MetaFilter

Scraps of ancient DNA coaxed out of a deer tooth pendant show it likely hung around the neck of a woman or girl around 20,000 years ago. We don't know what she looked like, but she was related to a population of humans further east of Denisova Cave in southern Siberia, in which the pendant was unearthed. (Nature article.)
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 10:40 PM PST - 14 comments

Question Mark, Ohio is a new immersive internet mystery from Joe Meno and Dan Sinker that attempts to recapture the wonder of the early internet; follow along on Instagram as Violet Bookman investigates the case. More about the project here and here.
posted by carrienation at 2:34 PM PST - 18 comments

I don't know who exactly is going to watch all three hours of this, aside from me. Duran Duran: Only Five To Blame is a pop culture time capsule of a single band's career. A non-narrative documentary told entirely through popular media appearances, this is the chronicle of a band in their infancy, through into meteoric fame, across breakups and reformations, and finally into the literal present, ending on New Years Eve 2023. It's an astonishing chronological collage demonstrating the enduring capacity of a collection of art school lads from Birmingham and the power of massive egos to keep rock alive in the 2020s. [more inside]
posted by hippybear at 2:16 PM PST - 26 comments

Matt Daniels for the Pudding used Open Syllabus to explore what books from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s are being assigned in college-level classes. It’s a fascinating look at a new “turn-of-the-century literary canon” pulling out the top ten titles for each decade, both fiction and nonfiction.

How does a book become a present-day classic, enthusiastically assigned by educators? Among the things I considered were: was it heavily awarded? Did it have an outsized impact on culture? Does it pertain to a topic that the next generation should know?

[more inside]
posted by Pachylad at 8:42 AM PST - 41 comments

After years working in China’s finance industry, Helen Wang was feeling on the edge of burnout. She was fed up with working grueling hours, then being expected to be on call during her precious time off. The 28-year-old wanted to find a new path: one where she could “lie flat” for a while.Then, a friend gave her a left-field suggestion: move to Sweden. On Chinese social media, Scandinavia is often portrayed as a socialist utopia — a place where women’s rights are respected, parents of young children receive lavish support, and the working culture is relatively relaxed. What better place to start over? [more inside]
posted by Bella Donna at 8:32 AM PST - 42 comments

'They just need a safe place to be.' How public transit became the last safety net in America (slVice)
posted by box at 7:33 AM PST - 13 comments

Nüshu: China’s secret female-only language "Throughout history, women in rural Hunan Province used a coded script to express their most intimate thoughts to one another. Today, this once-“dead” language is making a comeback." [See also: Tan Dun's symphony Nu Shu: the Secret Songs of Women]
posted by dhruva at 7:14 AM PST - 6 comments

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak owns a Tesla. “And boy, if you want a study of AI gone wrong and taking a lot of claims and trying to kill you every chance it can, get a Tesla,” Wozniak told CNN earlier this week.
posted by dancestoblue at 3:58 AM PST - 187 comments

In other words, this isn’t the most obvious foursome to occupy a painted, nostalgic eternity together. But now, ironically, thanks to these ubiquitous paintings, Monroe, Dean, Presley, and Bogart seem forever inseparable. So who decided on this grouping, and why? The answer is comically, unnecessarily complex. from The Hopper-Consani Connection [The Believer; ungated]
posted by chavenet at 3:45 AM PST - 15 comments