Our entire show is based on the idea that we might say something interesting enough that it might get you to perk up your ears, figuratively speaking. Or, as a team at Saarland University has found, maybe not so figuratively speaking. Plus: a sculpture garden in Dublin, Ohio pays tribute to ears of a different kind. 

Our animal inheritance: Humans perk up their ears, too, when they hear interesting sounds (Science Daily)

Field of Giant Corn Cobs (Roadside America)

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Every year in the US there are some 600,000 knee replacement surgeries. But a team at Duke University might help some people avoid those surgeries with a hydrogel that can stand in for cartilage. Plus: engineers at NIKE develop a ball that can really soar. 

From The Lab, The First Cartilage-Mimicking Gel That's Strong Enough For Knees (Duke University)

NIKE's new flight ball promises a 'revolution in football aerodynamics'  (designboom)

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Today we download video games online all the time. Back in the 1980s, gamers without the Internet (such as it was) had to buy or borrow their games. But a few could download programs off the radio. Plus: there's a comet headed Earth's way, and it might make for some great viewing this month, or 6,000 years from now. Either one. 

You Could Download Video Games From the Radio in the 1980s (Interesting Engineering)

Comet NEOWISE could give skywatchers a dazzling show this month. Here's what to know. (Space.com)

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Today is believed to be the birthday of Leroy "Satchel" Paige, perhaps the most legendary pitcher baseball ever saw. Paige was a star for decades, and once pitched three scoreless innings in the major leagues at age 59. Plus: we'll visit the man who earned the world's first degree in ninja studies. 

Fifty years ago, Satchel Paige pitched his last big-league game in KC ... at age 59 (Kansas City Star)

Meet the Japanese man who holds the world's only master's degree in ninja studies (CNN)

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In the 1980s Deaf children in Nicaragua were sent to a new school that was supposed to help them learn finger spelling. Instead, they built up their own language, now known as Nicaraguan Sign Language. Plus: divers in Mexico find a cave that looked like it hadn't been visited before, only to find a link to civilization thousands of years ago. 

The Amazing Story of Deaf Children in 1980s Nicaragua Inventing a Brand New Language (Twisted Sifter) 

Canadian scuba diver in Mexico accidentally discovers vast, prehistoric industrial complex (National Post)

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Vivid Maps released a map of the U.S. by demonym, which is the term for a word that describes people from a certain place. Some are straightforward, but there are also plenty of surprises. Plus: you've heard of Four Corners, but did you know there's also a Tri-State Marker where you could stand in the states of Idaho, Wyoming and Utah all at once?

Demonyms of the U.S. and Canada (Vivid Maps)

My Fellow Americanians (New York Times)

You Can Stand In Three Different States At Once Near The Town Of Montpelier, Idaho (Only In Your State)

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Netflix is about to release a show based on The Baby-Sitters Club I used to re-shelve all the time at the public library where I worked. Here's the story of how the series came to life. Plus: if you could use a little beauty in your world right now, check out the photos of Trung Huy Pham, documenting Vietnam's annual water lily harvest. 

Over 30 years ago, The Baby-Sitters Club made space for girls from all backgrounds (AV Club)

‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ Trailer: An Iconic Piece of ’90s Nostalgia Heads to Netflix (Indiewire)

Vivid Photographs by Trung Huy Pham Capture Annual Water Lily Harvest in Vietnam (Colossal)

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Today is Canada Day, marking the 1867 confederation of three provinces then known as Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. But Canada was only one name out of many that were suggested for the new country. Plus: this week got weird at several Canadian Tire stores, thanks to a computer glitch that made every item show up in the scanner as a Mr. Potato Head. 

What Canada was ALMOST named (CBC Kids)

Canadian Tire in Lindsay temporarily closed after every item scanned comes up as “Mr Potato Head” (Kawartha411)

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A team at UCLA has built technology into a glove that can recognize the hand movements from American Sign Language and translate those movements into spoken English in real time through a smartphone app. This may even get me to put down the Nintendo Power Glove (for a while). Plus: scientists in Australia say they can modify cotton to make its own color, without not-so-eco-friendly chemical dyes. 

Wearable-tech glove translates sign language into speech in real time (UCLA)

CSIRO scientists discover how to grow coloured cotton, removing need for harmful chemical dyes (ABC.net.au)

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Back in 1978 the San Diego Chicken was winning huge numbers of fans - which is why Atlanta owner Ted Turner tried to coax the man inside the chicken suit, Ted Giannoulas, to move east. Plus: the Chicken is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but why is there also a San Diego Chicken head in the Gerald Ford Presidential Library in Grand Rapids, Michigan? 

Profiles in Plumage: The San Diego Chicken (Society for American Baseball Research)

A look back at the 'Grand Hatching' of the San Diego Chicken (ESPN)

Found at the Presidential Libraries Dr. Seuss, Air Force One, and the San Diego Chicken (Prologue Magazine) 

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