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ScienceWill Brands Reinvent Money, or Are Digital Dollars a Bust?
Many forms of so-called digital money aren’t actually so new or innovative—nor actual ‘money,’ in most cases—and often have a number of key aspects in common. The ways in which they differ may be our best indicators for whether this or that payment system or crypto-coin will survive, or simply end up worthless. For millennia, … Continued
By Janet Burns -
Tech NewsIt’s Time to Stop Using Police Dogs
One overcast day in February 2016, a massive police motorcade coursed through Pittsburgh. Hundreds of officers mourned one of their own—Officer Aren, a five-year-old German Shepherd, a four-year veteran of the city’s Port Authority force. The dog had died from stab wounds. Days earlier, 37-year-old Bruce Kelly, Jr., a Black Baltimore resident, was reportedly drinking … Continued
By Janet Burns -
Tech NewsHow the Invention of Spreadsheet Software Unleashed Wall Street on the World
In 2010, a pair of researchers published a controversial economics paper. It was cited by UK politicians to justify austerity measures that sparked economic and employment crises, and anti-austerity protests—measures that the UN later called “punitive, mean-spirited, and often callous” inflicting “great misery.” In 2013, however, this widely influential paper was found to have been … Continued
By Janet Burns -
Tech NewsAnimal Teeth, Wood, and Porcelain: How the First Dentures Were Made
The human body is resilient, but not every part is replaceable internally. As a result, people are always on the lookout for better methods of transplant and prosthesis, which we’ve harnessed as medical tools since ancient times, particularly in our mouths. After thousands of years of attempts, dental science has recently managed to replace human … Continued
By Janet Burns -
ScienceHuman HistoryThe Psychology of Faking Your Own Death
Why would anyone fake their own death? Some seek a departure from royalty, a career as a pirate, or a quiet life after taking down the Third Reich. Usually, they’re chasing an escape from bankruptcy or bad marriages. But for some, it may seem that staging their own death is the only way to feel … Continued
By Janet Burns -
Tech NewsNext-Gen Baggies Are Transforming Legal Weed
After a recent trip to her local dispensary, my mom recalled how, when she was young, black-market cannabis was really only available by the “lid”—usually, a sandwich bag partly filled with ground-up plant, the official size of which tended to vary. Today, she can choose rich, cleverly named buds by the gram or quarter ounce … Continued
By Janet Burns
Janet Burns
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