Plastic food wrap is useful stuff, but not eco-friendly. Now Rutgers University has a green alternative, and it’s not exactly wrap. You kind of spray it on. Plus: Officials in Hollister, California wanted new, slightly curved street lines painted. What they got was... not that.  

Rutgers Scientist Develops Antimicrobial, Plant-Based Food Wrap Designed to Replace Plastic (Rutgers)

Incorrectly painted lanes on street cause confusion in Hollister (KSBW)

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In the collection of the Cincinnati Art Museum, there’s a mirror from 16th Century China that has been keeping a secret for centuries. And, at long last, that secret is out. Plus: the Metropolitan Museum of Art is using augmented reality to show the colorful paint and designs that used to be on some ancient statues. 

Cincinnati Art Museum Discovers That a Rare 16th Century Mirror Reveals a Hidden Image When Illuminated (Colossal)

APP ALLOWS USERS TO SEE ANCIENT STATUES IN ORIGINAL COLOUR (Nag on the Lake)

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University of Pennsylvania researchers are developing a teeth cleaning system out of nanoparticles. Plus: Blizzbrush is an antimicrobial sponge the makers say can do the job of a toothbrush in just ten seconds.

Shapeshifting microrobots can brush and floss teeth (University of Pennsylvania)

3D printed 'blizzbrush 5.0 toothbrush-sponge' cleans entire mouth in just 10 seconds (designboom)

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Digital currencies are having a rough 2022, but one alternative currency has been doing pretty well for itself lately. That’s the wooden money made in Tenino, Washington. Plus: if you feel like you’ve been to every museum and you’re not sure what to do next, try the German Food Additives Museum.

Why Tenino is still printing wooden money (KING 5)

There is a museum dedicated to food additives in Hamburg, Germany (Boing Boing)

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On this day in 2008 things got weird during a recording of The Price Is Right, when a contestant kept hitting the big money in a round of Plinko. Plus: today in Key West, Florida, it’s preliminary round two of the annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest.

THE PRICE IS FIXED (Now I Know)

SLOPPY JOE’S 41ST ANNUAL HEMINGWAY® LOOK-ALIKE CONTEST JULY 21-23, 2022 

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We’re in the heat of summer, and here’s the story of a guy who's helped millions cool down: Omar Knedlik, the inventor of the ICEE. Plus: today in 1924, actor Don Knotts was born in Morgantown, West Virginia. The town pays tribute to its famous resident with a statue downtown.

Remembering Omar Knedlik, the Rural Kansas Man Who Invented the ICEE (Kansas Public Radio)

Don Knotts Statue (Atlas Obscura)

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Today is International Chess Day, so here are a few of the stories about how which pieces were on the board changed over the centuries. Plus: today in 1969, humans landed on the moon. The world was in awe - except for one famous artist. 

How did chess pieces get their names? (Big Think)

“It Means Nothing To Me”: Picasso Unimpressed by Moon Landing (Hyperalllergic)

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Today in 1911, a big day for the city of Pittsburgh: after an effort that lasted decades, the city won back the H at the end of its name! Plus: on this day in 1982, Hall of Fame shortstop Luke Appling hit an unusual home run. 

THE PITTSBURGH “H” (Visit Pittsburgh)

Most Unlikely Homerun Ever! 75 Year Old Luke Appling's Home Run in Old Timers Game in D.C. 1982 (via YouTube)

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Today in 1914, the birthday of Gino Bartali. The Italian cycling star won the Tour de France in 1938, and won a second time a decade later. But what was even more impressive was what he did in between those two wins. Plus: today in 1995, researchers in Slovenia found what was believed to be the oldest musical instrument ever discovered. 

Gino Bartali (Yad Vashem)

Hear the world’s oldest instrument, the 50,000 year old neanderthal flute (Classic FM)

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Many people hope humans will eventually walk on Mars. But there's a lot to sort out before that can happen, including this question: how does the way we tell time change when we have humans on more than one planet? Plus: today in Boulder, Colorado, it’s Tube To Work Day.

A meander through Martian minutes and the meaning of local time (Interconnected)

Tube To Work Day 

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