Kesha Is Trapped In Purgatory 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 evil producer ruining Kesha's life, cycling is stupid expensive and exploding leaves.
HER CAREER SHOULD NOT DIE YOUNG
Dr. Luke Is Ruining Kesha's Life
Reading this timeline of the ongoing contractual dispute between Kesha and her producer, Dr. Luke, will break your heart. Dr. Luke — actual name Lukasz Gottwald — convinced Kesha to drop out of high school at the age of 17 and move to Los Angeles. According to statements from Kesha's lawyer, on multiple occasions he forced her to drink and take drugs, sexually abused her when she passed out, then threatened to ruin her career if she ever spoke out against him. And thanks to contractual obligations, Kesha is not only restricted from releasing music outside of her label, Sony, but is also mandated to work with Dr. Luke specifically. Truly sad.
MORE PVC THAN PLAY-DOH
Our Brains Can Rewire Themselves, Sort Of
It is a common and somewhat meaningless platitude that you can do anything you put your mind to. However, whether that dedication physically rewires your brain — a process known as neuroplasticity — has yet to be proven. What research has found, though, is that the brains of those who have lost a part of themselves (whether they be stroke victims, amputees, or blind) have managed to alter neural pathways to make up for the lost functionality. It's not unlike when the Millennium Falcon takes a hit and Chewie has to dive in and find a way to reroute power to the deflector shields. Humans: We may not look like much but we got it where it counts.
[Mosiac]
JUST LEAF THEM ON THE SIDE OF THE STREET
This Is The Wrong Way To Dispose Of Leaves
We aren't here to tell you what to do. But that said: Please never burn leaves. Rake 'em up. Put them in a pile and jump on them. Just leave them be and let them kill your lawn. Whatever. Just don't bring fire into the equation. Still, that doesn't make what these dinguses did any less cool-looking.
[Digg]
THE RACE OF (FINANCIAL) TRUTH
Riding A Bike In A Circle As Fast As You Can For An Hour Is Expensive
The hour record — most commonly referred to as "the hour" — sounds simple enough: One bike with one gear on a single track that turns in only one direction. As far as riding a bike very fast it couldn't get any more dead-simple than that, right? Wrong. As it turns out, pedaling very hard and turning left for 60 minutes at any respectable speed will cost you somewhere north of five figures. At speeds north of 20 MPH, air starts to become a real pain in the ass. And to make it less of a pain in the ass, you're going to need to spend. Outside of the usual suspects like the kit and the bike, you can spend north of $1000 on bearings alone — all in the quest to reduce as much friction as possible.
[VeloNews]
NO ONE GIVES A FUCK
The Best Flight To Join The Mile High Club On Is A Red-Eye
One day, when our culture has fully shed its puritanical roots, having sex in an airplane will not longer be taboo. But for now, the best way to join the Mile High Club is on a red-eye where your few fellow passengers are either asleep or too wonked out on sleeping aids to really care that you and your partner are smushing guts in the bathroom. Godspeed.
WHO NEEDS A MASTER KEY WHEN YOU HAVE A MASTER LOCK?
You Can Pick A Master Lock With A Zip Tie
Granted, our skilled locksmith has a few things your average scofflaw might not: a fancy lockpicking stand, a pre-filed ziptie, and an abundance of experience. Still, it should be noted that locks are best viewed as theft-deterrents rather than preventers. And that the less skilled can just use bolt-cutters or a number of other less-discrete methods if they really want what the lock is protecting.
[Digg]
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