When a bra maker got the job of making the first NASA spacesuit

In 1966, when seamstresses at the International Latex Corporation arrived at its new Apollo Suit shopfloor in Frederica, Delaware, they were essentially “taught to sew again from scratch.” And for good reason: Compared to the company’s bras and girdles, the craftsmanship needed to fashion a spacesuit was, in every sense, out of this world. The journey to this point had been improbable for a company whose grand name had initially belonged to a single founder and salesman, Abram Spanel, selling mail-order girdles through magazine ads. It was only thanks to one of Spanel’s first employees — his own TV repairman, MIT dropout Leonard (Lenny) Shepard — that ILC maintained a small “industrial” division researching government contracts. Shepard was optimistic that the firm’s expertise in rubber, nylon, and strapping could provide an answer to work in space. (via MIT Press)

Michael J. Fox and three other co-workers on a 1970's TV show all got Parkinson's

Canadian-born actor Michael J. Fox, while working on a CBC sitcom as a teenager, contracted a virus that some researchers say may have caused him to later develop Parkinson's disease. Fox worked on show Leo and Me in Vancouver in 1977. Researchers studying the degenerative disease theorize that exposure to viruses or environmental toxins can trigger its onset years later. According to Dr. Donald Calne, director of the Neurodegenerative Disorders Centre at the University of B.C. Hospital, Parkinson's can develop in clusters of people. Fox is one of four Leo and Me workers who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's, which leads to muscle rigidity, tremors and involuntary movements. Japanese researchers have established that a virulent form of the flu, caused by a virus, can make its way into the same part of the brain that Parkinson's attacks. (via the CBC)

This website can identify the Humpback whale you took a photo of from its tail

Every humpback's journey is as unique as their tail. And one photo of that tail is enough to reveal their real life story. Every year, Newfoundland and Labrador hosts the world's largest population of humpbacks, who visit every year from May-September. So we've gotten to know them pretty well. How's that? A humpback's tail (or "fluke") markings are as unique as our fingerprints: a mix of dark and light shapes that are speckled, splotchy, or otherwise unique. Those markings, combined with the tail's shape, are what make every humpback individually identifiable. Which means all it takes is a photo to know exactly who they are — and everywhere else they've been identified. Upload your fluke photos to take a deeper dive into the world of humpbacks. Learn their name, their story — and even contribute to citizen science. (via Humpback.ca)

Hi everyone! Mathew Ingram here. I am able to continue writing this newsletter in part because of your financial help and support, which you can do either through my Patreon or by upgrading your subscription to a monthly contribution. I enjoy gathering all of these links and sharing them with you, but it does take time, and your support makes it possible for me to do that. I also write a weekly newsletter of technology analysis called The Torment Nexus.

Her husband had brain surgery and the one who is handling it the worst is the cat

My beloved husband has a condition known as essential tremor. It’s not Parkinson’s, for which we are grateful, nor is it fatal. But it is progressive. By now, his condition has progressed from being an annoyance to being a confirmed pain in the ass. He can’t type. He conducts a hopeless, nightly battle with the TV remote. His handwriting, once a thing of quirky elegance, has gone completely to hell. Our black cat Bandit is usually remarkably chill, friendly to people of all ages and even dogs, as long as they don’t try to chase him. He is, however, needy. In an emotional sense. And his deepest emotional need is for my husband. Sure, Bandit likes me, even loves me, in his distant, detached feline manner. I have my place in his orbit, but it’s not at the zenith. That spot is reserved for my husband. In the morning, for example, Bandit considers it his responsibility to assist my husband with shaving and dressing. (via Crow's Feet)

Ted Geisel or Dr. Seuss was a great artist but he was a terrible husband

Helen Marion Palmer (1898–1967) met Ted Geisel (1904–1991) at Oxford University, where they were both studying for advanced degrees in English. Ted dropped out, not being much of a student. He wanted to write the great American novel and went to Paris where so many American writers. His book went nowhere; Helen earned a master’s degree. Ted and Helen returned to America and married in 1927. Under the pseudonym Dr. Seuss, Ted drew freelance cartoons, picked up advertising work, and wrote a few books, relying on Helen as his editor. Audrey and Grey Dimond were perhaps the Geisels’ closest friends in La Jolla, yet Mr. Geisel and Mrs. Dimond started an affair. In 1965, Ted dedicated Fox in Sox to Audrey. As a biographer put it, “Audrey soon replaced his relationship with Helen as his primary emotional attachment.” (via Downtown Brown)

Trump's new musical hit Blockade, courtesy of the Iranian meme-makers

Acknowledgements: I find a lot of these links myself, but I also get some from other places that I rely on as "serendipity engines," such as The Morning News from Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack, Jodi Ettenberg's Curious About Everything, Dan Lewis's Now I Know, Robert Cottrell and Caroline Crampton's The Browser, Clive Thompson's Linkfest and Why Is This Interesting by Noah Brier and Colin Nagy. If you come across something you think should be included here, feel free to email me at mathew @ mathewingram dot com