- Old Print Articles: Body-snatchers work the Cleveland graveyards (1878) + Giant skeletons allegedly found in New Mexico (1902).
- Classic Photograph: Jules Reveillier demonstrates his car-boat (1907).
- Featured Videos: David H. Shepard demonstrates his Optical Character Reader (1959) + Devo puts the soul into the machine (1979) + Paul Butterfield performs on To Tell the Truth (1966) + The three-wheel Davis sedan had a fascinating design (1948) + Woody Allen decides to be the worst interview subject ever (1971) + Forager Euell Gibbons sells Grape Nuts (1970s) + Elizabeth Loftus doesn’t study bad memories, but false ones + DARPA’s Alpha Dog robot receives further testing + As he did in 1973, science historian James Burke tries to predict the future + An Exorcist reunion of Good Morning America (1984).
- Recently Posted on NYC’s Craigslist: I’m the kind of guy who turns negatives into positives + We offer a variety of flavors + You won’t be disappointed, but my son or daughter will + Why are all those men in wheelchairs speeding away?
- Glenn Greenwald discusses Snowden and surveillance in an Ask Me Anything.
- The surveillance state is boon as well as bane.
- Malcolm Gladwell has a new book about the advantages of the underdog.
- About 50 years ago, violinist Jascha Heifetz had an electric car built for him.
- Why, exactly, did the GOP decide to shut down the government?
- Robert Costa of the National Review did an AMA about the shutdown.
- The Drudge Report is still (unwittingly) revealing the GOP playbook.
- Beyond Meat attempts to make a facsimile that’s as delicious as the original.
- George Packer discusses the plague afflicting the American middle class.
- Mentally ill Americans think the government is spying on them, which it is.
- An excerpt from Dave Egger’s new novel about social media.
- Felix Salmon thinks Eggers has Silcon Valley all wrong.
- Despite appearances, the world is safer and smarter than ever.
- A succinct explanation of the importance of the late GOOG-411 service.
- Buzz Aldrin reviews Gravity for the Hollywood Reporter.
- Perhaps there’s a way to reconcile an autonomous society and a capitalist one.
- Autonomous cars will require smarter infrastructure.
- A Rand Corporation analyst answers questions about Obamacare.
- A look at the economic reasons to be concerned about digital books.
- Drones and autonomous automobiles are possible now. Why so?
- You’ll probably soon be able to have authors autograph your ebooks.
- Luxury yachts aren’t enough, so now there are lavish submarines.
- Underwater colonies are already feasible.
- A list of David Bowie’s 100 top must-read books.
- Douglas Coupland thinks there’s a currency scheme worth trying.
- A brief note from 1900 about eccentric brothers.
- A brief note from 1907 about a meat market.
- A brief note from 1907 about flame broiling.
- Afflictor Nation: Great Britain rules in September.
- This week’s Afflictor keyword searches.