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Matt J Weber 🦢
Matt J Weber 🦢

359 Followers

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Pinned

What Is A Black Swan Event?

And there’s more out there than just black swans. Here be dragons . . . — In 2nd century Rome, there were no black swans. No one in western Europe had seen anything other than a white swan. It was just assumed black swans just didn’t exist. And so when a Roman poet described something as “a rare bird in the lands and very much like…

Black Swan

5 min read

What Is A Black Swan Event?
What Is A Black Swan Event?
Black Swan

5 min read


Pinned

Why Don’t (More) Americans Vote?

If you vote, you just might be a robot. I have the math to prove it. — If you’re American, there’s a good chance you are not going to vote in the upcoming presidential election. In 2016, only 58% of the electorate actually voted. Compared to other democracies, voter turnout in the United States doesn’t even break the top 20. Americans just don’t vote. …

Election 2020

4 min read

Why Don’t (More) Americans Vote?
Why Don’t (More) Americans Vote?
Election 2020

4 min read


Published in The Startup

·Pinned

The Lonesome Extinction of Blockbuster Video

At the height of its success, there were over 9,000 Blockbusters around the world. Now there is only one. — At one point in Earth’s history, Blockbusters inhabited every continent on the planet except Antarctica. At their peak, the Blockbuster population was over 9,000 and their bright blue and yellow plumage was a common sight in cities around the world. The brand first arose in Texas — through the unlikely…

Blockbuster

4 min read

The Lonesome Extinction of Blockbuster Video
The Lonesome Extinction of Blockbuster Video
Blockbuster

4 min read


Aug 12, 2020

The Virtual Plague That Predicted A Real Pandemic

In 2005, an infectious disease killed thousands all over the world — World of Warcraft, that is. Even though it wasn’t real, the Corrupted Blood Incident has been used a model for real pandemics — including this one. — Scientists traced the origin of the plague to the vast and remote jungles of Stranglethorn Vale. The outbreak began in the troll city of Zul’Gurub, unknowingly carried back to the four corners of Azeroth by brave bands of unstoppable heroes. They may be some of the mightiest warriors in all…

Worldofwarcraft

6 min read

The Virtual Plague That Predicted A Real Pandemic
The Virtual Plague That Predicted A Real Pandemic
Worldofwarcraft

6 min read


Jul 14, 2020

The Legendary Shelf Life of a Twinkie

How long can a Twinkie REALLY last? — If we could step outside the universe and somehow inspect its packaging, we’d find a shelf life of something on the order of a 100 trillion years. After that, all the heat in the universe will be exhausted. Life and all energetic processes will hit their thermodynamic expiration dates. But…

Twinkie

6 min read

The Legendary Shelf Life of a Twinkie
The Legendary Shelf Life of a Twinkie
Twinkie

6 min read


Jun 29, 2020

Modern Food Delivery Was Forged In Battle.

And Helped Beat The Nazis. — 150 hot meals an hour. 20 million meals nationwide. Delivered while navigating an active war zone. They called it a mobile canteen — belying its military status. It looks like any delivery truck you’ve ever seen. But this was the first of its kind. The primordial pizza delivery. Amazon Prime…

Food

5 min read

Modern Food Delivery Was Forged In Battle.
Modern Food Delivery Was Forged In Battle.
Food

5 min read


Jun 4, 2020

These Fossils Changed the World. We’ll Never Know Who Found them.

Because they were slaves. — In 1725, there were no elephants in America. Not anymore anyway. So when enslaved Africans found gigantic teeth buried in a swamp on the Stono Plantation in South Carolina, the white owners thought they must come from giants wiped out during the biblical flood. That’s what they told the English…

Slavery

2 min read

These Fossils Changed the World. We’ll Never Know Who Found them.
These Fossils Changed the World. We’ll Never Know Who Found them.
Slavery

2 min read


May 12, 2020

How to Acquire Donuts (Without Killing Anyone)

You don’t want to kill anyone. It’s not really your style. But the urge hits you as a call to adventure of sorts. It begins as an amorphous desire to shake up the relentless monotony of your life and resolves itself as something sweet and frosted, and possibly jelly-filled. You…

Donuts

6 min read

How to Acquire Donuts (Without Killing Anyone)
How to Acquire Donuts (Without Killing Anyone)
Donuts

6 min read


Published in The Startup

·May 6, 2020

How We Beat the Y2K Bug (Or Not)

Experts predicted a computer apocalypse in the year 2000. But nothing happened. Did a multibillion dollar global effort save us or was it all a waste of time and money? — 20 years ago, our world almost came crashing down. Financial markets were preparing for an economic meltdown. Countries around the globe were bracing for a worldwide shutdown. All because of a bug. The bug was a computer error. Experts had warned about it for years. Called the Year 2000 problem…

Y 2 K

5 min read

How We Beat the Y2K Bug (Or Not)
How We Beat the Y2K Bug (Or Not)
Y 2 K

5 min read


Published in The Startup

·Apr 20, 2020

Waffle House Never Closes (Unless It’s Really Bad)

The Waffle House fast food chain is legendary for never closing — even in the worst of weather. But how is it doing up against a pandemic? — When one of the most powerful storm systems the Earth’s atmosphere can summon is bearing down on a populated area, it’s customary for a typical roadside fast food chain to close up shop and wait for the storm to pass. But not Waffle House. A Waffle House never closes. They…

Natural Disasters

6 min read

Waffle House Never Closes (Unless It’s Really Bad)
Waffle House Never Closes (Unless It’s Really Bad)
Natural Disasters

6 min read

Matt J Weber 🦢

Matt J Weber 🦢

359 Followers

Writer, Producer, Musicer | http://www.youtube.com/thegoodstuff | https://www.mjosefweber.com |

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