How spiders fly (The Atlantic)
By Ed Yong
Spiders can float through the air on strands of silk, traveling dozens of miles. It turns out they’re not lifted by the wind—they know how to harness electricity.
The vanished American dog (The New York Times)
by James Gorman
Dogs have lived in the Americas for at least 10,000 years, having arrived with human migrants from Siberia. But new evidence suggests that the canines who were around before the 1492 colonists were completely replaced by European newcomers.
The patriotism of mid-20th-century comics (Washington Post)
by Benjamin Moore
In the 1930s and ‘40s, Superman saved mine workers, and Captain America punched Hitler. Comics helped make the New Deal and the fight against Nazism central to American mythology.
Our low-tech dreams (The Cut)
by Katie Heaney
Many of us spend all day with our smartphones. But in our dreams, they tend to disappear. Why do we dream more about being chased by animals—rarely a concern in our daily lives—than about something we spend so much time with?
40 years of The Westing Game (Public Books)
by Nicholas Dames
Ellen Raskin’s 1978 children’s novel The Westing Game still appeals to puzzle-loving kids today. But it’s distinctly of its time when it comes to its attitudes toward patriotism, capitalism, and the lies grown-ups tell.
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