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Dedicated To Helping Readers
Be More Interesting
Since 2004.

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post thumbnail for 7 Tips for Making Your Website Non-Obvious (and Interesting)

18 2025 July

7 Tips for Making Your Website Non-Obvious (and Interesting)

Updating a website is one of my least favorite things to do as an entrepreneur. It just takes so much time. But if you’ve ever...

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post thumbnail for Useless Rebranding and the Underappreciated Marketing Strategy of Doing Nothing

23 2025 May

Useless Rebranding and the Underappreciated Marketing Strategy of Doing Nothing

HBO rebranded to HBO Max, and then to Max … and now back to HBO Max. Meanwhile Google is losing their longstanding “I’m Feeling Lucky”...

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post thumbnail for When the Government Refuses to Protect Consumers, Tools Like This Can Fill the Gap

22 2025 May

When the Government Refuses to Protect Consumers, Tools Like This Can Fill the Gap

For over thirty years, the EPA’s Energy Star testing and certification program has helped consumers see how energy-efficient an appliance or electronic device is before...

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post thumbnail for The Hobo Handbook May Be the World’s Most Secretive Book

21 2025 May

The Hobo Handbook May Be the World’s Most Secretive Book

There is no way to buy a copy of the legendary Hobo Handbook. * Long rumored to be a “book” filled with advice from train...

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post thumbnail for The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard

20 2025 May

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard

From all the “30 under 30” lists to the stories of tech billionaires who made their fortunes in their early 20s it can seem like...

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post thumbnail for Need AI To Provide Closure? That Might Be in All of Our Futures …

19 2025 May

Need AI To Provide Closure? That Might Be in All of Our Futures …

If the dead could speak, what would they say? One family used AI to create an avatar version of a man who was killed in...

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post thumbnail for Why 3D Fixables Could Create an Entirely New Sustainable Industry

16 2025 May

Why 3D Fixables Could Create an Entirely New Sustainable Industry

Philips is beta testing a new platform that allows consumers to 3D print a replacement accessory for one of their electric shavers. Right now, it’s just one...

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post thumbnail for People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies

15 2025 May

People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies

For years, people have been worried about what will happen if humans start to worship AI and technology. The opposite question is one we rarely...

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post thumbnail for What You Can Learn from a Tragically Predictable Kanye West Interview

14 2025 May

What You Can Learn from a Tragically Predictable Kanye West Interview

Kanye West agreed to do a sit-down interview with talk show host Piers Morgan. It didn’t go well. Initially I watched the full 17-minute video,...

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post thumbnail for The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Smarter Than You Think by Clive Thompson

13 2025 May

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Smarter Than You Think by Clive Thompson

“Tools for thinking help make people smarter. But they don’t necessarily make them morally better. So what happens when you take brutal rulers and give...

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post thumbnail for After More Than Half a Century, Obscure Chinese Typewriter Gets Rediscovered

12 2025 May

After More Than Half a Century, Obscure Chinese Typewriter Gets Rediscovered

Back in 1947, Chinese writer, translator, and linguist Lin Yutang accomplished what many described as impossible. He developed the first compact typewriter design with a...

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post thumbnail for The Irrelevantly Entertaining Details of the Met Gala Are Hard to Miss … Or Care About

09 2025 May

The Irrelevantly Entertaining Details of the Met Gala Are Hard to Miss … Or Care About

Every year around this time I face a similar struggle as I read all the stories about the Met Gala. I wonder why people care...

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post thumbnail for What One Man’s T-Shirt Test Says About Sustainability

08 2025 May

What One Man’s T-Shirt Test Says About Sustainability

For the past two years, startup founder Torleif Markussen Lunde created a quiet test of the sustainability of three comparable white t-shirts. The most expensive was...

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post thumbnail for Virginia State Exposes What It Costs to Be in the Michelin Guide

07 2025 May

Virginia State Exposes What It Costs to Be in the Michelin Guide

The upcoming Michelin Southern Restaurant Guide will be missing locations from one state this year: Virginia. Rather than paying the $360,000 “partnership fee,” the state’s tourism...

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