For years, we’ve been able to type on our devices just about anywhere we go. Now there’s a project that can let us type on just about any surface, not just on our phones or computers. Plus: tomorrow in Selma, North Carolina, it’s Santa's Groovy Disco Party.

New AR system turns common surfaces into high-precision keyboards for faster input (Interesting Engineering)

Santa's Groovy Disco Party (Johnston County NC)

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Today in 1866, the first US patent for the yo-yo. It’s a device that’s been around in some forms since ancient times, and there have even been a few occasions when it’s gone into space. Plus: starting tomorrow in Claremore, Oklahoma, it's Dickens on the Boulevard.

Toys in space (UPI)

Dickens on the Boulevard (TravelOK)

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Today in 1959, the premiere of the show we know today as Rocky and Bullwinkle. It was an extremely irreverent show, especially for its time… and that’s why one of its jokes ended up getting the producers in trouble. Plus: Chicago is celebrating 50 years of its famous film reviewing duo, Siskel and Ebert.

Watch the Banned Bullwinkle Bumper That Had Kids Ripping Off TV Knobs & Parents Furious (Movieweb)

Siskel & Ebert at 50 (Choose Chicago)

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Peelware is a company selling paper plates that can be reused more than a dozen times. When you're done using it, peel off the top layer and
today in 2115, the release of the Robert Rodriguez movie 100 Years.

peelable layers of paper plates break down without additional waste as single-use dishware (designboom)

13 Completed Movies That Were Never Released (Screenrant)

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For National Take A Hike Day, we look back at a time in the 1800s when huge crowds bought tickets to see people walk around in loops for days at a time. Plus: for National Homemade Bread Day, the story of the bakery that made an eight-foot-long loaf for "I Love Lucy."

The strange 19th-Century sport that was cooler than football (BBC)

How Competitive Walking Captivated Georgian Britain (Atlas Obscura)

I Love Lucy The Complete Picture History of the Most Popular TV Show Ever, Authorized by the Lucille Ball Estate by Michael McClay (via Google Books)

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It's National Pickle Day! These briny cukes are versatile, and so is the word "pickle," even if some of the meanings of the word aren't very food related. Plus: there's a place in Utah that's famous for serving up pickle pie.

Why Do We Say We're 'In a Pickle'? (HowStuffWorks)

Utah Enjoys Its Pickles In A Sweet And Savory Slice Of Pie (Chowhound)

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Today in 1946, an airplane flying over Massachusetts gets snow to fall out of a cloud on demand. And that helped bring about the rise of artificial snow. Plus: today in 2023, Amber Harris of Tasmania has a very unusual reason for being late to work.

Hacking The Weather To Make Man-Made Snow — In 1946 (GBH)

The Olympics Have 100 Percent Fake Snow—Here’s the Science of How It Gets Made (Scientific American)

Tasmanian woman tells office she can't come in as 600kg 'Neil the seal' is blocking her car (ABC)

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Spider webs are both works of art and extremely practical, and there’s new research that finds they’re even more practical than we’ve realized. Plus: in Tulsa, Oklahoma, there's a new art installation made from more than 45,000 guitar picks.

Spiders weave secret alarm system through web zigzags for prey detection, study finds (Interesting Engineering)

BOK reveals new art installation made with over 45,000 guitar picks (FOX 23)

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