The secret to Lego’s enduring appeal
(via Fast Company) It’s a secret hiding in plain sight for anyone who has ever clicked Lego bricks together.
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Cultures
Learning about your own and that of others
11 Refreshing Facts about Gelato
(via mental_floss) Italy deserves major kudos for the culinary gifts—pizza, pasta, and pesto, to name a few—it has bestowed upon
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Fascinating Things You Didn’t Know About Salt
(via Ranker) You might think you know a little something about salt. It comes in grains, it’s the only rock
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At Pizza Pacaya, the Oven Is an Active Volcano
(via Atlas Obscura) Chef David García’s secret ingredient is lava.
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Meet the Appalachian Apple Hunter Who Rescued 1,000 ‘Lost’ Varieties
(via Atlas Obscura) Tom Brown’s retirement hobby is a godsend for chefs, conservationists, and cider.
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Italian Art Restorers Used Bacteria to Clean Michelangelo Masterpieces
(via Smithsonian) Researchers deployed microbes to remove stains and grime from the marble sculptures in Florence’s Medici Chapels
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Althea Gibson’s Momentous Achievement
(via Smithsonian) She was the first Black athlete—man or woman—to win any major national tennis championship
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The 20 Longest-Running TV Shows of All Time
(via Mental Floss) Television is a competitive industry, and many shows are lucky to get picked up past season one.
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9 Facts About Vincent Van Gogh
(via Mental Floss) Born on March 30, 1853, in Zundert, Netherlands, Vincent van Gogh came to art relatively late, only
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The Historic Russian Recipe That Turns Apples Into Marshmallows
(via Atlas Obscura) Disarmingly simple, pastila is lighter than air.
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Los Angeles Is Covered in Delicious Fruit and No One Is Eating It
(via Atlas Obscura) A story of immigrant populations, gentrification, and the free loquat bonanza.
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A Brief History of the Cheez-It
(via Smithsonian) America’s iconic orange cracker turns 100 this year
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