U Thant, or Belmont, is a tiny artificial island in the East river made from the detritus drilled out for the 7 train's tunnel. Leased to a religious sect since the 1970s, it was designated a bird sanctuary in the 2000s after a protestor occupied it and declared it a micronation. Since then, no humans, please. [via Metafilter; Photo: Pacific Coast Highway]
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7:18 am Wed
Aug 9, 2017
U Thant, a tiny man-made island you're not supposed to visit
Hollywood assistants are the latest group to come together, share their salaries, and demand better working conditions
Back in October, TV writer Liz Alper started posting on Twitter about her harrowing experience as a writer’s assistant in LA, hoping to break into the industry. Alper had spent more than a decade being overworked and underpaid, and, well, rightly had enough. Over the course of several weeks, she got the #PayUpHollywood hashtag trending, […]
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Socialite Rose O'Neal Greenhow was a surprising spy for the Confederacy
As the Civil War fractured Washington D.C., socialite Rose O’Neal Greenhow coordinated a vital spy ring to funnel information to her beloved Confederates. In this week’s episode of the Futility Closet podcast we’ll describe Greenhow’s courage and resourcefulness, which won praise from Jefferson Davis and notoriety in the North. We’ll also fragment the queen’s birthday […]
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Get a 3-year subscription to Windscribe VPN for just $48
Online shopping is going to be through the roof this month, and you’d better believe that hackers know it. If you’re going to invest in a virtual private network, now is the time. Especially when Windscribe VPN is offering its own holiday discount. At their current price point, it’s well worth jumping on the paid […]
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Get a 3-year subscription to Windscribe VPN for just $48
Online shopping is going to be through the roof this month, and you’d better believe that hackers know it. If you’re going to invest in a virtual private network, now is the time. Especially when Windscribe VPN is offering its own holiday discount. At their current price point, it’s well worth jumping on the paid […]
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This percussion massaging device is on sale for less than $100
Cheap massage chairs are a common Christmas gift, but we’re willing to bet they don’t get a lot of actual use from the people who could really use a massage. We’re talking about people with deep, chronic joint pain or anyone who does a serious workout on a regular basis. For that kind of soreness, […]
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Take your cereal on the road with this innovative combo cup
The bummers of adulthood are too many to count, but one of our least favorites is the inability to sit down and enjoy a nice bowl of cereal. When you’ve got a long commute ahead, let’s face it: That extra time it takes to pour the milk and chow down is too precious to spare. […]
