Science! cheese slices! and how to identify a seal.

15th May 2023

Heads up! This newsletter is more than a year old. Links may be out of date or lead to unexpected places, or the context may have changed. Please handle with care.

Hello!

I believe this is the 100th newsletter I've sent out, so it seems like a good time to say: thank you for reading this! It's really nice to have an outlet for links and thoughts that isn't part on the immediate, click-react world of social media.

It's time for the conclusion of the Tom Wearing Safety Clothing trilogy, as I investigate the place where they're deliberately giving people viruses (for science).

And over on Lateral, it's "the genius of cheese slices": Brian McManus from 'Real Engineering', Sarah Renae Clark and Nicholas Johnson face questions about timely treatments, perceptive painters and bisected badges.

Around the rest of YouTube, some charming videos I've found this week. And "charming" does seem to be the right word for these:

I didnt need to know how to identify a seal. I probably never will. But now I do know, and I had a good time learning it. (Thanks to Coleman for sending this over!)
Who releases 3,000 pounds of confetti on Times Square by hand every year?
Now, Colin Furze's latest video is aggressively sponsored content, but then I guess building a machine that makes you weightless can't be cheap, and Colin's usual joy and enthusiasm shines through the branding. I desperately want a go in this, or something like it: it feels like it could be an attraction at a fairground or adventure park.
The lead singer of Green Day walks into a bar, and the cover band are playing Basket Case.
A deep dive into how a Swiss steamship works: the same Swiss YouTuber who explored a ropeway in-depth now heads on a full tour of a modern-day steamship. It's a long tour but worth it.

Let's move on to the rest of the internet, away from the world of video:

I found the best anagram in English. This is exactly at the intersection of code and linguistics: I've no idea how I've never seen it before this week.
The search for the lost 'Jeopardy!' tapes is over. Game shows, archivists, modern mysteries, and two sides of a story. (Thanks to Karen for sending this over!)
Space elevator! A fun web toy from neal.fun, a whole site of fun web toys.
Coin operated television chairs, circa 1970. I remember seeing a couple of these (presumably a later model) at a Greyhound bus station in the early 2000s. I assume they're all gone now; even if they did, the analog broadcast signals they received ended in 2009.

And finally: "Disneyland's giant animatronic dragon exploded". A thread.

Next week: I'm probably wearing a safety helmet, but I'm back in my regular clothes.

All the best,

— Tom

« Previous

Index