Why Amazon Has So Many Counterfeit Goods
Seizures of counterfeit products at U.S. borders have increased 10-fold over the past two decades as e-commerce sales have boomed. The total value of seized goods – if they had been real – reached nearly $1.4 billion in 2018. Most are coming from mainland China or Hong Kong.
The Internet Is Destroying Our Collective Attention Span
The length of time our “collective attention” is on any given event has grown shorter, and topics become popular and then drop out of public view at an accelerating rate. It’s no surprise if it feels harder and harder to dwell deeply on any topic.
Zaha Hadid Architects’ Giant Starfish-Shaped Airport Opens In Beijing
Zaha Hadid Architects has completed Beijing Daxing International Airport, a five-pronged building that is one of the largest passenger terminals in the world. Designed by the late Zaha Hadid and current studio principal Patrik Schumacher, the 700,000-square-metre airport to serve Beijing has been designed to be as compact as possible.
Ponzi Schemes, Private Yachts, And A Missing $250 Million In Crypto: The Strange Tale Of Quadriga
When Canadian blockchain whiz Gerald Cotten died unexpectedly last year, hundreds of millions of dollars in investor funds vanished into the crypto ether. But when the banks, the law, and the forces of Reddit tried to track down the cash, it turned out the young mogul may not have been who he purported to be.
Inside The Apple Team That Decides Which Apps Get On iPhones
Before a developer can sell an app on the App Store, it must be approved by Apple’s app review team. The former head of App Store reviews discusses why apps get rejected, competition between Apple and developers, and planning for WWDC.
“The Fence”, Award-Winning Short Film About Britain In The 80s
Set on the rough and ready streets of 1980’s Bristol, United Kingdom. This short film follows a council estate boy and his scoundrel friends as they rip through the estates. Motorcycles, cars and punch ups to be expected!
Flat 13: Facing Down Apartheid
This is the story of the apartment in downtown Johannesburg that, between the late 1940s and early 1960s, became a hub of resistance against apartheid.
How Philadelphia Became The One And Only Cream Cheese
There is only one cream cheese, and that is the brick-shaped silver package with the bright blue lettering: Philadelphia. Philadelphia cream cheese’s dominance isn’t a happy accident. Its cult popularity is likely the result of equal parts clever marketing and good timing.
How Slack Ruined Work
Slack is a particularly “scary offender” in stopping people getting their work done because it encourages them to be constantly distracted. It’s scary because messenger-based systems directly tap into how humans seek to reward themselves, and the long term result is unhealthy.
The Apps On My Phone Are Stalking Me
Your location, your purchases, video and audio from within your home and office, your online searches and every digital wandering, biometric tracking of your face and other body parts, your heart rate and other vital signs, your every communication, recording, and perhaps your deepest thoughts or idlest dreams.
How Norway Designed A More Humane Prison
Halden Prison in Norway looks sort of like a fancy dorm room or a hotel — much different than the barbed wire and cramped cells we often associate with prison design. Its look is all part of a plan to create a more humane prison, one where the architecture isn’t part of the punishment.
How To Prepare Your Kids For Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet
Artificial Intelligence will rule the jobs of the future, so learning how to work with it will be key. “There’s three job opportunities coming in the future,” says Avi Goldfarb. He divides them up into people who build AI, people who tell the machines what to do and determine what to do with their output, and, finally, celebrities.
Former Secret Service Agent Explains How to Detect Counterfeit Money
Former Secret Service Agent Jonathan Wackrow explains how the Service keeps counterfeit currency out of circulation. The Secret Service was installed to combat counterfeit money during the Civil War, and the Service still to this day works tirelessly to suppress counterfeits.
Elon Musk’s Battery Farm Is An Undeniable Success
More than two years after winning an electricity bet, Elon Musk’s resulting Australian solar and wind farm is an almost total success. The facility powers rural South Australia, whose population density falls between Wyoming and Alaska, the two least dense U.S. states.
Defeated Chess Champ Garry Kasparov Has Made Peace With AI
For almost two decades after becoming world champion in 1985, Garry Kasparov dominated the game with a ferocious style of play and an equally ferocious swagger. In 1997, at the height of his powers, Kasparov was crushed and cowed by an IBM supercomputer called Deep Blue.
Japan’s Yakuza: Inside The Syndicate
With at least 50,000 members, Japan’s Yakuza gangs form one of the world’s largest criminal networks. Anton Kusters, a Belgian photographer, was allowed a rare glimpse inside a Yakuza family in early 2009. He documented the family for two years.
Dracula Bosses Erect Billboard That Comes To Life At Night
The BBC decided to give Dracula fans a fright with two billboards of the show that come to life at night. A shadow of the infamous vampire appears in the center of the advert, which looks as though it has been cast by a number of wooden stakes plunged into the advert.
The Great American Labor Paradox: Plentiful Jobs, Most Of Them Bad
The numbers tell one story. Unemployment in the US is the lowest it’s been in 50 years. More Americans have jobs than ever before. Wage growth keeps climbing. People tell a different story. Long job hunts. Trouble finding work with decent pay. A lack of predictable hours.
The High-Tech Vertical Farmer
In the kale-filled facility at vertical farm startup Bowery Farming, it’s a piece of proprietary software that makes most of the critical decisions — like when to harvest and how much to water each plant. But it still takes humans to carry out many tasks around the farm.
The Strange Neuroscience Behind Our Understanding Of Free Will
Do we really have free will? In a three-part series, the BBC explores the hidden powers behind the choices we make. This episode looks at the neuroscience behind our understanding of free will.
The Economics Of Cruise Ships
For decades, cruise companies have gone to great lengths to bypass US employment laws, hiring foreign workers for less than $2/hour. They’ve sheltered themselves as foreign entities while simultaneously benefitting from US taxpayer-funded agencies and resources.