The Last Blockbuster Video Store in America

From 9,000 stores in 2004 to just one last hold-out today, Blockbuster has suffered under the hands of digital rentals and modern consumer habits. Located in the central Oregon city of Bend, Sandi Harding’s Blockbuster isn’t just there for pictures—she’s actually renting out films. She insists that not so much has changed, saying “IBM computers are running the same floppy disks from the 1990s,” according …

Succulent-Saving Six-Legged Robots

Adapted from the robot HEXA, developed by Beijing-based technology company Vincross, this moving flower pot prototype not only holds small succulent plants, it changes locations to address whether a plant has too little or too much sunlight. In addition to scuttling, it dances if the plant needs water and swipes at people passing by. Vincross CEO Tianqi Sun explains that the robot was developed in …

The Disappearance of the Middle Child in America

In the ’70s, the most common family unit in America featured four children, according to a Pew Research Center study from 1976. At that time, only 24% of mothers between the ages of 40 and 44 had birthed just two children. Today, however, the default family size across America has shrunk to two children per unit. The Cut attributes this many things, including the fact …