Link About It: This Week’s Picks
The truth about the Five-Second Rule, new more inclusive emoji, an exhibition about jargon and more
1. A New Origin Story for Dogs
When, where and how wolves were domesticated and eventually became dogs has always been disagreed upon by scientists. Now, new research suggests our best pals have a different origin story than once thought. Archaeologist and geneticist Greger Larson now believes—after extensive study—that dogs were domesticated not once, but twice. (It makes sense then, that the origin times and places were disputed.) Around the same time, Larson says dogs were domesticated in the East and the West (judging by bones found in both areas) and then, apparently, these dogs mated—thanks to their migrating owners—and became the pooches of today. Find out more at The Atlantic.
2. The BeltLine Will Be Atlanta’s Highline
The busy, traffic-filled city of Atlanta might be getting a little reprieve in the form of the BeltLine. Somewhat akin to NYC’s Highline, the plan is to convert about 22 miles of unused railway beds “circling the city’s urban core into a biking and pedestrian loop, a new streetcar line, and a staggeringly ambitious engine of urban revitalization.” Not only will the proposed trail result in less congestion in the city (ideally), it will also offering a refreshing place for city-dwellers to take a break from it all.
3. It’s Nice That Presents “A Load of Jargon”
During this year’s London Design Festival, creative inspiration publication It’s Nice That will be taking control of The Conran Shop’s windows and presenting their “A Load of Jargon” exhibition—”an installation that celebrates industry buzzwords.” From all your favorites to plenty of pet peeves (“blue sky thinking” to “disruptive content”) the exhibition promises to be immersive and entertaining. With five original artworks, the program will also include activities and workshops each Saturday. Read more at It’s Nice That.
4. The Reality of The Five-Second Rule
If you’re somebody who abides by the age-old Five-Second Rule (or the less trusted 30-Second Rule) you might not want to read this. Applied and Environmental Microbiology just published the results of a new study about the “rule” and have some bad news for floor-food enthusiasts. The scientists placed “watermelon, bread, bread with butter and gummy candy on a variety of different surfaces contaminated with the Enterobacter aerogenes” (a food-born bacteria) and found the food took less than one second to pick up bacteria. That said, the longer food was left on the floor, the more bacteria it gathered—maybe the One Second Rule is next? Read more at NYMag.
5. Watch The Launch of China’s Tiangong-2 Space Lab
Conducting 14 more experiments in space, astronauts aboard China’s Tiangong-2 space lab were zoomed off into space this week—and will remain on the orbiting station for up to 30 days. Research will focus on various fields; from advanced plant cultivation to space-to-earth quantum communications and more. The take-off was made available for streaming online, thanks to CCTV.
6. An Inside Look at Rapha
While “stay curious about everything” might appear to be the most quotable line from the new Apple-produced, iPhone-shot mini-doc about Rapha head of design Alex Valdman, it’s most certainly not the only important takeaway. “That’s what design is. It’s not creating a product, it’s the process that you go through. It’s not the final thing, but how you got to that final thing,” Valdman shares in earnest. The designer’s insights are coupled with striking imagery of his life, work and commute. Altogether, it’s a small window into the mind of someone producing excellent performancewear for cyclists.
7. New, More Inclusive Emoji
With all the big Apple news this week, one update was a little less acknowledged, but along with the iOS 10 upgrade that rolled out came a batch of new emoji. The more inclusive emoji feature various thoughtful images: single parent families, men with bunny ears, women doing all kinds of sports—all in a range of skin tones. Plus, the all-important rainbow flag. Check our Mashable’s cute and helpful chart for more.
8. Thomas Heatherwick’s Climbing “Vessel” at Hudson Yards
2,500 steps within 154 intersected, rising flights of stairs unite to form Thomas Heatherwick’s vision for “Vessel,” an immersive monument to be constructed at NYC’s new Hudson Yards facility. There are 80 unique landing points, offering vistas of the city and the surrounding perennial public garden and plaza. The painted steel frame expands as one goes up, lending a striking half-oval shape, open to the sky. Heatherwick took time to explain the inspiration and execution of the project with Design Boom, where you can read the full interview.
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on social media, and rounded up every Saturday morning.
