Peripheral Vision: Unveiling Optical Illusions in News Apps | April 29 2026, 17:56

I’m trying to figure out if it’s just me or do other people experience this too πŸ™‚ if you look anywhere except at the word “Omurbekova”, the line highlighted in red in the second screenshot (which is actually white) is distinctly visible in your peripheral vision. But as soon as you shift your gaze directly to it, the line disappears. That is, it’s only visible peripherally. Share your experiences πŸ™‚

Misadventures in Keyboard Layouts: Searching for Gremlin, Finding Surprises | April 28 2026, 20:33

This is me typing the word gremlin, without switching the keyboard layout. Wanted to read about the query language for graph databases, need it for work. Google surprises, it does surprise

Silence for Cents: Exploring the SwissBrand 120-Pack Mouth Tape | April 24 2026, 18:25

If your other half needs to be silenced temporarily, you can buy a kit for 120 silencings from us, averaging just under six cents per silence

Crabs in Love: Monogamous Parasites of Sea Turtles | April 15 2026, 21:56

WOW, it turns out that under the shell near the anus of sea turtles, the parasitic crabs Planes minutus make themselves at home, and there’s only enough space for a cozy duo, so they form a monogamous pair and live happily ever after inside the turtle’s butt (had no idea what to do with this information, so I brought it here). In relation to the turtle, this is commensalism. It’s when it’s good for one (or in our case, two), and the third doesn’t give a damn. I see a scientific paper claiming that they sometimes mistake the turtle for ocean debris, where there’s room for more than one wife, and then, goodbye monogamy. But, at least, no butts involved.

Sky-High Prices at the CIA-Adjacent Gas Station | April 11 2026, 21:16

We have one gas station near the CIA that simply sets gas prices 40 percent higher than anywhere else. Just an ordinary shabby station that follows the principle of “if it works, don’t fix it.”

Nikolai Nosov’s Anticipated Instagram: Art Templates and Avatars | April 07 2026, 13:04

As early as 1954, Nosov predicted the emergence of Instagram

P.S. It’s just not very clear why there are different templates for different eye and hair colors.

Navigating Without GPS: Understanding Cardinal Directions in Moscow | March 13 2026, 18:41

The spokesperson for the Phystech press service explains how to determine cardinal directions in Moscow when navigation systems are down. Find the North Star or use the sun: it rises in the east and sets in the west. Also reminds us how to determine directions using trees. Ziya, do you know how to find cardinal directions using trees? β€” What’s there to know? Fir tree points north, palm tree points south!

Overall, it seems the Phystech press service is not aware that in Moscow, the annual amplitude of sunrise point movement is almost 90 degrees. That means, it only sometimes (like now, in March) actually coincides with the east. But they do know the word “asterism”. I think most readers will place it somewhere near the word “flatulence”