MODERN-DAY FRANKENSTEIN?
The Plan To Save A Life By Head Transplant
What would happen if it actually works?
WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK
Bad Design Kills, And Other Facts
Welcome To What We Learned This Week, a digest of the most curiously important facts from the past few days. This week, the fatal cost of flawed design, the impossible task of assembling Ikea furniture while high and the aliens possibly trying to shut down a star.
'I'M JUST SO BLESSED'
Simone Manuel Becomes First African-American Woman To Win Individual Swimming Medal
Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic medal in swimming Thursday night, tying for gold in the 100-meter freestyle with Penny Oleksiak of Canada.
CARRY-ONS WE DIGG ǀ SPONSORED
A Smarter Carry-On For High-Tech Travelers
Genius Pack’s luggage has integrated charging and compression technology so that you can stay connected and pack what you need while taking up less room. Use the promo code DIGGIT for $30 off!
PROBABLY SAID SORRY AFTERWARDS
Canadian TV Announcer Confuses Michael Phelps For Ryan Lochte For The Whole Dang Race
During last night's 200 meter individual medley, CBC announcer Elliotte Friedman thought Lochte was Phelps and Phelps was Lochte for the entire duration of the race. Even when the graphics say otherwise, Friedman is convinced that "Phelps might not even make the podium."
RIPPED FROM THE COMICS
The Marvel Chairman, A Hate-Mail Feud And Claims Of Stolen DNA
Isaac Perlmutter is at the center of a bizarre legal battle involving a smear campaign, his Canadian antagonist, allegations of defamation and, in a very 2016 twist, possible genetic larceny. And it all began over a tennis court tussle in Palm Beach.
DON'T USE IT TO POST SENSITIVE STUFF
Someone Figured Out How To See Instagram Stories In A Browser, And That’s A Problem
That you can very easily access something that should only be seen on a phone is kinda troubling if you're using Stories as a way to share more intimate moments.
BACKFIRE
How To Destroy A Presidential Candidate
Did a bad photo op change history? No. But the image of Michael Dukakis riding around in a tank during the 1988 presidential campaign tells us a lot about how campaigns do and don’t work.
OKAY, WE'RE READY FOR THIS
Watch The Awesome New Trailer For 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'
We're kind of more excited for "Rogue One" than we were for "The Force Awakens"? This spot, which aired during the Olympics, looks really frickin' great.
REQUIRES HIGH CHARISMA SCORE
How To Bend People To Your Will
According to an evolutionary theory proposed by a pair of psychologists, charisma is the ability to convince followers that you can get other members of a wider group to cooperate.
CLAW ABIDING CITIZENS
Three Fishermen Catch A Ton Of Lobsters Very Quickly
The awesome part is that once all those tasty little guys are out of the traps and onto the boat, these three badass fishermen set the traps up and start it all over again.
HYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING
Must Science Be Testable?
The string theory wars among physicists have highlighted just how much science needs philosophy — and not just the amature version.
THE MEN IN THE HIGH TOWERS
Serious Academics Are Full Of Shit
These fun-hating, highfalutin’ smarties have fought to maintain an exclusive and exclusionary scholastic environment since the first Ivory Towers were built.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CIVILIZATION
How Humanity Rose Up To Take Over The World
This killer animation over historian and author Yuval Noah Harari explaining succinctly what it is that makes humans rule and the rest of the animal kingdom drools.
THEY WILL KNOW US BY OUR BIOMETRICS
The Digital Identity Dilemma
The problem seems obvious. We all need some kind of consistent digital identity (think virtual ID "card") that can identify and authenticate us not only to all our devices, but to all our online services, commerce and banking accounts, and essentially anywhere where we need to digitally, or even physically, verify who we are. Actually solving that problem, it turns out, is pretty hard.
IT'S TOO HIGH
Marijuana To Remain At Highest Drug Classification
Marijuana will remain on the government's list of most highly regulated and dangerous drugs, the Obama administration says, despite growing popular support for the widespread legalization of pot.
FROM THE DIGG STORE
Get A Lifetime Droplr Pro Subscription For $22
Forget Dropbox, Droplr is the file sharing service you should be using. It’s intuitive, efficient and crazy on sale considering subscriptions normally cost $9/month.
'PEOPLE WERE FLOATING'
24 Injured In Severe Turbulence On Jetblue Flight From Boston To Sacramento
A JetBlue flight from Boston to Sacramento hit severe turbulence Thursday evening, causing injuries to 22 passengers and two crew members and forcing the Airbus 320 aircraft to land in Rapid City, South Dakota.
A L-SHAPED PAIN ON YOUR FOREHEAD
Losing Hurts (In Surprising Ways)
From dislike of strangers to weight gain, being a member or a fan of a losing effort can affect more than your mood.
