Look, we’re idiots: None of us knows what, exactly, goes into city planning, but we assume it’s probably a lot of distinguished gentlemen emailing each other about math, statistics and blueprints. But somewhere along the line, somebody accidentally CC’ed the insane asylum, and we wound up with the following civilizations that simply should not be.

(via @tylercowen)

Stray dogs figure out how to use Moscow’s subway system to get downtown to neighborhoods where the food is better.

For years, a house cat in England takes the public bus to get around town, unbeknownst to its owner.

A jungle leopard in India, needing to cross a swollen river with its cub, gets a man to ferry her and her cub across in his canoe.

Dolphins at a dolphin show in Hawaii instantly figure out a mistake their trainers have made and cover for them pretty well, preventing embarrassment all around.

The wild ocean cousins of those “tame” show dolphins have a long-standing partnership with fishermen along the coasts of both Brazil and Bengal that means more fish for all.

In Western Australia’s Shark Bay, wild dolphins being studied by scientists from Harvard, appear themselves to be studying the humans — including this reporter.

And other examples of animal intelligence.

(via marginal revolution)

I’ve become slightly obsessed with Frank Chimero’s talk on the purpose and philosophy of design:

To really think about design, you need to learn and think about everything other than it. Design is a vessel: the most important part is what it holds.

The first comment on the Vimeo landing is a single word: Nourishing. Such a perfect way to sum it all up.

Via: Swiss-Miss

In context: Starlingo ii.

Damar torn from the flock.

What is Damar? Who is Damar? What is Damar?

Admittedly, it’s more impressive than my own to-do lists. (via)

via Reddit: fridgetarian

Monkeys can reason by using analogy, it seems. In an experiment recently reported in the journal Psychological Science, baboons in a lab proved capable of realizing that a pair of oval shapes is “like” a pair of square shapes and “unlike” a pair made of two different shapes.