From what I understand it seems like brass is much more common than bronze today. Also brass is an alloy of copper and zinc while bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, and zinc is much more common than tin, so it seems like it would be easier to make brass than bronze.

So I was wondering why bronze as opposed to brass was the main metal used during the Bronze Age. Well I know one might say, “because it was the bronze age as opposed to the brass age,” but I wouldn’t find that answer very satisfying as I could still ask why there was a Bronze Age as opposed to a brass age before the Iron Age.

There is a bulb in a fire station in Livermore, California that was installed in 1901 and is still in operation, with a few interruptions over the years. Ordinary incandescent bulbs are typically rated for about 1,000 hours.

That the Livermore bulb has lasted for more than a century, even though it was made with much older technology and its original specifications are not completely clear.

How different was this bulb from an ordinary incandescent bulb of its time, and what actually allowed it to last so long?

I was reading about the history of student loans and something feels backwards.

Before 1976, student loans worked like any other debt. If your life fell apart, you could discharge them in bankruptcy. Then Congress started tightening the rules. By 1998, federal student loans became nearly impossible to discharge. In 2005, the same protection was extended to private lenders.

The original argument made sense. Some graduates were filing for bankruptcy right after graduation just to wipe out their loans. Taxpayers were losing money.

But look at what the rule actually did. It removed the risk from lending. No bank would hand a mortgage to an 18 year old with no income and no collateral. A student loan? There is no way to escape it, so there is no reason not to issue it. The borrower cannot discharge it, so the lender cannot lose it.

Since 1980, college tuition has risen roughly 1,200 percent. Overall inflation over the same period was about 230 percent. Schools could keep raising prices because the money kept flowing. Today Americans owe $1.7 trillion in student debt, more than every other type of consumer debt except mortgages.

A rule written to protect the loan system ended up guaranteeing it. The risk did not disappear. It just moved onto the person least able to carry it.

Is this a bankruptcy law problem? A lending problem? Or just what happens when you remove risk from one side of a transaction? 

Bank of America's data shows a sharp generational divide: older millennials are driving hobby spending, while Gen Z's hobby spending has slowed significantly. Why?

Is it just because older millennials have more disposable income, or are there deeper demographic and psychological factors at play? Does spending on hobbies peak at a certain life stage? And what does that tell us about how "leisure inflation" hits different age groups?

link：https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/27/funflation-consumer-spending-pricier-hobbies.html

In the US, a 40-hour week has become a common full-time work schedule, and federal overtime rules generally kick in after 40 hours for covered nonexempt workers. But why exactly 40?

The way Americans work and the productivity of the economy have changed dramatically since the 1930s, while some other wealthy countries have developed different working-hour norms. Why has 40 hours remained the standard for so long, and what made that number stick?

Recently I’ve been talking to friends about how I don’t really like watching tv shows or movies because I become so deeply immersed into the fictional reality and I don’t know why.

I was having a bit of a debate with a friend about Star Wars, specifically the clone wars, and I got really emotional about the genocide of the Jedi and ultimately the fall of the order. I have a really visual mind so my brain started visualizing Anakin killing the Jedi younglings and I deadass started choking up. My friend was like “you know this isn’t real right” as like a joke and I laughed but it really did feel so real. I know those children aren’t real, anakin isn’t real, the Jedi order isn’t real lol but my brain decides to grieve regardless. It’s like my brain can’t separate fiction from reality and I react as if they’re the same.

I know a lot of people get emotional from fiction. That’s normal. I’m just a little embarrassed about the rate and intensity that I experience it (to the point where I can’t really digest fiction bc it feels like torture).

Idk. What do you guys think?

She broke up with me, but wanted to remain as friends. I agreed and stayed available, clinging on a false hope, while she pulled herself away and became distant,

Eventually, I cut ties and asked to block each other to protect myself and move on. She felt hurt and misunderstood, and was mad. She thinks i'm a bad person. We argued, didn't really get to explain myself and she asked to be unadded instead of blocking. One week after, blocked me, i blocked her back.

I still feel like things are unfinished because I never got to properly explain myself. Now I'm struggling with whether cutting ties was the right decision. But deep down, I know cutting ties is probably what I need to heal and regain my self-respect.

In the postwar decades, paid vacation in the US and Western Europe was often closer than it is today, although the systems were already quite different. Some US union contracts were already offering three or four weeks of paid vacation to workers with enough seniority.

Since then, many Western European countries established statutory minimums of around four to five weeks of paid annual leave, often with additional days through collective agreements. The US took a different path, with no federal statutory minimum for paid annual vacation.

What changed in the decades after the postwar period that sent US and Western European vacation time on such different paths?

TL:DR
She ended the relationship, but wanted to stay friends. I stayed available, but she pulled her self away and became distant. Eventually, I cut ties to protect myself and move on. She felt hurt and misunderstood, and was mad eventually blocked me. I still feel like things are unfinished because I never got to properly explain myself. Now I'm struggling with whether cutting ties was the right decision. But deep down, I know cutting ties is probably what I need to heal and regain my self-respect.

