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Long long ago, before the search for things buried in images proliferated on mobile platforms, there was this classic early example. A true test of your observation skills, it will keep you going for some time. The editor of this image has cleverly hidden within it a can of Spam. Can you find it? It has stymied tens of thousands of searchers for over twenty years. Good luck to you, internet user, and find that spam!
posted by JHarris at 10:27 PM PST - 25 comments

"In addition to being a tribute to Sherlock’s wide-ranging curiosity, it’s a vastly more effective virtual museum of Victoriana than the real one that stands at that London address today. Spend some time here just rummaging about, and maybe follow some of its leads with some independent research of your own, and you’ll begin to feel the frisson of life in this amazing city, the melting pot of the Western world circa 1885." [more inside]
posted by mhoye at 7:59 PM PST - 5 comments

Sue Perkins reads a tribute to her beloved dog Pickle (slyt from Letters of Note)
posted by Etrigan at 5:28 PM PST - 19 comments

The more your employer doesn’t want to lose you, and the more willing you are to leave over it, the stronger the position you’re in for this discussion.
posted by folklore724 at 2:42 PM PST - 143 comments

"We find a form of pluralistic ignorance that we describe as a false social reality: a near universal perception of public opinion that is the opposite of true public sentiment. Specifically, 80–90% of Americans underestimate the prevalence of support for major climate change mitigation policies and climate concern. While 66–80% Americans support these policies, Americans estimate the prevalence to only be between 37–43% on average. Thus, supporters of climate policies outnumber opponents two to one, while Americans falsely perceive nearly the opposite to be true." An article on how what we believe others believe, can encourage inaction.
posted by mittens at 2:04 PM PST - 34 comments

This NYTimes story about doppelgängers is really fun, the photographs that prompted it are fascinating and the science is interesting.
posted by theora55 at 12:47 PM PST - 52 comments

"I was asked to give a talk about anything at all, and thought about how there's a twenty-sided die in the Louvre from ancient Egypt, but none from the middle ages. Yet somehow in the 21st century, everyone seems to know what a d20 is. How did that happen?" (slyt, 4:44)
posted by curious nu at 11:42 AM PST - 23 comments

Researching, reconstructing, and re-imagining wearable technoscience, mostly adaptable bicycle skirts. [more inside]
posted by clew at 11:16 AM PST - 8 comments

What is 'quiet quitting,' and how it may be a misnomer for setting boundaries at work Popularized on TikTok, 'Quiet Quitting' is closing your laptop at 5 p.m. Doing only your assigned tasks. Spending more time with family. [more inside]
posted by Toddles at 10:53 AM PST - 108 comments

I'm not sure what serpentwithfeet is all about, but in his KEXP performance he mentions that he was inspired by D'Angelo's "Voodoo" and Bjork's "Homogenic". He first got attention for his EP Blisters in 2016. He has gone on to sing with Bjork on Blissing Me and release albums Soil and Deacon, and notable singles Cherubim, Redemption, and Bless Ur Heart.
posted by clawsoon at 9:36 AM PST - 4 comments

Peiter "Mudge" Zatko spills all to SEC. It's a tale as old as time in infosec, sadly. Organization hires infosec star. Star criticizes organization's infosec. Organization fires star. Star speaks out publicly and brings lawyers and receipts. What impact this will have on the Twitter takeover bid is as yet unclear, but Twitter users as well as shareholders certainly deserve answers about Twitter's security practices.
posted by humbug at 9:00 AM PST - 60 comments

We just missed the 200th anniversary of passing the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822 in the UK; sponsored by Richard “Humanity Dick” Martin MP for Galway. It’s still celebrated locally as Martin’s Day on 22nd July. The first prosecution was later that year when costermonger Bill Burns was convicted of wanton cruelty to his donkey: prosecuting attorney, Richard Martin MP. The RSPCA was founded two years later. That's the donkeys, for lobsters . . . [more inside]
posted by BobTheScientist at 6:30 AM PST - 9 comments

Why are success and failure so unpredictable? On one view, the simplest and most general explanation is best, and it points to quality, appropriately measured: success is a result of quality, and the Beatles succeeded because of the sheer quality of their music. On another view, social influences are critical: timely enthusiasm or timely indifference can make the difference for all, including the Beatles, leading extraordinary books, movies, and songs to fail even if they are indistinguishable in quality from those that succeed. from Beatlemania [PDF] by Cass Sunstein
posted by chavenet at 3:17 AM PST - 26 comments