worth reading: november 15-december 11, 2025

happy (early) winter holidays!

animals:

“The History of Exploding Whales Is the History of the Internet Itself” by Andrew David Thaler
- "There are very few universal truths about the internet, but one thing is certain: Since the very beginning, we have loved watching whales explode."
raccoons specifically:
- “Raccoons Are Showing Early Signs of Domestication” by Marina Wang
- “Raccoon goes on drunken rampage in Virginia liquor store and passes out on bathroom floor” by Emily Rose Grassi
  - in case anyone missed the instantly iconic viral drunk raccoon photo
“A special Galapagos photo essay” by Ed Yong
- Ed Yong is the best and these are phenomenal photos!!
“Why Won’t Nora the Leopard Seal Abandon Her Dead Pups?” by Sabrina Imbler
“Meet the semi-slug – a snail without a home” by Bec Crew
- this blew my mind
“Army of Crabs Protect Spy Robot From Stingray | Spy In The Ocean | BBC Earth” by BBC Earth @ YouTube
- the footage of the stingray eating the unfortunate crab is pure horror
“On Anteaters” by Jodi Ettenberg
- :)

comically sized clothing:

“His Jeans Are Gigantic. His Internet Fame Is Too.” by Jacob Gallagher and Saeed Rahbaran (unpaywalled)
- please look at the photos
Linen Jacket for a very tall child by Fashion Brand Company
- EM this could be you!!!

climate/nature:

design:

LIT Lighting Design Awards
- did you know there were lighting design awards?
In Common With
- speaking of lighting, check out the lights-off feature on this website :)
The Bad UX World Cup
The personal website of Dr. Richard Evan Schwartz
- now this is a web site!!!
“Fran Sans Essay” by Emily Sneddon
- N-Judah forever 😤😤😤
“The Land of Giants” by CHOI+SHINE

computing and math:

books:

“Meet the 2025 National Book Award Finalists” by Emily Temple
- Rabih Alameddine’s interview (the very first one) won me over, but one really marvelous feature is that the author interviews both the authors and the translator(s) of every single translated fiction nominee!
“Escape Artists” by Daniel Yadin
- this was controversial and as a non-romantasy reader I have little stake in it, but I will die on one hill: Naomi Novik is not a romantasy author!

crime/mystery/fraud in which no one dies:

“The Missing Kayaker” by Jamie Thompson and Caleb Alvarado (unpaywalled)
- I forgot all about seeing this in the news earlier this year and was gobsmacked. it's a really good read.
“The Blue Book Burglar” by Jack Rodolico
“Is your Casio F-91W a fake?” by Andy C

gambling:

titles of important questions:

cold (beer and snow):

and everything else:

“How to Fix a Typewriter and Your Life” by Kurt Streeter and Ruth Freemason
- shoutout to KQ for getting to this one first lol
“One Night at Kachka” by Erin DeJesus, Danielle Centoni, and Jen Stevenson
- an oldie but a goodie!
“Everything the Baby Currently Believes to be Basketball” by Daniel Lavery
Level Devil by unept
- I tried playing a few levels of this and laughed out loud at how evil it is
“The Airport-Lounge Wars” by Zach Helfand (unpaywalled)