Friday, October 7, 2016

When The Ragweed Is Too Dank

​Welcome to What We Learned This Week, a digest of the most curiously important facts from the past few days. This week: Why McMansions are bad, what would happen if no one voted and how capitalism creates pointless jobs.
Digg Editions
Morning · Fri, Oct 07
CASTLES MADE OF SAND
WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK
McMansions Are Spooky As Heck And Other Facts
digg.com
​Welcome to What We Learned This Week, a digest of the most curiously important facts from the past few days. This week: Why McMansions are bad, what would happen if no one voted and how capitalism creates pointless jobs.
TECH BROS HAVE HEAVY WALLETS
San Francisco's Biggest Residential Tower Is Sinking — Who's To Blame?
theguardian.com
The city's tallest residential building is sinking, and has been compared to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Now the blame game is coming swift and furious.
IN A HARD PLACE UNDER A ROCK
Inside Budapest's Former Top-Secret Cave Hospital
mentalfloss.com
As the icy grasp of the Cold War began to tighten, new wards were built, new equipment was installed, and the hospital was designated top-secret by the Soviets, referred to only by its official codename LOSK 0101/1.
FROM THE DIGG STORE
It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's A... Drone
store.digg.com
A pretty remarkable piece of engineering, the Bionic Bird undergoes such strict quality controls that each bird is built like a prototype and controlled straight from your smartphone.
WE NEED A TISSUE
HOW TO BE AN ADULT
A Guide To Making Fall Allergies Suck Less
digg.com
It might be a cold, but fall allergies can easily sneak up on people who assume pollen season stops at Labor Day. A little grown-up knowledge and preparedness can help cut down on your Kleenex consumption this year.
A LIVER DEATH ISSUE
The Silent Epidemic No One's Talking About
scientificamerican.com
As nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, stealthily becomes a leading cause of transplants, drug companies race to develop treatments.
CREATURE FEATURES
WHAT DOES 4:20 SMELL LIKE
Apparently Dogs Can Tell Time With Their Noses
nymag.com
As each day wears a new smell, its hours mark changes in odors that your dog can notice. Dogs smell time.
WE'RE NOT SO SPECIAL
Chimps May Be Capable Of Comprehending The Minds Of Others
scientificamerican.com
The ability to understand that others have mental states and perspectives different than our own has long been considered unique to humans.
BITING THE BULLET
Turning Invasive Species Into Sushi
popularmechanics.com
An environmentally conscious chef eschews conventional sushi in favor of the undiscovered pleasures of strange, invasive species. A man who lost his eyesight refuses to pity himself and instead becomes, of all things, a travel writer. Together, they dig their hands into the dark ocean mud in search of enlightenment.
VIDEO OF THE DAY
OH HELL YEAH
So This Guy Definitely Invented A Working Jetpack
digg.com
Remember that video that emerged last year that appeared to show a dude flying a jetpack around the Statue of Liberty? Yeah, it was legit. This thing is legit.
IN THE NEWS
Hurricane Matthew Lashes Florida Amid Dire Warnings, 300,000 Lose Power
Colombia's President, Juan Manuel Santos, Is Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Hurricane Matthew Kills Hundreds In Haiti
Russia Issues Stern Warning To US Against Striking Syrian Army
Fall allergies got you down? Don't give up! It's Friday. You can do it, friend.