This week, in Lakshmi’s absence, I’m back to host Must Read and have collected some of my favorite videos and social media content for you to enjoy. – Hrag Vartanian
‣ Chinese scientists have discovered a type of moss that could grow on Mars, which could help humans live on the red planet. South China Morning Post Report:
Li and her team found that dried moss plants fully recovered within 30 days after being exposed to the Martian environment for 1, 2, 3, and 7 days. Hydrated plants exposed to the simulator for one day also survived, but regenerated more slowly.
Professor Li said the research team has grown mosses in a replica of Martian soil. “The moss grows very well and only needs water,” she said.
Next, Professor Li and his team will look for opportunities to send moss samples into space for exposure experiments, or even to the surface of the moon or Mars.
‣ A nice “dating a German” spoof story:
‣ Then I woke up with the same German guy next to me 🙂 :
‣ A satire about Generation Z fighting a war (also, End all wars!):
‣ Europeans in the Hamptons (for those of you not from here, the Hamptons is a resort area on Long Island east of New York City):
‣ Drag in front of music?
‣ My favorite gay hair salons continue to gain popularity online:
‣ Do you know the origin of the word “podcast”? In addition, you should also check out AllergicPodcasts:
‣ I’m not even sure most New Yorkers would notice:
‣ How homophobia in the US led to a surge in the number of Filipino nurses in the country:
‣ What strange things are happening in Amsterdam?
‣ Freedom House, an organization that rates freedom around the world, made a joke by rating the fictional kingdom of Westeros. Dragon House Franchise (for comparison, Russia received 13/100, Azerbaijan received 7/100, Syria received 1/100, Cuba received 12/100, and Rwanda received 23/100):
‣ It’s the 50th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube. Guess what: robots are even better at solving Rubik’s Cube problems:
Published every Thursday afternoon, Must Read contains links to art-related longform articles, videos, blog posts, or photo essays that are worth checking out.
