We don’t have the Olympic Games right now, but we can still mark a big Olympic moment that happened on this day in 1948: the day Alice Coachman became the first Black woman to win Olympic gold. Plus: a chocolate company and an engineer say they've redesigned the chocolate chip. Is it more efficient? I don't know, but I'll be happy to test it out. 

The day Alice Coachman became the first black woman to win Olympic gold (The Undefeated)

A Tesla engineer designed the perfect chocolate chip (Fast Company)

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There are parts of the world where some of the local spiders are very dangerous to humans. A new app called Critterpedia can scan your spider photos and tell you which spider is which. Plus: on National Root Beer Float Day, a root beer maker in Wisconsin is trying to set a world record for biggest root beer float drive-thru. 

Australia just invented Shazam for spiders (CNet)

Sprecher Aims To Set Record for World's Largest Root Beer Float Drive-Thru With Free Floats For All (Yahoo)

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On this day in 1999 a court rules in a case involving a guy who tried to use a huge number of points in a Pepsi reward program to buy a fighter jet, which the soda maker had jokingly offered in one of its ads. It didn't work, but still, an A for effort. Plus: there's a new uncuttable substance that might make for a great bike lock.

When a Man Took a Joke in a Pepsi Ad Seriously, Chaos Ensued (Lit Hub)

Proteus – new un-cuttable material promises to make bike thefts a thing of the past (Red Ferret Journal)

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Maybe everyone in junior high was right: the clothes you wear really can make you cool! At least if those clothes are the new fabric developed in China with a kind of cooling system embedded inside. Plus: it's National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, so let's find out about the largest chocolate chip cookie of all time. 

New fabric could help keep you cool in the summer, even without A/C (Science Daily)

Largest biscuit / cookie (Guinness World Records)

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Researchers at the University of Washington call it a "GoPro for beetles" - a ultralight, wireless, steerable camera that can ride on the back of a bug. And it's pretty effective at letting us see what these bugs see. Plus: a new online chart tracks the vocal range of famous pop singers, by measuring the highest and lowest notes they ever sung on a recording.

A GoPro for beetles: Researchers create a robotic camera backpack for insects (University of Washington)

Vocal Ranges of the World's Greatest Singers (Bookofjoe)

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Change is in the air in the border region between Spain and France. A small island there called Pheasant Island is about to change countries, as it does twice a year. Plus: some enterprising race fans in Poland use construction cranes to help them get a good view of their favorite drivers even while physical distancing. 

The island that switches countries every six months (BBC)

Fans Rent Cranes to Watch Car Race from Outside Arena During Pandemic (Oddity Central)

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On this day in 1988, the Ostry family of Bruno, Nebraska got 328 people to lift a barn - a real, actual barn - and moved it 110 feet by hand. That's some impressive crowdsourcing. Plus: a guy invents a machine that can spot his face and lob M&Ms at it, which I'm pretty sure can win a guy a lot of friends. 

Nebraska family looks back on barn moving event (WOWT)

Guy Builds Machine That Shoots Chocolate into His Mouth on Command (Interesting Engineering)

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A team of engineering students at Harvard is teaming with a startup called Savormetrics to develop a device that can tell us when avocados will be ripe. It's one step on the way to solving the costly problem of food waste. Plus: a project in Belgium called #ArtGenetics is learning about the evolution of fruits and vegetables through classic paintings. 

Forestalling food waste (Harvard)

Old Paintings Reveal How Fruits and Vegetables Have Evolved Over the Centuries (VICE)

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Today is said to be the day in 1858 that a colonial magistrate in India began using fingerprints for identification. But that's just one part of the history of how and why our prints are such a valuable bit of biometric information today. Plus: a guy in Jamaica showed up to collect a big lottery prize in a Darth Vader costume, because why not? 

How Fingerprinting Works (How Stuff Works)

Jamaican Darth Vader claims $95 million lottery prize (Toronto Sun)

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Most sports teams do promotions to get more fans into the games, but in 2002 the Charleston, S.C. RiverDogs held "Nobody Night," turning fans away at the gate to have an official attendance of zero. Plus: want to see a giant metal baseball? Drop by next time you're in Muscotah, Kansas. 

RiverDogs' "Nobody Night" Promotion Recalled on Today's ESPN's "First Take" (MILB.com)

Muscotah, Kansas: World's Largest Baseball (Roadside America)

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