Monk's Mound. You know how people treat the very existence of the Great Pyramid in Egypt as one of history's most confounding mysteries?
Well, Cahokia's pyramid dwarfs that one, both in size and in degree of difficulty. The mound contains more than 2.16 billion pounds of soil, some of which had to be carried from hundreds of miles away, to make sure the city's giant monument was vividly colored. To put that in perspective, all 13 million people who live in the state of Illinois today would have to carry three 50-pound baskets of soil from as far away as Indiana to construct another one.
"What if we built a middle finger large enough to flip off God?"
So why does Egypt get millions of dollars of tourism and Time Life documentaries dedicated to their boring old sand pyramids, while you didn't even know about the giant blue, red, white, black, gray, brown and orange testament to engineering and human willpower just outside of St. Louis? Well, because the Egyptians know how to treat one of the Eight Wonders of the World.
America, on the other hand, appears to be trying to figure out how to turn it into a parking lot. VIA
You no longer need to pause a Netflix binge to test your DNA for genetic disease risk. 23andMe, a company backed by Google’s parent company Alphabet, is now offering the first approved, at-home DNA test without any doctor involvement. That means you can easily know if your microscopic human code (which looks kinda like a curly fry or churro) contains risk factors for diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson's. As the delivery box for this revolutionary test says: “Welcome to you.”
You wouldn't think a comprehensive study of the world’s trees from Botanical Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) could be riveting, but here we are. We now know there are 60,065 (!!!) species of our trunky-dory friends in the world. For some context: There is one species of the cheeky primate called human, Sapiens. The 500 member organizations of BGCI compiled the digitized list of the tree species, including geographic data showing where each species lives. This data will not only serve useful for tree-huggers seeking to hug certain species of trees, but also for conservationists who want to save endangered species from human-caused deforestation.
We're winding up in a good place.
3. Clean Energy Investment Is Down... And That's A Good Thing.
A new report says clean energy investment in 2016 was less than 2015, which sounds like bad news... until you realize less money was spent on a higher amount of clean energy. The monetary cost of renewable energy (solar and wind, notably) has decreased, becoming competitive with non-renewable sources. Social costs should always be taken into account, too — and burning fuel or coal that releases toxins into our air or water isn’t exactly a social pick-me-up. This report is pretty optimistic for the future of clean energy. Even as the United States government turns its patriotic back on Mother Nature, the sheer force of price (my high school economy class was surprisingly helpful) is driving continued foreign and private adoption of the green good.
Since the planet is heading to AI and bots --- we're going to need to watch something worthy of our time and brain space. Go to ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES and make a list... (see sidebar for their latest posts)
This American Life: Longtime favorite, of course. I listen to the 24-hour stream of episodes while I work, so I can be surprised by old favorite episodes. Radio Lab: Science and storytelling.We have loved listening to Radio Lab as a family since it began. (They do a great job of giving you a heads up if stories might be too intense for kids, so you can skip ahead.) Our all-time favorite episode is Colors. Star Talk: We have a family crush on Neil deGrasse Tyson. Spilled Milk: I love that this podcast showcases my friend Molly‘s silly side. (And, yes, she’s wearing one of MAV’s Beauty & Use tops in that caramel corn photo on the site.) Wits: Comedians and musicians getting silly. The Moth: Only when I’m prepared to cry.
Saskatchewan musician Colter Wall has a song in the upcoming movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri.
The movie stars Woody Harrelson and Francis McDormand. It’s directed and written by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths).
Wall’s song, which figures prominently in the movie trailer, is Sleeping on the Blacktop.
It’s the same song used in the movie Hell or High Water, which was Oscar-nominated for best picture this year.
“It’s pretty crazy, a huge breakthrough for him,” said Saskatoon lawyer Kurt Dahl, who negotiated the placement.
“Both of those movies are really smart and hip. It speaks to how the music is, too. It’s a good fit.”
The negotiations hit a snag early because the movie people wanted an instrumental version. The way it was recorded, that wasn’t possible. Dahl decided to bide his time.
“We thought we’d lost the deal. They came back a few weeks later and said we don’t need an instrumental version of the song, let’s just do it.”
Famously understated, Wall didn’t make a fuss about it, Dahl said.
“He hasn’t said much about the placement except, ‘I like Woody Harrelson, that’s cool.’”
Originally from Swift Current but now relocating to Nashville, Wall is the son of Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall.
“I think he really is the real deal and people really see that. There’s a certain authenticity that people always want in their music. It’s nice when that authenticity really connects with people,” said Dahl.
"What if we built a middle finger large enough to flip off God?"
The best part about writing about dogs is reading about dogs, even the bad ones! BOOM! 
