A Phone Worth Keeping

Modular phones, petrified bird photography, the Empire State Building's green roof and more in our weekly look at the web

When your phone dies, generally only one component has stopped working. Phonebloks is proposing a forward-thinking system—a modular phone built of replaceable and customizable parts, that could be repaired in the same way we fix cars. The message is sweeping the globe right now via the viral amplification service Thunderclap, where a video explains not only the issue with electronic waste but that this problem …

Growing Graffiti Moss

Modular phones, petrified bird photography, the Empire State Building's green roof and more in our weekly look at the web

Seemingly everyone is into growing moss script and graffiti these days, but there’s one girl who has it down to a science. Anna Garforth’s artwork thrives—it’s beautiful when it goes up, and even more interesting as it continues to grow and evolve. Inspired by the moss growing in the script on old grave stones, Garforth initially experimented in written graffiti and eventually mastered her technique. …

The Psychology of Language on Facebook

Modular phones, petrified bird photography, the Empire State Building's green roof and more in our weekly look at the web

As part of the World Well-Being Project, which leads initiatives to analyze social media’s big data for application to psychological theory, a new University of Pennsylvania study is sharing insights on the internet’s linguistic and personality trends. Amassing 75,000 volunteers, researchers examined status updates containing over 700 million words, phrases and topics. Through predictive analysis, they were able to match language with simple personality questionnaires, …