According to the CDC, the Delta variant appears to spread as easily as measles and chickenpox. / CNN

The life sciences sector is booming to the point that office space emptied by the pandemic is being converted into labs. / The New York Times

"The BDSM industry is really big on safety protocols in general." Some dommes are requiring clients to provide proof of vaccination. / Rolling Stone

"The first vaccine mandate in American history came from none other than George Washington at the height of the American Revolution." / The New Republic

A third of the deer surveyed in the Great Lakes region had Covid antibodies—though none displayed "clinical illness." / USDA

How a viral—and apparently truthful—tweet about Covid vaccines got repurposed as misinformation. / The Week

Fake inspirational quotes are rampant on the internet, but there's nothing quite like discovering one attributed to your mother. / Gawker

Following a terrifying vault, Simone Biles withdrew from the Olympics, citing "the twisties," a mental block gymnasts say can result in dangerous accidents during competition. / CNN, BuzzFeed News

"You can always do something that scares you and think about it too much and then it doesn't feel comfortable, and then you are not even sure about what you are doing anymore." What the twisties feel like. / Defector

See also: "Simone Biles Rejects a Long Tradition of Stoicism in Sports" and "What Simone Biles Did at the Olympics Is Revolutionary." / The New York Times, BuzzFeed News

Related: On sports and mental health and Ted Lasso. / WIRED

"Even our most iconic steel-reinforced concrete buildings are prototypes." Engineers—like those who designed the Surfside towers—are still learning how steel-concrete composites work. / The Prepared

Hollywood is more willing than ever to portray characters with disabilities—just not by actors with disabilities. / The New York Times

In most cities that have reduced the number of arrests for minor offenses, police shootings have also decreased. / FiveThirtyEight

Smugglers are bringing legal weed from California into Mexico for medicinal purposes (and because it's a better product). / VICE

What's the difference between an ICEE and a Slurpee? / Tedium

Outside/In is a podcast miniseries about Quebec's surprisingly dramatic, complicated hydropower generation. / PRX

"Thomassons" are vestigial architectural forms, like window frames that have been bricked over. / Super Ordinary Life

What it's like, as a student, when you realize college just isn't for you. / Vox

"Should time be decimal?" Hugh Laurie: "Dammit, it's worth a try." Important people answer unimportant questions. / The Fence