There's an unusual train station in southwest Japan to which you can take a train, but you can’t enter the platform from outside; nor can you leave.  Plus: the story of an eight year old in Russia who decided it was time to set out on his own and see the world. 

Japanese train station with no stops, entrances or exits (Sora News)

Boy, 8, found after leaving home to 'travel the world' (BBC)

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Randal S. Olson developed a computer algorithm to find the shortest, most efficient way to drive through all 48 contiguous United States - 13,699 miles and around 224 hours of driving. Plus: the Race Across America is a more than 3,000 mile road race from Los Angeles to New York on bicycles.

Computing the optimal road trip across the U.S. (Randal S. Olson)

Race Across America

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Dean Nicholson left his job and started a bike trip across the world. While riding through Bosnia, he heard a “desperate meow." So, instead of riding solo, he decided the cat would come along. Plus: if a continental bike trip with a cat isn’t your cup of tea, how about a boat trip with a chicken?

Cat travels the world on a bicycle after backpacker adopts the stray kitten and customises bike to take her with him (The Daily Mail)

Boat trip with a chicken (The Guardian)

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The Derry, New Hampshire library had a time capsule that was sealed 50 years ago. When they took a look inside it contained... absolutely nothing. Why? We don’t know. But we do know that time capsules can get weird. Plus: today in Finland is the 2019 AIr Guitar World Championships!

America’s Oldest Known Time Capsule Was Made by Paul Revere and Samuel Adams (History.com)

9 Historically Disappointing Time Capsules (Mental Floss)

Lebanon Uncorks Time Capsule (Valley News)

Derry time capsule opened to reveal nothing (WMUR)

Air Guitar World Championships

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An enslaved woman in 18th century Massachusetts overheard all the talk about freedom and equality and decided it should be put to the test.  On August 22, 1781, a court found the woman known as Mum Bett, later as Elizabeth Freeman, could not be the property of another human being and therefore was free and equal.  Plus: someone in Sheffield, England, is stapling bread to trees, because internet. 

Jury Decides in Favor of Elizabeth "Mum Bett" Freeman (MassMoments.org)

Sheffield residents don't know whether to laugh or cry at slices of bread being stapled to trees on their streets (Leeds Live)

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Little sauce packets. We hang onto them because they’re too small to notice much, or because we don’t want to throw them out if they haven’t been used. But at some point they have to spoil, right? We now have a pretty definitive answer on their shelf lives. Plus: today's the start of the annual Corn Palace Festival in Mitchell, South Dakota. 

What's the Shelf Life of a Ketchup Packet? (HowStuffWorks) 

Taco Bell gives man ‘saved’ by hot sauce packets while stuck in snow free food for a year (Fox2Now)

Corn Palace Festival (Travel South Dakota)

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The app what3words breaks down all the spaces on earth into 3 meter by 3 meter squares and assigns each of those squares a unique set of three words. Anyone who knows the three words for a square can pinpoint it with GPS - just ask the group of lost hikers in a UK forest who got help in about a minute thanks to the system. Plus: the great state of Wisconsin is home to a 45 X 90 monument - the center point of the northern half of the Western Hemisphere. We've got it all in this state!

This Smartphone App Can Save Your Life with Just 3 Words (Interesting Engineering)

45 X 90 Geographical Marker (Atlas Obscura) 

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Researchers at Vanderbilt University have been looking at the unusual immune system of alpacas. Their antibodies are not only effective, they’re also easier to harvest than most other animals’ antibodies, so they could help develop ways to treat or regulate some rare but serious diseases in humans. Plus: alpaca herds aren't just going to help us stay healthy, they're helping us de-stress, thanks to the growing world of alpaca yoga. 

Meet the alpacas that are helping researchers who study autism, Alzheimer’s and cancer (Vanderbilt University)

Alpacas steal show at free yoga class hosted by Alpaca Owners Association (Nashville Tennesseean)

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It's National Rollercoaster Day, and while there have probably been thrill rides since humans first figured out the concept of ramps, the roller coaster as we know it has a direct ancestor that dates back to 15th century Russia. Plus: a RollerCoaster Tycoon player devises the longest, most diabolical virtual coaster of all time. 

From Death Traps to Disneyland: The 600-Year History of the Roller Coaster (Popular Mechanics) 

Ups and downs: The history of roller coasters (USA Today)

Crazy Roller Coasters (Travel Channel)

RollerCoaster Tycoon Ride From Hell Lasts 12 Years (Kotaku) 

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Richie Havens wasn't supposed to be the first act at the Woodstock festival, which started 50 years ago today. But like so much of Woodstock, what was supposed to happen was very different than what actually took place. Oh, also, there were cows there! 

Woodstock Remembered: Richie Havens on Opening the Fest of ‘People Just Being People’  

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