Cool Finds

Book hoarding has never been so lucrative.

Competitive Book Collecting Is a Thing

Young bibliophiles duke it out in the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest

Shocking.

Tesla vs. Edison Is a Video Game That Will Literally Shock You

Fight the 'War of the Currents'

An AI-Written Novella Almost Won a Literary Prize

A short novel co-written by humans and AI passed the first round of a Japanese literary contest

This Tube is full of mosquitoes.

The London Underground Has Its Own Mosquito Subspecies

Take a bite out of this strange evolutionary example

A self-portrait made by Johnny Rotten on the walls of the studio where the Sex Pistols recorded their first demos.

Johnny Rotten's Graffiti Made These Buildings Historic Landmarks

The Sex Pistols’ home and recording studio are now protected as a cultural heritage sites

A red pigment reference from the Forbes Pigment Collection helped prove that a supposed Jackson Pollock painting was a fake.

This Could Be the World’s Most Colorful Library

Harvard’s Forbes Pigment Collection preserves some of history’s most precious colors—and helps conserve the world’s greatest art

Tom Randle plays Macheath, or “Mack the Knife,” in a production of Benjamin Britten’s The Beggar’s Opera.

The Strange Career of “Mack the Knife”

As old Macheath is inducted into the National Recording Registry, here's a look back at his long musical life

Each year, thousands of California sea lions flock to the docks at Oregon's Port of Astoria.

An Oregon Port Is Using Inflatable Air Dancers to Scare Off Pesky Sea Lions

The car dealership staple is now a marine mammal scarecrow

Revelers sit on a wall in Mathura.

A Saturated Snapshot of This Year’s Holi Celebrations

Revelers are already soaking in shades of the spring festival

A room decorated with animal art was designed to look like a forest.

This Polish Museum Exhibit Was Completely Curated By Kids

“Anything Goes” took six months and 69 children to create

Only about 2,000 people speak Lakota.

This News Website Is a Lakota-Speaker’s “Dream”

Woihanble.com could help preserve a threatened language

Roald Dahl’s Iconic Illustrator Inspired This New Font

Quentin Blake’s handwriting has elements of spontaneity and joy

Perhaps Magnolia rzedowskiana should be renamed Magnolia interneta.

Two New Flower Species Were Discovered Online

These naturalists didn’t know one another—but that didn’t keep them from discovering two new magnolias together

In 1957, the former first lady took to the wheels of steel.

That One Time Eleanor Roosevelt Was a DJ

In 1957, the first lady spun records for a cause

You can thank William Perkin for that garish dress your best friend will make you wear at her wedding.

How Malaria Gave Us Mauve

Tropical diseases and coal tar have a lot to do with brightly-colored clothing

Eric Underwood's Instagram rant about having to put makeup on his shoes inspired a new ballet shoe by Bloch.

Flesh-Toned Ballet Shoes Will Soon Be Available for People of Color

At long last, there are options for non-white dancers

Wacky Victorian women play behind a clothing screen, ca. 1900.

Researchers Seek Silly Sherlocks to Dig up Victorian-Era Jokes

Joke detectives are using the British Library to uncover what made Victorians chuckle

Geometric Shapes Inspire New, Stretchy Materials

Intricate designs drawn from Islamic art could help make materials that stretch in new ways

MAD Magazine’s Iconic Alfred E. Neuman Turns 60 This Year

The impish mascot has had a long, colorful life

Large Hadron Collider, Geneva, Switzerland

CERN Seeks International Artists For Full-Time Residency

The European Center for Nuclear Research is calling for art submissions for its annual award

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