Urban Running Maps

Philip Seymour Hoffman's inimitable talent, architecture in ice, bionic hands and more in our weekly look at the web

It’s hard to imagine that just a few decades ago, people thought jogging in the the US would be a fad. Now you’d be hard pressed to walk a few blocks without seeing someone on a run—which for data nerds begs a lot of questions: Where are people running? Where are they not? Using data from the fitness app RunKeeper, Nathan Yau has created maps …

Made in the Land of Wheat and Maize

Philip Seymour Hoffman's inimitable talent, architecture in ice, bionic hands and more in our weekly look at the web

In an insightful mini documentary intended to reflect the spirit of their storied brand, Minnesota’s Red Wing shoes has cast a lens on fellow Midwesterner and beautifully crooning Bon Iver frontman, Justin Vernon, who’s been wearing their classic boots for years. From an inside look at the singer’s Wisconsin studio (dubbed April Base) to a wide range of personal biographical stories, the down-to-earth video offers …

You Snooze, You Lose

Philip Seymour Hoffman's inimitable talent, architecture in ice, bionic hands and more in our weekly look at the web

Research has proven that snoozers are, in fact, losers. Evidently the few extra minutes of sleep that many think are easing them awake are actually making getting up even more difficult, as it means plunging back into the first part of the sleep cycle, which is the worst moment to then be woken up again. This doesn’t just make getting out of bed trickier, it …