Category: Interesting

Coffee Break

Posted on April 7, 2025

Borys Musielak, a Polish researcher, created a fake passport using ChatGPT-4o that worked well enough to pass standard digital identity checks used by major financial platforms.

  • The Dangerous-Son Problem: Netflix’s Adolescence has upped the panic over teen boys’ internet brain rot. [theCUT]
  • A League of Their Own: A cottage industry has sprung up at Harvard, Penn, and other Ivy League colleges, providing nepo babies and children of the ultra-wealthy a luxury alternative to campus living [AirMail]
  • She Was a Gen Z Influencer for Kamala Harris. Now She’s Running for Congress [Vanity Fair]
  • QVC, the original video shopping network, is pivoting to TikTok [Fast Company]
  • Declassified CIA Documents Reveal Search For Adolf Hitler, 10 Years After His Supposed Death [BroBible]

Conan Celebrates Mark Twain While Accepting The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

Posted on March 31, 2025

“Twain was suspicious of populism, jingoism, imperialism, the money-obsessed mania of the Gilded Age, and any expression of mindless American might or self-importance. Above all, Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the word. He loved America but knew it was deeply flawed. Twain wrote, “Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.”

[Conan O’Brien via Kottke]

Why Your Brain Blinds You For 2 Hours Every Day

Posted on March 27, 2025

“Reality is not real. Your world is a prediction. Every sight, sound, and touch you experience is the result of calculations your brain makes before reality even reaches you. It fills in gaps, fabricates details, and even alters time itself so you feel like you’re in control. But if everything you know is an illusion… what does that say about you? What does it mean for your choices? Is there even free will?”

[Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell]

How Do Dogs Communicate?

Posted on March 27, 2025

Just something cute to break up your day.

“We still don’t fully understand exactly how dogs communicate, but there are some key visual signals most dogs share that allow them to talk to each other. As humans, we can do our best to interpret these signals.”

[BBC Earth Kids]

Why Don’t We Get Our Drinking Water from the Ocean?

Posted on March 25, 2025

“Humans have been transforming seawater into potable freshwater for millennia. Today, billions of people can’t access clean drinking water, and 87 different countries are projected to be “water-scarce” by 2050. So, how can we use seawater desalination to combat water scarcity? And can we do it without further harming the environment? Manish Kumar digs into how scientists are creating freshwater.”

[TED-Ed via Laughing Squid]