Found across the rooftops of Cairo, the capital city of Egypt, are wooden cages where pigeons are kept. Such is pigeon keeping, a practice of the Cairenes. It is a tradition older than Ancient Egypt.

References to pigeon husbandry can be found in hieroglyphics and Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets from more than 5,000 years ago. Unlike in the US, where pigeons are considered little more than rats with wings, pigeon meat is highly prized for their moist, dark tenderness in much of the rest of the world.

Previously a leisure activity for the rich, raising pigeons is now a hobby for the poor. The poorer the neighborhood, the more it’s likely that you’ll find pigeon coops there. Many pigeon fanciers in the city today are young men who have inherited their respective flocks from their fathers. There are others, however, who have fallen in love with the hobby and began their own flock at a young age.

These men and boys have command over their birds, guiding them across the sky with shrill whistles and sometimes a flag. Training them requires an impressive knowledge of animal husbandry, as well as incredible patience, but unlike dog breeders who can showcase their crafts in celebrated venues like the Westminster Kennel Club, Cairo’s pigeon fanciers go mostly unnoticed by the media. Despite this lack of media attention and recognition, pigeon breeders share a deep pride in their flocks, in their loyalty and discipline.

More about this amazing story over at Amusing Planet.

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This is Maddi. Maddi got herself grounded. She had a choice of no phone for a month or no phone for 2 weeks and we have FULL control of her social media. She chose 2 weeks. So be on the look out for some amazing instagram posts, snap chats and Tiktoks from her parents!!

A post shared by madelynn🥥 (@madelynn.ellagrace) on Nov 10, 2019 at 4:16pm PST

What would you do if you found out that your 15-year-old daughter helped sneak boys into a sleepover party? You might have an idea based from what Tawnya Ford and Larry Sumpter did when they found out what their daughter did.

The couple came up with two forms of punishment, and they let Maddie, their daughter, choose. Either Maddie goes for a month without a phone, or she goes two weeks without a phone but her parents get complete control of her social media. Maddie chose the latter, and instantly regrets it.

As soon as the takeover took off on November 11, her dad got really creative on her TikTok and Instagram accounts.

[...]

“After the first day, Madelynn was like, ‘I changed my mind, I choose the one month,'” Ford told TODAY. “Larry told her, ‘No. I’m too invested. I have too many ideas. We’re sticking with the two weeks.’ He’s loving it. I think he’s gonna make his own TikTok account when this over.”

[...]

After Maddie got her social media back, she posted an innocent pic of her early years on Instagram, saying, “I’m back sweeter than ever and ready to make good choices.”

To which one of her followers replied, “Call me crazy, but your dad made cooler posts.”

What are your thoughts about this one?

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Felt cute. Might delete later.

A post shared by madelynn🥥 (@madelynn.ellagrace) on Nov 11, 2019 at 5:15pm PST

Galileo, centuries ago, stated that “mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.” The quote that says that “the laws of nature are written by the hand of God in the language of mathematics,” is also attributed to Galileo. These statements direct one to think that math is the universal language of not just the world, but also the universe. But is seems that math is not the only universal language. A new study suggests that there are universal cognitive mechanisms which underpin world music.

Find more details regarding this one over at Big Think.

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Have you ever had a time where your brain decided to relive an embarrassing moment of your life? Yeah, I've had my share of those, too. It can happen anytime and anywhere, and once your brain does it, you will feel ashamed of yourself.

Our failures stick with us. In theory, that can be a good thing, unpleasant as it sometimes feels, because remembering helps us avoid repeating our past missteps. But that only works if we actually improve post-failure.

In reality, the opposite is what happens. Oftentimes, we don’t learn from our mistakes at all, a study from the University of Chicago found out.

In fact, mistakes can actually undermine learning: Over the course of five different experiments, when participants were told they got something wrong, they shut down and did worse on subsequent tasks.

The question is, why? And if we feel ashamed of ourselves, are there ways to go past that so that we can move on and finally learn from our mistakes? Find out the answers over at Medium.

