At NPSC we know that one of the best ways to keep your brain healthy is to learn new things. Unfortunately, with all of the information available to us, it can feel almost impossible to find the time to sift through the web to find the gems.

So, we’ve decided to do it for you! Every Friday, you can find five new articles or videos from the week that will stretch your mind, fuel your spirit, and feed your brain.

“‘I HAVE $1500 THAT I’M GIVING AWAY’: MAN BECOMES LEGEND FOR EXTREME ACTS OF KINDNESS TOWARD STRANGERS” by Allison Klein, washingtonpost.com

“His one year of goodness was so fulfilling that he has turned it into a four-year-stretch of saying ‘yes’ to random requests from strangers, gaining Potter fame in Pittsburgh for his hundred—perhaps thousands—of kind acts, winning him awards, and making him the subject of local media attention.”

“A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WAFFLE IRON” by David Kindy, smithsonianmag.com

“Cornelius Swartwout’s invention, patented 150 years ago, helped feed America’s passion for waffles.”

“ATHLETE IN VIRAL BOX-JUMP VIDEO TAKES ON HIS NEXT CHALLENGE: A TRIATHLON” by Cindy Kuzma, runnersworld.com

“Born without arms, Tim Bannon has always lived by his mantra: ‘I can do everything everybody else does, just in a different way.'”

“THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT: ONE OF HISTORY’S GREAT UNSOLVED MYSTERIES” by Anthony Everitt, lithub.com

“When you party too hard after conquering the world…”

“LOCUSTS: THEIR DESTRUCTIVE CAPACITY, OUR SENSE OF SELF” by Invisibilia, npr.org

“We’re not the only ones who have a range of versions of ourselves. Learn how scientists got to the bottom of the mystery of swarming locusts plagues.”

At NPSC we know that one of the best ways to keep your brain healthy is to learn new things. Unfortunately, with all of the information available to us, it can feel almost impossible to find the time to sift through the web to find the gems.

So, we’ve decided to do it for you! Every Friday, you can find five new articles or videos from the week that will stretch your mind, fuel your spirit, and feed your brain.

“THIS NOVEL D.C. ACADEMY TRAINS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO PROVIDE PAID SUPPORT FOR OTHERS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES” by Hannah Natanson, washingtonpost.com

“The program, dubbed the DSP Academy and launched this year, teaches and certifies locals with disabilities to help other locals also living with disabilities.”

“WHEN AN INFLUX OF FRENCH-CANADIAN IMMIGRANTS STRUCK FEAR INTO AMERICANS” by David Vernette, smithsonianmag.com

“In the late 19th century, they came to work in New England cotton mills, but the New York Times, among others, saw something more sinister.”

“PLASTICS: WHAT’S RECYCLABLE, WHAT BECOMES TRASH—AND WHY” by npr.org

“This interactive explores some of the plastics and recycling system was designed to handle and explains why other plastic packaging shouldn’t go in your recycling bin.”

“THE NOT-SO-CHILL HISTORY OF HAWAI’I’S BREEZIEST SHIRT” by Sabrina Imbler, atlasobscura.com

“The aloha shirt has many possible inventors and long, fraught cultural history.”

“HOW LIFE BECAME AN ENDLESS, TERRIBLE COMPETITION” by Daniel Markovits, theatlantic.com

“Meritocracy prizes achievement above all else, making everyone—even the rich—miserable. Maybe there’s a way out.”

At NPSC we know that one of the best ways to keep your brain healthy is to learn new things. Unfortunately, with all of the information available to us, it can feel almost impossible to find the time to sift through the web to find the gems.

So, we’ve decided to do it for you! Every Friday, you can find five new articles or videos from the week that will stretch your mind, fuel your spirit, and feed your brain.

“HOW THE WIFFLE BALL CAME TO BE” by David Kindy, smithsonianmag.com

“Patented in 1957, the lightweight ball saved players’ arms and more than a few windows.”

“THE TRUE GLORY OF WOODSTOCK IS THAT THEY MANAGED TO CLEAN UP SO WELL” by Isaac Schultz, atlasobscura.com

“Archaeologists are finding evidence of the landmark festival anyway.”

“THE RISKIEST MANEUVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPACE PROGRAM,” smithsonianmag.com

“The success of the Apollo 8 mission hinged on a unique and terrifying maneuver: slowing the spacecraft enough to enter lunar orbit. Even the slightest mistake would have meant certain doom.”

“THE RENTREE LITTERAIRE: WHEN FRANCE GOES BOOK CRAZY” by thelocal.fr

“As families drag themselves off the beach and get ready to head back to school or work, France is gearing up for another tradition that’s as French as the long summer holidays that precede it: the ‘entree litteraire.'”

“THE SURPRISING PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONS YOU’RE PROCRASTINATING—AND HOW TO FIGHT IT” by Jessica Hicks, bigthink.com

“Could procrastination be a form of self-protection?”