A cursory overview of the internals of iMessage https://jjtech.dev/reverse-engineering/imessage-explained/

The network was so extensive that the historian Stephen Alford – who has been hunting down Elizabethan spies and painstakingly reconstructing Cecil’s illicit files about each “intelligencer” ever since he found the list in the archives nearly 15 years ago – thinks it was “the first properly organised secret service” in England.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/29/uncovered-428-year-old-secret-dossier-reveals-elizabeth-is-network-of-spies

Arizona abortion rights advocates submit double the signatures needed to put constitutional amendment on ballot

"This is the most signatures ever gathered for a ballot measure in Arizona history, which is a testament to the broad support among Arizona voters for restoring and protecting abortion access in Arizona," Cheryl Bruce, campaign manager of Arizona for Abortion Access, said in a statement.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arizona-abortion-rights-constitutional-amendment-ballot/

An army marches on its stomach.

Did you know that the Red Cross had Clubmobile girls in WWII to distribute donuts to soldiers? I read an entire historical novel about them back in 2019. https://amzn.to/4eTxbQi

One of the lesser known items at the British Library is a map of an army encampment of King Henry VIII (Cotton Roll XIII 41), probably dating to one of the invasions of northern France that he led in 1513 and again in 1544. It shows a camp with all the essentials for supporting an army on campaign: a kitchen, storage for weapons and ammunition, quarters for officers and men, and … a pastry tent? https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2024/03/henry-viiis-pastry-tent.html

Ivory Coast receives first batch of malaria vaccines

The government announced the arrival of 656,600 doses of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine, which will be used to immunize 250,000 children under two years old.
https://wenewsenglish.pk/ivory-coast-receives-first-malaria-vaccines/

This project all started when an investigation unit in Maryland approached the Bloop Museum with a request to use their antique computer resources to decode the information on a 5.25″ floppy disk. https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/preserving-floppy-disks/

Step one in reducing orbital clutter—or, colloquially, space trash—is designing spacecraft that safely leave space when their missions are complete. “I thought naïvely, as a student, ‘How hard can that be?’” https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/06/26/1093649/space-debris-engineer-european-space-agency-job-titles-future/

"Japan's government has finally eliminated the use of floppy disks in all its systems, two decades since their heyday, reaching a long-awaited milestone in a campaign to modernize the bureaucracy."
https://japantoday.com/category/business/japan-declares-victory-in-effort-to-end-government-use-of-floppy-disks

One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice president, and that one word is “to be prepared.” – Vice President Dan Quayle

In this archive clip from 1976, Otto Frank tells the BBC about his decision to make his daughter's words public. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240620-anne-frank-and-her-teenage-diary-that-captivated-the-world

The archive comprises approximately 38,000 black and white and colour prints, spanning the period from c.1920 to 2000, making it one of the largest collections of 20th century dance in the world. https://www.royalacademyofdance.org/the-royal-academy-of-dance-acquires-dancing-times-photographic-archive/

Overheard in a discussion about Indian food: I’d explain, but I’m unfortunately bound by a naan disclosure agreement.

TIL You can stack over a dozen European countries in Chile north to south.
(Really, this whole thing is far more interesting than you're expecting.) https://unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com/p/why-is-chile-so-long

ALT Text As Poetry
July 14, 2024.
New York, New York, U.S.A.
https://whitney.org/events/alt-text-as-poetry

I can't think of anything more on-brand for the tech industry than this. https://sfstandard.com/2024/06/29/san-francisco-marriage-optimizers/

"Workers who telecommute tend to be more aware of cybersecurity threats than those who spend most of their time in a physical office and are more likely to take action to ward them off." https://theconversation.com/remote-workers-are-more-aware-of-cybersecurity-risks-than-in-office-employees-new-study-207801

"The most memorable aspect of Slovenian bee houses is their colorful appearance. The hives often are painted in bold primary hues and adorned with artistic panels, known as panjske končnice." https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-are-slovenian-beehouses