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VIDEO: Episode One of “Our Coronavirus Diary.”There is an incredible series of videos making the rounds today, and they are identified as being produced by a man in Wuhan, China, self-quarantined in his apartment with his wife--who is infected with the deadly Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV.Hard to know how to verify the content. Here's what's listed alongside the video on YouTube's "Ergeng Video" account:Li Ting was an emergency room nurse in Wuhan kept fighting to CoA in the frontline. Unfortunately, she was infected with CoA. Her husband, Hai Tang, is one of the cameramen in Wuhan division of Ergeng. He uses his camera to record the days he and his wife fight with CoA. He also would like to use the videos recorded to encourage all patients.Ergeng will keep publishing more videos about the nurse. Please subscribe to watch our latest video.Gosh I just discovered they have a small child whom they sent away because of this virus.On the phone the child keeps saying I miss you.Please if there’s any God operating out there, let this couple survive.— Tumbin Sikari 🌕 (@sugabelly) February 7, 2020 Read the rest

My red Swingline stapler has been sparking joy since 2008, but if you don't care about the color, this black version is just on Amazon. At that price, you won't be tempted to set your building on fire should someone take it from you. Read the rest

If you dined at Gibson's Gourmet Burgers and Ribs every Saturday night, it would take four years (minus one weekend) to try every milkshake flavor on the menu. So it's for obvious reasons that this burger and milkshake joint in Cape Town, South Africa, that offers 207 different milkshakes, earned the Guinness World Record for "Most Varieties of Milkshakes Commercially Available."Flavors include the usuals, like vanilla and chocolate, as well as more creative concoctions, like jelly and custard, coffee and donut, brandy tart, rocky road, kit kat, rosewater and marshmallow, nutella, and orange blossom and pansies, just to name a few.And if you're a restaurant owner with a competitive streak, don't even think about trying to beat this record. Gibson's co-owner Ian Halfon says (in the video below) that if someone attempts to put 207 milkshake flavors on their menu, he'll just add another one to his. Red Velvet: View this post on Instagram Red Velvet Milkshake ❤️ prometo que em breve as fotos de doce acabam (infelizmente) . #milkshake #delicious #superfitA post shared by Maria ✨ (@transicaoecoragem) on Nov 14, 2019 at 10:50am PST Bubblegum: View this post on Instagram I finally had my Bubblegum Milkshake @ismaaeelwagiet 😂 #blue #soblue #bubblegum #bubblegummilkshake #milkshake #ivewantedthisforsolong #sodamngood #yummy #gibsonsburgers #gibsonsburgerscapetown #vandawaterfront #capetownA post shared by Ann (@annwats78) on Nov 30, 2019 at 6:51am PST Trifle: View this post on Instagram Lunch Trifle ShakeA post shared by Martin Samuels (@martinsamuels) on Nov 4, 2018 at 2:41am PST Source: Reuters Read the rest

The vinyl record industry could be in for real trouble after a devastating fire on February 6th completely destroyed the vinyl manufacturing facility, Apollo Masters, in Banning, CA. Ben Blackwell, co-founder of Third Man Records, tells Pitchfork via email:“From my understanding, this fire will present a problem for the vinyl industry worldwide. There are only TWO companies that make lacquers in the world, and the other, MDC in Japan, already had trouble keeping up with demand BEFORE this development.” (The emphasis is Blackwell’s.)Blackwell also wrote that there have been “whispers” of another company “entertaining the idea” of entering the lacquer marketplace, but that Apollo was also the “primary or possibly only supplier of the styli” that are used in the vinyl pressing process. “I imagine this will affect EVERYONE, not just Third Man Pressing and Third Man Mastering, but to what extent remains to be seen.”Read the rest on Pitchfork.Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash Read the rest

Los Angeles streetwear brand Pleasures celebrated the 40th anniversary of Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" album with a licensed line of apparel including this puffer jacket. The clothing, including hats and t-shirts, feature a plot of radio frequencies of the first pulsar discovered by scientists, a visualization that Peter Saville brilliantly borrowed for the album's cover art. (More on that in this Scientific American article.)The reversible puffer jacket is $240 from Crusoe & Sons.(via Uncrate) Read the rest

