Researchers in a new U.K.-led study found a staggering volume of microplastics on the seafloor. At up to 1.9 million pieces on a single square meter, it’s the highest level on record.[...]

If you’ve been itching to get back to the outside world, two words might make you think again: murder hornets. For the first time, these gigantic, invasive hornets have been spotted in the U.S., which could be a problem for both humans and honeybees.[...]

In an effort to find a balance between protecting the significant investment in our cellular devices and protecting the planet, LifeProof has developed a phone case that sources materials diverted from the ocean and simultaneously supports organizations directly involved in providing safe water, protecting ocean life and maintaining river habitat. [...]

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— 和田 賢治 @ TSUBAKI LAB.代表：木を科学していく (@simplife_plus) May 5, 2020

What seems to be just a page full of bubbles turns out to be a heartwarming message when viewed from a distance. This newspaper from Gifu Shimbun was issued on May 6.

Utilizing a form of bubbly negative space to render the text, the newspaper spelled out a message to its readers about social distancing. The magic is you have to maintain an appropriate social distance to read the letters.

The message reads, 離れていても　心はひとつ, which means even though we’re apart, our hearts are one.

Thanks, Japan!

(Image Credit: @simplife_plus/ Twitter)

Astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and other institutes have found the black hole that is currently the closest to Earth. The aforementioned black hole lies just 1000-light years from our planet, and is closer to our Solar System compared to others found to date. What’s more, it is part of a triple system that can be seen with the naked eye.

They say this system could just be the tip of the iceberg, as many more similar black holes could be found in the future.

"We were totally surprised when we realised that this is the first stellar system with a black hole that can be seen with the unaided eye," says Petr Hadrava, Emeritus Scientist at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague and co-author of the research.

More details about this finding over at ScienceDaily.

(Image Credit: JohnsonMartin/ Pixabay)

There’s nothing stopping Jimmy Donaldson aka Mr. Beast from giving away money, this time doing it via video calls. Watch as he and his friends pretend to be a news reporter, school professor, and many others as they interview people, and then surprise them by giving them thousands of dollars. Some recognize him and his team, however.

“A lot of people are going through a ruff time right now so I tried my best to do some good,” he said in the video description. He also posted this on his birthday, and said that liking or subscribing would be “a dope present.”

Very wholesome.

(Video Credit: MrBeast/ YouTube)

Which classic novel would you like to read? Penguin Books makes many classics cheaply available with its iconic covers. You can make your own cover with Nicholas Love's easy web tool.

You can see many funny results in this Twitter thread. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an urgent need to find photos of my co-workers.

-via Aelfred the Great

Movie star Robert Mitchum is best known for his many roles that combined allure and menace, in movies such as Cape Fear and The Night of the Hunter. Oh yeah, and for his rowdiness that included being fired from at least one movie and that memorable arrest for marijuana possession. But his life before Hollywood would make a good movie in itself. When Mitchum was only 14 years old, he was sent to live with his sister, but he didn't stay there long.

Mitchum (1917-97) left his sister’s home in New York. He hopped a freight to who knows where. Life was an adventure to be gained and this was how it would start. He rode flatbeds, freight cars, refrigerated trains, teeth-chattering, knees-kocking, met old timers who knew no other life and gave him advice on what to do, and who to avoid, how to steal food and clothes, hunt squirrel, panhandle, and keep clear of the law.

This was an education. This was the hobo life Mitchum had read about and long-wanted to follow. He felt at home among these outsiders, though some of them thought him no more than a tourist, a “scenery-bum”, just along for the ride. Near train stops and train yards, he’d find hobo hideouts and sit by fire light listening to stories told by world-worn travellers.

It didn't take much time before the young teen was arrested for vagrancy in Savannah, Georgia. He was put on a chain gang doing hard labor, and soon knew that his life was in danger if he didn't escape. Read the exciting story of Robert Mitchum's jailbreak at Flashbak. -via Strange Company

It's not 'Patch Tuesday,' but software giant Adobe today released emergency updates for three of its widely used products that patch dozens of newly discovered critical vulnerabilities. The list of affected software includes Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Bridge, and Magento e-commerce platform, containing a total of 35 vulnerabilities where each one of them is affected with multiple critical

A new type of mobile banking malware has been discovered abusing Android's accessibility features to exfiltrate sensitive data from financial applications, read user SMS messages, and hijack SMS-based two-factor authentication codes. Called "EventBot" by Cybereason researchers, the malware is capable of targeting over 200 different financial apps, including banking, money transfer services,

An advanced group of Chinese hackers has recently been spotted to be behind a sustained cyber espionage campaign targeting government entities in Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Brunei—which went undetected for at least five years and is still an ongoing threat. The group, named 'Naikon APT,' once known as one of the most active APTs in Asia until 2015,

The post The Wayfinder: YA Fantasy appeared first on Fiction Notes.

READ A FREE HEARTLAND TALES SHORT STORY: CLICK HERE The Wayfinder was my first published novel, 2000 Greenwillow/Harpercollins. I remember where I was when I heard the news that someone wanted to publish this manuscript. I was with my oldest daughter, Sara, at a local mall. I had to use a pay phone to call Continue Reading

The post The Wayfinder: YA Fantasy appeared first on Fiction Notes.

