An Atlas Obscura piece, drawing on Iona and Peter Opie’s work on children’s folklore, explores the meaning of the seemingly meaningless “67”:
“And through these quaint ready-made formulas the ridiculousness of life is underlined, the absurdity of the adult world and their teachers proclaimed, danger and death mocked, and the curiosity of language itself is savoured.”
The video from Primal Space below gives a fascinating insight into Ikea’s history, furniture manufacturing, engineering practices, and cost-saving focus. The video shows the evolution of the LACK coffee table, highlighting its use of non-warping particle board, honeycomb paper, and the development of hollow but strong legs.
The current zeitgeist suggests we’re in an AI bubble, and it may even be starting to deflate as I write this. With that in mind, I’ve been revisiting writing on how speculative bubbles, despite their excesses, often leave behind long-term benefits. The basic idea is that while an AI bubble might eventually burst—especially if expectations around the silly idea of “general artificial intelligence” prove unrealistic—the massive buildout of data centers, energy infrastructure, and computational resources could form the foundation for future waves of innovation.
I’ve been curious about the now-ubiquitous use of black disposable gloves in food-focused social media, and also increasingly in traditional marketing and the street-level marketing of restaurants. Their rise is undeniably aesthetic, but there also seem to be some practical reasons behind the trend.
Living in Seoul, one quickly encounters ongoing debates about urban redevelopment in a city where public and private interests, heritage conservation, and the need for green spaces constantly intersect. Below are two recent articles from The Korea Herald that explore such themes:
The Verge published an article that delves into 😼 how we are starting to “sound like ChatGPT”. Our relationship with language is evolving because of LLMs, impacting our thinking in ways we may not yet comprehend.
I came across some articles examining how automation is impacting South Korea’s mass food catering, specifically school lunches and highway restaurants. I really enjoy eating healthy and inexpensive meals at places like these. But this also means that they are facing significant challenges because of labour shortages and rising costs.
According to Nikkei Asia, the trend of longer movies is at odds with the rise of faster playback speeds on streaming platforms, reflecting viewers’ desire to watch videos more efficiently. Streaming removes traditional movie constraints like physical media limitations (e.g., 120 mins VHS tapes), giving creators more freedom. This, however, may not align with what consumers are looking for.
Check out these two recent articles exploring the influence of 4chan’s “shitposting” on internet culture and politics.
In a Wired article, Ryan Broderick examines the pervasive influence of 4chan-like sites on the mainstream internet. My main memory of the site is my friends using its random posts to view shocking, often sexually explicit and racist content, which I felt was affecting their views. His refresher on 4chan’s functionality was helpful:
As of today, March 5, 2025, Microsoft has shut down Skype. I honestly thought Teams had already replaced it years ago. Still, reading the news made me nostalgic about how I, my friends, family, and colleagues once used Skype.