420 Happens Twice a Day

Celebrating cannabis culture and its ever-evolving industry, some of our favorite new products

Cannabis culture in the United States has come a long way—especially in recent years, thanks to medical marijuana use being legalized across 28 of the 50 states. While 4/20 is a day for many to celebrate, it’s no longer the cliched stoner holiday. What began as code for marijuana use, the term “420” is becoming less and less necessary. From cooking to lotions, clothing and …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

The importance of doodles, the smell of old books, the power of Prince and more in our look around the web

1. Scent Detectives Define the Smell of Old Books You know the sensation of pressing your nose into an antique book or walking through a historic library. But we’ve long struggled with the exact adjectives to describe these scents. Thankfully, two University of London researchers have developed guidelines for describing these characteristics through chemical analysis of volatile organic compounds. To translate this academic approach to …

1970s Chicago Gangster Business Cards

After finding a business card for a gangster among his father’s keepsakes, Brandon Johnson did some research and found that it was quite common in the 1970s and ’80s in Chicago—when “street gangs made business cards displaying their symbols, nicknames, territories, and enemies.” With basic but somehow charming deigns, these cards are the subject of Johnson’s book, “Thee Almighty & Insane: Chicago Gang Business Cards …