A Spanish tech startup called Bioo has built an installation in which plants serve as the keys of a kind of "green piano." Plus: for International Mountain Day, a look at some of the peaks with more down-to-earth names. 

Ethereal Sounds Are Emanating From the World’s First ‘Piano’ Made From Plants (GoodNewsNetwork)

11 Summits with Outrageous Names (Backpacker)

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Today's the birthday of Ada Lovelace, known as the first computer programmer. She also dreamed up the idea of generating music through a computer program, so if you've ever made music with a synthesizer, you're following in her footsteps. Plus: today's the anniversary of the day Wyoming passed its first-of-a-kind law guaranteeing women could vote and hold office. 

Remembering Ada Lovelace, computer-music prognosticator (Boston Globe)

Wyoming marks 150 years since first US law empowering women to vote (Travel Wyoming)

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Today in 1953, two NHL teams racked up a then-record 204 penalty minutes, in a game that’s officially 60 minutes long. Hockey is a rough sport. Plus a guitarist in Japan can play blues riffs with a cheerful little parakeet on his hand! 

This Day in Hockey History – December 9, 1953 – Canadiens Rhubarb Leafs (The Pink Puck)

Guitarist Plays a Rockabilly Riff With Bird on His Hand (Laughing Squid)

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A California company is building an all-electric platform designed specifically to keep classic and vintage cars with gas engines on the road, with much smaller carbon footprints. Plus: ever heard a jazz solo on the bagpipes? No? You might be missing out. 

Thanks to Zero Labs, Any Classic Car Can Transform Into an Electric 'Clean Energy Hero' (Designboom)

Jazz Bagpipes Exists and Is Amazing (Neatorama)

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A team out of New Curtin University in Australia has found that pilot whales appear to imitate one of their predators, tricking them away from the hunt. And in equally clever but much more irritating news, a neighborhood in Ottawa, Ontario reports squirrels are stealing the LED lights out of their holiday displays. 

Pilot whale study reveals copycat calls to outsmart predators (Science Daily)

Red squirrels going nuts for Ottawa couple's Christmas lights, but reason remains a mystery (CBC)

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For National Cookie Day, we take a closer look at the amazing and frequently disturbing history of gingerbread, including how one of the most famous royals of all time helped bring gingerbread people into the world. Plus: a lesson in patience from a musical great who made herself into a cookie-baking expert. 

The History of Gingerbread (PBS)

5 Facts You Probably Don't Know About Christmas Cookies (Food and Wine)

Neko Case: Pet Sounds (Spin)

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Some galleries showcase works of art; others show you what it's like when there's nothing on the canvas. Today we pay a virtual visit to a museum where all the works explore the concept of nothingness. Plus: the Chic!ken photo project aims to show that chickens can be the subjects of fine art. 

A Museum of Nothing (Metafilter)

Portraits of “Most Beautiful Chickens on the Planet” Capture Their Underrated Beauty (My Modern Met)

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Hyundai is now working to develop what it calls "ultimate mobility vehicles." When they encounter rough terrain the wheels can't pass through, these cars will be able to stand up on robotic legs and walk through. Plus: a guy on TikTok is winning fans with his four-wheel-drive off-road lawn mower. 

Hyundai gets serious about unstoppable, four-legged 4x4 robo-cars (New Atlas)

This Off-Road Lawn Mower on 38-Inch Mud Tires Can Flex with the Best (The Drive)

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We use hundreds of billions of latex gloves a year, for a lot of important reasons. Scientists at Cranfield University in the UK are developing an eco-friendly latex glove that uses less energy to produce and will biodegrade in weeks rather than centuries. Plus: today in 1997, Kenny G set a world record for longest single note played on a saxophone. 

How a new type of glove can reduce environmental damage (BBC)

World's Longest Note Held on Saxophone (Complex)

Kenny G Plans To Hold One Note On The Sax For An Entire Flight (Huffington Post)

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Today in 1977, it was the premiere of Bing Crosby's final TV Christmas special, Merrie Olde Christmas, which featured a performance with Crosby's unlikeliest duet partner ever: David Bowie. Here's the story of how it came together. Plus: for Mark Twain's birthday, the story of the note he put on his front door for any potential burglars.

When Bowie Met Bing: Mary Crosby Relives Their Iconic Duet (Dangerous Minds)

Courtesy (Futility Closet)

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