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Let’s kickstart 2026 with two brilliant essays from Anil Dash. How the Hell Are You Supposed to Have A Career in Tech in 2026? and How Markdown Took Over the World should both be required reading for every high school sophomore in America.
In April of 2010 a diver found a nearly seven inch Megalodon tooth.
I missed this bit of good news from last year: Vatican City Is Now Powered By Solar
How to Turn Toilet Paper Rolls Into DIY Boxes – via cassidoo
A massive 535-pound bluefin tuna sold for a record $3.2 million at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market.
Spend a few minutes watching these interviews with dads outside Taylor Swift concerts. – via paulscheer.com
Netflix released the Stranger Things series finale in 600+ theaters over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, generating north of $25M in concession revenue. (That’s more than Avatar: Fire and Ash earned in actual ticket sales over the same stretch ($23.7M).) – via The Dailies
And finally, a handful of wonderful links from Laura Olin that I keep meaning to share:

The death of Brigitte Bardot, 1960s sex symbol turned militant animal rights activist, means there are now only three people mentioned in the 1989 Billy Joel song We Didn’t Start the Fire who are still alive: Chubby Checker, Bob Dylan, and… Bernie Goetz. – via Simon Kuestenmacher
There’s really no way to explain to anyone under the age of about forty what a big deal MTV was when it launched. It’s not at all surprising — I haven’t watched in at least twenty years — but it’s still a bit sad to learn they’re shutting down all music-only channels as of December 31.
Also nostalgic: The HTML Elements Time Forgot
Prepare to waste some time playing the Top 10 Free Browser Games of 2025.
Rome just unveiled two new subway stops that transform its metro into a museum experience. – via Ciao Bella
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a runaway supermassive black hole ten million times larger than the sun, rocketing through space at 2.2 million miles per hour.
I had no idea there was a sequel to one of my favorite SNL sketches.
“That first post-game sacrifice only aired online, but the explosion was immediate.”
A new study suggests moderate fitness appears to act like an insurance policy against alcohol’s long-term negative health effects. – via Arnold’s Pump Club
It’s hard to believe that Steven Spielberg has made only four studio films about aliens, primarily because his first two were so incredible. Disclosure Day, coming in 2026, will be his fifth.
“If you want a job in the moisturizer industry, the best advice I can give is to apply daily.” – via Cassidy Williams
Not securing domain names before announcing something idiotic has been a perpetual epic failure of the current administration.

Take a moment this holiday season to indulge in the Southern University sousaphones playing the Veggie Tales theme in the Superdome parking lot.
Actor Michael Sheen purchased and then forgave $1.3 million of his neighbors’ debts.
This first-person account from a high school kicker of what it’s like to miss a game-tying PAT is riveting.
There are no words to convey how excited I am about the return of The Muppet Show, even if it’s just a one-off. See also: Forks Out: A Benoit Blanc Sesame Street Mystery
Yes, There’s a Parallel Parking Championship – via Jason
“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple, and wrong.” – H. L. Mencken

If you’ve been extremely online (and building things on the web) since the middle of the 1990s, you will enjoy reading this Christoffer Artmann essay: 30 Years of <br> Tags
After much cajoling, last night our son finally convinced us to watch Interstellar (2014, Matthew McConaughey) and I loved it. Brilliant film.
I feel like this archive of fictional companies is missing a few thousand references from The Simpsons alone, but it’s a good start.
Fahlo is a wonderful service that (for a nominal fee) allows you to track an animal in the wild. I can confirm that kids love this app.
The full story of Fedora Man is in the running for the best thing on the Internet this year.
Ugh: The rise of deepfake cyberbullying poses a growing problem for schools.
The serial killer epidemic in 1970–80s US may have been caused by lead fumes from cars and factories, and solved by environmental regulations. – via Tom Whitwell
Take a minute to recall The 2017 Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog – via Lauren
Friendly reminder: The mass deportation of undocumented people was one of Hitler’s largest coercive policies before the war.
Just in time for Christmas! “This lightproof, soundproof vat filled with our signature vine-ripened, zesty sauce marks the beginning of an exciting new era in tomato-based relaxation.

Often what precedes is better than what follows, even when, like Christmas Day, what follows is grand.

