What would you do? With some seats carrying a significant price premium, airplane seat swapping isn’t what it used to be. Good news People still buy books (yes, even those pesky millennials). Bad news Humblebragging doesn’t work, but that’s not going to stop people from doing it. Water under the bridge Art Garfunkel thinks he created a monster. Trumped up The story of the soccer dad who brought down FIFA is fairly stunning. Follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our blog to make sure…
Read MoreFor the office leg-shakers From NPR, in defense of fidgeters: “When I tell a kid, ‘Sit down, don’t move, stop tapping, stop bouncing,’ the kids are spending all their mental energy concentrating on that rule. And that doesn’t allow them to concentrate on what we’re asking them to do, which is their homework.” Or maybe they had too much coffee Although, coffee’s bad reputation is perhaps undeserved. What is he’s smarter that me? Here’s why you’ll never beat Ken Jennings’s Jeopardy! streak. Watchenings I’ve read…
Read MoreNew tricks Casinos are custom engineered to target your brains reward mechanisms. Now tech companies are trying to learn from them. AMCing you Don’t look now, but Mad Men is almost over. The Atlantic looks at the real products and wonders what it’s really showing. A word from our sponsor If you listen to more than one podcast, there’s a good chance you’ve heard a lot of ads from a few companies—MailChimp and SquareSpace among them. FiveThirtyEight and Marketplace listened to the top 100 podcasts…
Read MoreWorry about it later Chances are you’re well familiar with this conundrum: The procrastination loop and how to break it Looking back A compelling argument from Smithsonian for teaching music history backwards. For that matter, maybe we should teach all history that way? Streamavision Streaming TV has overtaken live TV in this consumer preferences study. Speaking of streaming After making a big initial splash, Jay-Z’s music streaming service Tidal seems to be struggling to gain traction. Maybe Jay should take up the tuba If you’re…
Read MoreI know why the clicked link sings Where did the mis-attributed quote on the new Maya Angelou stamp come from? Apparently Wikipedia. Buying the forest for the trees Apple just bought a forest where it will grow trees for its packaging. Agree to disagree No, Yes, Definitely: On The Rise Of ‘No, Totally’ As Linguistic Quirk Running north Via the indispensable Next Draft newsletter: A story from the starting line of the Pyongyang Marathon There’ll be a quiz later The typical American reads more than…
Read MoreHot stuff What, exactly, is comforting about comfort food (aside from the, uh, eating)? On the news The Vanity Fair goes long on what’s wrong at NBC News. Presumably we’ll soon get an NBC segment on what’s wrong with Vanity Fair. Debbie Downer Can’t wait to see the SNL sketch on this: The Atlantic looked at FCC complaints to find the most offensive recent Saturday Night Live segments. Economy of one If, like me, you’ve wondered how a “living wage” is calculated, it seems like…
Read MoreSorry You’re not as smart as Google makes you feel. 1985 In the Back to the Future II version of 2015, Max Headroom was everywhere. But, who was he? BPM & BPS 11 points about Tidal, Apple, Beyonce, and the future of streaming music Also from Quartz More live-action versions of Disney movies are coming. Maybe this SNL skit isn’t so far off? Teaming There was a time when “open office” just meant a terrible Microsoft Word rip-off, not a terrible working situation. Follow us…
Read MoreArt of the menu In this video on The Atlantic, “the young doctor” James Hamblin looks at the psychology of restaurant menus and how we’re manipulated by the language used. I promise it’s funnier than that sounds. Apropos of nothing Here’s 15 subway-style maps of, uh, non-subways. And on that bombshell It may be “just a car show,” but Top Gear brings in millions for the BBC every year, so it’s a pretty big deal that co-host Jeremy Clarkson went and got himself fired. All…
Read MoreSmarter than a watch Fusion has a behind-the-scenes look at how Apple’s new medical research framework, ResearchKit, came to be. Troll the respawn, Jeremy Read this Vanity Fair profile of Ellie Kemper and then go binge her new show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the best show not on TV. Hi Dad Here’s a sweet on-air moment between Lester Holt and his son, Stefan. Maybe you don’t want to know The language you use says a lot about you, and that holds for your social media updates…
Read MoreSplice of life Two minutes into discussing the usage of commas with compound subjects and predicates, copy editor Mary Norris drops the line “it gets more complicated.” Check on the first episode of a new video series from the New Yorker: The Comma Queen. Peek scream The Wilhelm Scream is the world’s most overused movie sound effect. Pricenomics takes a look at where it came from and where it’s going. In the slow lane Why does your brain hate slowpokes? Gone blog Major tech blog…
Read MoreReal pain for my sham friends Do you still distinguish between your Internet friends and your “real” friends? Maybe you shouldn’t. (Via NextDraft.) Sparkling commentary The Grey Lady on the joys of La Croix sparkling water. Speaking of the NYT The Times is soliciting spec work from filmmakers hoping to get into the native advertising business. Flooding the zone Lucky Peach has an honestly fascinating and informative look at Lockhart Steele, the founder of foodie site Eater. Orange you glad I didn’t say banana? NPR…
Read MoreColor me informed Wired looks at the science behind why some people see that dress as blue and black, while others see it as white and gold. Pick a door Then there’s the time everyone corrected the world’s smartest woman about the “Monty Hall Problem.” Or should I say miscorrected? Stand up I switched to a standing desk, so now you should, too. Also from the New Yorker An artificial intelligence program taught itself to play Breakout. Let it ride Here’s a Vox explainer on…
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