A list of intriguing things
One: Here’s a gorgeous AI experiment where students first took millions of photos of nine Italian cities during the lockdown—which were then fed to the machine. Now you can enter whatever text you like—and it creates stunning cities. You can give it a spin over at the Strolling Cities website. Below is a sample of the visual poetry edition—which used famous Italian poems.
Two: A new app called BeReal is a fascinating twist on our obsession of taking the Insta-perfect photo. Here’s how it works: Once a day, you will get a notification that you have two minutes to take and post two photos—one from each phone camera. Only way you can see other people’s images is to share yours. And if you’re late—because you’re too busy perfecting the shot—everyone will know. And all the photos disappear the next day. New York Times has lots more details. See the BeReal ad below:
Three: Johns Hopkins students have created an edible adhesive tape called Tastee Tape. And it’s sole purpose is to keep that damn burrito from unravelling—and spilling its contents all over your clothes. All you need are two clear strips of this tape that is made of natural additives. No need to peel back paper or foil. The image below has blue dye added to help you see it clearly. (Gizmodo)
Four: The company WordsRated is hiring a bibliophile-at-large. The JD is simple: you have to read an assigned book—and answer some very specific questions. Example: number of characters by gender; locations where the story takes place; number of certain words or phrases etc. You will be paid $200 per book, and you can read as many books as you want. You won’t even have to pay for your reading material. FYI: WordsRated is a non-commercial research company that analyses data about reading, books, authors, and the publishing industry. Check out the job offer over at the WordsRated website.
