Recommended Links of the Week (No. 636)

The three ages of porn, the glycocalyx organ, the philosophy of Hellraiser, primes that generate primes, and a whole lot more, all just a couple of mouse-wheel scrolls away. The Recommended Links of the Week, a column that's already a NeoTeo weekend classic. Enjoy!

The three ages of contemporary porn, on the BBC: "Just before the pandemic, Theroux produced a piece titled Selling Sex about the new sex economy, which was actually very old — prostitution — but which, thanks to technology, he claimed is now an option for many people who had never considered it before. This program, in a way, caps off others that the reporter had already made."

What is the glycocalyx, the little-known but momentous organ in all our bodies: "As surprising as it may seem, all of us, including the coldest and toughest, carry within us a perpetual romantic that day and night caresses and tirelessly protects even the smallest and most intimate of our corners — a stranger to most, but without which we could not live: the endothelial glycocalyx. Behind these two words lies an organ whose existence in mammals was confirmed shortly before man reached the Moon."

How the USSR tried to intimidate the US with weapons that didn't exist... and succeeded: "As for why the theatre was necessary, Semichastny explained that Western special services could not easily judge the potential of the Soviet army at that time, because it was a very well-kept secret. The most powerful weapons were stored in underground hangars, and no spy satellite would have been able to take a peek. No one knew what was there or in what quantity."

Hellraiser, or the controversy between Plato and Epicurus about pleasure: "We could say, with Plato, that Frank is incapable of putting a limit to his furious sensual excesses and that he has entered the fatal hedonistic circle that “contracts his whole body, convulses him to the point of shock, and infusing him with all sorts of colors, gestures, and gasps, provokes in him a total excitement that makes him scream in madness”. And here is where Epicurus comes in, who affirms a revolutionary conception of pleasure."

Thor is not the thunder god you were sold: "With his giant-slaying hammer Mjölnir, Thor stands as the most iconic of the Æsir, despite not being the Allfather (Alföðr). He stars in several adventures of Norse literature and is the main line of defense against threats to gods and men. Yet, although he is not a vague character like trolls or elves, we have a limited image of Thor that is worth revisiting to know who and how he truly is."

Ainu, the mysterious origin of Japan's aborigines: "The Ainu people are an ethnic group officially considered indigenous to Japan, with their own genetic characteristics. They are settled mostly on Japan's northern island (Hokkaido) and the north of Honshu Island. However, some of them are also present on the Kuril and Sakhalin islands east of Russia. Currently, the official census of Ainu people whose parents, or at least one parent, belong to this ethnic group is just over 25,000 individuals."

The Grave of the Fireflies, the end of the world and the ruthless country of black rains: "It is true, of course, that The Grave of the Fireflies says nothing about the atrocities that the Japanese also committed during the war. The film obliquely criticizes concepts like war, nations, and empires (both the American and the Japanese). But by and large, what it seeks is to tell how war affects a couple of minimal lives. As minimal as fireflies. However, the root of this story is much more complex than it appears."

Primes that generate primes: Scherk's theorem: "The search for prime numbers and ways to generate them has been one of the main axes of the work of many mathematicians throughout history, and it remains so to this day. What I bring you today, unfortunately, does not solve this problem, although in a way it is related to it. The thing is how to represent prime numbers using only (and almost exactly) the prime numbers smaller than it (and 1). I refer to what is known as Scherk's theorem."

The butterfly that contains a universe: "The researchers have documented this entire complex web through molecular genetic analysis with unprecedented precision. For the study, they took samples from more than 300 specimens collected between 1992 and 2013 from five different locations in the archipelago, allowing them to glimpse the temporal evolution of these relationships and document how not one, but four species have spread across a territory of 27 square kilometers over the last 30 years."

1991 - The 10 albums that changed rock in 90 days: "While in Seattle grunge was brewing as a harsh and angry response to glam rock, in the UK britpop emerged with much brighter and more appealing sounds. This and more exploded during 1991. In a span of three months, albums were released that we still consider classics and that still blow our minds. For some bands it was reinvention, for others it was the origin, and for music it was an honor. Here we give you the chronological countdown of the 1991 albums that in just three months forever marked music and fans."

The Onna bugeisha, who were these warriors?: "To better understand what these women represented, it is necessary to delve into Japan's history. Contrary to what we might think, women also took part in Japan's wars. In Japan there is a term to define female samurai warriors: onna bugeisha (“masters of combat”). They were fearsome and skilled warriors who notably demonstrated their prowess. But who were these women and how do they fit into premodern Japanese military history?"

The women radar operators who watched the Pacific after the attack on Pearl Harbor: "The idea was to create a female corps to collaborate in the archipelago's air defense against a possible Japanese attack, taking on roles that men were then performing in various areas so that they could devote themselves to purely combat duties; a necessity derived from the high number of casualties suffered on December 7. Of course, the women had to be volunteers, have no children, and keep their mission a secret."

Videos

Changing the scooter's batteries, From Past To Present (Skyrim), how to make the Simpsons' Isotopes hot dog, an AI as a news presenter, the Earth's submarine fiber optic cable network, tiny flying chips, how to replicate diamonds, a walk through the Appalachians, the 90s in minutes, a freefall record, handcrafted construction of a cabin with rammed earth, the bloopers of "The Suicide Squad", a great LEGO build, a quantum animation of Super Mario, In Hell I'll Be in Good Company (metal cover by Leo Moracchioli), when you hack the Matrix, turning microwave ovens into a laser oven, the fastest man on two hands, an Irish dance from 1981, an abandoned 1960 resort in Italy, Super Mario's voice, the gorilla that learns about death, the short Yellow Belt Fury (aliens, karate and bad girls), the full stop-motion film "Vordum: Price of Death" and the simulation of an old acquaintance.

Galleries

The public phones of the past, street photography around the world, a 1970 space colony, a normal day in Russia, amazing cnidarian photographs, a Reddit of urban hells that breaks your heart, movies reinterpreted by AI, 90s computer book covers, New York in the 60s, TDM photography awards, funny toads, Japanese American internment camps, edible masks, a very high-definition photo of the sun, the Weekly Animated Dump and the Visual Dump.

Thank you very much for your visit and I hope you are doing well on the other side. A big hug and see you next time.