The art of flying.
A brief, magnificent video of starlings flying in "murmurations," dense, undulating—well, murmuring—swarms.
Video
A collection of 1272 issues
How to operate a Modern museum.
Episode one in a new documentary series by the Museum of Modern Art about how they run their museum. (We're total suckers for such stuff, no matter how promotional.)
How to cook fake food.
It's an old tradition in Japan for restaurants to display fake food at the front door so customers know what to expect before they order. If you enjoy the video, here's a similar tour, albeit shorter and nearly content-free.
Miles and miles of nothing
Aerial footage captures the scale of the devastation in the Santa Rosa suburb of Coffey Park, where the October wildfires burned down more than 1,500 homes.
Why hold music sounds so bad on phones today.
An explanation of why hold music sounds so bad on phones today: Multiple layers of compression are trying to squeeze a symphony through a connection optimized for voice.
Taking digital justice into their own hands in Detroit.
Forty percent of Detroit's population has no internet access. These activists took digital justice into their own hands, hacking up a wireless connection to the tallest building in three poorer neighborhoods.
Introducing the self-driving wheelchair.
An exciting application of autonomous vehicle technology: self-driving wheelchairs (for the many who require assistance to use their power wheelchairs). From an opinion piece in WIRED: For those of us with mobility challenges, a wheelchair is our car. It may travel slower, using pathways other than the open road,
Sandals with socks and your special touch.
This one's for the pop-culture buffs: famed photographer Martin Parr demonstrates that he's an adult who enjoys coloring books, especially his own.
A bird eye's view of Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.
For the next time wanderlust strikes: some mesmerizing, even stupefying views of contemporary Hong Kong, by Mariana Bisti (who also makes art with fans and markers).
The ocean doesn't care about New Yorkers' stress levels.
A designer, a professor, a neuro-oncologist, and an artist explain why they brave congested traffic, thick rubber, and freezing cold water to spend time in the ocean around New York City.