Hey friends,
I’m back after a little hiatus, and I hope you’ve been enjoying your summer and staying safe. Please get a vaccine if you haven’t yet!
Let’s jump right in, shall we?
Actually… - Wikipedia has a page dedicated completely to “Common Misconceptions” and it is long.
Baseball - Cleveland has renamed its baseball team. And they got Tom Hanks to introduce their new name.
Calendar - One of my favorite webcomics perfectly and profoundly lays out how the last year and a half has felt.
Don’t Stop Driving - Ever seen a three-minute horror film? Might I suggest this one?
Every Genre - All 5,467 musical genres on Spotify— mapped.
Follow The Water - Put a drop of water anywhere on the map and follow its path to the ocean.
Garden - If you live in the Northeast, Midwest, or Mid-Atlantic region, the National Wildlife Federation has suggestions for what you can plant in your garden that will most benefit the wildlife in your area.
Happiness - “Why success won’t make you happy.” The never-ending quest for more actually leaves us empty. (The Atlantic, possible paywall.)
Intergenerational - The “generation wars” are a distraction, and often get in the way of real progress.
Judgment - “We’re all anxiously sizing up how everyone else’s decisions have worked out to reassure ourselves that our own are vindicated — that we are, in some sense, winning.” (NYT, possible paywall)
Keep in touch - Is this new tech from Google the future of video calls?
Lunar - NASA takes us on a tour of the moon in high definition.
Music Bubble - The people in your geographic area are mostly listening to the same thing. But what about people across the world? Do we share music interests?
No Taxes? - A detailed look at how the richest people in the world avoid paying taxes—even when their net worth is ballooning by billions each year.
Old Russia - Two photographers capture monotowns, old Soviet Union cities built up around one specific industry like mining or manufacturing plants. Bleak and beautiful.
Pickup - I’ve been looking for a little pickup truck for a while, only to find that most of the used pickups on the market are big gas guzzlers. Imagine my joy and surprise when Ford decided to release a small, hybrid pickup called the “Maverick” that gets up to 40 mpg! I want one.
Q & A - A never-aired profile of James Baldwin from 1979.
Restoration - Marine biologists are re-planting a seagrass called “eelgrass” in coastal bays, and the results are staggering. Improved water quality, increased marine biodiversity, and capturing and storing carbon.
Subway Map - The current iteration of the NYC subway map was not inevitable. This is the story of how it came to be.
Talent - The violinist Midori was honored by the Kennedy Center this summer. Here’s a little taste of her music. I honestly didn’t know violins could make these sounds.
Understood - This page has more than 500 “words that don’t translate” from other languages, like Milozvučan (having a sweet and gentle voice) and Pelinti (to move hot food around in your mouth).
Video Games - At age 75, one woman decided to play through “Red Dead Redemption 2.” Her perspective on the game and what video games have done for her is very interesting. (Reddit post, could be blocked on work computers)
Weather - Laura Rowe went storm chasing in Texas and took one of the best cloud photos I’ve seen in a long time.
X - Use your keyboard to move some pretty shapes around. Strangely addicting.
Yarn - For all the knitters out there, here’s a device that measures yarn.
Zip Code - A history of the 5-digit numbers on all your mail. It’s only been in use since the ’60s!
Have a suggestion for the next issue? Reach out to me by replying to this email. And if you enjoyed this edition, go ahead and forward it to a friend and tap the heart at the top of the page.
See you in a month,
-Brady