Cool Finds

London's Looking at Building Bike Lanes in the Sky

The dedicated bike lanes could improve some commuter's trips by nearly 30 minutes

Playing Q-bert on the Atari 2600 through the Internet Archive’s Console Living Room.

Play Through the History of Video Games (Frogger! Asteroids! Q-bert!) All on One Site

From Frogger to Asteroids to Turtles!, play through the early days of video gaming

Futurists Once Dreamed of Submarine Helicopters And Spaceships Powered by Swans

The ships that we've dreamed up tell us a lot about just how badly humans have wanted to travel beyond our own world

Central Park’s Horse-Drawn Carriages Could Be Replaced With Old-Timey Electric Cars

Demand for horse-drawn rides has reportedly spiked as tourists and locals alike rush in for a chance to take one last buggy ride through the park

The Shackleton expedition's scientist, Alexander Stevens, stands on one of the team's ships, the Aurora.

A Century-Old Roll of Undeveloped Film Was Just Found in Antarctica

A century-old set of negatives was found in an Antarctic supply hut

A dolphin with its drug of choice.

Dolphins Seem to Use Toxic Pufferfish to Get High

The dolphins' expert, deliberate handling of the terrorized puffer fish implies that this is not their first time at the hallucinogenic rodeo

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London’s New Years Eve Will Feature Edible Confetti And Scented Fireworks

Only time will tell whether the sites and sounds and tastes and smells are a success, but no one can say London didn't try

The History of Cone-Shaped Medieval Princess Hats

Known as hennins, the tall headdresses were popular among European noblewomen in the late Middle Ages

Japan’s Newest Island Has Merged With Its Neighbor

Ongoing volcanic activity has caused Japan's newest island to merge with its neighbor

This Texas Teen's Most Productive Fishing Hole Is the Sewer

Kyle Naegeli, 15, first discovered this unlikely fishing hole after he made a $5 bet with his dad

Doctors Are Now Prescribing Books to Treat Depression

Reading to feel less isolated may be more than just a poetic thought

Tolkien's Dwarves Would Have Needed 38 Mini-Nuclear Plants to Melt All That Gold So Quickly

Unless those dwarf furnaces were burning some sort of Middle-earth super fuel, in real life Smaug probably would have just eaten the dwarves

Batteries

The Latest Technology in Cheap Energy Storage Is Manufactured with Pasta Makers

A startup based in Manhattan called Urban Electric Power is taking a stab at the energy storage problem.

In 1949, a Physicist Proposed Using Skyscapers And a Roof to Control NYC’s Climate

No scorching summers, no freezing winters...just a nice pleasant time, all year round

Get Geeky About Dialects With the Dictionary of American Regional English

Did the NYTimes' dialect quiz get you interested in regionalisms? Then check out the Dictionary of American Regional English

Coconut Crabs Eat Everything from Kittens to, Maybe, Amelia Earhart

According to one theory, Earhart did not drown in the Pacific but instead crashed on the remote Nikumaroro atoll, where she was eaten by coconut crabs

Sewage Water Reveals Community’s Illegal Drug Habits

Sewage analyses in the US found the highest levels of methamphetamines to date, but revealed that cocaine use in the US seems on par with that in Europe

Can You Fry Things in Space?

Can the good old American tradition of caking foods in grease continue in the vast recesses of space?

A member of the Texas Camel Corps.

The United States Army Used Camels Until After the Civil War

When the first American settlers started moving west, their horses and mules weren't cut out for the long, dry treks

Some Spiders Eat Salads

Most people think of spiders as terrifying carnivores, laying in wait to trap their prey. That's mostly true, but sometimes spiders eat other things too

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