Sales of Swiss watches are declining, and sales of Apple watches are rising steeply. This must be a surprise to the makers of Swiss luxury watches, who lifted their imperious snouts in disdain at the cough-drop shaped Apple Watch when it first came out. From Enrique Dans's piece in Forbes, titled, How Apple Killed The Swiss Watch Industry:In 2015, the year the Apple Watch was launched, LVMH watch division president and Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver said the Swiss industry was not afraid of Apple’s new product, because it could not be repaired in a thousand years or eighty years, nor inherited by children, nor would it ever become a status symbol. As is always the case when disruption occurs in an industry, traditional competitors are not able to see the threat, and continue to try to analyze it according to the variables that were important yesterday.Dans writes, "As soon as you start using the Apple Watch, you realize one thing is clear: the rest of your watch collection will live on in a drawer from now on."Photo by Chris Abney on Unsplash Read the rest

A while back I posted about the kind of fluffy pancakes you can get in Japan and how one guy said he makes them in a rice cooker. I still haven't tried it yet, but here's a simple recipe that I'd like to try from Kitchn:Here’s how to make it at home: All you do is grease the insides of your rice cooker, pour your pancake batter in, set it to “cook/warm,” close the top, and for a 10-cup rice cooker, set the timer for 45 minutes or so, keeping an eye on it. Don’t worry if the giant pancake appears “wet” when you open the top. It’s just condensation from the steam. But do yourself a favor and give it a touch: it should feel firm and bouncy.Image: Flipper's Pancake in Tokyo by Mark Frauenfelder, CC BY-SA 4.0 Read the rest

Rather than pay a large repair bill, a gentleman the Marin Independent Journal identified as "the co-founder of a San Francisco technology security firm" apparently reported the car stolen and received a nice insurance payout....and then the police found the car.Marin IJ:“Dhoopar told the CHP and his insurance company that the car was stolen off his street,” Petersen said, “when in fact it had been reported stolen shortly after Dhoopar learned of a large repair bill that he would be receiving from the mechanic.”The insurer paid Dhoopar about $8,200, the full value of the car.Investigators arranged a meeting with Dhoopar on Tuesday in Corte Madera, presented him with the evidence and made the arrest.Dhoopar, the cofounder of a San Francisco technology security firm, could not be reached for comment. Read the rest

Still seething from the impeachment trial (and if it wasn't that, it would be something else), Trump had a hard time containing himself the following morning at the National Prayer Breakfast. His morning speech was full of his usual narcissistic vitriol. What makes it even more amusing is the comparison between him and Barack Obama in Jimmy Kimmel's montage above. Read the rest

Robert Heaton actually read the license agreement Wacom wants users of its tablets sign up for, having begun to wonder at what lay within. Alarmed by the expansive, vague clauses therein, he set about intercepting the data going between the gadget's drivers and Wacom's servers. They track every application you open. [via fnordius]I suspect that Wacom doesn’t really think that it’s acceptable to record the name of every application I open on my personal laptop. I suspect that this is why their privacy policy doesn’t really admit that this is what that they do. I imagine that if pressed they would argue that the name of every application I open on my personal laptop falls into one of their broad buckets like “aggregate data” or “technical session information”, although it’s not immediately obvious to me which bucket.It’s well-known that no one reads privacy policies and that they’re often a fig leaf of consent at best. But since Wacom’s privacy policy makes no mention of their intention to record the name of every application I open on my personal laptop, I’d argue that it doesn’t even give them the technical-fig-leaf-right to do so. In fact, I’d argue that even if someone had read and understood Wacom’s privacy policy, and had knowingly consented to a reasonable interpretation of the words inside it, that person would still not have agreed to allow Wacom to log and track the name of every application that they opened on their personal laptop.The wildest thing is Wacom seems to have noticed he was doing tests on their servers that would expose the data collection, and turned it off for a while. Read the rest

Delightful, but barely adequate, the Vanagon is one of the few enduring cars from a decade of shit. This 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia is just waiting for you to make it your own.Bring-a-trailer:This 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon is a Westfalia camper equipped with a pop-top and canvas tent as well as a sleeping loft, convertible bed, stove, refrigerator, sink, and utility hookups. Power comes from a water-cooled 2.1-liter flat-four paired with a four-speed manual transaxle, and the van is finished in metallic blue over a gray cloth interior. New tires were fitted and an oil change, tune-up, and front brake work were performed in the last 500 miles. This Westy Vanagon shows 38k miles and is offered by the selling dealer on consignment at no reserve with curtains, a ladder, manufacturer’s literature, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Florida title. Read the rest

