bizarre competitions Wolfing down scalding hot biscuits and other weird contests from 1897 Mark Frauenfelder

immigrants This musician looks uncannily like the Statue of Liberty Jennifer Sandlin

politics Fan trailer imagines Fallout game set in China Grant St. Clair

investigations WTF? Woman checks into an Illinois hospital room, ends up dead on roof Carla Sinclair

politics Poor little dictator's wife can't get her cancer treatment in London's posh hospitals Ellsworth Toohey

Musical instruments The original Beatles recording console is on sale for $3 million Thom Dunn

Lost Bram Stoker short story "Gibbet Hill" found after 134 years Rob Beschizza

gadgets Sitina is an open-source full-frame camera Rob Beschizza

viral videos "Why would you do that?" Masked vandal defaces Banksy's rhino mural in broad daylight (video) Natalie Dressed

Entertainment Universal's new Ministry of Magic theme park (video) Ruben Bolling

sharks Shark spotted in London's River Thames (video) Allan Rose Hill

Science From lava lamps to quantum dice: how random numbers rule your life Mark Frauenfelder

joy division Fascinating video essay on the origins and philosophy of post-punk Natalie Dressed

COVID-19 Long Covid expert: all infections have "prolonged consequences" Jennifer Sandlin

boomer solutions Beach town in Finland had a rowdy youth problem — until it blasted classical music Carla Sinclair

happy mutants Sam Barsky has knitted 160 of his fabulous sweaters depicting famous landmarks, but he doesn't sell them because he wears them "every day, all the time" Jennifer Sandlin

music Frank Turner tries to break the world record for most concerts performed in different cities in 24 hours Thom Dunn

television 40 Years Later, Jeremy Brett is Still the Best Sherlock Holmes Lee Keeler

donald trump Dirty money: Trump-tied firm funded the indicted FBI informant who fabricated false allegations against the Bidens Mark Frauenfelder

art These "Clothesline Animals" are simple, clever, and beautiful Jennifer Sandlin