Photograph by chaossart
Photograph by chaossart
 
WHAT WE FOUND
A crow perched on a fence post looking directly at the camera
Are Crows Really Our Friends?
Somewhere out there, a crow probably knows your face better than you’d think, and remembers exactly how you treated it. One writer’s sister has been feeding two neighborhood crows for years, and they’ve started recognizing her, greeting her, even leaving little gifts behind. Crows might actually meet the real criteria for friendship, recognition, memory, genuine bonds, better than almost any other wild animal out there. Say hello next time. ›
A birthday cake with lit candles in a darkened room
The Surprising Reason Why We Blow Out Birthday Candles
You lean over a table and blow, and nobody has ever explained why. It turns out breath has long been treated as the soul. That makes a silent wish over candles closer to a prayer than a party trick. Where it actually came from. ›
 
MORE GOOD STUFF
Aerial view of a remote island surrounded by ocean
Where to Be If It All Goes Wrong
Researchers read hundreds of studies on how civilisation might come apart, then worked out which countries would cope best. See what won. ›
A wooden bee bed built over a live hive in a sunny field
This Farm Uses Bees for Relaxation Therapy
In rural Ontario you can lie down on a wooden bed built over 50,000 live bees. The hive holds about 35 degrees, the cabin smells of honey and propolis, and the woman who runs it says nobody leaves the way they arrived. Meet the queen bee. ›
 
TOP SHELF
Are women better whiskey tasters? The airport in India built in a swamp. And countries with most and least paid time off.
 
ONE TO FOLLOW
Painting of a quiet human scene by Beijing artist @jingzhiyong
@jingzhiyong
An amazing Beijing painter, creating scenes of life and humanity.
 
LAST WORD
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
— MARCUS AURELIUS