The Guinness Book of Records recognizes Li Longlong of China as the person who has climbed the most consecutive stairs with his head. He's held the record since 2012, but extended it in 2015.This video is of his latest attempt was on the set of CCTV Guinness World Records Special in 2015, where he achieved a new record by climbing 36 stairs.Guinness posted an article about him this week, explaining the rules thus: "the participant must not pause for more than five seconds between steps, and that no part of the body other than the head may touch them." Read the rest

The literature promises "sick drifts and flips on the Island of Sodor" and that's exactly what you get. Read the rest

An autonomous delivery van will be tested on the streets of Houston, Texas. It's the first driverless vehicle to win an exemption from requirements that a human operator be present.US transport secretary Elaine Chao said given that the vehicle's top speed is capped at 25mph, these requirements "no longer make sense". The Department of Transportation (DoT) will also be enforcing greater oversight of the testing. It will require Nuro to report information about the operation of the R2 and reach out to the communities where the vehicle will be tested. In a blog post, Nuro's co-founder Dave Ferguson said the decision was a "milestone for the industry". Read the rest

Any frequent traveler will tell you that one of the most important things you can do in order to ensure that you’re comfortable on the go is to have a great piece of luggage. But luggage has come a long way since its humble inception, and it’s now possible to grab a piece of gear that can make your travel life much easier in more ways than one.The Runner: Smart Luggage Set offers unparalleled convenience and functionality for travelers, and it’s available for 19% off its usual price right now.Having raised over $300K on Kickstarter, this suitcase package is a must-have item for any serious traveler.It comes fully-loaded with features like a Smart Lock (which uses Face ID, Touch ID, and Morse Code), built-in weight sensors to ensure that you don’t get charged extra fees at the airport, removable wheels that are easy to replace, a removable battery pack that can be used to charge your devices, and a removable protective sleeve for your laptop.You also get a supremely cool and unique design that’s virtually impossible to damage, along with full access to all of your go-to electronics.Up your travel game with The Runner: Smart Luggage Set while it’s available for 19% off its usual price at $367.99. Read the rest

This is so heartbreaking. Ballaké Sissoko, the highly-acclaimed African musician from Mali, claims that US Customs officials destroyed his custom-made, irreplaceable kora instrument. He arrived back in Paris after a US tour to find his beloved instrument in pieces, with one of those all-too-familiar TSA notices in the case. Here is a 2011 performance of Ballaké (with Vincent Segal) on All Songs Considered. Image: Post on Ballaké Sissoko's Facebook page. Read the rest

The dreaded tax season is nearly upon us, but you don’t have to suffer this year as you dig up old receipts and fill out an endless number of forms.In fact, you can turn this tax season into an opportunity to maximize your returns while boosting your financial literacy when you pick up the Be a Tax Expert 9-Course Certification Bundle for just $39.With 9 best-selling courses led by the beloved CPA instructor Robert Steele, this training will take the headaches out of doing your taxes while helping you become more financially literate.Through detailed and easy-to-follow lessons, this bundle will walk you through how to file and manage vital tax documents that can save your family or business countless dollars, how to enter tax data for an S corporation while claiming every possible deduction, how to manage corporate income tax, and more.There’s also essential information for small business owners and freelancers who want to maximize deductions without running into any problems down the line, and you’ll even learn how to take advantage of educational tax credits for you and your family.Make the most out of tax season this year with the Be a Tax Expert 9-Course Certification Bundle while it’s available for over 95% off MSRP at just $39. Read the rest

A fun video from 2011 Maker Faire. After his talk, Adam Savage (back when Mythbusters was still on the air) performs the Doctor Who theme song with ArcAttack.We do love Adam Savage around here at Boing Boing. Subscribe to ADAM SAVAGE'S TESTED, his great new YouTube channel.[via IMGUR, congrats, Kristen Lomasney!]Adam Savage does ArcAttack Read the rest

On this Thoughty2 video, Arran tells the fascinating tale of Bermeja, an allegedly 80 square kilometers island indicated on many maps, starting in the 16th and 17th centuries. The problem is, it doesn't appear to actually exist. Many theories abound about what could have happened to it or why it would be on so many old maps if it never existed. I love the idea that it was put there by a mapmaker as a kind of watermark to prove that other cartographers had simply copied his work. Mexico has gone to great lengths to try and prove the existence of the island because it would give them oil drilling rights for 200 miles around it. Image: YouTube Read the rest

