Cool Stuff Daily

The mysteries of people with super color vision. Plus, a Hot Jupiter that rains gems. And Hank the Tank, the furry 500 pound dumpster diving home invader taking California by storm. Sponsors: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Links: The Rare Gift of Seeing Extra Colors (Wall Street Journal) 'I'm really just high on life and...

Hundreds of birds dropped from the sky in northern Mexico. Why it happened and two brothers in India who heal birds who have suffered a similar fate. Plus: wrestler. Poet. Mattress King? The semi-true extracurriculars of Abraham Lincoln. And some recommendations for Brad Neely Appreciation Day. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopi...

How a medieval hatred of indexes mirrors debates today about how search engines are changing our brains. Plus, a round-up of the unceasing Wordle news and spin-offs. A thousand Porsches are on fire in the middle of the Atlantic. And how about a caffeinated doughnut with your space-themed Coca-Cola? Sponsors: DeVry University, Learn more at DeVry.edu/Future Munk Pack, Use code KRH at Munkpack.com f...

The history and the science of luge, bobsledding, and skeleton. Plus, a new study has found that the US’s corn-based ethanol is worse for the climate than regular gasoline. And a bit of a pop culture round-up, including some new releases to look forward to this Record Store Day. Sponsors: Munk Pack, Use code KRH at Munkpack.com for 20% off your first purchase DeVry University, Learn more at DeVry....

A new startup that is working on making steaks and chicken breasts out of thin air. Plus, the first woman has seemingly been cured of HIV. And Disney is developing a new round of residential communities around the US. Sponsors: DeVry University, Learn more at DeVry.edu/Future Munk Pack, Use code KRH at Munkpack.com for 20% off your first purchase Links: This Startup Is Trying to Make Juicy Steaks...

Uncovering the story behind two anonymous people whose photographs serve as instructions on the high five Wikipedia entry. Plus, people apparently find AI-generated faces more trustworthy than real human ones. And the Idaho Potato Commission just dropped their first fragrance. Sponsors: Munk Pack, Use code KRH at Munkpack.com for 20% off your first purchase DeVry University, Learn more at DeVry.ed...

Speed skiing, synchronized skating, ski ballet, and other rejected sports from the Olympics. Plus, remember that SpaceX rocket stage headed for the moon? Turns out it’s a different piece of rocket junk, not from SpaceX at all. And the tropical disease that may be on the verge of eradication in humans. Sponsors: DeVry University, Learn more at DeVry.edu/Future Munk Pack, Use code KRH at Munkpack.co...

MoviePass is back and it wants to track your eyeballs. Plus, who would win in a real-world animal showdown: a ram or a Bengal tiger? NASA has released the first images of a star taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. And the Comanche language version of Wordle that Facebook doesn’t want you to see. Sponsors: ExpressVPN, ExpressVPN.com/kottke for an extra 3 months FREE on a one-year package Indee...

A possible third planet has been spotted orbiting Proxima Centauri. Plus, a new record has been set by a nuclear fusion lab in the UK. And, just in time for the holiday, a brief history of Valentine’s Meat Juice. Sponsors: ExpressVPN, ExpressVPN.com/kottke for an extra 3 months FREE on a one-year package Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Links: A third world may be orbiting arou...

The mysterious century-old sponges somehow surviving on a dead underwater mountain near the North Pole. Plus, doctors in Canada can now prescribe patients annual passes to National Parks. And SpaceX is set to lose 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites it launched last week due to a geomagnetic storm. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews ExpressVPN, ExpressVPN.com/kottke for an...

Is a national digital currency coming to the US? And what would that look like? Plus, coders have teamed up with scholars of British literature to decode Charles Dickens’s secret notes. And the very clever wine bricks from the Prohibition Era that helped keep the wine industry afloat. Sponsor: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews ExpressVPN, ExpressVPN.com/kottke for an extra 3 mon...

Micromorts, the unit of measurement that predicts your risk of death. How effective are they and how could we make it more effective, especially with regards to the pandemic? Plus, why Washington state is building highway overpasses for cougars. And two rappers who have been added to the Super Bowl halftime show lineup and will be making history with their performances. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a fre...

