The physics of jumping to hyperspace, Disney teases their retractable lightsaber, and more Star Wars Day updates. Plus, in real space news: China launched the first module of the Chinese Space Station into orbit last week. Sponsors: Our Opinions Are Correct, Subscribe on Apple Podcasts ouropinionsarecorrect.com Mint Mobile, Get a new wireless plan for just $15 a month mintmobile.com/kottke Links: When You Jump to Hyperspace, Make Sure You Wear a Seatbelt (Wired) China Launches First Module of Ne...
May 04, 2021•19 min
Average human life expectancy doubled in the last century. Has it reached its cap or can we double it again? Some considerations. And NASA conducted a tabletop simulation of an asteroid impact last week, with… less than ideal results. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with tips on how to survive a killer asteroid. Sponsors: Mint Mobile, Get a new wireless plan for just $15 a month mintmobile.com/kottke Our Opinions Are Correct, Subscribe on Apple Podcasts ouropinionsarecorrect.com Links: How...
May 03, 2021•20 min
People who accidentally became memes are using NFTs to regain a sense of ownership over their likenesses––and make some pretty nice chunks of change. Scotland could become the first “rewilding nation.” And another shortage report. This time: computer chips. Links: The World Knows Her as 'Disaster Girl.' She Just Made $500,000 Off the Meme. (NY Times) They were ancient internet memes. Now NFTs are making them rich (Wired) NFTs Are Hot. So Is Their Effect on the Earth’s Climate (Wired) NFTs, expla...
Apr 30, 2021•17 min
How an AI, after failing for a decade, finally won the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. The Olympics are going virtual, but not how you’re probably thinking. And remembering Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins. Links: Dr. Fill, an AI, won the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Here's how. (Slate) Win a gold medal from your front room? IOC launches Olympic Virtual Series (The Guardian) Olympic Virtual Series gaming event launched by IOC (NBC Sports) Photos: Apollo 11: As They Shot It (NY ...
Apr 29, 2021•18 min
It’s time for a toilet revolution. No, I’m not just talking about bidets. Our wastewater systems are dangerously out of date, but sustainable innovations could be just around the u-bend. Plus, the future of contact lenses is bright––or not, if you’d prefer they block the sun. And Apple dropped a very pandemic-themed update to their emojis. Links: The Pandemic Proved That Our Toilets Are Crap (Wired) High-tech contact lenses are straight out of science fiction — and may replace smart phones (The ...
Apr 28, 2021•19 min
Why the story of aerospace engineer Judith Love Cohen, who helped rescue the Apollo 13 astronauts, is making the rounds again and why we should remember her name. A new ice cube tray-shaped retinal patch that could help restore vision. And the rattlesnake-like jumping worms invading the American midwest. Links: Meet Aerospace Engineer Judith Love Cohen (Kottke.Org) In Memory of Judith Love Cohen: Mother, Wife, Friend, Author, Engineer (USC Viterbi) Women in the Workplace / Judith Love Cohen : En...
Apr 27, 2021•18 min
Dozens of people named Josh gathered in Nebraska over the weekend for a battle to crown the ultimate Josh. Who won and why the heck did this happen? I’ve got the details. The precursor to laugh tracks: professional applauders in 19th century France. And the Oscars saw many firsts last night, including one long overdue first for the award ceremony’s set. Links: Josh Swain Tells All About Viral 'Josh Fight' And How He Turned A Meme Into A Charity Event (Know Your Meme) Josh Fight won by very small...
Apr 26, 2021•18 min
What do you call a collection of black holes? That’s not the tee-up for a punchline. Scientists are legitimately trying to decide what word to use. Plus, how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was based on Blackfoot principles that he got wrong. And how the problem of McDonald’s perpetually broken ice cream machines is even more super-sized than you might think. Sponsor: StartMail, Get 50% off your first year at StartMail.com/kottke Links: What Do You Call a Bunch of Black Holes: A Crush? A Scream? (NY...
Apr 23, 2021•18 min
NASA has generated oxygen on Mars. The story of the women retirees who hacked the stock market decades before GameStop and Wall Street Bets. And on the eve of his 404th death day, a look at what Shakespeare can teach us about living through pandemics. Sponsor: StartMail, Get 50% off your first year at StartMail.com/kottke Links: NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Extracts First Oxygen from Red Planet (NASA) NASA's Perseverance rover makes oxygen on Mars for 1st time (Space) The Midwestern grandmas w...
