Cottereau: This video shows the borders and populations of each country in Europe, for every year since 400 BC. Vassal states and colonies are not included in the count of a country's population." What a mess! One thing I learned is how sparsely-populated Britain was in the Roman age.
European history and population mapped by year
Google Maps' Nazi problem
Google Maps' reviewing system has provided a platform for Nazi sympathizers and antisemitic harassment for years. It's a quiet example of the trillion-dollar tech giant's disinterest in moderation—and a loud warning about how easy it is for the far right to appropriate online services. Most items in Google Maps are treated like businesses which can… READ THE REST
This cool new wine club walks you through terroir, taste, and history with a sommelier's hand-painted maps
My friend James Sligh is a brilliant sommelier (and writer) with an uncanny ability to talk about wine and figure out exactly what you want to drink. I don't even care for wine (I like malted barley more than grapes), and I've always been impressed at his ability to find precisely the right drink for… READ THE REST
750 million years ago, Los Angeles would have been an east coast city
That's according to Dinosaur Database, a terrific site with an interactive ancient earth feature that lets viewers input a location and a time period to see what things looked like at the time. LA would probably also have been under a glacier at the time: Cryogenian Period. Glaciers may have covered the entire planet during… READ THE REST
This self-driving truck kit is one of the coolest STEM gifts an inquisitive kid could ever get
Don't look now, but that car next to you on the road may not have a driver. Thankfully, with the advent of the self-driving vehicle, that's not the panic-inducing moment it used to be. A self-driving shuttle has been ferrying customers in Las Vegas for three years. Tesla head Elon Musk says beta testing on… READ THE REST
Love your old PlayStation Portable? The RetroMiMi RK2020 will take you right back
For the past few years, we've seen a stampede of build-your-own handheld gaming devices hit the market. But if you're like us, you see those kits and all their tiny pieces and intricate instructions and think, why can't I just get a cool retro-themed handheld gamer that I don't have to put together myself? Your… READ THE REST
The Fidget Cable is waging the war against cable confusion disorder
Jesse Pinkman was right —magnets are awesome. From high-speed trains and rollercoasters to what's on your refrigerator to the planet Earth itself, the power of magnets has been helping and fascinating us for centuries. In addition to all their nearly magical properties, magnets also make another significant contribution to the world — their hold can… READ THE REST