Renewable energy was the world’s leading source of electricity in the first half of 2025 for the first time ever, knocking coal off its longtime throne. – via The Progress Network
Narrative String Theory (NST) is an awesome collection of movies, television shows, and other assorted media that feature detectives (or conspiracy theorists) connecting pictures on a wall or whiteboard with thread.
Taylor Swift gave her Eras Tour crew jaw-dropping bonuses because of course she did.
Mississippi State will face Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, which requires head coaches to sign an agreement saying the winner will accept having a bucket of mayonnaise dumped on his head.
RIP Tom Stoppard
The Athletic did a great story on the current value of the sports collectibles seen in Home Alone.
Related: Meet the family that pulled the most expensive Shohei Ohtani baseball card to date.
Why do we have two nostrils instead of one big hole in our face? – via Jason
51% of the animals in farms across the world are shrimp. – via Tom Whitwell
I know I’ve linked to this already, but I’m going to once again urge you to read the fascinating backstory of the Duck Tales theme song, history’s catchiest single minute of music.
I’ve certainly experienced the Abilene Paradox plenty of times. I didn’t know it had a name, though. – via cassidoo
Can Magnus Carlsen, the best chess player in the world, beat a novice while facing increasingly-difficult disadvantages?
Jingle Bell Rock:
- WTF? White House installs plaques mocking former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden
- WTF? Liam Neeson Narrates Anti-Vax, Pro-RFK Documentary
- WTF? Fake social media accounts attempted to push a ridiculous narrative framing Taylor Swift as a white supremacist.
- Massachusetts Catholic Church Angers Conservatives with Its ICE-Themed Nativity Scene
- Am I the only one thinking that there’s something really sus about this whole insane Venezuela lunacy? They’re not flooding us with drugs. We don’t need their oil. Why all the trumped up aggression? I feel like we’re living in the first few chapters of a 007 novel and we’re soon going to learn 90% of some critical part of cryptocurrency or artificial intelligence computer chips can only be found buried underneath some mountain range there or something like that.
- “It makes my blood boil. It’s so ridiculous, so petty, so small minded,” wrote Maria Shriver, about the latest stupidity out of the current administration.

A study of 500 diners found “attractive servers earn approximately $1,261 more per year in tips than unattractive servers.” Mostly because of “female customers tipping attractive females more than unattractive females.” – via 52 things I learned in 2025
A recent randomized trial on exercise for cancer patients breaks new ground in showing the life-extending powers of a workout.
Scope Creep is an online horror video game about being a project manager.
“Time is indeed a cruel mistress.”

History and the Passing of Time is a brilliant (and short) essay by Daniele Bolelli, host of the History on Fire podcast.
This is your annual reminder that the album Sugar & Booze by SNL alum Ana Gasteyer is chock full of fantastic holiday music and you can stream it on Alexa.
I have at least eight of these Wyze smart plugs and they are great for scheduling holiday decorations. (I have two Wyze outdoor plugs, too.) This year I bought two more of these battery-to-plug adapters. (They let you convert battery-powered decorations—like snow globes and animated Santas—so you can plug them into the wall.)
And you may ask yourself, “How did I get here?” (This is actually a fabulous explanation of how the Internet works and not, sadly, a site about Talking Heads. Coincidentally, I just learned a few days ago that David Byrne was at RISD at the same time that my dad was at PC, and my dad said Byrne used to work in the window of a New York System place grilling hot dogs.)
This might be the most wholesome thing on YouTube. Dad, How Do I? is a collection of videos teaching you how to do all sorts of basic things. – via Jason
It’s hard for me to believe it’s been a decade since the release of The Force Awakens. (I still love BB-8 and was pleasantly surprised to learn he was imagined into existence by J.J. Abrams himself!)
In Bolivia a team of paleontologists have discovered and meticulously documented 16,600 footprints left by theropods, the dinosaur group that includes the Tyrannosaurus rex.