The Olympic Games have officially begun––how to reconcile excitement for the sports and the spectacle with the reality of the situation. Plus, controversy is brewing over the remains of Captain Cook’s ship the HMS Endeavour. And choose your fighter: 3D-printed vegan meatballs or Build-A-Bear’s sultry “After Dark” line of stuffed animals for adults. Sponsors: Jenni Kayne, Use code KRH at jennikayne...

When did we start counting? Are numbers just a modern human concept? Plus, we have more details about the impending end of the International Space Station as focus turns ever-more to the moon and Mars. And a new search engine that only gives you one result and it’s always a book that was published before 1927. Sponsors: Munk Pack, Use code KRH at Munkpack.com for 20% off your first purchase Jenni...

How does your brain know when you’ve had enough to drink each time you take a sip of water? Plus, a Groundhog Day tragedy, how North America came to celebrate this wacky holiday, and what it’s future might look like in lieu of the climate emergency. And finally, the Pope’s personal playlist. Sponsors: Jenni Kayne, Use code KRH at jennikayne.com for 15% off your first order Munk Pack, Use code KRH...

The New York City subway cars taking on a second job on the ocean floor. Plus, a successful drone created using Leonardo da Vinci’s aerial screw design. And crows in Sweden are being trained to pick up litter. Sponsors: Munk Pack, Use code KRH at Munkpack.com for 20% off your first purchase Jenni Kayne, Use code KRH at jennikayne.com for 15% off your first order Links: Sinking 1,000 NYC subway car...

The lost history of moon trees. Not quite as exciting as it sounds, but still really cool. Plus, the lineup of new emojis that just dropped on iOS 15.4––as well as a new study showing how emoji use can be an early detector of remote work burnout. And Moderna’s HIV vaccine has entered human trials. Sponsors: Jenni Kayne, Use code KRH at jennikayne.com for 15% off your first order Munk Pack, Use cod...

Catalonia is set to pardon a thousand people who were condemned for witchcraft four hundred years ago. Plus, a mysterious object discovered in our galaxy has astronomers a bit stumped. And why don’t avatars in the metaverse have legs? Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Links: Catalonia to pardon up to 1,000 people a...

What’s up with the drastically different predictions for this weekend’s Nor’easter, and how is snowfall measured anyways? Plus, the sus-prisingly long history of the term “sus.” And, sometimes pre-ordering a book does not mean you’ll get it right on the publication date. Like when the shipping container it was being transported in sinks to the bottom of the ocean, for example. Sponsors: Shopify, G...

Is there liquid water under Mars ice cap or isn’t there? Recent studies have claimed both. And what about an underground ocean on Saturn’s death star moon? Here’s all of your space water updates. Plus, the origins of the melodramatic “dun dun duuuun” sound. And, and old SpaceX rocket stage is on track to slam into the moon this March. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews...

A look into the world of extreme ironing. Plus, how China has been making strides in controlling the weather by shooting rockets at clouds. And, a much more low-key opportunity to help NASA collect data about real, non-modified clouds. Sponsors: Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Links: Meet an athlete heating up the world of...

The James Webb Space Telescope has officially reached its destination. What can we expect next? And why do Americans eat so much more peanut butter than anyone else? A bit of history on this National Peanut Butter Day. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Links: NASA’s revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope reaches...

How a new technique for 3D printing metal could revolutionize manufacturing. Plus, the great potential of the false banana. And archeology’s “sexual revolution.” Sponsors: Jenni Kayne, Use code KRH at jennikayne.com for 15% off your first order Munk Pack, Use code KRH at Munkpack.com for 20% off your first purchase Links: 3D printing's next act: big metal objects (Axios) Seurat Technologies raises...

Some reassurance from the experts that being bad at Wordle is not a sign you’re less smart than everyone else. Plus, the International Space Station is getting a film studio and sports arena. No word yet if Space Jam 3 will be shooting there. And how officials around the world have continued to successfully use sewage to predict COVID outbreaks. Sponsors: Munk Pack, Use code KRH at Munkpack.com fo...

From french fries to snow plows, the global shortages continue. But are we starting to see the beginning of a whole new world for workers and the supply chain? Plus, you know what kind of soup you can never be short of? The kind that doesn’t exist. And, what’s going on with the 5G rollout at US airports? Sponsors: Jenni Kayne, Use code KRH at jennikayne.com for 15% off your first order Munk Pack,...