An 'internationally significant' archive from one of the most famous names in travel has begun to go online. The Thomas Cook collection features travel brochures from as early as 1858, a selection of staff uniforms and some 60,000 photographs." https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-58751876
Ratio of residents to publicly available bathrooms in New York City : 7,258:1. Here's the latest Harper's Index.
https://harpers.org/harpers-index/
Retrofuturism: A 2007 "What's the future of tech in 2027?"article, with input from Larry Niven, Joe Haldemann, Jerry Weinberg, @Grady_Booch and a bunch of CIOs. (You can tell which folks I solicited.) https://www.cio.com/article/2437999/2007-to-2027--the-shapes-of-things-to-come-in-it.html
>> In recent years this transition has been cited as evidence of the power of innovation, and an example of how simple technological fixes to seemingly intractable problems will show up just when they are needed – so there is no need to worry about climate change, for instance. Yet it should instead be seen as a cautionary tale in the other direction: that what looks like a quick fix today may well end up having far-reaching and unintended consequences tomorrow.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/aug/03/lost-history-electric-car-future-transport
When the Nobel Prize committee rejected the Lord of the Rings: Tolkien 'has not measured up to storytelling of the highest quality' (1961). https://www.openculture.com/2021/09/when-the-nobel-prize-committee-rejected-the-lord-of-the-rings.html
Funniest thing I've seen all day.
I guess it's time to make this. https://kitchenoverlord.com/dune-week-spice-filled-sandworm/
From the Duchess of Devonshire’s Diamond Jubilee costume ball in 1897, we have 200 guests photographed for souvenirs and collectible cards. Indulge yourself. https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/back-to-the-party-more-pictures-from-the-duchess-of-devonshires-costume-ball-1897/
You can make word choices to help maintain a relationship, increase your own persuasiveness, and learn more about the other person’s point of view. (Snark suggests: "...assuming you want to," but let's be respectful here.)
https://psyche.co/ideas/argue-better-by-signalling-your-receptiveness-with-these-words
Take a moth break. https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2021/08/adrian-smith-moths/
By blacking over words and entire lines with dark ink someone meant to hide them forever from history and they succeeded for two centuries—until now. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/x-ray-technology-reveals-marie-antoinettes-censored-secret-correspondence-180978796/
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then the Incoherents movement had a point: why restrict the arts, visual, music or dance world to the same old tedious and traditional offerings? Why not open it up to fun, new rules and new media? https://www.messynessychic.com/2021/10/08/found-in-a-trunk-the-lost-avant-garde-movement-that-came-decades-before-dada/
The earth as a player piano tune https://reptilemodernism.tumblr.com/post/663525699108339712/blackmesa-stushi-roll-teathattast
"Parton is simultaneously self-aware, self-deprecating, and completely engaging. So while you are dazzled, you are also charmed." https://www.wmagazine.com/life/dolly-parton-interview-2021
"Police struggle to catch online fraudsters, often operating from overseas, but now a new breed of amateurs are taking matters into their own hands." https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/03/who-scams-the-scammers-meet-the-amateur-scambaiters-taking-on-the-crooks
What makes a book cover iconic? There are no hard and fast rules, of course—like anything else, you know it when you see it. https://lithub.com/the-25-most-iconic-book-covers-in-history
X-Ray Technology Reveals Marie Antoinette’s Censored Secret Correspondence https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/x-ray-technology-reveals-marie-antoinettes-censored-secret-correspondence-180978796/
Berlin's “stumbling stones,” are each inscribed with the name of someone killed or persecuted by the Nazi regime, placed into pavement where the person last freely lived or worked. You can look at a map and downloadable list of 8,500+ installations. https://www.stolpersteine-berlin.de/en/finding-stolpersteine
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