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"A massive step forward": Rare glossy black cockatoo nests discovered in bushfire-damaged country. For the first time in more than 20 years, glossy black cockatoo nests are discovered on the NSW Mid North Coast, in an area ravaged during the Black Summer bushfires.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 10:58 PM PST - 7 comments

a 3D reconstruction of the capital of the Aztec Empire The year is 1518. Mexico-Tenochtitlan, once an unassuming settlement in the middle of Lake Texcoco, now a bustling metropolis. It is the capital of an empire ruling over, and receiving tribute from, more than 5 million people. Tenochtitlan is home to 200.000 farmers, artisans, merchants, soldiers, priests and aristocrats. At this time, it is one of the largest cities in the world. Today, we call this city Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico City. Not much is left of the old Aztec - or Mexica - capital Tenochtitlan. What did this city, raised from the lake bed by hand, look like? Using historical and archeological sources, and the expertise of many, I have tried to faithfully bring this iconic city to life.
posted by aniola at 9:25 PM PST - 31 comments

Thankfully, there are still off-the-beaten-path pockets of astonishment out there and I thought it might be nice to gather some of them together. So, here is a selection of online things I love, and that other people I asked love – old and new stuff that is fascinating, beautiful, edifying and, above all, fun. Maybe one or two of them might give you a bit of internet joy back, too. from Fish doorbells! Historic sandwiches! 50 of the weirdest, most wonderful corners of the web – picked by an expert [Grauniad; ungated] CW: sadly, lacks all MetaFilter]
posted by chavenet at 4:23 PM PST - 22 comments

A developer calling themselves Nea Paw has demonstrated a project for creating targeted propaganda using ChatGPT or other LLMs. The CounterCloud project was built in just a few weeks and costs only a few hundred dollars to run. [more inside]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 10:21 AM PST - 44 comments

Massive rainstorms in Nevada have deluged the dry lakebed that has served as the site of Black Rock City, the pop up home for the Burning Man festival. [more inside]
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:31 AM PST - 354 comments

What's missing from this list? This seems fairly comprehensive. But one of my favorites "The Second Civil War" didn't make the cut. Others you might recommend?
posted by Mesaverdian at 8:33 AM PST - 75 comments

Forests once deemed resilient are suffering surprising die-offs. To predict the fate of the world’s woods in the face of climate change, researchers need to understand how trees die.
posted by Etrigan at 7:38 AM PST - 15 comments

“A restaurant is a lot of work… I’m not gonna give someone my satisfaction of judging all my work and the hundreds of hours my partner and I put in with one bite. It’s not fair. I was like, fuck that guy.” - Dragon Pizza owner Charlie Redd speaks to Rolling stone about his feud with Barstool Sports CEO and Tucker Carlson guest Dave Portnoy.
posted by Artw at 7:18 AM PST - 40 comments

The story of a long lost hotel told through newspapers, postcards, and tin plates. What little remains of its once great presence leaves a lot to the imagination about what it might have been like to stay in the luxurious 1920s hotel.
posted by donuy at 6:42 AM PST - 9 comments