Welcome back to the Abstract! Here are the studies this week that felt the heat, left their mark, survived a cataclysm, and watched cows watch TV. First, the bones of long-dead whalers are spilling out their Arctic graves due to human-driven climate change. Then: a trip to “where the snakes ...
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Here’s the Bodycam Footage of the Cybertruck That Drove Into a LakeHere’s the Bodycam Footage of the Cybertruck That Drove Into a Lake
📄 This article was primarily reported using public records requests. We are making it available to all readers as a public service. FOIA reporting can be expensive, please consider subscribing to 404 Media to support this work. Or send us a one time donation via our tip jar here. On ...
Behind the Blog: The Attention WarsBehind the Blog: The Attention Wars
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss Spencer Pratt, bricking phones, and the FTC. JASON: I have watched mostly in horror as Spencer Pratt has taken over the internet ...
The Oldest Evidence of Animal Sex Has Been Found, and It’s Mind-BogglingThe Oldest Evidence of Animal Sex Has Been Found, and It’s Mind-Boggling
Scientists have discovered the oldest fossilized evidence of sexual reproduction and locomotion in animals at a remote site in Canada’s Northwest Territories that dates back 567 million years to the Ediacaran period, according to a study published on Wednesday in Science Advances. According to researchers, the finding pushes the origins ...
This Archivist Has Saved 175,000 Articles from 30 Years of Writing about Magic: The GatheringThis Archivist Has Saved 175,000 Articles from 30 Years of Writing about Magic: The Gathering
I have been playing Magic: The Gathering on and off since I was a child and in that time I’ve read countless articles and websites about the game. Much of it is lost to time and internet churn. Sites are deleted and even the strongest hobby writing vanishes if it ...
How Deepfakes Tore a High School ApartHow Deepfakes Tore a High School Apart
On a school night in early December, a freshman at Radnor High School in Pennsylvania wrote in Snapchat messages to his friends that his parents took his phone away. “why,” one replied. “the app,” he answered. “o shi. did you admit to what it was or just the money,” another ...
Podcast: Elites Just Don’t Get AIPodcast: Elites Just Don’t Get AI
We start this week with Sam telling us all about the commencement speeches where speakers have been praising AI, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. That did not go down well! After the break, Jason tells us how he was offered the chance to buy a bunch of images of ...
After Town Bans Flock, Councilmember Crashes Out, Proposes Internet and Phone BanAfter Town Bans Flock, Councilmember Crashes Out, Proposes Internet and Phone Ban
Subscribe Join the newsletter to get the latest updates. Success Great! Check your inbox and click the link. Error Please enter a valid email address. After months of discussion and outrage from residents, the city council of the tiny town of Bandera, Texas voted 3-2 to immediately end its contract ...
Township Leader Resigns in Tears Over OpenAI Data Center Death ThreatsTownship Leader Resigns in Tears Over OpenAI Data Center Death Threats
The treasurer of Saline Township, Michigan, publicly resigned last week citing death threats she’d received related to the construction of an Oracle and OpenAI datacenter. “I’m submitting my resignation effective May 29th. I can’t take it anymore. The threats. The ‘I’m gonna tar and feather you.’ I hope you get ...
Lawyer for Guy Who Sued Women Who Called Him ‘Psycho’ Caught Using AILawyer for Guy Who Sued Women Who Called Him ‘Psycho’ Caught Using AI
The guy who sued 27 women, one man, and several platforms after users in a Facebook group called him “clingy” and “psycho” had his case against Meta dismissed after a judge suggested that his attorney filed AI-generated errors and non-existent citations. In Nikko D’Ambrosio’s complaint, he claimed Facebook profited off ...