Apr 22, 2021•20 min
A few newly-announced NASA funded projects, including one to build a radio telescope in a crater on the moon. A Welsh farmer shares his secrets to ultimate contentment. And can machine learning help us understand what whales are saying to one another? Sponsor: StartMail, Get 50% off your first year at StartMail.com/kottke Links: Groundbreaking effort launched to decode whale language (National Geographic) NASA Selects Innovative, Early-Stage Tech Concepts for Continued Study (NASA JPL) Experienc...
Apr 21, 2021•18 min
Will this decade be another “Roaring 20s?” A social epidemiologist and a Nobel Prize-winning economist weigh in. How many T-Rexes roamed the land throughout their time on Earth? A team of paleontologists did the math. And scientists have created the whitest paint ever, which could make a sizable difference in the climate crisis. Sponsor: StartMail, Get 50% off your first year at StartMail.com/kottke Links: Looking Back at the First Roaring Twenties (NY Times) Epidemiologist looks to the past to ...
Apr 20, 2021•19 min
You may have heard about a bit of a shake-up in the world of soccer today with a dozen of the world’s biggest teams forming what they’re calling the Super League. To help explain what the heck is going on, we’re joined today by Tech Meme Ride Home host Brian McCullough who shares the context, the consequences, and how this affects way more than just the world of soccer, or even sports. That is in the second half of today’s extra long show, but first: NASA has officially flown a helicopter on Mar...
Apr 19, 2021•37 min
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 Embryo With Human and Non-Human Primate Cells (TIME) Embryos That Are Part Monkey, Part Human Raise E...
Apr 16, 2021•18 min
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 Premium Membership at skillshare.com/kottke Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Indeed.com/goodnews Li...
Apr 15, 2021•18 min
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 species of pterosaur may have been the oldest animal yet discovered with an opposable thumb. Sponsors: I...
Apr 14, 2021•17 min
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 biggest month ever in a sign that certain businesses might not have much trouble bouncing back from ...
Apr 13, 2021•17 min
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 Links: First GMO Mosquitoes to Be Released In the Florida Keys (Undark) This ceramic ink can 3D-print ...
Apr 12, 2021•20 min
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 wireless plan for just $15 a month mintmobile.com/kottke Links: Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World Fro...
Apr 09, 2021•19 min
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 enduring gesture -- the high five (ESPN) The Gay History of the High Five (The Advocate) Who invente...
Apr 08, 2021•18 min
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 in the 1937 polio epidemic (The Conversation) What Did the Old Telephone Network Sound Like? Overview...
Apr 07, 2021•17 min
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 Fitbod.me/kottke Links: Sneaky New Bacteria on the ISS Could Build a Future on Mars (Wired) The New Sh...
Apr 06, 2021•20 min
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 mintmobile.com/kottke Links: How to Prepare for Your COVID Vaccine & Reduce the Side Effects (LifeH...
Apr 05, 2021•19 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, helping us measure the planet’s core, but what are quakes like on a planet without tectonic plates? Spons...
Apr 02, 2021•19 min
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, ladderlife.com/kottke Gabi Insurance, gabi.com/kottke Links: Humans Will Probably Evolve to Be Venomous...
Apr 01, 2021•18 min
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 years, a mafia fugitive hid from police. Then they spotted his Italian cooking videos on YouTube. (Was...
Mar 31, 2021•18 min
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, ladderlife.com/kottke Gabi Insurance, gabi.com/kottke Links: The forgotten medieval fruit with a vulgar n...
Mar 30, 2021•18 min
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/kottke Ladder, ladderlife.com/kottke Links: Did ancient primates walk alongside T. rex? New evidence bac...
Mar 29, 2021•20 min
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/kottke or text kottke to 500-500 to start your 30-day free trial NordVPN, Get 70% off a two-year pl...
Mar 26, 2021•20 min
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 500-500 to start your 30-day free trial Links: Twitter trends: Who comes up with the descriptions for t...
Mar 25, 2021•18 min
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 trial NordVPN, Get 70% off a two-year plan at nordvpn.com/kottke or use coupon KOTTKE Links: Man Says H...
Mar 24, 2021•20 min