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Ready your knowledge about the physical world as you take this quiz from Mental Floss. Grab a world map beside you and review it for a few moments if you want to, or, if you’re feeling smart, you can head over at the site and take the quiz immediately.

I only got 11 on my first try. How about you?

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You go to the bathroom to do number 2. You had a “refreshing” time inside. But as you flush your work of art, you notice something is different, and it concerned you — your poop is of a different color. What just happened?

Other than brown, poop may be found in different colors, with green poop raising much concern. But having a different color other than the usual does not necessarily mean that you are in danger. Oftentimes, your poop changes color because of what you’ve eaten.

Learn more about this over at The Conversation.

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The ancient city of Babylon, also called Babel, lies within modern-day Iraq. Once ruled by Hammurabi and later Nebuchadnezzar, the ruins of the great city are considered sacred by those who lived nearby in the village of Qawarish. Then in the 1980s, as Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces were suffering from a long, drawn-out war with Iran, the Iraqi ruler decided to rebuild Babylon as a tribute to himself, complete with a palace, defensive walls, and a brick maze.

Saddam siphoned millions into the rebuilding, and pushed to have the reconstruction built on the foundations of the original site. The project was not only nationalistic, but also narcissistic. “There was megalomania involved in that,” says Makiya. “Saddam wanted every Iraqi to know that he rebuilt Babylon. The point is that it’s not just an archaeological reconstruction of the city of Babylon for the sake of science and history and the past. It’s an idealization of that history for the purposes of the cementing of the legitimacy of the regime’s presence.”

His palace at Babylon is the clearest example of his hubris. It’s carved with Arabic calligraphy that at first glance resembles religious iconography, but upon closer appraisal reveals itself to be Saddam Hussein’s initials. Brutalist, hyper-realist reliefs depict him leading soldiers on the battlefield; the ceilings are painted with symbols of Iraqi civilization, ranging from Babylonian lions to towers that Saddam built in Baghdad.

So what happened to Saddam's new Babylon? Find out from a lifetime resident of Qawarish, at Atlas Obscura.

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Since the sequel to It, It Chapter Two, is coming to home video next week, it's time for an Honest Trailer. The movie was profitable, but suffered from high expectations. It turns out that a scary clown menacing adults is not as terrifying as a scary clown menacing children. And since that was exactly the problem with the 1990 TV miniseries, you'd have thought that someone might have suggested a change.

The map above shows the most common surname, or family name, in each country of the world. It's labeled as "last name," although some language conventions put the family name first. The most common family name in the world is Wang, which is used by 76 million people around the world, and is the most common name in China. Translated from Mandarin, it means "king." The names on this map are color-coded by type: patronymic or ancestral, occupational, personal characteristic, signifier of patronage, or a place name. Across major English-speaking nations, the most common name is Smith, which has an occupational origin. In Iceland, the most common surname is the patronymic Jónsdóttir, meaning daughter of  Jón. That tells us there are more women than men in Iceland, because a brother in the same family would be named Jónsson. It also hints that Jón may be Iceland's most common first name. Read more about the map at its source, Net Credit, and enlarge it greatly here. -via Digg

Animation pioneer Max Fleischer brought many innovations to his craft. The technique that enabled artists to translate Cab Calloway's unique dance style to cartoon characters was only one of them. Vox explains the weird beginnings of the Rotoscope and how it changed the art of animation.   

Coming soon to a classical orchestra near you is the XPLC Theremin Baby Head. Wave your hand near the appropriately arranged proximity sensors and you'll produce the right sounds to, presumably, calm small children. Bright red LED eyes add a warm, comforting look to the experience. It's the zenith of tasteful decorating for every abode.

-via The Worst Things for Sale

Lil Bub sprang to internet stardom in 2011. She was the runt of a feral litter, with multiple genetic anomalies that meant she would only survive and thrive with the care of a dedicated human. Mike Bridavsky filled that role. Lil Bub's anomalies gave her a distinct look that charmed everyone who saw her, but she also had an easygoing attitude that charmed everyone who met her. Through live and television appearances and even a genetic study, Bridavsky fiercely protected Lil Bub from threats to her health and well-being. Despite her disabilities, Lil Bub was a happy cat. Lil Bub recently suffered from a persistent bone infection, and passed away in her sleep on December first. That announcement and a tribute came from Bridavsky.

