Maybe it's because I'm not doing any of the work myself, or perhaps how serene all of the craftsmen involved in the project seem to be, but this 25-minute video of a traditional Finnish log house being built, from soup to nuts, is one of the most relaxing bits of video that I've watched in weeks. Read the rest “Witnessing the construction of a traditional Finnish log house is strangely soothing”
In Deposition of respiratory virus pathogens on frequently touched surfaces at airports, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, a University of Nottingham team reveal that the airport security trays they swabbed in the Helsinki airport contained more infectious agents than the airport's toilets. Read the rest “Airport "security" trays are filthy reservoirs of infectious agents”
The Chinese slang term jingfen means "spiritually Finnish." It was coined thanks to the popularity of an online comic called Finnish Nightmares. Liang Chenyu speculates why so many Chinese millennials identify with the comic. Read the rest “How a quirky Finnish comic came to resonate with Chinese millennials”
Finnish comedian Ismo Leikola makes a compelling case that "ass" is the most complicated word in the English language. Read the rest “"Ass" is the most complicated word in the English language”
In 1942, Hitler paid a secret visit to Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Marshal of Finland and Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces in honor of Mannerheim's 75th birthday. Read the rest “The only known recording of Hitler's normal speaking voice”
This Finnish PSA never gets old, because it has everything: awesome music, great acting, edgy graphics, and brilliant practical advice. Watch this street cretin back down under the power of her mitten-encased palm! Read the rest “To stop street harassment, show them your Jedi mitten”
After a slew of imitators, badass YouTuber The Hydraulic Press Channel rebranded as Beyond the Press and started doing non-pressing experiments in his inimitable style. Here, he has to jump in a frozen lake to get some stuff he lost in a previous experiment. Read the rest “Finnish guy cuts a hole in lake ice and jumps in to retrieve his stuff”
Caroline Slotte is a sculptor in Finland who layers old, decorated china plates atop one another, then carefully removes material from successive layers with precision masking and sandblasting and carving, created 3D scenes with gorgeous depth. Read the rest “Artist creates dimensional scenes on old plates by precisely sandblasting through successive layers”
Finnish photographer Oscar Keserci braved brutal temperatures in and around Kirkkonummi, Finland for his breathtaking Blue Night series of photos. Read the rest “Photography: These starscapes may inspire a move to Finland”
When the heat goes out during Finnish winter, it's a matter of life and death, so when two automated buildings controlled by Valtia systems suffered DDoS attacks that shut off the heat, Finns were understandably alarmed about the new threat. Read the rest “DDoS attack on Finnish automated buildings disabled heating controls”
A DDoS attack that incidentally affected the internet connections for at least two housing blocks in Lappeenranta, Finland caused their heating systems to shut down, leaving their residents without heat in subzero weather. Read the rest “Winter Denial of Service attack knocks out heating in Finnish homes”
It's free for anyone to take, and Finns can get credit at the Open University of University of Helsinki (yes, that's what it's called). Read the rest “Free cybersecurity course from the University of Helsinki and F-Secure”
Cixin Liu's "Three Body Problem" is the first-ever translation to win Best Novel; meanwhile, the uprecedented effort to put together an organized slate of science fiction that appealed to sexist (Sad Puppies) and misogynist/white supremacist (Rabid Puppies) and homophobic (both) orthodoxy to sweep the Hugos was a flop. Read the rest “Sad Puppies, Rabid Puppies lose big at the Hugos UPDATED”
The researcher, "Lee," worked in Ganggye, Chagang, and escaped with what he says is 15GB of data detailing illegal human subjects biochemical research, which he is due to present to the European Parliament this month. (Thanks, Sulka!) Read the rest “North Korean defector to Finland claims evidence of illegal human experiments”
Barry writes, "There's a thing called pattern flying, where pilots compete to perfectly execute an elaborate set of compulsory tricks." Read the rest “Astounding RC flying with counterrotating drive”
Finland has progressive fines for driving offenses, so the more you earn, the more you pay. Read the rest “Finnish millionaire gets EUR54K speeding ticket”
Crystal writes, "Love indie fiction? Want a choose-your-price set of Weird Fiction ebooks that will help support the Helsinki bid for Worldcon? We want to bring Worldcon to Helsinki in 2017, to boldly go where no Worldcon has gone before. Read the rest “Weird fiction Storybundle to benefit Helsinki Worldcon bid”
