The Most Unusual, Strange or Clever Furniture Designs Spotted in 2024

In addition to plain ol' beautiful furniture designs, this year we saw a lot of unusual pieces that demonstrated really outside-of-the-box thinking. Here are 21 of our faves.The Brico series of chairs, by furniture designer Martin Kechayas, are made of offcuts from the production … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 14 minutes ago

Tenant flabbergasted after receiving first-ever bill for utility: 'Check with a lawyer'

"Totally not suspicious." Tenant flabbergasted after receiving first-ever bill for utility: 'Check with a lawyer' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading


@thecooldown.com | 18 minutes ago

The Rise of Post-Literate History

Matthew Walther in Compact: The English historian J.A. Froude was famously gloomy about the ultimate prospects for his chosen branch of literature. “To be entirely just in our estimate of other ages is not difficult,” he said. “It is impossible.” Froude’s words came to mind the o … | Continue reading


@3quarksdaily.com | 29 minutes ago

On featured images in blog posts

I have a growing hatred for AI-generated images in blogs. It makes me wonder if the text in the blog posts is AI-generated to some extent. It’s always disappointing seeing these images in blogs run by individuals. I expect this from corporate blogs but not indie blogs. I’ll go on … | Continue reading


@manuelmoreale.com | 38 minutes ago

This “Awesome” KitchenAid Stand Mixer Is Nearly 40% Off Now

This is one of the best deals we've seen all season. READ MORE... | Continue reading


@thekitchn.com | 38 minutes ago

Data manipulation in the world of long-distance swimming!

The story is here. It’s kind of like the Excel error in that famous economics paper, except that (a) it seems to have been on purpose, not an accident (according to the alleged perp, “The hacker has hacked into my … Continue reading → | Continue reading


@statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu | 44 minutes ago

The Largest Whole-genome Sequencing Study in Cancer

Danielle Gerhard in The Scientist: There is no single genetic blueprint for cancer. Instead, each individual cancer draws on a collection of acquired mutations that endow the cells with a selective advantage and superior immune evasion and proliferation tactics. Thanks to next-ge … | Continue reading


@3quarksdaily.com | 44 minutes ago

Apple’s 2024 report card: iPhone 📱

This is the first in a series of posts reviewing Apple’s 2024 across their major product lines. I did this last year and you can read last year’s iPhone report card here. iPhone 16 Pro I really, really liked the 15 Pro lineup, and I would | Continue reading


@birchtree.me | 47 minutes ago

The Weirdest Medical Cases of 2024

Brainworm headaches, a man with more penises than arms, and butt eels are just a few of this year’s macabre medical highlights. | Continue reading


@gizmodo.com | 48 minutes ago

Doctor Who Reveals Its Next Companion

Plus, get a look at Cobra Kai's final end. | Continue reading


@gizmodo.com | 48 minutes ago

The Top 8 Computing Stories of 2024

This year, IEEE Spectrum readers had a keen interest in all things software: What’s going on in the tumultuous world of open-source, why the sheer size of code is causing security vulnerabilities, and how we need to take seriously the energy costs of inefficient code. The ever-gr … | Continue reading


@spectrum.ieee.org | 48 minutes ago

Disappointed, Jolly, and Longing for More

My own child as well as all the nieces and nephews are young adults, which means that our Christmas Days have been evolving over the past few years into a less child-centric experience. We're here in New York to spend the holiday with our daughter. Yesterday's plan was a lazy, la … | Continue reading


@teachertomsblog.blogspot.com | 48 minutes ago

Tracing the Craftsmanship: The Intricate Process Behind the Making of Japanese Knives

Many people believe that Japanese knives are the best in the world. We visited the Takefu Knife Village to see how some of the most respected knife-making masters in Japan practice their craft. | Continue reading


@seriouseats.com | 48 minutes ago

🔗 5 Ways to Extract Value from Overmocked Tests

About programming, AI and devops | Continue reading


@yellowduck.be | 48 minutes ago

Even Apple wasn’t able to make VR headsets mainstream in 2024

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Glasses may be more promising as the head-worn computers of the future — and there’s a chance Apple might be looking in that direction. Apple’s Vision Pro headset is an incredible piece of technology, but even Apple’s design and mark … | Continue reading


@theverge.com | 48 minutes ago

Expect more pandemics to sweep the globe in the coming decades

When human activities disrupt and unbalance ecosystems, such as by way of climate change and biodiversity loss, things go wrong. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 48 minutes ago