I get overly frustrated when I'm browsing Netflix and it autoplays previews. Finally, they've enabled a way to turn that off (and also the autoplay of the next episode of a series). You can only flip the switch by logging into your account on a Web browser though. Here's how:To turn autoplay on or off:1. Sign In to Netflix from a web browser.2. Select Manage Profiles from the menu.3. Select the profile you’d like to update.Check or uncheck the option to Autoplay previews while browsing on all devices.(Netflix) Read the rest

Nerdforge is a young Norwegian couple who documents all of their creative projects on YouTube. Martina is a talented crafter who specializes in fantasy dioramas and book binding.In this episode, she binds a leather spell book and embellishes the cover with The Witcher signs (sigils) and the Wolf School medallion with glowing red eyes.Image: YouTube Read the rest

Snek, no! No bite microphone. You giving her a big frighten, fren.An Australian reporter said Thursday she was horrified when a snake draped around her shoulders began repeatedly striking at her microphone.Television news presenter Sarah Cawte had the snake wrapped around her while doing a snake safety report. (Feb. 6, Associated Press) Read the rest

The number of deaths from the Wuhan coronavirus now stands at 630, China state media reports today.China's Hubei province reports 2,447 new cases of the deadly virus, and 69 new deaths as of Thursday.Multiple news agencies are now confirming.#BREAKING China virus death toll rises to at least 630, government says pic.twitter.com/27fW31NC9p— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 6, 2020Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV continues to spread throughout the world.#Update: #Hubei reported 2,447 new cases of novel #coronavirus on Feb 6, with 69 new deaths; total infection number of the province rose to 22,112, with 618 dead and 817 recovered. https://t.co/SZ98qVlYQd pic.twitter.com/0itVhu6nTA— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 6, 2020 Read the rest

“Not only is the terror threat diverse, it’s unrelenting."--FBI director Chris Wray.The FBI has elevated the risk from neo-Nazis in America to the same level with which it regards ISIS.Violent racist extremism is now a “national threat priority,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Excerpt from Vice News:[Wray] outlined several concrete steps the agency had taken to combat violent far-right extremists, explaining that the “national threat priority” designation puts those groups or individuals on the same footing as ISIS” in terms of the resources the FBI will devote to it.“We’re particularly focused on domestic terrorism, especially racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists,” said Wray. “Not only is the terror threat diverse, it’s unrelenting.”Wray’s announcement comes just two weeks after FBI agents arrested eight members of the violent neo-Nazi group The Base, three of whom were allegedly discussing firing into the crowd during the large pro-gun rally in Virginia last month. In recent months, the FBI also foiled two synagogue bombings, Wray said. Read more:The FBI Just Put White Nationalists and Neo-Nazis on the Same Threat Level as ISIS, reporting by Tess Owen[via Derek Mead] Read the rest

'I said what in the world': Two bear cubs left on man's doorstep in Camden, NCOn Tuesday night, North Carolina resident Cornelius Williams got home from the grocery store and heard a squeaky sound coming from the direction of a cardboard box someone left in his walkway, reports WTKR-TV.This was weird. It was night. Williams called authorities for help. When a deputy approached the box and looked inside, surprise: two newborn bear cubs were inside the box.You have GOT to hear Cornelius Williams' impersonation of the bear cubs' cries. It's pretty hilarious.The bears were taken to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro to be examined and cared for, news outlets reported.He peered a bit closer, as it was dark outside.""I see the box sitting right on my walkway - right here close to my car - and I looked inside and thought I saw Tasmanian devils," said Williams. “The noise was the reason I was so concerned - it was like a squeaky noise," Williams described.When the deputy arrived at his home, a quick investigation revealed the animal inside the cardboard box was not one, but two newborn baby bear cubs. "I said, 'What in the world?" No way, no how... if the mama bear would have seen me in the yard, I would have been a Happy Meal," said Williams. An incredibly bizarre find, something the sheriff has never seen."A little strange; we just don't run up on this all the time," said Jones. Read the rest

I'm loving these 'my favorite tools' videos from the all-new ADAM SAVAGE's TESTED.About this new clip says Adam:“In today's episode of favorite tools: the handheld sheet metal brake! It's pretty esoteric, but SUPER useful.”More about the show:Host of Discovery Channel's long-running series MythBusters, Adam Savage has spent his life making things. From a cardboard suit of Excalibur armor when he was 13 to a REAL suit of Excalibur armor (with Terry English) when he was 50, Adam has built just about everything you can think of, including (but not limited to): Star Wars spaceships, Totoro costumes, NERF mods and movie prop replicas. In fact, over his career as an industrial and special effects designer/fabricator, actor, educator and television personality, there isn’t much Adam Savage has not done. Subscribe to Tested to see what Adam and his team will tackle next!Tested is also: Norman Chan, Simone Giertz, Joey Fameli, Gunther Kirsch, Ryan Kiser, Kishore Hari, Sean Charlesworth, Jeremy Williams, Kayte Sabicer, Bill Doran, Arial Waldman, Darrell Maloney and Kristen Lomasney.[PHOTO courtesy Adam Savage] Read the rest

