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The Morning News

Mary Anning, "the greatest fossilist the world ever knew," got her start at the age of 12 when she and her brother Joseph discovered "what she would later find to be a remarkably complete Jurassic-era fossil of an Ichthyosaurus, a prehistoric marine reptile."

From Atlas Obscura:

Over the years that followed, Anning made further discoveries of fossils that revolutionized science. However, in spite of her phenomenal contributions, Anning was rarely recognized officially for her discoveries, which were instead credited to the wealthy “gentlemen scientists” who bought the fossils. She was also consistently refused entry to the Geological Society because she was a woman.

May 22, 2019
More Headlines

Out of 20,063 adults surveyed in the United States, nearly a third said they were “somewhat confident” or “very confident” that they could safely land a passenger airplane in an emergency.

Pilots explain why you definitely wouldn’t be able to land an airplane in an emergency.
↩︎ The Washington Post
23h
Justin Heckert explains how an old, untorn ticket to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls debut game became a priceless artifact.
↩︎ ESPN 23h

The script opened with a huge battle around the Greeks’ beached ships. For that spectacular scene, Susan and I had meticulously assembled ships, five hundred shields, two thousand costumes, and the other requisites. The Greek government had been most cooperative.

A college student in the 1960s, in pursuit of a young woman, attempts to make a movie with Marlon Brando to impress her.
↩︎ Lapham’s Quarterly
3d
A researcher uses GPT-4 to measure the passage of time in fiction. "This is a preliminary report on a very strange world."
↩︎ Ted Underwood 3d
For your midweek wanderlust, some photos and a diary from a bikepacking trip between México City and Oaxaca.
↩︎ The Radavist 3d

When I told people about my semaglutide stash, they were intrigued. “Should I take it and be your guinea pig?” a friend asked. I reminded him that he was already skinny. “I’m Gigi Hadid skinny,” he replied. “I could be Bella Hadid skinny.”

Jia Tolentino: Drugs like Ozempic may help people see appetite as a biological fact, not a moral choice.
↩︎ The New Yorker
5d

“What Time Do You Wake Up? Write It in the Comments and I Will Tell You Why You Are Bad and Lazy Compared with Me, a 3:15 a.m. Waker-er Upper Who Owns Not One but Two Vitamix Blenders”

​A round-up of satirical headlines for stories about supposedly life-improving morning routines.
↩︎ The New Yorker
1w
A brief letter to publications that want your email address to read free content. “Not reading is easier than reading."
↩︎ The Verge 1w

After 29 years of neoliberal failure, xenophobia appears a satisfying answer for a national bourgeoisie that has thus far avoided redistributing sufficient wealth to the majority of South Africans.

Thomas Lesaffre: Across post-colonial Africa, foreigners are an easy scapegoat for an elite that’s failed to redistribute wealth.
↩︎ Africa Is a Country
2w
In the Bay Area, eight households hold more wealth than the bottom 50% of residents (nearly half a million households).
↩︎ SF Gate 2w

A compelling argument to stare down SUVs (and be extra cautious at any crosswalks).

2w

Of course, L.A. isn’t concentrated like Manhattan, or pedestrian-friendly like Tokyo. It’s not aesthetically breathtaking like Rome. Crosswalks are infrequent, and drivers often ignore them; the city only recently stopped ticketing residents for jaywalking.

TMN’s Rosecrans Baldwin claims Los Angeles as a great walking city, even if most of it “is awful to experience on foot.”
↩︎ The New York Times Magazine
2w
The most polluted places to live in the United States: Bakersfield, South Los Angeles, and Chicago’s south and west sides.
↩︎ The Guardian 2w
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