Hwæt! moai! and a Cool S.

• Historical linguist Graham Scheper summarises new research on the "most horribly mistranslated word in Old English", hwæt. I thought I knew what this meant. Most scholars thought they knew what this meant, but they may have been wrong... and what a convincing argument Graham makes. (Thanks to Santiago for the suggestion!)
   
• A fascinating one-hour deep-dive conversation between Stefan Milo and anthropologist Carl Lipo about the mind-blowing scale of moai building. This is an expert talking about their research and knowledge, prompted by good questions from a well-read interviewer.
   
• Thanks to reader Charlie for sending in Zach Wally's video on recreating Disney's most convincing illusion. Charlie said it "feels pretty basic at first", and they're right. I was about to write the whole video off, and I suspect you might too... but keep watching, because there's a brilliant gag in here. (Also, I've been on that ride twice, and I had no idea the effect was even there.)

• Drama at the Ilkeston NatWest Hole.
   
• Fifteen years after a Kickstarter, Detroit finally has its statue of Robocop.
   
• And another web-toy from the ever-interesting Matt Round: can you draw a Cool S? (Easier on mobile than desktop.)

And finally, on TikTok: a story about nothing. (Needs sound; alternate link for desktop.)

All the best,

— Tom