The brick double-domino effect explained
A mathematician explains why, if you use bricks as dominoes, you get a second wave going in the opposite direction.
Archive
A collection of 14227 issues
A Duke hater's guide to the team's losses during March Madness
Greg Paulus's flop is a gem in the Duke-hater's highlight reel—in case you didn't know, despite the team's winning ways and its coach's astounding career, many sports fans hate Dook passionately—but this guide to thorough haterdom, specific
Helado Negro, Obras Complete
Helado Negro released one of our favorite albums of 2016 (if only we hadn't accidentally deleted them), the transportive Private Energy. And the three songs in this video are three mesmerizing reasons why.
March 23, 2017
“When I looked at the spinach leaf its stem reminded me of an aorta. So I thought, let’s perfuse right through the stem.” Human and plant vascular systems are so similar that researchers are growing human heart cells on a spinach leaf. / Worcester Polytechnic Institute Indian recharge outlets sell
What's inside a tape measure?
What's inside a tape measure? (We are such suckers for this kind of thing.) See also: What's inside STEM Robots?
March 22, 2017
California farms offer benefits and pay well above minimum wage, but Americans won’t take tough jobs. / Los Angeles Times New evidence suggests that animals have richer mental lives than scientists previously suspected. / The Economist Airbnb doubles its China investment under new name “Aibiying,” which translates as “welcome each other
Pop music is the best soundtrack for performing CPR
In case your CPR training is out-of-date, some news: Bear pop music in mind when performing chest compressions. Related: A playlist of 100-bpm songs approved by New York Presbyterian Hospital for CPR—admittedly a treatment that only works about eight percent of the time.
A terrific "mega-meta list" of critics picks for 2016's best classical records
Here's a terrific "mega-meta list" of critics picks for the best classical recordings from last year. The video is from Hans Abrahamsen's list-topping Let Me Tell You, a cycle of songs using Ophelia's lines in Hamlet, with soprano/composer Barbara
March 21, 2017
A North Carolina startup uses bacteria to grow “biocement” bricks to avoid the hefty fossil fuel consumption needed for normal cement. / YouTube Japan entices elderly drivers to give up their licenses with discounts at funeral homes. / The Mainichi Markos Kay uses subatomic visualizations to turn the quantum world into art.
Keith Richards can't nail Chuck Berry's "Oh, Carol" riff
In rehearsal footage from 1986, Keith Richards can't nail Chuck Berry's "Oh, Carol" riff, and Berry doesn't give him a pass.