A limited-edition, Fabergé egg pendant, inspired by the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy, was (grossly) recovered after six days of closely watching the man accused of swallowing the jewelry in a New Zealand store.
Scientists found that taking 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily slowed telomere shortening by the equivalent of about 3 years of biological aging over 4 years. – via Arnold’s Pump Club
Fifteen Years
If you need a good gift for anyone over 80 years old, these hard candies are great. My grandmother loved them and I used to send her a tin every year on her birthday and Christmas.
We didn’t see it in the theater, but the 1986 comedy Ruthless People was on high rotation at our house for a while (from Blockbuster, once it was released on VHS). Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater, and Bill Pullman had us in stitches and I still occasionally quote it. (Now you can rent it on Amazon.)
An Indian boy, just 3 years old, became the youngest rated chess player in history.
These Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights are awesome. They’re super easy to install and you can control them with an app on your phone and/or via Alexa, HomeKit, etc. (The cost has been fluctuating wildly for months now, by hundreds of dollars, and I wish you the best of luck in finding them listed at the absurdly low price we paid.)
I can relate to this guy’s 2025 Parenting Wrapped. – via hiro.report
My Kid’s Insane Christmas Wish List, Annotated – via my friend Lauren
University of Florida Honors Program class teaches Gainesville‘s punk history – via my little sis
This holiday season, consider giving the gift of independent journalism. – via @marisakabas
‘Tis the Season:
- The president’s Florida mortgages match his description of mortgage fraud. – via @charlesornstein
- Pete Hegseth Should Be Charged with Murder – via @elienyc
- I Left the CDC 100 Days Ago. My Worst Fears About the Agency Are Coming True – via @brandyzadrozny
- Spotify is garbage on every count: Its treatment of artists, its ICE advertising, the CEO’s investment in military AI, its leading role in the commodification and AI slop-ification of music, its terrible audio quality—you name it. A Guide to Finding the Best Spotify Alternative – via @bcmerchant
- “If you’re a complete idiot life sure does have a lot of surprises for you.” – via @samthielman.com
- “All I want for Christmas is for the worst people in the world to experience some consequences.” – via @gracelp
- The National Park Service will offer free admission to U.S. residents on the president’s birthday next year, but is eliminating the benefit for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth.

When ancient Romans felt wronged, they didn’t ask for revenge from the gods. Instead they scratched their anger into thin lead sheets called defixiones, folded them carefully, and buried them in wells, graves, or temples, trusting that some power beneath the earth would take care of the rest.
Buckle up, buttercup. This essay is going to be tough to swallow. Collagen Sits on a Throne of Lies: How the supplement industry took meat garbage and turned it into a $9B business
A single HPV vaccination appears just as effective as two doses at preventing the viral infection that causes cervical cancer.
Finding it impossible to stop thinking about The Chair Company? You can get a Tecca t-shirt or hat, but they’re sold out of chairs.
One of the hardest parts of being a parent is attempting to balance, “Please study! School and your grades are very important,” with, “Don’t be stressed! This one history test isn’t going to matter at all in twenty years.” – via me
Have you ever wondered how a touch screen knows you are touching it?
Chindōgu: The Japanese Art of Unuseless Inventions
How a UF engineer found purpose Below Deck
Man unexpectedly cured of HIV after stem cell transplant
“Anyone who was born an American and therefore feels superior to someone who had to work to become an American doesn’t know the first thing about being an American.” – via @harrymccracken.com
Good News for People Who Like Bad News:
- A 6-year-old boy is missing after ICE arrested him and his dad in NYC last week and shipped them to separate facilities. – via @clauirizarry
- Zillow has removed climate risk scores from over a million real estate listings after realtors complained that information such as how at risk a home is from wildfires was causing them to lose sales. – via @carnage4life
- Crucial is shutting down — because Micron wants to sell its RAM and SSDs to AI companies instead. – via @papapishu
- “You are an abuser of women — that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego.” – Penelope Hegseth to her son, Pete
- The Supreme Court is siding with the current administration 84 percent of the time; it sided with the Biden administration only 53 percent of the time. And of course only one of those administrations is habitually laying waste to the rule of law.
- Lawsuits allege USA Gymnastics, SafeSport failed to prevent sexual abuse by coach

The United Arab Emirates put $2B into World Liberty Financial—a crypto firm in which the family of the President of the United States owns a 60% stake—then got export restrictions lifted on AI chips. Nothing to see here, move along.

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