The world while social distancing
Thank you, Terrible Maps (see Naked Data passim).
Finally
Is Myst still shit?
Maybe not the most pressing question of the year so far, but one answered in incredible detail by the inimitable John Walker of Rock, Paper, Shotgun, whose righteous anger is once more awakened during a playthrough of the 1990s "videogame" "Myst". A good read even if you actually like Myst, and t...
A smelly supercharger
Described by New Scientist (paywall) as the "world's stinkiest fruit" - yet also considered a delicacy in some regions - the durian could be powering your electronic devices soon, apparently. Turns out the rather fruity fruit can act as a supercapacitor, storing energy as static electricity. Beat...
Not the strong silent type?
Is Geralt as taciturn as you think? Apparently not. Ol' closed lips has considerably more lines than any other character in Netflix' The Witcher, even if his most common one is "Hmm". How do we know? Because Markus Rene Pae has crunched the script numbers here. Best to wait for season two and con...
Riffing on the riffle
The visualisations have a bit of the Windows Solitaire victory screen about them, nevertheless, this look at what happens when you shuffle a deck of cards using different techniques is awesome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFF_ZUBZzHY
Prehistoric uber-crocs bestrode SA
Zimbabwe's current president is famously nicknamed for a toothy amphibian because of his political agility and cunning, but South Africa used to be ruled by literal crocodiles which stood on two feet and fought dinosaurs. Roar! According to a study published by a Wits team: ‘Rauisuchians’ are non...
The last Thomas Cook flight
The final flights by collapsing travel agency Thomas Cook are elegantly visualised by Bloomberg, including the very last one from Orlando to Manchester. But the visualisation doesn't tell the story of what happened aboard: A Scottish woman (named as Ashleigh MacLennan on Twitter) did a whip-round...
Moaning about moaners
It's good to know that there's one thing people still trust less than the news: each other. According to the editor of the Barnsley Chronicle, reader comments now garner more complaints on his site than actual articles do. Andrew Harrod, who edits the Barnsley Chronicle, says the highest percenta...
CfA scoops WAN-IFRA prize
Congratulations to Code for Africa, which has been awarded a gong by WAN-IFRA at the African Digital Media Awards for its work on land ownership across the continent. Land reform is a hugely important topic, but the lack of actual data about land ownership is often missed in the debates on the su...
Ig Nobel: Celebrating the best of the worst of science
The annual Ig Nobel Awards has once again celebrated a number of "worthy" discoveries in science, including why left nuts run hotter; the invention of a dish washer for soiled babies; and why wombats make cubed poops. Winners receive a staggering ten-trillion dollar prize (Zim dollars), and the s...
Pick a window cause your leaving
You can tell a lot about a Jo'burger by what they call their buddies -- "Cuzzies" from the East, "Chommies" from the South, "Bros" (Central), "Brus" (Foreigner from Slaapstad or Dirtbin), or "Boets" (the North). And finally, the boets are getting some much-needed recognition of their unique cultu...