Science
July 18, 2023

Rebellious Birds Are Now Stealing Anti-Bird Spikes and Making Nests With Them

If you’ve ever walked around in a city, you've probably seen anti-bird spikes covering statues, balconies, and sometimes even trees. While these mechanisms are intended to deter winged creatures from perching in these places, it seems like some magpies and crows have figured out a way to use them to their benefit. A group of Dutch researchers found that certain birds were using these spikes to construct nests.

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Museums
July 17, 2023

Dorte Mandrup Reveals Plans for Canada’s Long-Awaited Inuit Cultural Heritage Centre

In 1993, Nunavut Agreement gave the Inuit a large swath of land in Canada's largest Aboriginal land claim settlement. After 30 years, a heritage center honoring Inuit culture is finally taking shape. While the agreement had always called for a heritage center, it's only now that this important space to preserve artifacts and traditions is moving forward. In an exciting development, the Danish architecture studio Dorte Mandrup won the international competition to design the center.

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Illustration
July 17, 2023

Traveling Artist Creatively Documents His Adventures in Visually Exciting Sketchbooks

By drawing in sketchbooks, artists can collect their ideas and record their creative process. For José Naranja, his archive of Moleskine notebooks also serve another purpose. Since 2005, the Spanish artist has been documenting his travels with eclectic entries of hand-written notes, watercolor drawings, and additional ephemera that he picks up at each destination. These small journals offer an intimate view of Naranja's journeys around the world.

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History
July 16, 2023

Man Wins the Lottery 14 Times Using a Simple System of Basic Math

In the 1980s and 1990s, Stefan Mandel turned playing the lottery into an art form. The Romanian-Australian economist managed to win the lottery an astounding 14 times. Everything he did was perfectly legal and all it took was some simple calculations. Mandel was born in Romania, and his first win came in his home country as part of a syndicate where investors put in money to purchase lottery tickets, and the winnings were split.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.