath trending terms on Twitter? I’ve got your answer. Your guide to eating and enjoying the Brood X cicadas. And a website to help you out when a word is just on the tip of your tongue. Sponsors: NordVPN, Get 70% off a two-year plan at nordvpn.com/kottke or use coupon KOTTKE Audible, audible.com/kottke or text kottke to 500...

The saga of the shrimp tails in the Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and what it has to do with Chance the Rapper, women’s basketball, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, and Topanga. Scientists have identified the first “space hurricane.” And a round-up of the free stuff you can get if you get your vaccine. Sponsors: Audible, audible.com/kottke or text kottke to 500-500 to start your 30-day free tri...

How fast was Forrest Gump running when he jogged across the country? The running community on Reddit did the math. A study has confirmed that some people do actually age faster than others, quite a bit faster in fact. And turns out AIs are way better at coming up with pick-up lines than us humans are. Sponsors: NordVPN, Get 70% off a two-year plan at nordvpn.com/kottke or use coupon KOTTKE Audible...

The AI built to tell pastries apart that’s now being used for cancer research. It turns out a large portion of Mars’ water may be hiding in the planet’s crust. And, if one of your online orders got lost, it may now be lurking at the bottom of the ocean. Sponsors: Audible, audible.com/kottke or text kottke to 500-500 to start your 30-day free trial NordVPN, Get 70% off a two-year plan at nordvpn.co...

The family feud putting the US’s COVID-19 test swab supply at risk. Could we use our food waste and sewage to fuel jets? And the projected symbol that was spotted in towns all around the world last night. Sponsors: Skillshare, Get a free trial of Premium Membership at skillshare.com/kottke  StartMail, Get 50% off your first year at StartMail.com/kottke Links: Supply of Swab Tests for Covid-19 Rest...

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Paris Commune––and it remains as controversial as ever. Scientists have grown a mouse embryo in an artificial womb and have set their sites on human embryos next, speaking of controversy... And why people in Taiwan keep legally changing their names to "Salmon." Sponsors: StartMail, Get 50% off your first year at StartMail.com/kottke Skillshare,...

Why analog TVs never had channel 37. Spoiler: the answer includes aliens. The rise of bitcoin ATMs. And the pretty amusing self-reported symptoms from the AstraZeneca vaccine. And all the latest breaking marine mammal news. Sponsors: Skillshare, Get a free trial of Premium Membership at skillshare.com/kottke  StartMail, Get 50% off your first year at StartMail.com/kottke Links: Why You Generally C...

How St. Patrick’s Day, as we know it now, is kind of more of an Irish-American holiday than a purely Irish one. More of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been uncovered in Israel for the first time in sixty years. And the family who decided to really lean into the “time is just a social construct” idea. Sponsors: StartMail, Get 50% off your first year at StartMail.com/kottke Skillshare, Get a free trial o...

Brood X is coming: what you need to know about your soon-to-be neighbors. A new discovery in Spain has led to questions about the true role of women in the Bronze Age. The science behind why, once you pop, the fun just don’t stop. And a new app that will purposefully sabotage your Zoom calls. Sponsors: Skillshare, Get a free trial of Premium Membership at skillshare.com/kottke  StartMail, Get 50%...