Link About It: This Week’s Picks

A braille smartwatch, Google Doodle celebrating our new planet friends, color-changing hair dye and more

1. New Planets Are a Google Doodle The news that NASA discovered an exoplanet system some 40 light-years (235 trillion miles) away from Earth—three of which are in the habitable (or Goldilocks) zone—was a big deal yesterday. Never a company to be too late to the party, Google created a very cute Doodle celebrating the seven planets. With Earth, our moon and each of the …

Steven Spazuk’s Impressive Fire Art

The artist tells us his Zippo lighter is both a tool and a muse

Sponsored by Zippo

In a truly romantic tale, artist Steven Spazuk says that the idea to paint using flames came to him in a dream. After his first attempt—which resulted in a page burnt to a crisp—he became obsessed with perfecting the technique. From there, he started using a Zippo lighter along with candles and torches, and used heavier card stock; now his name is synonymous with the …

375,000 Images From the Met Are Yours to Use, Free

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s public domain policy has changed this week, making 375,000 images in the collection free to be used in any which way you can think up. Additionally, the new policy makes data about the collection available. Understanding that visiting a museum is more than gazing at a full paintings, the Met also uploaded detailed images of artworks, and even their frames. …