smart & curious
A list of intriguing things
Women in Switzerland staged a mass scream in protest against gender inequality and domestic violence.
This Bolivian art teacher dresses up as different superheroes to keep kids in his online classes entertained. Check out the sweet photo gallery.
Harvey Weinstein has a penis problem, or this may just be a vicious piece of gossip. In this case, we don’t give an eff:
“The disgraced movie mogul’s deformed genitalia is the result of a life-threatening bacterial infection known as Fournier’s gangrene, according to reports in Graydon Carter’s Digital News Weekly Airmail. The infection can strike middle-aged men and diabetics—Weinstein, 68, is both—when bacteria enters through a cut or scratch in the genitals and spreads through the bloodstream. Some patients require skin grafts, but more extreme cases, such as Weinstein’s, require an operation to remove the testicles.”
Uniqlo is rolling out its own line of AIRism masks—which have three layers, including an exterior one that blocks 90% of ultraviolet rays. Also: a high-performance filter with 99% efficiency in filtering out bacteria. The fabric: non-woven cotton fabric that wicks away sweat. The bad news: it is only available in Japan as of now.
This powerful anti-suicide poster was designed in 2013 for a campaign in Singapore. It’s true message becomes clear when you turn it upside down. (h/t Joy Bhattacharjya)
A list of good reads
- This scathing takedown of Arvind Kejriwal in The Hindu went viral on Tuesday.
- Quartz reports on Indian job portals which are going the extra mile for laid off employees.
- Ars Technica explains a newly discovered side-effect of pollution: plastic rain—microplastic particles blowing through the air and falling via raindrops.
- This excellent Telegraph column by Mahesh Rangarajan explains why our outrage over elephant deaths is misdirected. This is the rare well-informed and nuanced piece on a subject that more typically inspires outrage and virtue-signalling.
- We put a shout out for non-Covid reads on Twitter—and Tejaswi Subramanian pointed us toward this excellent 2019 collection: ten writers on what it’s like to write a character who is ‘other’, i.e. not of their identity.
- Reuters profiles a taxi driver who now finds himself driving a hearse transporting Covid corpses. The observed details of his life make it worth your time.
