Dead Superstars

She Was Pronounced Dead

Ashley Stimpson | Popular Mechanics | 13th June 2024

The stuff of nightmares: although still rare, it is becoming more common for funeral home workers to discover that the dead bodies delivered to them are not, in fact, dead. Last year, a 76-year-old woman was found alive in a closed coffin. So what is death and how do we tell for sure if it has occurred? With great difficulty, it seems. This has only become an issue in the age of organ donation (1,200 words)

Spreadsheet Superstars

David Pierce | Verge | 12th June 2024

Confusion at the Excel World Championship in Las Vegas. "The most problematic thing about competitive Excel becomes blindingly obvious to me: it is damn near impossible to figure out what’s going on. All eight players are moving so fast and doing so many things with keyboard shortcuts and formulas that there’s practically no way to see what they’re doing until it’s already done" (7,300 words)