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Competitive jigsaw puzzle solving
Sometimes, as they say, the algorithm delivers. In this case, a YouTube video of competitive jigsaw puzzle solving popped up from one of the more well known puzzlers, Karen Puzzles.
There is a surprising intensity to the competition, especially when the competitors are near completion and each only have a dozen or so pieces left. As a sport, and provide plenty of material for ESPN quality commentary – history of competitors, techniques, and more.
In the below video, she attempts to do a speed run of a 5000 piece puzzle, breaking down strategies and approaches for competitive jigsaw puzzle solving.
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Depression and circadian rhythm link
An interesting possibility: depression may be linked to circadian rhythms being out of sync. The study had a small sample size so obviously more research is needed.
The study, led by Dr Joanne Carpenter and Professor Ian Hickie from the University of Sydney, is the first to look simultaneously at three key measures of body clock regulation in people with mental ill-health.
“We analysed participants’ core body temperature, cortisol levels and melatonin levels, which we know play important roles in how our bodies manage the circadian rhythm – our 24-hour cycles which regulate things like wakefulness and sleep,” said Dr Carpenter, a Research Fellow at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Central Clinical School and member of the Brain and Mind Centre’s Youth Mental Health and Technology Group.
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Cats and water
Most cats don’t like water, and there are reasons for that. Some evolutionary, some biological.
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Moving on from Dr. Seuss?
Still, Seuss dominates so much of our imaginations around childhood. It may take another generation or two to reset our perspective so that Seuss isn’t synonymous with children’s literature. I spoke with Kesi Augustine, PhD, a debut children’s author and scholar whose research focuses on children’s literature to ask for her insights. Recently when Augustine was promoting her picture book, Faith Takes the Train (HarperCollins 2025, illustrated by Mokshini), an adult reader approached her before she had even started her event.
The reader asked if she was a children’s author, and related that Green Eggs and Ham was his all-time favorite book. As he and Augustine engaged in a conversation about Seuss, Augustine observed the powerful nostalgia that can cast a spell on us for decades, preventing us from discovering new authors. Isn’t 65 years of Green Eggs and Ham enough? What new books will become beloved for generations?
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Art History hidden in Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s engagement photos
There are too many coincidences for this not to be intentional, but some of these are not commonly referenced artworks. Art historians found numerous references to classical paintings in Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s engagement photos.
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Jimmy Eat World’s perfect three album run
The Quietus makes the case that Jimmy Eat World’s three album run from 1996 to 2001 perfectly encapsulates early to modern emo.
Released between 1996 and 2001, Jimmy Eat World’s second, third and fourth albums – Static Prevails, Clarity and Bleed American – bridge emo’s past and present. They illustrate its story as a cultural sensation: how it got swept out of suburban basements, boosted by burgeoning social media, and elevated into a significant force in the music industry. These three albums chart Jimmy Eat World’s mid-90s ascent, major label disappointment, and mainstream breakthrough in chronological order, but they also mirror emo’s journey from a DIY network, to a trend, to an international phenomenon.
Each album has a great songs, while I prefer Clarity, Bleed American is the most accessible.
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1994 Green Day ‘riot’ concert at the Hatch Shell
In 1994, Green Day played a concert at the Hatch Shell in Boston that turned into a riot.
Maybe WFNX Radio didn’t anticipate their catapult onto the charts when they scheduled them for a free concert on the Esplanade. Thirty years ago, on Sept. 9, 1994, Green Day drew between 70,000 to 100,000 fans to the show, which quickly got out of control, The Boston Globe reported at the time.
Green Day headlined at the Hatch Memorial Shell to celebrate college students returning to the city. After the crowd swelled, fans stormed the metal barricades, and bottles were thrown, Green Day lasted about 20 minutes on stage.
More than 100 people were treated for illness and injuries, at least 20 were transported to local hospitals, and least one officer was injured, the Globe reported.
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Lo-fi music with the Hi Chord synthesizer
The Hi Chord synthesizer makes it super simple to create simple songs or samples using only chords. In offers the ability for different keyboard types and a drum machine.
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A Space Movie by Caroline Klidonas
Caroline Klidonas created an entertaining space movie without ever leaving her apartment. Hilarious and enthralling.
