Cool Stuff Daily

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...

As promised on Friday, more information on the so-called Dragon Man––the recently unveiled 140,000-year-old skull that may be a new species of extinct human. The science behind why all your in-person coffee dates since reopening have been so awkward. And a first-of-its-kind study puts a number on the nonbinary population in the US. Links: Discovery of ‘Dragon Man’ Skull in China May Add Species to...

Researchers have found evidence of a coronavirus epidemic from 20,000 years ago. A new blood test that can detect fifty different types of cancer. And what the lowercase “i” in Apple products stands for and why they stopped using it. Links: A Coronavirus Epidemic Hit 20,000 Years Ago, New Study Finds (NY Times) 20,000 years of coronaviruses (and counting) (Cosmos Magazine) A Coronavirus Epidemic H...

The growing attempts to put flavor back into our produce because, yes, apparently it left. An update on the lumber industry and what it could mean for the economy overall. And the surprisingly strange things astronauts have done with their dirty laundry, plus the introduction of NASA Tide. Links: How farmers and scientists are engineering your food (BBC) Lumber Prices Are Falling Fast, Turning Hoa...

A very big and very strange comet-ish object has entered our solar system. Some tips to help your body recover from a year of virtual learning, working, and socializing. And the two badass twelve-year-old girls going to the Tokyo Olympics for skateboarding. Links: A huge comet called 2014 UN271 is heading toward the Sun (Syfy’s Bad Astronomy) Visitor From Oort Cloud Could Be Among the Largest Come...

How a single-celled yellow slime is changing the way scientists think about intelligence. A new upcycled food label that would let you know when your food has been made with food scraps that would’ve otherwise gone to waste. And everything you need to know about this week’s Strawberry Supermoon. Links: This Weirdly Smart, Creeping Slime Is Redefining Our Understanding of Intelligence (Science Aler...

What will our homes look like in the future and how much has the pandemic shaped that vision? Plus, why are humans so thirsty? And, Brian Eno has found a home for hundreds of his previously unreleased songs. Links: America Should Become a Nation of Renters (Bloomberg) What Will Future Homes Look Like?  Filmed in the 1960's - Narrated by Walter Cronkite (16mm Educational Films, YouTube)  The New Am...

A new species of giant rhino might be the largest land mammal that ever walked the earth. Did you know there are probably dinosaur teeth on the moon? For real. The Girl Scouts have millions of leftover cookies and we must do our part by eating as many as we can. And China sent its first crewed mission up to their new space station yesterday. Sponsors: Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast UTEP Con...

A ranking of the top ten best places in our solar system to find extraterrestrial life. Plus, you know about the food pyramid, but what about the nature pyramid? Also called the 20-5-3 rule. And, I guess we have to talk about that Jeff-Bezos-Eating-the-Mona-Lisa petition. Sponsors: UTEP Connect, Apply at online.utep.edu or call UTEP Connect at 1-800-684-UTEP Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast L...

How Juneteenth has evolved over the years from its origins in Texas, and its reception today. How the Xerox machine (and several dozen dalmatian puppies) saved Disney Animation Studios from closing up shop. And a portal for exploring the cosmos… on Google Chrome. Sponsors: Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast UTEP Connect, Apply at online.utep.edu or call UTEP Connect at 1-800-684-UTEP Links: Hon...

A new report from fifty of the world’s leading experts on the need to combine solutions for combatting the climate crisis and our planet’s rapidly declining biodiversity. California’s historically low water levels may have inadvertently helped solve the case of a missing plane that crashed fifty-six years ago. And an update on that telescope NASA is now planning to construct on the far side of the...

The full story of the man who was swallowed by a humpback whale on Friday and lived to tell the tale. Calories. Who’s responsible for their inclusion in the world of nutrition? Some weird highlights from the history of this controversial measurement. And the growing need for a bill of neuro-rights. Sponsors: Credit Karma, creditkarma.com/podcast UTEP Connect, Apply at online.utep.edu or call UTEP...

Thanks to a new study that sequenced the genomes of several types of wild melons, we now have a better idea of the origins of the watermelon… but we still don’t know how tornadoes are formed. And that’s a problem. Plus, in a bid to continue dominating all Halloween-themed playlists, Danny Elfman released a new punk rock album today, his first since 1994. Sponsor: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at I...

A new method of carbon capture that would turn carbon dioxide from the ocean into rocks. Mosquitos beefed up with virus-fighting bacteria have proven even more effective at preventing dengue fever than expected. And the often forgotten history of a turn of the century scientist way ahead of his time and his groundbreaking gender and sexuality clinic that was destroyed by the Nazis. Sponsor: Indeed...

Why some people don’t have a mind’s eye and others can visualize things in incredible detail. Watermelons on Mars and human-animal hybrid babies born across the world––neither of those are true, but if you read two of the biggest newspapers in the US, you might have been led to believe they are. And El Salvador has become the first country to officially recognize bitcoin as currency. Sponsor: Inde...