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Tasmanian devil tooth found during archaeological dig 1000 kilometres north of Perth. The tooth could provide further historical evidence of inter-community trading in Western Australia and was unearthed in Juukan Gorge, which made headlines in 2020 when its rock shelters were damaged by Rio Tinto blasts. "There is no physical evidence that [Tasmanian devils] ever lived in the Pilbara, and the last evidence of devils living in Western Australia was in the South West around 3000 years ago," he said.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries on May 4 at 11:42 PM - 2 comments

Ships rolling in the sea. Just for fun. [more inside]
posted by Toddles on May 4 at 7:44 PM - 24 comments

Three days after her husband's death, Yulia Navalnaya announced publicly that she would continue his work and take over the management of his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). Three days after her husband's death, Yulia Navalnaya announced publicly that she would continue his work and take over the management of his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). She also accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing Alexei Navalny, and announced that an investigation into the exact details was underway. [more inside]
posted by dancestoblue on May 4 at 7:05 PM - 5 comments

The Cornish Pilot Gig is a coxed 6-oar, clinker built rowing boat, originally built to take pilots out to sailing ships to pilot them into harbour. Since the first pilot to get to a ship got the job, speed became essential to anyone who wanted to get paid, requiring strong arms, stamina and innovations in boat design. While this trade is long gone, most Cornish harbours continue to support a gig club who race competitively, purely for fun and glory. [more inside]
posted by biffa on May 4 at 4:39 PM - 6 comments

the internet has produced many things, but its driving force is cowardice. it's there in the collective failure to conceptualize how the things one does online manifest themselves in the larger world. it's there in the lionization of an almost spiritual level of intellectual laziness in the need to endlessly double down on whatever your personal brand becomes. it's there in the desire to tear down anyone who might attempt to shine a light on your own personal failures and limitations, in either your work or your larger perspective on the world. the internet is a refuge for the bad faith. Let's play life, a long post about "let's plays", internet culture and youtube by Liz Ryerson (previously)
posted by simmering octagon on May 4 at 4:00 PM - 26 comments

From YouTube channel Legends Of Soapbox Racing, I present to you London's BEST CRASHES EVER #redbullsoapboxrace #londoncrashes [28m]. It's a cavalcade of hilarious car designs and amusing sudden ends. Despite the crashing, there don't appear to be any real injuries.
posted by hippybear on May 4 at 2:46 PM - 11 comments

In this video ad, the Hero Wars mascot Galahad finds himself in dire straits as but a human plough-horse upon the field. His captor, half-cow, half-human woman, brands him on the buttock with what looks like our old friend the purple devil emoji—rather a “naugty” [sic] act. Suddenly set upon by wolves, the cow lady is compromised—and Galahad steps up to become white knight, fending the beasts off with his axe. The cow lady and her new hero Galahad elope to her encampment, where she carries him around like a baby, and spots him for sit-ups. Needless to say, the episode of the bovine damsel does not occur in-game. from The Weird World of Hero Wars Ads: Sex Sells [Splice Today] [more inside]
posted by chavenet on May 4 at 12:29 PM - 18 comments

"Megalopolis has always been a film dedicated to my dear wife Eleanor. I really had hoped to celebrate her birthday together this May 4th. But sadly that was not to be, so let me share with everyone a gift on her behalf." Weeks after the loss of his wife, the legendary Francis Ford Coppola reveals a first look at his magnum opus more than 40 years in the making, which has finally found a distributor after the director spent $120 million of his own funds on the project. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on May 4 at 11:54 AM - 17 comments

Ottawa International Food and Book Expo definitely did not do what it says on the tin.
posted by Kitteh on May 4 at 10:35 AM - 20 comments

How to Build a $20 Billion Semiconductor Fab. By Brian Potter of Construction Physics.
posted by russilwvong on May 4 at 8:57 AM - 8 comments