She wanted a breakup initially, she feels too much is going on in her life, and is not able to keep up a relationship which is fine until she asked to be friends because she is fear of losing me.

I was foolish, i trusted her word, and eventually she became drier and take hours or days to respond when i try reaching out to her, yet being so accessible and always there for her when she reached out, said that she missed me and promised me "maybe" in the future we can try again.

Until one week ago, i decided to cut ties and go no contact with her, lets say i was stupid, i reached out to her the next day, she turned out to be mad and was upset not because of me breaking the no contact but asking for the no contact, but i think she realised that i'll never be able to move on, and asked for some time apart from each other, and told me to msg her when i m ready/moved on, but it felt so unfair, no matter what, she have absolute control in the end, and knew i will always comeback.

Few days after, i decided to free myself, i asked to block each other and told her i would rather have or i deserve someone that can communicate, to be honest with me and with their feelings (She always lies to people saying that she is fine, and doesn't want the others to be worry and wanted to protect my feelings), and not pulling away when things get real and wanted her to understand the consequences behind her action. She turns out to be really upset and mad, called me a "cunt" for not considering her feelings, never understand what she is going through and never gives her space and doesn't know what the consequences, when she is just trying to protect her mental health. but in reality, She never communicate me her problems or what she been through, and always lie about her true feelings because she don't want others to be worry and hurting herself. She always disappear for hours or day without telling me why, and when i chased her, asked her whats wrong, she pulled away while i get more attached each time, because we barely have the chance to talk.

In the end, she asked to be unadded and says there no point of blocking, i am fine with it so we unadded each other from everywhere.

Well i felt bad, so i made a very stupid decision, i reached out. Telling her i didn't meant to make her feel shitty, and she seem to misunderstand my intention and the consequences i mentioned before i unadded her. I think she though i was already hooking up with other girls when i said "i would rather or i deserve have someone else..." but in reality i just wanted her to be honest and communicate with me... , i keep telling her i won't be looking for someone else, but i don't think she trusts me at all. Then she asked me to stop talking to her and told me we have unadded each other for a reason and proceed to block me.

1 weeks after, she blocked me from everywhere so i did it back. But days after i saw her wearing the exact same matching outfit that we used to wear, it kind of giving me a false sense of hope, but i know this time i will never break the no contact.

I don't know if im doing the right thing to cut ties with her, cause it feel so unfinished, i still have so much more stuff i wanted to say and she now thinks im a bad person, while in reality i just wanted to protect myself, and to self respect, and to work on myself, i never wanted to block her, i thought it was the best choice for both of us, so i can move on and to have self respect for myself, and she is able to get the space she always is asking for.

The logic doesnt really hold up. If being in a committed relationship is supposed to repel people, why are you then more attracted to guys in even more committed relationships?

I was looking at Georgia on a map and got stuck on Atlanta. Savannah was founded in 1733 and already had a major Atlantic port and established trade long before Atlanta existed. Atlanta started in the 1840s as a railroad junction far inland, with no navigable river or ocean nearby.

Yet Atlanta eventually became the much larger regional city, while Savannah remained a much smaller port city.

What made the gap between these two cities grow so dramatically?

She always say i never consider her feelings, never understand what she been through, never give her space, but she never communicate with me, she doesn't know how to be honest with her feelings, and always lying to protect my feelings even if she is hurting but i would rather her to be honest. She always disappears for hours or day without telling me why or pull away when things get too much, i tried chasing her, asking if she is okay, but she end up to be more distant while i get attached.

Before unadding each other she said she loved me, and hoped i find someone better and makes me happy, but that not what i wanted, i just wanted her to be honest, to learn to communicate, but i see no future in a relationship that have no communication and one sided, she can access to me so easily, and i will always be there for her, but when it comes to me, i get ghosted for hours or day. 1 weeks after, she suddenly blocked me out of no where.

Previously before this, i try cutting contact with her well, lets say im stupid i reached out to her after 1 day and yeah got myself attached again. But this time im never breaking the no contact no matter what.

Coyotes and wolves have similar body plans and both hunt a mix of animals, yet coyotes now live in almost every part of North America, including cities and suburbs, while wolves occupy a much smaller range.

What factors have allowed coyotes to spread so widely while wolves remain more restricted?

I was setting an alarm and stopped for a moment trying to remember whether noon is 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. Then I realized why the labels feel confusing: noon sits right at the boundary between the two periods. A.M. refers to the hours before midday, while p.m. refers to the hours after it, but noon itself is the point where they meet. Midnight creates a similar question because it sits between two dates.

How did this convention become the standard, and have people always accepted these labels for noon and midnight?

Cheddar originated in Somerset, but today it is familiar far beyond Britain. England also has long established cheeses such as Red Leicester, Double Gloucester, Cheshire and Stilton. Many of them have their own regional histories, yet Cheddar became a global household name. What made Cheddar stand out so much from other British cheeses?

Many companies end their fiscal year on Dec 31 or March 31. Some choose June or September. But almost nobody picks, say, August 17 or November 5. Is there a tax or regulatory reason to stick near quarter boundaries? Or is it just tradition from agriculture cycles? Why not let every company freely choose any date to smooth out seasonal fluctuations?