I hate the horse-racing of art. I could never bring myself to declare "THE" ten most groundbreaking of anything. And especially something as subjective as avant garde art and music.I look at this list and immediately think "What, no Glenn Branca? Magma? The Residents? SOFT MACHINE?" I could go on. And I could easily come up with ten more records that I think are as groundbreaking as these. But that said, this is a very good list of very important records. I have most of these in my collection.The 10 most groundbreaking avant-garde albums of all timeI assume Boing Boing readers will have their own candidates and look forward to seeing what your choices might be.Image: Screengrab of Henry Cow album cover. Read the rest

Reggae legend and activist Bob Marley was born on this day in 1945. He would have turned 75 this year. The Jamaican singer was born on February 6. Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981, at age 36.In Los Angeles last Friday, Bob Marley’s children, including Cedella Marley, Julian Marley and Rohan Marley, and several of the late singer's grandchildren, all held a pre-Grammys brunch.The gathering also celebrated Julian Marley, who was nominated for best reggae album at last Sunday’s Grammy Awards.Cedella Marley, a three-time Grammy winner, said her father, who died in 1981, taught his children important lessons about perseverance.“Daddy was a fitness guru ... and there were times when we would do these relay races and a lot of parents just want their children to win, win, win. No, we had to really win,” she said. “If we run, we have to really run. And he was not the one that was just going to let you win just because, and I think that’s an important lesson. Nothing is handed to you, you have to go out there (and work hard).”Bob Marley’s kids passed that message on to their own children, who were in attendance Friday. Skip Marley, Cedella Marley’s son who has collaborated with Katy Perry, H.E.R. and Major Lazer, said he didn’t choose music, but that “music chose me.”“All of us carry it on,” Skip Marley said of the other grandchildren, “Even to some new streets and avenues (while) protecting the message and continuing to carry the light.” Read the rest

Esteemed toy collector Joel Magee of Pawn Stars fame has acquired a prototype of an original Hot Wheels Camaro that was part of the 1968 "Sweet 16" series of the first Hot Wheels cars. Magee says the Camaro is valued at US$100,000 although, in reality, it is only worth whatever someone will pay for it. Apparently the white enamel paint indicates that it was a prototype. From Carscoops:Only a “few” prototypes are known to have been mistakenly sent to retailers and most buyers would have been clueless. That appears to be what happened to the Camaro as it was found among a set of several other Hot Wheels cars. Joel examined the collection and consulted a Hot Wheels expert to determine that the “lone white Camaro was, in fact, the rarest of rare.”Magee says the Camaro is the third rarest Hot Wheels car and the only one of its kind believed to exist. That puts it in rare company as “The Beach Bomb and the Olds 442 are the only other rare Hot Wheels on the level of the white enamel Hong Kong Camaro.” Read the rest

“As they stole stories from real newspapers, these sites baffled scientists, activists, and journalists. Until now.”

I just watched the trailer for The Vast Of Night, an Amazon Prime Video feature movie that's "coming soon to theaters and Prime Video." Looks like creepy fun!In the twilight of the 1950s, on one fateful night in New Mexico, a young, winsome switchboard operator Fay (Sierra McCormick) and charismatic radio DJ Everett (Jake Horowitz) discover a strange audio frequency that could change their small town and the future forever. Dropped phone calls, AM radio signals, secret reels of tape forgotten in a library, switchboards, crossed patchlines and an anonymous phone call lead Fay and Everett on a scavenger hunt toward the unknown.Here's Variety's positive review.Image: Vast of Night publicity still Read the rest

