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When The Going Gets Weird
Links and thoughts about media, technology and culture

Latest

Jun
09

How the U.S. almost became a nation of hippo ranchers

From Shoshi Parks for the Smithsonian magazine: "In 1884, the water hyacinth delighted audiences when it made its North American
4 min read
Jun
08

What I remember from Anne Frank’s birthday party

From a memoir by Anne Frank's childhood friend Hannah Pick-Goslar, excerpted in Time magazine: "One morning in early June 1942,
4 min read
Jun
07

The band that got paid for not making any sound at all

From Dan Lewis: "You’ve almost certainly never heard of the band Vulfpeck. They’re a Los Angeles-based funk band.
4 min read
Jun
06
Why Mythbusters destroyed the tapes of one episode

Why Mythbusters destroyed the tapes of one episode

Michael Walsh writes for Nerdist: "At Silicon Valley Comic Con in 2016, Mythbusters co-host Adam Savage was asked by a
4 min read
Jun
05
A catatonic who woke after 20 years could change psychiatry

A catatonic who woke after 20 years could change psychiatry

Richard Sima writes for the Washington Post: "The young woman was catatonic—unmoving, unblinking and unknowing where or who she
4 min read
Jun
02
When Alec Baldwin tried to take down a Nobel-winning lab

When Alec Baldwin tried to take down a Nobel-winning lab

Robert Crease writes for the MIT Press: "In the summer of 1997, an environmental activist and sport fishing boat captain
4 min read
Jun
01
Can the shingles vaccine prevent dementia?

Can the shingles vaccine prevent dementia?

From Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution:"A new paper provides good evidence that the shingles vaccine can prevent dementia, which
4 min read
May
31
In Warsaw, clams help protect the city's water supply

In Warsaw, clams help protect the city's water supply

From Judita at Bored Panda: "While most people probably think of clams and mussels as a part of some fancy
4 min read
May
30
The life and death of the last Hawaiian princess

The life and death of the last Hawaiian princess

From Kathryn Armstrong for the BBC: "Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa, Hawaii's so-called 'last princess,' passed away in 2022 at
4 min read
May
29
Why a Georgia man's grave has a bell installed in it

Why a Georgia man's grave has a bell installed in it

From Atlas Obscura: "Taphophobia—the fear of being buried alive—was at a zenith in the 19th century. The horror
4 min read