A list of good reads

• Reuters has an excellent interactive report on the balloon warfare between South Korea and North Korea. 
• The Guardian has a must-read on a racist, misogynistic, and non-existent ‘Oxford study’ used to troll Asian women dating white men. 
• Washington Post (splainer gift link) offers a scientific explanation as to why it’s better to wear linen than cotton in the summer heat. 
• Quanta Magazine reports on a naturally-occurring protein—which controls deep sleep in most life on Earth. 
• Kenji López-Alt in New York Times (splainer gift link) has a useful read on the best way to cut an onion—according to maths. 
• In Between Humans and Computers offers a fascinating scrolling lecture on the history of the computer mouse.  
• Another great interactive feature: the deep dive by Knowing Machines on the making of datasets—used to train large-language AI models. 
• Cosmopolitan UK unpacks the concept of a ‘platonic ick’ and why people are quick to get grossed by their friends. 
• OTOH, Vox has a lovely interview with Anna Goldfarb on the secret to modern friendships.
• Independent UK explores the latest social media trend called ‘sadfishing’—“the act of posting on social media for sympathetic comments and reactions.”