[UPDATE 2/6/20 12:09pm PT: According to the CNN, the doctor is alive but in critical condition. "Hours earlier the same state media organizations reported that he had died.""Wuhan Central Hospital said on its official Weibo account that Li Wenliang, 34, had become seriously ill. 'In the fight against the pneumonia epidemic of the new coronavirus infection, our hospital's ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was unfortunately infected. He is currently in critical condition and we are trying our best to resuscitate him,' the statement read."]A Chinese ophthalmologist in Wuhan who tried to warn his colleagues on December 30 about seven patients who had come down with a SARS-like virus but was censored by the Chinese government – and and then detained two days later for "rumor mongering" – has died from the disease.After being detained for two days, Li Wenliang, age 34, helped patients with the novel coronavirus who streamed into his overrun hospital, until he himself became infected with the coronavirus and was hospitalized.From The Washington Post:The full outlines of his story, which came to light in recent weeks as the Wuhan outbreak exploded into an international emergency, set off a swell of outrage in China, where citizens have long chafed at the government’s penchant for relentlessly snuffing out any speech deemed threatening to social stability.Many, including China’s judicial authorities in a rare rebuke of the police, have wondered whether the epidemic could have unfolded differently had Li not been silenced at a critical juncture ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in late January... Read the rest

Ten months ago the director of New Jersey's Division on Civil Rights alerted Facebook about a racist and anti-Semitic group page it was hosting, but Facebook took no action, reports Ars Technica. It took a letter from the state's attorney general to convince Facebook to remove the group page.On Wednesday New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued a joint statement, which read:"We just learned that Facebook has decided to take down the public page on the company’s social network called ‘Rise Up Ocean County.’ Facebook’s action comes ten months after the Director of our Division on Civil Rights, Rachel Wainer Apter, first sent a letter to Facebook expressing concerns about racist and anti-Semitic statements on the page. Since then, we’ve consistently and repeatedly made clear our view that the page appeared to violate Facebook’s terms of service, and we appreciate that Facebook has now decided that this kind of hateful rhetoric has no place on its platform.There remains much that should be done to stop the spread of hate on the Internet. The Murphy Administration will continue to call out hate whenever and wherever we see it, we will persist in demanding meaningful reforms to address the proliferation of hate online, and we will continue working to make New Jersey a safe and inclusive place for all of our residents.”From the Ars Technica article:In January the Facebook page went briefly offline, leading state officials to believe Facebook had in fact taken it down, but the group came back several hours later, "gloating" about its perseverance. Read the rest

Lonnie Johnson, age 70, was always a maker. As a child, his experiments with rocket fuel nearly burned down his house. While in high school, Johnson was the only black student to enter the Alabama science fair; his entry, a pneumatic robot named Linex, took first prize. Johnson went on to earn engineering degrees from Tuskegee University, worked on the stealth bomber for the US Air Force, developed nuclear power systems for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and has since founded two tech companies -- one that develops solid state batteries and the other focused on thermo-electrochemical converters with green energy applications. Oh yeah, he also invented the Super Soaker. From William Broad's 2001 New York Times profile of Johnson :On his day job in 1982, Lonnie G. Johnson, a 32-year-old aerospace engineer, was preparing an interplanetary spacecraft for its atomic battery. But he dreamed of inventing something that would change life on earth.He often worked at home as his wife and children slept. One weekend, while tinkering in his bathroom, Mr. Johnson hooked up to the sink a prototype cooling device.Meant to run on water, it bore at one end a length of vinyl tubing and a homemade metal nozzle. The rest, as they say, is history.''I turned and shot into the bathtub,'' he recalled. The blast was so powerful that the whoosh of accompanying air set the bathroom curtains flying. ''I said to myself, 'Jeez, this would make a great water gun.' ''(via The Kid Should See This) Read the rest

Bernie Sanders today declared victory in Iowa's bungled headcount of Democratic voters, with the latest results putting him neck-and-neck with Pete Buttigieg. It was already clear he had the most votes, but Iowa Democrats' abstruse "caucus math" had awarded Buttigieg an advantage in delegates earlier in the count."With 97 percent of precincts now reporting, the results showed South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 26.2 percent of state delegate equivalents and Sanders with 26.1 percent," reported The Hill's Kyle Balluck. "Sanders, however, is leading in the final alignment votes tally, though the share of delegates is considered the most important metric of the Iowa results."When asked why he was declaring victory despite the neck-and-neck delegate count, he told reporters "because I got 6,000 more votes."In any case, both candidates did well on the night, with Elizabeth Warren running a close third. But it was a "gut punch" for supposed front-runner Joe Biden, trailing a distant fourth. Read the rest

Global warming is to blame for a "drastic decline" in the bumblebee population in North America and Europe, reports The Guardian, citing a new that "suggests the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place has declined by 30% in the course of a single human generation. The researchers [ at the University of Ottawa] say the rates of decline appear to be 'consistent with a mass extinction.'"Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash Read the rest

