Grist List
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1915 document shows that penguins are extremely sexually depraved
England’s Natural History Museum at Tring recently rediscovered a 1915 report about penguin behavior that had been buried for almost 100 years — because it was considered too X-rated to be suitable for publication. Which, okay, yes, people from 1915 were prudish, but also, penguins are getting up to some freaky shit.
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Giant Truth or Dare game turns New York into a middle-school party
A lot of people (celebrities, misanthropes, the funny-looking) cherish New Yorkers’ studious lack of eye contact. But designer and copywriter Chelsea Davison wanted to make the city a friendlier place for a day. So she printed up 300 cards offering a “truth” question and a “dare” action, posted them around Washington Square Park, and waited for […]
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Senegal’s salt lakes look like Pepto-Bismol
This is Lake Retba in Senegal, NOT the contents of your stomach when you drink too much Strawberry Quik and then have to chase it down with Pepto-Bismol and tiny boats. The lake itself is actually not in danger, but given that I just yelled “WHAT IN BLAZES?” and nearly dropped a cup of coffee […]
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This graphic novel about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch looks awesome
I’m Not a Plastic Bag is a graphic novel about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the agglomeration of plastic flakes that is swirling around in the Pacific Ocean. The book follows the journey of several pieces of trash destined to become part of the patch. The images are beautiful, and the story’s reminiscent of The […]
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$28 cabbage, $65 chicken, and other insane food prices in Northern Canada
In the farthest-north part of Canada, food is so outrageously expensive that the basic necessities of life are beyond normal people's reach.
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Bereaved husband sues NYPD for failing to investigate pedestrian death
Last summer, 28-year-old Clara Heyworth died while crossing the street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn — she was hit by a car piloted by an intoxicated driver who only had a learner’s permit. The NYPD never conducted an investigation, and the driver received only a violation for driving without a license. Today, Heyworth’s husband, Jacob Stevens, […]
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A report from inside the Shell ‘oil spill’ party prank
It took Grist a hot second to figure out that this too-ironic-to-be-true video of a Shell party gone wrong was a prank. The concept, though, is brilliant — an “oil derrick” on a cake started “spilling” liquid all over the assembled guests. Pulling it off wasn’t easy, or cheap. Salon has dishy details from a […]
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Climate change causes monster patch of microscopic plants in the Arctic
There aren’t supposed to be microscopic plants called phytoplankton blooming in the Arctic right now — usually that doesn’t happen until after the ice melts in the summer, i.e. months from now. But a research team has just discovered a huge, 60-mile-long, three-foot-thick slick of phytoplankton where no phytoplankton should be. It was “like finding […]
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Possibly the best Humans of New York photo yet
I’ve mentioned before my abiding love for Humans of New York (HONY), photographer Brandon Stanton’s (entirely unpaid, as far as I know, unless you buy prints) mission to photograph New York’s infinitely visually arresting inhabitants. It’s an amazing love letter to the city, and to humanity in general. Stanton has taken over 3,500 photographs to […]
