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Arts

First edition copies of “the world’s weirdest book”

A 360-Page Book That No One’s Ever Been Able to Read Is Coming Back Into Print

Original editions of the Codex sell for up to $2,000, but a new reprint is available for $125

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Watch “Vintage” Signs Get Made in This Portland Shop

From painting to stenciling to distressing, watch a sign come to life in this little video from the shop

The Emoji Show Is Gathering Emoji Based Art

Like the selfie, the emoji has faced its fair share of derision. But as more and more people use the little icons they’re finding more acceptance

Screenshot from Un Chien Andalou, the Surrealist film that Dalí collaborated on with Luis Buñuel

Salvador Dali Suffered From the Irrational Fear That Insects Were Crawling All Over His Skin

The condition is almost always accompanied by tactile hallucinations of crawling sensations and visual hallucinations of the non-existent insects

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This Eagle Statue Is One of the Greatest Romano-British Artworks Ever Discovered

Archeologists in London just turned up a pristine 1,800-year old Roman statue of an eagle devouring a serpent

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Here’s How to Make a Canoe Out of a Tree Trunk

The boats are fashioned entirely by hand using simple tools, and traditionally are carved from magongo tree wood

Read Seamus Heaney’s Last Known, Previously Unpublished Poem

Two months before he died, Heaney wrote “In a Field” at the request of poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy

(Not the temple in question)

Ancient Buddhist Frescoes in China Got Painted Over with Cartoons

he temple affairs head and the the cultural heritage monitoring team lead have both lost their jobs, and the Communist party chief has been scolded

Before Hollywood Had Ratings, Films Were Way Racier

In the 1934 movie Murder at the Vanities there’s a whole musical number about the pleasures of marijuana sung by half naked women

If Anyone Can Make the James Bond Submarine Car Work, It’s Elon Musk

Musk bought the Lotus Espirit car from the movie The Spy Who Loved Me for $866,000 at auction

Vote for the Next Inductees Into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

So far, Nirvana is winning the fan vote with 15 percent, followed closely by Kiss at 14.33 percent

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Ridley Scott Reused Footage From The Shining at the End of Blade Runner

From sets to props to entire sequences, Hollywood is actually really good at recycling

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Music Makes Working Out Hurt Less

Music doesn’t solely work by distracting us or syncing our motions up with its encouraging beat

This Late-Night Reading Group Zipped Through Finnegans Wake in Seven Short Months

A Los Angles-based Finnegans Wake reading group recently buckled down and decided to spare themselves the dozen-year cliff hanger

The Queen Mary Psalter, c 1310-1320

Why Were Medieval Knights Always Fighting Snails?

It’s a common scene in medieval marginalia. But what does it mean?

Ancient Women Artists May Be Responsible for Most Cave Art

Previously, most researchers assumed that the people behind these mysterious artworks must have been men, but they were wrong

Music Does Get Louder Every Year

Yes, grandma, the music is louder than it was when you were a kid

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Ballerinas’ Brains Are Desensitized to Dizziness

Dancers may reshape their brains with years or training, or people who have a natural ability not to fall over may be most likely to become pro ballerinas

An Incredibly Detailed Size Comparison Chart of Science Fiction Spaceships

What would it look like if you put nearly every famous science fiction spaceship next to one another? This image

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The National Selfie Portrait Gallery Is a Real Thing, And It’s Art

Made up of solely selfies, the gallery attempts to explore how people see themselves

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