I can tell you--after seeing them in the bathroom mirror this morning--this shortcrust pastry recipe will give you les poignées d'amour. That's French for "love handles." Même pas peur? Not even scared? Good! Read on and discover a truly delicious and versatile pâte brisée. I should know...I've tested 10 of them in the past week--ever since you asked for the recipe! Today's Word: la pâte brisée : shortcrust pastry, a rich dough for making pie crust Audio: Listen to the words pâte brisée in this soundfile En cuisine, la pâte brisée est une pâte servant de base aux tartes salées ou sucrées. La pâte brisée désigne généralement une pâte composée principalement de farine et de matière grasse sans sucre. In cooking, shortcrust pastry is a dough used as a base for savory or sweet pies. Shortcrust pastry generally refers to a dough composed mainly of flour and fat, without sugar. Jérôme's Pâte Brisée: 4-ingredient Shortcrust Pastry (makes one large or two small tarts!) Ingredients... 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup white wine 1/2 cup sunflower oil Note: ordinary white wine is all you need. Leftover wine will work as long as it hasn't turned to vinegar. For...

Dramatic action is needed now to blunt the immediate pain of vulnerable workers.

Soon after he offered public assurances that the government was ready to battle the coronavirus, the powerful chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, sold off a significant percentage of his stocks, unloading between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his holdings on Feb. 13 in 33 separate transactions. As the head of the intelligence […]

Well, depending when and where you saw him, it might have been…me. When this whole thing started, we were told that people wearing bandannas and even N95 masks in public were fools: “Don’t you idiots know that just cloth won’t … Read more

By Dan Duddy  Published: May 06th, 2020 

By Maxwell Yezpitelok  Published: May 07th, 2020 

By Dan Duddy  Published: May 07th, 2020 

By Isaac Cabe  Published: May 08th, 2020 

By Dan Duddy  Published: May 08th, 2020 

By Jordan Breeding,Caleb Gritsko  Published: May 08th, 2020 

I am currently reading “Alice Isn’t Dead” by Joseph Fink and “Limetown” by Cote Smith, two novels which are based on dramatic fiction podcasts I like. And recently I saw a trailer for “Homecoming” which is a TV show based on a dramatic fiction podcast I like. I listen to a lot of podcasts due... Continue Reading →

Ah, yes, a fine example of a sketchy leasing agent getting bested by a truly, professional revenge. This tenant was well equipped to educate the leasing agent on the finer details of how the lease worked. Makes you wonder how many more unsuspecting tenants that leasing agent might've fooled. Well, not this one.

Check out more juicy apartment drama with this story about a dude who was threatened by his landlord, and proceeded to go full Karen. 

On February 20, 1792, President Washington formally created the U.S. Postal Service with the signing of the Postal Service Act, which outlined in detail Congressional power to establish official mail routes. The act allowed for newspapers to be included in mail deliveries and made it illegal for postal officials to open anyone's mail.

Just because you have me in the palm of your hand DOES NOT mean I'm "EASY", Mister!

Even though you're living on some distant planet, there's no reason you can't look amazing!

It's good to know that even with advanced technology and space travel available, fashion remains sensible.

Please, tell me more about your kid pooping.

HOLIDAY ROMANCES RARELY SURVIVE THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY

Oh Lord, puhleeeze sendeth thy largest bags of Meow Mix to thy humble servant!

The series, a prequel to Rogue One, will star Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk reprising their film roles

Here is the COVID-19 situation in Maryland and Washington, DC.

Here's a look at the number of coronavirus cases in Nebraska, and the latest news on the COVID-19 outbreak.

Alaska has three confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Monday (March 16).

Here is the COVID-19 situation in Massachusetts.

Arkansas has reported 22 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday (March 17).

If you are a frequent event attender like myself, you have probably gotten a handful of emails with the subject line “Schlesinger v. Ticketmaster Settlement.” This was a class-action lawsuit where someone actually took ticket monopoly Ticketmaster on and sued them for all their excessive and deceptive “processing” fees. For once, the good guys won … Continue reading "Even in Losing, Ticketmaster Sets the Terrible Rules"

Frank Ocean Blonde and Endless New Orleans-born and L.A.-raised Frank Ocean has been one of the most consistently interesting and mysterious pop stars of the 2010’s. After helping shape the sound of boundary-pushing and controversial L.A. rap collective Odd Future, Ocean released his first mixtape, Nostalgia Ultra in 2011. Frank Ocean was then highly featured … Continue reading "Frank Ocean’s Two Album Splash: Endless and Blonde"

Old man winter has decided to take up residence in my neck of the woods and boy is he hungry! To satisfy his craving and keep him warm I decided to treat him to a pot of Craftylittlmonkey’s Black Eyed Pea and Squash Soup. I can feel good making this dish when I use vegetables […]

Are you looking for a last minute gift that is both delicious and inexpensive? Why not make a batch of Mistress Jennie’s Christmas Crack. You can whip up this sweet treat in no time at all with simple ingredients you probably have on hand. One sleeve of crackers will make up enough for several gifts. […]

No serious, I want one of these.