I counted some robots, and found video from the South Pole.

5th July 2021

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Hello!

In this week's video, I visit an automated grocery warehouse and ask: how many robots can you see?

And from around the internet this week: first of all, links to videos where I learned a lot. (A reminder that, if you're going to leave a comment, please leave one that's about the video, not just "hi to people from the newsletter" — that just annoys the person who's made the video!)

Science IRL talks about how kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale and cauliflower are all the same plant.
A brilliant TikTok account from a researcher at the Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole: one-minute videos touring the station and showing off what life's when the outside temperatures are below −50°C.
Smarter Every Day explains carburetors with a slow-motion camera and a custom-built transparent carburetor. Destin continues to be one of the best communicators on YouTube.
And the link that I got wrong last week: Grady from Practical Engineering explains what happened with the Memphis I-40 bridge.

And then from the rest of the web, in what I'm calling the "heist special":

This BBC News account of a fake wedding is notable not just for the story itself, but for the details of the investigator who's looking into it.
"A flaw so stupidly obvious that he couldn’t bring himself to report it to his managers": the Microsoft employee who stole millions in gift cards.
While it's worth treating stories like this with a note of caution: this story about a Chinese town that turned itself into an Instagram tourist trap is astonishing. (That summary is based on this paywalled New York Times article.)
A security researcher claims to be able to "jackpot" an ATM just by waving his phone at it.
And finally, a fascinating long-read from 2020 on "the wildest insurance fraud scheme Texas has ever seen".

That's it for this week! As ever, thanks for helping me get around The Algorithms.

All the best,

— Tom

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