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Laura E. Hall

Time for my Friday cabinet of curiosities, where I share fun and interesting links that caught my attention this week.

Today: retro arcades, nostalgia from the future, oral histories of old software, and more ✨

1) Atomteller, Delft blue plates showing not pastoral windmills but German nuclear plants, a vision of tomorrow's nostalgia. “Monuments to error - yesterday's hope - tomorrow's folklore”

atomteller.de/

3) An oral history of KidPix by Craig Hickman, creator of the iconic children's bitmap drawing program which was published by Broderbund in 1991

red-green-blue.com/kid-pix-the

(By the way, you can play with a JS/html version of KidPix on the web here: kidpix.app/)

4) Can plastic-eating fungi solve the polypropylene problem? These researchers think so.

Polypropylene is the type of plastic that makes up bottles, plastic furniture, tupperware, and many other applications. When discarded, it tends to go to the landfill (or into the world's oceans).

Enter: fungi! 🍄 In the study, they produce enzymes, which are excreted and used to break down substrates, for more rapid plastic degradation. Yum.

newatlas.com/materials/plastic

New AtlasPlastic-eating fungi could solve polypropylene pollution problemAs one of the most commonly used plastics in the world, polypropylene presents a global environmental problem because of issues related to its recycling. Researchers have developed a new way of breaking down this troublesome plastic by enlisting the help of a couple of common fungi.

5) I love these funky, colorful collages with touches of vintage imagery by A Soft Wrongness (asoftwrongness on Instagram and Big Cartel)

instagram.com/asoftwrongness/

Like the thread? Give me a follow and stay tuned for next week's roundup!

Have a great weekend, friends!

@lauraehall I feel like I’ve seen a “scientists discover plastic-eating bacteria” headline at least once a year for the last 30 years