In London, toy drones aren’t the oddest spectacle floating overhead. The keen eye may spy a pigeon with a backpack. Ten technologically-enhanced birds are being used in a mini-experiment by a startup called Plume Labs, and its members—including researchers from MIT, Imperial College London and Stanford University—are dedicated to combating air pollution around the globe. While 150 stray dogs were once used to monitor pollution in Mexico City, the Plume Labs researchers told the Guardian that the Pigeon Air Patrol is the first case they know of using completely wild animals to track pollution. The suited-up pigeons carry monitors that constantly track their location and measure pollutants in the surrounding…

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made his first NFL start Sunday since he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality. Kaepernick, who donned a Muhammad Ali shirt when entering New Era Field, completed 13 of 29 passes for one touchdown and ran for 88 yards in the team’s 45-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Home fans were not exactly welcoming. Kaepernick’s presence on field was met with boos, while tailgaters beat up an afro’d Kaepernick doll to chants of “tackle the Muslim,” unbeknownst to the fact that the quarterback is an avowed Christian. Outside the stadium, a fan sold t-shirts featuring Kaepernick in the crosshairs of a gun. Another t-shirt referred to the quarterback as…

If the idea of the internet, aliens, and Big Brother have got you down then we have your solution: get off the grid.  Living off the grid (OTG) literally refers to living off the government-funded electricity grid, but in a more general sense it also refers to living without any dependence on the government, society, and its products. A survey cited by USA Today in 2006 reported there were about 180,000 families living OTG. However, it’s likely that number has gone up significantly in the last decade, considering the growth in popularity of homesteading, permaculture, self-reliance, sustainability, tiny homes, and survival. In order to live OTG successfully, one needs to take into…

A rather compassionate judge in North Carolina sentenced a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder to 24 hours behind bars and ended up spending the night with him in lock up out of concern for his wellbeing. According to the Washington Post, Fayetteville District Court Judge Lou Olivera, a Gulf War veteran himself, had to penalize former Green Beret Sgt. Joe Serna for violating his probation after he lied to the Veterans Treatment Court on a previous occasion. Concerned about the effects of isolation on Serna’s mental health, Olivera decided to provide Serna with company as he spent the night behind bars.  “(Olivera) comes in, they close the door and lock…

In 2014, at the Los Angeles International Airport, U.S. Customs agents noticed some unusual cargo arriving from Lagos, Nigeria. Hiding in two picnic baskets were 67 giant African snails, totaling 35 pounds, intended for human consumption. While the case made for spectacular and unusual headlines, food smuggling is actually a common occurrence. Sometimes it’s unknowingly perpetrated by oblivious tourists, other times it’s a conscious scheme to evade import taxes, and, occasionally, organized crime gets involved, as Mexican cartels have during this year’s lime shortage. More often than not, however, food smuggling into the States is carried out by humble immigrants simply craving a taste of home. To highlight the tasty contraband…

In the wake of an overwhelming number of police shootings over the last year (Falcon Heights in particular), one tech VC has a proposal for an app that could help ease the problem. But is this just a simplistic fix for a complex social issue? Shirvin Pishevar, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who helped fund Uber, has a suggestion for a Facetime-like app that would maintain distance between police and the citizens they pull over in traffic. Info like license and registration could be exchanged over the app, so officers wouldn’t need to leave their vehicle during these stops. The app would start audio and video recording from the moment…

Embed from Getty Images   Fifteen years ago Thursday, Italian driver Alex Zanardi, among the most popular Indy Car racers of his era, lost both his legs in a crash at EuroSpeedway in Germany. Zanardi, a four-time Champ Car champion, famous for his post-victory doughnuts and pineapple-emblazoned helmet, would never walk again without the aid of prosthetics. He did, however, adopt a new sport: handcycling. In Rio on Tuesday, Zanardi won gold in the H5-level men’s Time Trial. The victory marked Zanardi’s fourth Paralympic medal, and third gold, after a decorated paracycling debut at the 2012 Games. In London, Zanardi won the H4-class cycling road time trial, as well as the road race. “I feel very lucky,” Zanardi told BBC after his victory in Wednesday’s race.…

Take these culture snacks into your weekend for plenty of Memorial Day BBQ talking points. GOOD: Maria Bamford’s Lady Dynamite shows us the comedy of crisis After Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt‘s take on post-cult life and Jessica Jones’ snapshot of PTSD, Netflix’s Lady Dynamite completes its trifecta of flat-out entertaining and somehow totally sensitive portrayals of complex female characters struggling with trauma and mental illness. The time-hopping, fourth-wall-shattering show from Arrested Development’s Mitch Hurwitz and South Park‘s Pam Brady stars Maria Bamford as a (slightly) stranger version of herself recovering from her real-life mental breakdown at the height of her success. Since its release last weekend, the sitcom has collected superlative reviews from The New Yorker, the New York Times, and Rolling Stone, which…

California has a serious water problem. In 2016, the state marked the fifth consecutive year of severe drought. Though the headlines have faded, the issue has not, and one group is putting it on full artistic display.   Land Art Generator Initiative, an organization dedicated to spark conversation, inspire, and educate the public through design, held its biennial ideas competition in Santa Monica, California, on October 6. The designs, submitted by artists from all over the word, must consist of a three-dimensional sculptural form that stimulates the viewer, generates clean energy and/or drinking water, and demonstrates a pragmatic approach. Designs— not to exceed 80 meters in height—must adhere to the constraints of the…

“Gender is not a binary” is a common scold in 2016, for the moments when some cisgendered acquaintance makes the wrong kind of comment at a party. But never in the U.S. has this truism borne the stamp of law. In a case with far-reaching implications, a 52-year-old retired Army tank mechanic has upended our formalized definition of gender in America. Jamie Shupe of Oregon is now legally nonbinary—neither male nor female. Shupe was born male and married a woman 29 years ago. Together they raised a child. Three years ago Shupe left the military and began a partial transition, according to NPR. They (the preferred pronoun) started taking hormone…