A list of intriguing things

One: Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery—meaning “golden seams” (or kintsukuroi as in “golden repair”). Artists use lacquer and gold pigment to put back shattered pieces—in a way that the reassembled bowl or vase is more beautiful than the unbroken original. The real skill lies in glueing the bits together—“because the lacquer cannot be removed once it’s dry, and the pieces must be put into place all at once, even if there are 20 different parts.” Like so:

Kintsugi gives a whole new spin to that Leonard Cohen line: “There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.” And it has unsurprisingly become a handy metaphor for pop wellness gurus. More interesting: how Dutch artists like Bouke de Vries have reinterpreted kintsugi—turning broken ceramics into a completely new piece of art. For example, this deconstructed neolithic machang jar—that reassembles an ancient chinese earthenware jar:

Artsy has more on kintsugi while DesignBoom has a collection of DeVries work. Last not least, Lana Del Rey recently released a song titled, what else, ‘Kintsugi’.

Two: Pygmy marmosets are among the tiniest mammals—and the smallest monkey in the world. These mini monkeys can fit inside your palm. Even though they are only 5.35 inches tall and weigh 4.2 ounces (119 gm) on average, these creatures can jump more than 16 feet. Odd fact: Although most primates have only one baby at a time, pygmy marmosets give birth to fraternal twins 70% of the time. San Diego Zoo and PBS have lots more gyaan—we just wanna show how ridiculously cute they are—like this baby:

Three: Wrestling is a universally popular sport—probably because it appeals to our primal impulse to get rough and dirty. And it comes in all sorts of variations. There’s mashed potato wrestling—the “crowning event” at the Potato Days festival in South Dakota. But the practice has since spread to the distant reaches of Minnesota. 

Also: Kaiju Big Battel monster wrestling—the monstrous version beloved among residents of Queens, New York—described as “a mix of pro wrestling, Godzilla, and daytime soap opera.” Just check out the wild sizzle reel below:)