Garmin Forerunner 165 review

Top-quality fitness tracker at a reasonable price. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 48 minutes ago

How to build something that lasts

Modern American culture is obsessed with the new — instant gratification, fleeting trends, etc. — while often neglecting the systems that can endure. This fixation on the new has fostered a society where short-termism thrives and chaos reigns. But my own brush with mortality forc … | Continue reading


@bigthink.com | 48 minutes ago

GM GOTY Awards 2024: Best Story

The narrative that captures our hearts and minds delivered in video game form. Another classic GM GOTY Award category, it’s the one where we spoil a game’s story and weigh down which one leaves the most impact on us post-game. Based on history, a GM Game Of The Year has a strong … | Continue reading


@gamermatters.com | 48 minutes ago

Brett's Favorites 2024: macOS

Here we go again with my yearly roundup of my favorite stuff. I’m going to do this year in a few parts. This one will be all Mac apps, and it will the longest because Mac apps are my favorite. Best new and updated macOS apps In no particular order, here are some of my favorite ne … | Continue reading


@brett.trpstra.net | 48 minutes ago

Zandverhalen Sandsculpture Museum in Elburg, Netherlands

Just outside the moat of the fortified town of Elburg lies the mystifying Zandverhalen, which boasts one of the largest sand sculpture exhibits in the world. Housed in a sprawling warehouse, the exhibit features sculptures crafted from over 4,000 cubic meters of sand. These intri … | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 48 minutes ago

Bluesky adds Trending topics to its arsenal

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge As a special holiday treat, on December 25th, the social media app Bluesky announced that it has added a new feature to its mobile app: a list of Trending topics that lets you know what subjects are popular among its users. Screenshot: Bluesky Blu … | Continue reading


@theverge.com | 1 hour ago

The “So ’70s” Vintage Kitchen Organizer I’m Using All Over My Home

Plus, where you can get your own! READ MORE... | Continue reading


@thekitchn.com | 1 hour ago

Loft in Barcelona / Meta Studio

Loft in Barcelona by Meta Studio aimed to enrich a ground-floor apartment with as much natural light and ventilation as possible. The original dwelling featured a long, open layout, relying solely on two courtyards at opposite ends for daylight. Continue reading | Continue reading


@homeworlddesign.com | 1 hour ago

December 26, 2024

The holiday silence continues. A sharp-shinned hawk darts through the trees, barely bigger than a dove but with wings that don’t whistle. The sun comes out from behind a tree. | Continue reading


@morningporch.com | 1 hour ago

Automatic vocal harmonies in the browser

Paul Batchelor's Trio presents a simple fretboard to the viewer: click/tap and it will sing. Move the note and the voice follows; hold the note and vocal harmonies will layer themselves upon the note. There's no control over the chord, I don't think, but it sounds beautiful! — Re … | Continue reading


@boingboing.net | 1 hour ago

Concerning Findings: Microplastics in the Air Could Be Causing Cancer

A review of 3,000 studies indicates that these microscopic plastic particles in the air could be contributing to male and female infertility. Tires and degrading garbage release tiny plastic particles into the air, contributing to air pollution that researchers at UC San Francisc … | Continue reading


@scitechdaily.com | 1 hour ago

New study uncovers major link between common herbicides and prostate cancer: 'A tremendous health concern'

The findings show that more extensive research on how pesticides impact the development and severity of various cancers is needed. New study uncovers major link between common herbicides and prostate cancer: 'A tremendous health concern' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading


@thecooldown.com | 1 hour ago

Need Temp Support or Looking for Your Next Gig?  

Skift Meetings evaluated 3 leaders in meeting industry recruitment – and found that each has its own unique niche. -Barbara Scofidio | Continue reading


@meetings.skift.com | 1 hour ago

Finding My Euphoria – Time

There is no place left to fall nor turn or run to. This is it. This is where we begin. This is where we find ourselves at the starting gate and this is where we begin.This is the starting point that will lead us to a new life, a new destination, a new hope, and […] | Continue reading


@thewrittenaddiction.com | 1 hour ago

Roasted Christmas Spam from Muhu.ai

I wrote what I thought would be the final blog post of 2024 last week, and was looking forward to starting 2025 strong with a blog I’d been drafting since July 2023. But then, a little after Midnight on Christmas, I received the following unsolicited email from “the muhu team”: N … | Continue reading


@soatok.blog | 1 hour ago

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO charged with sex trafficking "has dementia," his lawyers claim

Mike Jeffries, longtime CEO of mall retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, was charged with sex trafficking over parties where dozens of young men were allegedly paid for sex with money, drugs and modeling gigs. But now he has dementia and late-onset Alzheimers disease, his lawyers claim. … | Continue reading


@boingboing.net | 1 hour ago

What Has Transpired In the Heavens!