But most importantly, BUB has made a huge difference in the world of animal welfare, and in the lives of millions of people worldwide. She has literally saved thousands of lives (both pets and humans), she started the first national fund for special needs pets, she was the subject of groundbreaking genetic and biological  research, she's helped raise over $700,000 for animals in need, and has spread a message of determination, positivity, and perseverance to people all over the world. And even though my heart is absolutely crushed by her graceful departure from planet Earth,  I know that her sprit, magic, and overwhelming energy are still with us, reminding us every day to be better.

That's a good kitty. Read more about Lil Bub at her website and in previous posts at Neatorama. Lil Bub was eight.

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So many people do the same nonsensical things over and over that you have to wonder if there is some rule somewhere. A rule that everyone follows but you, and that's why they are annoying. Or mostly annoying. The rule against making eye contact with people in an elevator and the one about keeping space between urinal users help to keep people from feeling creeped out. But most are annoying or even downright passive-aggressive.

Most of these rules could be eased out of existence if we just took other people in account at all. But you might even see yourself in some of them.

Oh come on now. I don't go to McDonald's often. It's rare, actually. And when I do, I look at the menu to see how much my old favorites have gone up in price. And then confusion sets in when I can't find them on the menu at all! Hey, at least I stand back and let other people put their order in while I ponder my options -and budget. See 52 of these unwritten rules (yeah, that's a lot) at Cracked.

It has been seven years since Rebecca Jennings downloaded Instagram, downloading the photo and video-sharing app in 2012. She downloaded the app in the spring that year, and that spring would be followed by her worst summer.

I remember them both vividly, sulking at home in the July heat on an air mattress in a sweltering bedroom I shared to save money, convinced my boyfriend was about to dump me.

Her boyfriend eventually broke up with her, but it was fine as they got back together a week later. What followed her worst summer was the best autumn she ever had. By September of that same year, she was already studying abroad, going around cities in Europe with people who become some of her closest friends.

These have been two different times in Jennings’s life. On Instagram, however, these times were indistinguishable.

Instagram has a way of flattening lived experiences so that my best years look exactly like my bad ones, and that everything seems pretty good, all the time, for everyone. This, obviously, is not how life works for most people, and ever since Instagram has existed experts have debated what seeing an infinite scroll of other people’s happy moments is doing to our brains.

Lately that conversation has gotten louder and more complicated. Influencers, models, and celebrities — the people who Instagram was supposed to work best for — are realizing that they have been made complicit in an app that feeds its users a poison of narcissism and envy and prevents them from ever logging off…

Now Instagram is trying to make up for what it’s done to warp our perception of reality over the past 9 years. The company is now implementing new measures to protect its users from bullying and body image issues, and it tries to create a more “authentic” place for sharing photos and shopping for clothes.

But what’s more authentic than the desire to make your life seem wonderful? Instagram succeeded because it exploited the basest aspects of human behavior until concepts like “authenticity” and “honesty” barely meant anything at all, to the point where even when we do see something vulnerable or “real,” we inherently distrust it. On Instagram, and increasingly in real life, everyone is suspect. Even if Instagram deleted itself from the internet tomorrow, we couldn’t get back what we lost.

More about this over at Vox.

What are your thoughts about this one?

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He tried a new game he just downloaded on his phone. He enjoyed playing it so much that he didn’t notice it was already late in the night. “I wanted to play more! Why is time so fast?” he complains.

She waited for her date to come. She had nothing to do but wait. She tried her best to distract herself. She looked at the time. Less than 10 mins had passed. “Why is time so slow?”

Maybe you had similar experiences with the characters that I presented, but have you ever wondered why time seems to go slow on some occasions, and fast on others? We know that time does not speed up nor slow down, but why does our perception of it differ from time to time?

Read more about our perception of time over at Gizmodo.

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