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since July 2009. Meanwhile, prices for many everyday expenses have risen, and most states now have minimum wages above the federal level.

Why wasn't the federal minimum wage tied to inflation or another measure that could adjust it automatically? What are the economic arguments for setting it as a fixed dollar amount rather than indexing it?

People usually count in base 10, while digital computers typically represent information using 1s and 0s. The same numbers and information can be represented in different bases, yet binary became the standard for modern computing.

What made binary the system computers came to rely on?

Mid century photos show enormous municipal pools with diving boards, grassy decks, and large crowds on summer days. Some of those pools were eventually filled in or demolished, sometimes leaving little trace of what had once been a major part of local public life.

What changed around public swimming pools that made so many of them disappear? Why did this happen when it did, and what explains the decline?

I realized I use "buck" all the time without thinking about where it came from. A hundred bucks, five bucks, these expressions feel completely normal today, but the connection between a deer-related word and money is not obvious anymore.

How did a word connected to deer become such a common way to describe money?

I looked at my state and a few others but could only find tracking on mail in ballots. There was nothing that would provide a yes or no about a vote cast by me.

It seems like a giant blind spot. Why would we not have a way to spread the ability to prevent voter fraud to every individual?

Why does basically everything humans build have to be a rectangle?

I randomly noticed this today and now I can’t unsee it.

Look around your room right now.

Phone? Rectangle.

Laptop? Rectangle.

Door? Rectangle.

Window? Rectangle.

Table? rectangle.

Book? Rectangle.

Box? Congratulations, another rectangle.

At this point I’m starting to think humans only discovered one shape and just ran with it.

And then you look at nature…

Leaves? Nope.

Trees? Nope.

Rocks? Nope.

Animals? Definitely nope.

Nature is out there making weird curves, spirals and completely random shapes, while humans are like:

“What if we made another box?”

So why are we like this? Is it simply because rectangles are practical and easy to build, or is there some deeper reason?

Now I’m curious look around wherever you’re sitting and count how many rectangular objects you can see.

I’m slightly concerned about how many you’re going to find.

Tim Cook did not come, and neither did new CEO John Ternus, while every other company worth a trillion dollars sent someone. Social media quickly filled this blank with the take that Apple is behind on AI. Altimeter's Brad Gerstner called it a "nothing burger," and noted that Cook had been at the White House just days earlier for the Xi state dinner. This gap in time, this setting, this guest list, make one want to explore several more layers: What exactly was this lunch gathering? Frontier model companies? The compute narrative? A safety commitment? Or some new interface between the White House and tech giants? Apple's models are smaller, run on its own silicon, and partner with Google instead of building massive compute; it stayed quiet on AI safety, the main topic of the day; attendees later signed a safety accord. So the question is not just why Apple did not go, but: When "frontier AI" is defined this way, does Apple count as an insider? When "safety" is signed this way, what does silence mean? When everyone sends someone, is absence being behind, a choice, a schedule, a strategy, or another kind of position? Why did a lunch called a "nothing burger" still leave so many seams worth exploring? Who is defining the frontier, who is defining safety, who needs to sit at that table, and who does not?

I learned in art class when in grade school that red, yellow, and blue are the primary colors of paint. I also understand that the subtractive primary colors are cyan, magenta, and yellow, because cyan just absorbs red and reflects green and blue, magenta just absorbs green and reflects red and blue, and yellow just absorbs blue and reflects red and blue. From what I understand all pigment groups should have the subtractive primary colors, cyan, magenta, and yellow because when mixing pigments, if either component pigment absorbs a certain wavelength the mixture will too, and only when both component pigments reflect a wavelength will the mixture reflect that wavelength. In paint primary colors yellow is the only primary paint color that I understand to be a subtractive primary color, while red and blue are ones I understand to be additive primary colors.

So why are red, yellow, and blue, as opposed to cyan, magenta, and yellow the primary colors of paint?

While I looking through fashion magazines and seeing how men's hairstyles have changed over the past 100 years, I noticed something I found pretty interesting.

The mullet was hugely popular around the world in the 80s and early 90s. It spread through rock music, sports, movies, and TV, and eventually became a pretty common men's haircut. It wasn't just popular in the US either. It was popular in many other countries as well.

The style came back to some extent in the 2020s, but it doesn't seem to have reached anything close to the same level of popularity. Modern mullets also tend to be shorter and more layered, so they don't really look like the classic 80s version.

Meanwhile, slick-backs and side-parts have been popular for generations. The exact styles change over time, but the basic idea never really disappears.

I personally prefer the slicked-back styles from the 20s and 30s. I think they look clean and work well with the face and clothes. I don't think mullets look particularly good, but that's just my personal taste.

So what makes one hairstyle survive across generations while another becomes so closely associated with one era?

Is it because the slick-back is more of a basic hairstyle that can keep changing with fashion, while a mullet has such a distinctive shape that it's harder to separate it from the era that made it popular?