September 22, 2021

Ultrasonic Teabag Warhead

Is Steeping Your Balls the Future of Male Birth Control? A new male contraception prototype called COSO Contraception could provide a form of long-acting reversible birth control for men. German design graduate Rebecca Weiss won a James Dyson Award for conceiving the device, which uses ultrasound waves to temporarily halt sperm regeneration. [more inside]
posted by homunculus at 10:02 PM PST - 26 comments

The Search Engine of 1896

A Very Old Search Engine "The end of the 19th century was awash with the written word..." [more inside]
posted by kathrynm at 5:22 PM PST - 12 comments

Color Is Weird

Brown Does Not Exist (SLYT)
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 4:50 PM PST - 33 comments

I had a chance to travel anywhere. Why did I pick Spokane? (SLNYT)

Link to NYT article Having been to Spokane on more than one occasion, I couldn't resist clicking this link. Instead of a snarky takedown, I found a poignant reflection on Covid, parenthood, and what we are leaving our children. There's also a lot about baseball :). (Mirror link) [more inside]
posted by elmay at 10:52 AM PST - 24 comments

No One HERE Overthinks Beans

Rancho Gordo, the California-based specialty heirloom bean company, is celebrating its 20th year in business this year. The resulting press has paid homage not only to founder Steve Sando and the unlikely founding of the company, but also to Rancho Gordo's Bean Club, a subscription service treating members to a variety box of beans four times a year. More so than the beans, though, press about the Bean Club has featured another perk enjoyed by members - access to the club's private Facebook group, described by some as "the happiest place on the Internet." [more inside]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:47 AM PST - 37 comments

better run nazi scum

The Moomins are the ideal image for @ett_klibbkonto’s protest stickers because they highlight the fact that even the most gentle of people should not stand for fascism. from How the Moomins became an anti-fascist symbol [more inside]
posted by chavenet at 10:44 AM PST - 11 comments

The Great Calamity of the Age

An oral history of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, compiled from eyewitness accounts by Robert Loerzel.
posted by Iridic at 8:10 AM PST - 10 comments

"they were persuaded by the immediacy of suffering"

"Byzantine Empathy" is a novelette by Ken Liu about virtual reality, moral reasoning, atrocities, institutional philanthropy, geopolitics, and two very determined women at odds with each other. Content note: violence, including harm to children.
posted by brainwane at 7:46 AM PST - 6 comments

Salute the rank

New Space Force uniforms draw comparisons to 'Star Trek,' 'Battlestar Galactica'The Hill, Michael Schnell, 09/21/2021. The Space Force enlisted rank insignia are here, and they look a lot like ‘Star Trek’: 'The Delta, of course, is pure Star Trek and everybody knows it.', Task & Purpose, Jeff Schogol, Sep 21, 2021.
posted by cenoxo at 7:24 AM PST - 87 comments

You don't want this award.

(Content Warning) The Unbelievable Grimness of the Herman Cain Award
posted by backseatpilot at 5:50 AM PST - 510 comments

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