DOZENS INJURED
Bombings In Thailand Target Tourist Spots, Kill Four
Four bombs exploded in the resort town of Hua Hin, while several blasts hit the island of Phuket, a top tourist destination, all within a 24-hour period on Thursday and Friday.
PROBING BLUE LIVES
What It's Like To Be A Cop In America Today
America's police officers are better trained, better educated and more diverse than their predecessors. But they’ve never felt more despised.
KEEP THE METH AWAY FROM SNORLAX
Bootleg 'Pokémon Go' App Is The Stuff Of Satan's Nightmares
While Niantic keeps fucking around and accidentally making "Pokémon Go" worse, other developers are making things worse, on purpose.
RUN FOR COVER
What It's Like To Be A Journalist Covering Trump
The presidential hopeful has insulted reporter Katy Tur on national TV, called her names during interviews, and made his campaign seemingly impossible to cover. Here, her no-holds-barred account of trailing the most unlikely candidate in GOP history.
QUICK AS A WHIP
How Ryan Lochte's Unusual Swimming Technique Propels Him Further And Faster Than His Competitors
Ryan Lochte doesn't swim like everyone else. Rather, he's developed a style that seems primed to reinvent freestyle swimming.
DON'T FALL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
Self-Driving Cars Will Improve Our Cities. If They Don’t Ruin Them.
We’re at a fork on that roadmap. One direction leads to a productive new century where cities are more sustainable, livable, equitable, and just.
WARNING: THIS STUFF WILL MAKE YOU CRINGE
The Worst Injuries At The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes give it their all, and sometimes they come away with wounds to show it.
EVERYTHING IS BOOMIN'
The Teen Who Has Made Millions Selling Rare Sneakers
A day in the life of 16-year-old rare-sneaker dealer Benjamin Kickz.
BODIES OF WORK
The Secret Lives Of Cadavers
How lifeless bodies become life-saving tools.
AN ESCAPE ROPE
How The Father Of The World Wide Web Plans To Reclaim It From Facebook And Google
Tim Berners-Lee’s new project, underway at his MIT lab, is called Solid (“social linked data”), a way for you to own your own data while making it available to the applications that you want to be able to use it.
DYING WORDS
The Race To Save A Dying Language
The discovery of Hawaii Sign Language in 2013 amazed linguists. But as the number of users dwindles, can it survive the twin threats of globalization and a rift in the community?
LOOK ELON, NO HANDS
I Just Drove Eight Hours On Tesla Autopilot And Lived To Tell The Tale
After 550 miles that included crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains, the only real problem was the driver behind the wheel.
RHYMES WITH 'METH CAR'
There's Something Weird Going On Beyond Neptune
A mysterious object has been discovered with an inexplicable orbit, and astronomers are stumped.
YOU DON'T NEED A TORNADO FOR SHARKNADO
Sharks Can Jump Ridiculously High Out Of The Water And We're All Going To Die
This is a Mako shark... but you know what else can jump? Great Whites.
THE SCIENCE OF SUCKING
How That Chucklehead Climbed Trump Tower Without Falling
Whatever the reason for this crazy Gecko Man stunt, there’s still some cool science behind those suction cups
'HOW YOU LIKE THIS?'
Well, Here's Hunter S. Thompson Having A Gunfight With His Neighbor On Camera
Hunter S. Thompson was a legendary writer and also probably insane, as evidenced by this old footage of him having a casual gunfight with his neighbor.
DON'T SMELL GREAT
The Sharks That Live To 400
In 1620, the Mayflower set off from Plymouth, carrying hopeful pilgrims to the New World. As it sailed over the Atlantic, it passed over deep, cold waters, where baby Greenland sharks were starting out their lives. And if a new study is right, some of them are still alive today.
'I THINK THEY WANT TOUGHER RHETORIC'
Read The Transcript of TIME’s Cover Story Interview With Donald Trump
TIME interviewed him on Aug. 9, just hours before he seemed to suggest the only remedy to a Hillary Clinton-nominated Supreme Court was for Second Amendment supporters to take action. What follows is a transcript that has been edited for clarity and length.
HE'S EARNED IT
Unstoppable Thief Chops Down An Entire Tree Just To Steal A Bike
Next time, remember to chain your bike to a bigger, badder tree.
SIZE MATTERS
The Curious Case Of The Incredible Shrinking Olympic Gymnast
At 4’8″, Simone Biles might be one of the smallest athletes competing in the Rio Olympics, but short is in for gymnasts.
WAY BEFORE LENNY WAS THE GUESS WHO
The Accidental Origin Of The Hit Song 'American Woman'
The song “American Woman” by The Guess Who wasn't ever supposed to happen. It wasn't planned, staged or pre-meditated. Yet you all know the iconic riff. Sometimes all it takes for a hit song to form is an accident, a bit of luck and a whole lot of inspiration. For Randy Bachman and The Guess Who, that's exactly what happened.
