The Artful Accidents of Google Books

The passing of a political hero, growing crops on the moon and the color of 2014 in this week's look at the web

As millions of pages are rapidly scanned into Google Books and made searchable to the public, interesting anomalies occur—the physical book’s history, such as tobacco stains or handwritten notes, end up being preserved online, along with glitches that occur during the scanning process, like the hand of the scanner operator covering a page. These “mistakes” have been collected in Tumblrs, used in new media art …

FlightAware Misery Map

The passing of a political hero, growing crops on the moon and the color of 2014 in this week's look at the web

Just in time for peak holiday travels, FlightAware’s real-time Misery Map collects weather and flight data from around the US to show the number of delays and cancellations at major airports. Hover over each airport to see which specific flights are affected—and if yours is, know that you are in solidarity with the 300+ other delays around the country.

Pet Hospice

The passing of a political hero, growing crops on the moon and the color of 2014 in this week's look at the web

As the lives of our pets become increasingly more human—with pet-specific spas, cupcakes and ice cream—so does a pet’s passing, thanks to the growing pet hospice industry. Much like humans, pets are taken off the heavy meds and transitioned to pain killers and anti-anxiety treatments to ease their final days. The one point of difference is the option of euthanasia; when a vet comes to …