Croation inventor Eduard Penkala patented the rubber hot water bottle–which he dubbed the “Termofor”–in 1903. However, it did not come out of nowhere. In fact, the history of the hot water bottle goes back thousands of years, albeit in different guises. https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2022/01/the-revenge-of-the-hot-water-bottle.html

New research suggests that ancient trees possess far more than an awe-inspiring presence and a suite of ecological services to forests—they also sustain the entire population of trees’ ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/941826

Fatal police shootings in America dropped by 13% between 2020 and 2021, reaching the lowest annual number on record. Biggest drop? Florida. Increased public accountability and initiatives replacing armed officers with healthcare and social workers for mental-health related 911 calls contributed to the decline. https://abcnews.go.com/US/fatal-police-shootings-dip-2021-amid-calls-reform/story?id=81914364

"The answer to this question is actually quite simple, but is an excellent example of cross-cultural variation in color semantics and its impact on emoji design." https://blog.emojipedia.org/why-does-the-chart-increasing-emoji-show-in-red/

"Rich feature set" is a meaningless term in technology writing, unless you are referring to its butterfat content. #ProEditingTip

Enjoy the lighthouses of Europe—as a map. https://geodienst.github.io/lighthousemap/

According to MRC Data, old songs now represent 70% of the US music market. https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/is-old-music-killing-new-music

Without a baseball bat, Barry Bonds would still be really good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwMfT2cZGHg

"We asked 11 best-selling writers to tell us which shops are worth a detour for book-loving travelers." https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/us-bookstore-travel

A harrowing eye surgery may have given the impressionist painter the ability to see UV light. https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/could-claude-monet-see-like-a-bee

"When the stars align as they're aligning now, workers gun for better pay, perks, flexibility, and treatment. Bargaining power has shifted in their favor." And there are twice as many job openings on LinkedIn as there were a year ago. https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2022/01/25/1075115539/the-great-resignation-more-like-the-great-renegotiation

Travel tips site The Points Guy launched a new app aimed at showing users their opportunities to gain airline miles and other travel rewards. Now, American Airlines is suing the website, claiming that such an app violates its terms of service. https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/21/22895317/american-airlines-the-points-guy-app-frequent-flyer-copyright

Some thoughts on Justice Breyer's retirement, from my friend Linda Hirshman. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/01/28/biden-breyer-moderates-lincoln/

The New York Times described it as "too simple-minded to be consistently entertaining" while Gene Siskel, writing in the Chicago Tribune, referred to it as a "poor man's 2001: A Space Odyssey". https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210212-silent-running-the-sci-fi-that-predicted-modern-crises

A visualization of how much money Americans make. https://flowingdata.com/2022/01/26/how-much-americans-make/

TIL Bat Out Of Hell was a very deliberate Springsteen parody orchestrated by its producer, Todd Rundgren. (Article from 2017) https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/todd-rundgren-meat-loaf-bat-out-of-hell-bruce-springsteen-8006795/

When we waited in line for 3 hours to see Star Wars: 1980 in Times Square

Cook had been a revered figure among British seamen. “Wherever he goes he plants English gardens,” noted a Sri Lankan anthropologist, not without some disgust. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/jan/18/how-to-kill-a-god-captain-cook-myth-shows-how-heroes-of-empire-will-fall