Barnes & Noble thought it would be a good idea to celebrate Black History Month by reissuing classic novels (including Moby Dick, Emma, Frankenstein, The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, Treasure Island, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Three Musketeers) with new covers depicting the lead characters as black, reports CNN. After many people on social media pointed out the problems with this campaign, the bookseller scrapped it.From CNN:Alexandre Dumas, who wrote "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Three Musketeers," is the only black author on the list.The new covers were called "literary blackface" by African American writer Rod Faulkner in an essay on Medium, and others have said the energy spent making the "Diverse Editions" would have been better spent promoting books written by people of color."What?!? No! Is it really this hard? People sat down & had meetings & put a lot of energy & money into creating covers f/black people on books w/ the same old stories INSTEAD of promoting books written by black authors & featuring black characters?WTF?!," author Tracey Livesay tweeted.The Diverse Editions event at our @BNFifthAvenue location originally scheduled for this evening has been cancelled. Please see our statement: pic.twitter.com/jGquff9MyM— Barnes & Noble (@BNBuzz) February 5, 2020Image: TBWA Chiat Day Read the rest

After the CEO of Agroplasma, an Arizona fertilizer company, is told to sit in the back seat by a black driver, the CEO is greatly offended and argues relentlessly. The driver, an Arizona State University student, remains calm and polite and also firm about his no-front-seat-passengers policy. The CEO, Hans Berglund, 72, asks, "Is that because I'm white?" And then, finally calls him the N-- word. (Watch the exchange below.)Agroplasma has suspended Berglund while they investigate what happened, and Uber has banned him from the app.From NBC: “In light of the events of this past Friday, Agroplasma CEO Hans Berglund has been relieved of his duties while the company performs a full internal investigation,” the firm said, adding, "The incident is not at all reflective of Agroplasma’s values and ethics.”Uber told KPNX that it would ban Berglund from using its app, saying, “Discrimination has no place on the Uber app or anywhere.”Berglund in a telephone interview with KPNX said he had been drinking and regrets his comments. “I apologize to the guy. I shouldn’t have said what I said.”The driver has had a strict policy of not allowing anyone to sit in the front seat unless it's a party of 3 or more since someone sexually assaulted him last year.Here's the Uber exchange, starting at (:30): Read the rest

Who needs the darkweb when you can just go on social media, enter your drug of choice in the search bar, and buy whatever turns your crank? In this video, Vice's Tir Dhondy finds out just how easy it is to buy drugs on these platforms. Read the rest

If you go to India, you might encounter a person there who quickly befriends you and tries to build up a relationship of trust over the next few days. It could be that they recognized you as a swell person deserving of their attention, or it could be they are setting you up for a long con involving fake gems, leaving you up to $60k poorer than before you got involved with them. This video has the details about this scam, which is reminiscent of an early Mamet movie. The takeaway: don't do business with people you don't know well.Image: YouTube Read the rest

The broken voting app that failed spectacularly in the Iowa Democratic caucus just hints at the fragility of the voting system in the U.S. This Verge video explores the reasons for and implications of an unreliable and exploitable voting system, as well as ways to mitigate the problems. Read the rest

A common New Year's resolution is to learn a new language, which of course makes foreign travel much more enjoyable and sharpens the mind while reducing the cognitive effects of aging.But far too many people give up on their goals because the leading language-learning platforms are either far too expensive or rely on boring memorization tactics and mind-numbing repetition.MosaLingua Web Language Learning offers a far more enjoyable, affordable, and completely personalized way to learn a variety of new languages at your own pace, and a lifetime subscription is available for just $99.Used by more than 8 million people worldwide, MosaLingua allows you to learn a new language quickly and efficiently, based on both your experience level and the amount of time you have during the day.You’ll have unlimited access to all the languages MosaLingua offers (including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese and Russian), a sea of audio and visual resources that introduce you to real-life sentences and grammar used by locals, and personalized flashcards that include translations, audio samples, and more.Learn a new language the easy way in 2020 with a lifetime subscription to MosaLingua Web Language Learning for just $99—over 80% off MSRP right now. Read the rest

The owner of two dogs installed a camera to keep an eye on their new companions. But it instead solved the mystery of why the Los Alamos-area home ended up on fire: 9-month-old Kahuna knocked over a bunch of clothes that caught fire. The suspicious-looking iron wasn't on, reports the Los Alamos Daily Post. An out-of-view baseboard heater triggered the blaze. two pets had evacuated safely. Cameras are not substitutes for smoke alarms. Read the rest

