Most audio these days (including this show) is recorded digitally, but there are lots of ways to document sounds, including one that's built around a paper cup-turned-microphone. Plus: a programmer has designed a face mask with a lit up, virtual mouth! 

An audio recording made using a cup. (Dust To Digital on Instagram)

I have finished my face mask (Tyler Glaiel on Twitter)

The sweetest sound we can make is when we say thank you to our backers on Patreon! 

Agent 007 is known for living as large as you can - fast cars, fancy clothes, expensive hotels, and fancy food and drink. But writer Ian Fleming once admitted that Bond was originally going to eat pretty much just one food. Plus: if you're going to stick with a single food, why not the extraordinary pies made by Karin Pfeiff-Boschek and their intricate, artistic pie crusts? 

Ian Fleming Explains How To Write A Thriller (LitHub)

Doughy Braids and Sliced Fruits Arranged into Sumptuous Pies by Karin Pfeiff-Boschek (Colossal)

Our Patreon backers leave us stirred, not shaken

There are lots of human efforts to help bees out, but there’s also some new research out that says bees help themselves by taking steps to get plants to flower earlier than usual. Plus: a man in Canada ordered hair cream in 2012, and it just arrived this month. Patience is a virtue!  

Bumblebees Bite Plants to Force Them to Flower (Seriously) (Scientific American) 

Toronto man says Canada Post just delivered package he ordered 8 years ago  (CTV News) 

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Amazingly, the English alphabet added its last letter in 1524, and no, that letter wasn't Z. We'll explain how an Italian grammarian convinced the world to add one more letter to the list. Plus: Andoni Bastarrika is a Basque artist who works with sand, but we’re not talking about basic beach sand castles here.

Do You Know the Last Letter Added to the Alphabet? (It Wasn’t Z) (Readers Digest)

Meet The Man Responsible For The Letter “J”  (Dictionary.com)

Self-Taught Artist Creates Stunningly Realistic Sand Sculptures (Oddity Central)

We give an A+ to all of our backers on Patreon

If you miss the speeches that often come at a Memorial Day ceremony, we have a story for you: the story of the speech future president James A. Garfield gave at the first Memorial Day event at Arlington National Cemetery in 1868. It was, shall we say, not a short speech. 

10 Things To Remember About Memorial Day (Mental Floss)

Our world is filling up with artificial intelligence, and now, so is the world of dogs. Researchers at Yale University have been testing whether dogs will take commands from robot voices. Plus: someone, somehow, posted a video that appears to show a motorized Porta-Potty. We just report these things, we can't always explain them. 

Dogs Obey Commands Given by Social Robots (IEEE)

Ridin’ Dirty: Porta-Potty Cruising Down The Street (Geekologie)

Always listen to our backers on Patreon, they know what's up

It's National Waitstaff Day, and whether or not you're back to dining out, it's a good time to figure out a little of where restaurants come from. (It's complicated.) Plus: the website ThisWordDoesNotExist creates words that sound real but aren't. 

When Did People Start Eating In Restaurants? (History.com)

ThisWordDoesNotExist.com is rewriting the dictionary with the help of AI (The Verge)

There are few words that compare with the word "backer." Join us today on Patreon. 

It was on this day in 1990 that the Hubble Space Telescope took its first photo from space. Unfortunately the telescope had a problem with one of its mirrors that required astronauts to go up and fix. Plus: for World Bee Day, the story of an Irish bee enthusiast who built a hive out of LEGO. 

How Fixing the Hubble Spacecraft Works (How Stuff Works)

30 years of Hubble: Three decades of space wonder began with an underwhelming image that proved extremely important (Independent UK)

Un-bee-lievable! Beekeeper builds fully functioning beehive entirely out of LEGOs (Fox 6 Now)

Our Patreon backers are like the Hubble Space Telescope of backers: the best

This day in 1780 was a very strange day for New England. The sun decided to leave the sky around 10 in the morning, leaving everything pitch black and scaring the heck out of the locals. Plus: this day in 1964 was a very strange day for Andy Warhol, who received a very interesting letter from the Campbell Soup Company. 

'mark well the gloom': SHEDDING LIGHT ON THE GRAET DARK DAY OF 1780 (Environmental History)  

New England's Dark DayA Witness Account (Celebrate Boston)

“I hear you like tomato soup” (Letters of Note)

In the future, all of our backers on Patreon will be famous for 15 minutes 

We explore one of the great mysteries of our time: why is there a rock in Newbury, New Hampshire, with the words "CHICKEN FARMER I STILL LOVE YOU" painted on it? Plus: why is there a giant statue of a chicken eating burgers on top of a restaurant in Wisconsin? Lots of chicken mysteries out there, I guess. 

You Asked, We Answered: What's Up With That 'Chicken Farmer I Still Love You' Rock? (NHPR) 

Merrill, Wisconsin: Chicken Holding Burger, Beer (Roadside America)

We owe all of our 300 episodes to our backers on Patreon! Join us now and help us make even more!