Ralph Nader is loyal to one pen: the Papermate Flair. But Nader claims that the pens are drying out quicker then they used to. He reached out to Wirecutter (a NYT property) and they investigated. Archive.is link: https://archive.is/54jtw [more inside]
posted by kimberussell on May 4 at 8:17 AM - 62 comments

Archaeologists reveal reconstructed face of 75,000yo Neanderthal woman. The Neanderthal woman's skull was discovered in 2018 in a cave in the Zagros Mountains of northern Iraq.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries on May 4 at 7:56 AM - 7 comments

The great Howard DaSilva performs the showstopping number "Little Tin Box" Fiorello! is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia, a reform Republican, which debuted on Broadway in 1959, and tells the story of how La Guardia took on the Tammany Hall political machine. The book is by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life with Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock. [more inside]
posted by Czjewel on May 4 at 2:42 AM - 6 comments

Shakespeare toys with numerous European languages throughout his work, including Italian, French, Spanish, and Dutch. Often, these are spoken in thick accents, with comedic pronunciation. The same holds true for his use of the various British dialects—Scots, Welsh, Cornish, and Irish—heard in scruffy taverns or high courts. In Henry V, soldiers fracture the King’s English while the king himself and a French princess descend into a comical Franglais courtship. Yet, no matter how garbled the speech, playgoers can usually identify distinct languages and dialects—that is, until they bump up against what scholars have called the “invented language,” “unintelligible gabble,” and “‘Boskos thromuldo boskos’ mumbo-jumbo” in his comedy "All’s Well That Ends Well." from I Understand Thee, and Can Speak Thy Tongue: California Unlocks Shakespeare’s Gibberish [LARB]
posted by chavenet on May 4 at 1:08 AM - 14 comments

An interview with the Japanese comedian about the upcoming documentary (NYT gift link) on Hulu, The Contestant. Previously on Metafilter, "Staying alive became my full-time occupation" we were introduced to the strange tale of the 1998 Japanese reality show Susunu! Denpa Shonen which was famous for taking an aspiring comedian, placing him naked in a room, and telling him that he needed to acquire 1 million yen worth of items via sweepstakes. Now, there is a Hulu documentary (YT trailer link) coming out about how the Eggplant is doing.
posted by Word_Salad on May 3 at 5:22 PM - 8 comments

By leveraging a unique large dataset and new techniques for exploring this dataset, our paper highlights the diversity of moral dilemmas experienced in daily life, and helps to build a moral psychology grounded in the vagaries of everyday experience. from A Large-Scale Investigation of Everyday Moral Dilemmas, in which Philosophers are studying Reddit’s “Am I the Asshole?” [Vox]
posted by chavenet on May 3 at 1:41 PM - 45 comments

For many people, the first time they tried to take control of a computer centered around learning to program in BASIC (Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), a simple, interpreted programming language designed around easily-understandable keywords and syntax. BASIC turned 60 a couple of days ago, so find one of the many online BASIC interpreters and write yourself a little bit of history.
posted by hanov3r on May 3 at 9:25 AM - 98 comments

In 1963, a clean-cut Frank Zappa appeared live on the Steve Allen show playing a musical composition on bicycles. The entire 16:28 is worthwhile to watch for the conversation and interaction between the two, but the performance with the show's orchestra starts at 11:56. The show's talent coordinator Jerry Hopkins discusses how the young musician's debut performance came about. [more inside]
posted by ShooBoo on May 3 at 7:57 AM - 15 comments

“It wasn’t the second helping on all-you-can-eat, but the third“ an executive explained. After losing $3.3 million in seven weeks during a 2003 all you can eat crab leg offer, Red Lobster makes the same mistake in 2024. By turning $20 all-you-can-eat shrimp into a permanent menu item, the chain suffers a further $11 million loss. “We have to be more careful,” an executive noted.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln on May 3 at 7:37 AM - 95 comments

The Media Matters study of tradwife influencers and the rabbit hole to far right conspiracies.
posted by Kitteh on May 3 at 7:24 AM - 53 comments