I'm a big fan of videos of people arrested for pretending to be cops, especially the way real and fake cop-personas differ and interact. This one is a veritable antimatter explosion right from the outset.Real World Police writes:The following narrative was written by Windermere Police Officer Jerrell Ogletree:"On Saturday September 7, 2019 at approximately 1617 hours I, Ofc. J. Ogletree, observed a funeral procession being conducted with a black and gray motorcycle with multiple colored lights, air horn and siren activated while approaching the traffic circle at Maguire Road and Park Avenue. I continued observing when the black and gray motorcycle, traveling west on Park Ave., passed my clearly marked patrol vehicle and proceeded to pass over the double solid yellow center lines with oncoming traffic approaching and traveled within the same lane as a vehicle in the procession. The motorcycle's movement caused the driver to travel outside of their lane of travel. I activated my emergency equipment and conducted a traffic stop at McKinnon Rd. and Lake Butler Blvd.The driver, later identified as Jeremy Charles Dewitte, was advised of the reason for the traffic stop and was told to move his motorcycle to the side of the roadway. While conducting the traffic stop, the motorcycle, bearing FL tag MAMC97, came back as a hit for being stolen. Dewitte was placed in handcuffs and detained while an investigation was conducted. While confirming the hit and conducting a search of Dewitte he became uncooperative and began to move and pull away from me. Read the rest

I was **this** many years old when I learned that Pee-wee Herman isn't the only on-screen character with a breakfast-making contraption. My sweetie Andy just re-watched the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and told me it also has a Rube Goldberg machine that makes breakfast! I didn't know about that one, so I looked it up. And there it was. Then I wondered if there were more... and there are! First, let's start with Pee-wee's, which might be the best known one in pop culture (it even gets ripped off in an episode of Family Guy). To get his machine moving, he lights a candle (which in turn burns through a string). Just don't expect him to eat more than two bites of his elaborately made brekkie:Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)Same year. Doc Brown had a neglected one that burnt toast and served up Einstein's dog food in Back to the Future:Back to the Future (1985)Doc had a much better version for the third Back to the Future:Back to the Future III (1990)Casper the CGI ghost morphs his fist into an egg-scrambler and then a spatula as this film's mini breakfast machine is doing its thing:Casper (1995)Then there's this one. Robin Williams, playing Professor Philip Brainard in the late '90s flick Flubber, kicks his off by slamming a giant button found on his bedside table:Flubber (1997)Ok, now to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Dick Van Dyke plays Caractacus Potts, an inventor, widower, and father of two. Read the rest

Allegheny County Common Pleas judge Mark Tranquilli was reassigned this week after uttering what CBS euphemistically describes as "racially charged remarks": referring to a black juror as "Aunt Jemima" and speculating about her "baby daddy ... slinging heroin". He will not preside over criminal trials until an investigation is complete.Tranquilly made the remarks to a prosecutor, according to a complaint, in private conference after a not-guilty verdict that displeased him: "you weren't out of strikes when you put Aunt Jemima on the jury."The prosecutor's office typed up the remarks and turned him in to his boss, Judge Kim Berkeley Clark, who immediately reassigned him to dealing with traffic appeals and school truants in summary appeals court. Meet Judge Kim: Read the rest

The latest addition to In-N-Out Burger's merch line are "Drink Cup Shoes," slip-on sneakers decorated with their red-and-white beverage cup art. The announcement was made Tuesday by the Southern California-based fast food chain on Instagram: View this post on Instagram Available now at shop.in-n-out.com! #Repost @shopinnout ・・・ They’ll go a lot farther than a box of chocolates. Available in his, hers and youth. #innout #innoutburger #shoesofthedayA post shared by In-N-Out Burger (@innout) on Feb 4, 2020 at 12:00pm PSTIf you were curious, there's no indication that Bible verse John 3:16 has been printed on the shoes, as it is on their soda cups. Get a pair for $64.95 at the In-N-Out Burger Company Store. (Soap Plant WACKO)image via In-N-Out Burger Company Store Read the rest

Detroit's Rob Wolchek (previously at Boing Boing) turns his ire on a local builder who has become notorious for shafting buyers of his superficially handsome disaster boxes. The scam works like this: the happy new home-owner takes out a construction loan but the builder gets the money. The builder never actually pays the suppliers and subcontractors, however, whose only remedy is to stop work when they realize and pursue the homeowner, who ends up with a half-built house and a mountain of liens. Read the rest