Community member doctornemo is back at it again with a fantastic and fascinating post that covers humanity's exploration of space. Click the link and travel inside for wealth of information to pour over! | Continue reading


@bestof.metafilter.com | 1 hour ago

The Charts that Help Make Sense of 2024

Visualizing what people are really doing with gen AI, the long tail of layoffs, beer and boycotts, and more. | Continue reading


@hbr.org | 1 hour ago

15 of the Biggest Fake Images That Went Viral in 2024

From smoking at McDonald's to AI Tom Cruise, 2024 was a busy year for viral hoaxes. | Continue reading


@gizmodo.com | 1 hour ago

Why Do Some People Thrive on So Little Sleep?

Short sleepers cruise by on four to six hours a night and don’t seem to suffer ill effects | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 hour ago

Mercedes-Benz unveils innovative new battery technology with potential to change the auto industry: 'Unlocks new possibilities'

"Car of the future." Mercedes-Benz unveils innovative new battery technology with potential to change the auto industry: 'Unlocks new possibilities' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading


@thecooldown.com | 1 hour ago

The most important and shocking climate stories of 2024

Soaring carbon emissions, an unexpected new source of global warming, and collapsing ocean currents shocked scientists in 2024. Here are our picks for this year's top climate change stories. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 hour ago

Thursday's opening shot

Photo by Steven We're now on the clock for MulchFest, which culminates with Chipping Weekend on Jan. 11-12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in parks designated parks around the city... including Tompkins Square Park, where you can drop off your tree over the next few weeks. | Continue reading


@evgrieve.com | 1 hour ago

GM GOTY Awards 2024: Best Aesthetic

The best game to use a style, a combination of artstyle and sound design, that makes it stand out from the beige of normality It’s funny how the award category was named as a reference to memes surrounding the vaporwave music movement, and here we are in 2024, having a graphics t … | Continue reading


@gamermatters.com | 1 hour ago

Bose SoundLink Home review: a speaker that’s all about looks

This Bluetooth speaker’s design is a breath of fresh air, but Bose skimped on some features that are usually standard at this price. Read the full story at The Verge. | Continue reading


@theverge.com | 1 hour ago

Can a New DNA Database Help Save This Incredible Sea Turtle?

The shells of the hawksbill sea turtle have been used for luxury items for centuries, but with the species now endangered, new technology is pinpointing where protections are needed most | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 hour ago

Why Probability Probably Doesn’t Exist (But It's Useful to Act Like It Does)

All of statistics and much of science depends on probability—an astonishing achievement, considering no one’s really sure what it is | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 hour ago

Tom the Dancing Bug: God-Man, in "Paradoxer Solved!"

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah! On this very day might you SIGN UP FOR THE INNER HIVE and you'll get each week's Tom the Dancing Bug comic at least a day before publication? Members also get extra comics, commentary, juicy gossip, puzzles, recipes, and the right to vote on th … | Continue reading


@boingboing.net | 1 hour ago

I keep turning my Google Sheets into phone-friendly webapps, and I can’t stop

How I tackled takeout, spices, and meal ideas with spreadsheets and Glide. | Continue reading


@arstechnica.com | 2 hours ago

Book Review: A Cyborg Manifesto - Donna Haraway ★☆☆☆☆

Either I'm particularly thick, or this is the most over-written and under-explained academic claptrap I've read in some time. Some of the language is pure poetry: the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion It doesn't actually mean anything. You … | Continue reading


@shkspr.mobi | 2 hours ago

'Squid Game' Season 2 Review: A Thrilling Story Cut Short

Netflix's surprise hit comes back with a story that struggles to find its feet. | Continue reading


@inverse.com | 2 hours ago

Adorations: paintings for Boxing Day

By William Blake, Jules Bastien-Lepage, Edward Burne-Jones and others, Edward Stott, Albin Egger-Lienz, Henry Ossawa Tanner, and Kazimierz Sichulski. | Continue reading


@eclecticlight.co | 2 hours ago