letters

George H.W. Bush Wrote a Letter to Donald Trump During the Central Park Jogger Case

Back in May of 1989, President George H. W. Bush wrote a letter to Donald Trump. Bush’s letter was meant to congratulate Trump for being named “Man of the Year” by the Police Athletic League of New York. It was right in the middle of the Central Park Jogger case, and an early draft of…

Tech News Matt Novak Feb 8

Watch a Punchcutter Painstakingly Carve Out a Single Letter

It’s hard to imagine a time when making a single letter appear anywhere required more than a single keystroke but watching former head punchcutter Giuseppe Bracchino of Nebiolo in Torino, Italy carefully carve out the letter G from steel, you start appreciating everything a little more. It’s really interesting to see the tools he uses…

Sploid Casey Chan Jul 28

Why Does the Letter Q Almost Always Go with U?

The history of why Q is almost always followed by U is fascinating, and dates back to when the Normans invaded England in 1066. Before that, English didn’t even have a Q; it used “cw” to replicate the sound. After the invasion, though, the spelling of English was changed to match the French ways: “cw”…

Sploid Casey Chan May 23

Here’s How Those Big Store Signs Are Made

Here’s how channel signs—basically those big signs that hang above stores and restaurants across the world—are made. The Science Channel gives us a sneak of the way things are done and it’s surprising that so much of it still requires the help of a human. It’s not all robots! And it’s actually a lot more…

Sploid Casey Chan Feb 2

Huffy Letter Written By Titanic Survivor Sells For $12,000

A Titanic survivor penned a furious letter to a friend weeks after the infamous sinking, but her outrage was not due to reasons you’d expect. It netted $11,875 in a recent auction, and its contents offer a singular window into the mind of the one percent, 1912 style. CNN reports: The remarks were written on…

io9 Cheryl Eddy Jan 23

Here’s What Would Happen If You Asked Ayn Rand To Loan You Money

In 1949, a 17-year-old girl named Connie Papurt wanted to buy a dress but needed $25. So she did what a lot of young women in her situation would do: asked a relative if she could borrow the money. The relative? Her aunt, author and economic philosopher Ayn Rand. Papurt is the daughter of Agnes…

io9 Lauren Davis Jan 15

Calligraphic robot imitates your handwriting using a fountain pen

There are a couple of companies that use robots to send handwritten messages on paper from your phone. The only bad thing is that they have been using canned typefaces until now: Bond has a new robot that can write notes in your own handwriting using a fountain pen. It’s really cool, check it out:…

Sploid Omar Kardoudi Jan 15

Letters, Ranked (by Futurists of 1900)

Do you like the letter C? Have any particular attachment to the letter X? How about the letter Q? Well, back in the year 1900, some people thought we’d be rid of them by now. And while they haven’t actually disappeared, the futurists of 1900 were certainly right about that whole condensing of language thing.…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 2

How to Read Text in Binary

Though you might not often need to do it, reading text in binary in surprisingly straightforward. Here’s your new nerdy party trick. In this vide, Tom Scott explains how letters emerge from a string of 1s and 0s. You simply need to be able to count in binary and know the order of your alphabet.…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Aug 19

The Invention Of The Letter G

The letters of our alphabet seem like a fixed, immutable thing today. But there was a time when the alphabet as we knew it was still in flux — and some of the letters we use today joined later than others. Here’s the story of how the letter g came to join our alphabet. Today,…

io9 Ria Misra Jul 3

Design Legend Massimo Vignelli Is Very Sick—Send Him a Letter

The man who gave us everything from the NYC subway’s signage and map to the American Airlines logo, Massimo Vignelli, is currently spending his last days at home—and his son has an unusual request: Would you send him a note? Luca Vignelli put out the call to the internet today on The Creative Review, asking…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan May 9

Hundreds of Charles Darwin’s previously unpublished letters to be released online

Charles Darwin’s personal letters have a reputation for being quite revealing, and, at times, very entertaining. They’re where he weighed the pros and cons of marriage, and berated himself for being “very stupid.” Now, more than 1,000 letters between Darwin and botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker have been made available free of charge online, including 300…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Mar 30

This App Lets You Send Handwritten Greeting Cards Right From Your Phone

In a world of texts and emails, handwritten notes are getting rarer and rare because they require that heinous thing called “effort.” Or at least they used to. A new iOS app called Inkly takes almost all the work out of it, except for the actual writing part. The process is easy, way easier than…

Tech News Eric Limer Oct 23

Clever comic explains where the letters of the alphabet got their shapes

It’s easy to forget that our Latin-derived alphabet came from earlier alphabets that used physical objects to represent their letters. Cartoonist Jason Novak reminds us of the Egyptian, Phoenician, and Sumerian origins of our modern alphabet, with the letters incorporated into sketchy, energetic cartoons. You can see the the full alphabet over at The Rumpus,…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis Sep 30

These Letters of Wannabe Space Explorers Broke My Heart

I love these letters sent to the American Museum of Natural History by wannabe space explorers from the 1950s. They are so wonderfully naive and full of hope, some of them really funny, others quite sad in hindsight. People sent these letters to the Museum’s Hayden Planetarium when it “began accepting reservations for the first…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz Dec 19

Amazingly Touching 1976 Letter from Ray Bradbury to Robert Heinlein: “Your influence on us all cannot be measured.”

Even the great masters of science fiction paid tribute to the people who influenced them. Today, Letters of Note has a beautiful 1976 letter that Ray Bradbury wrote — by hand — to Robert Heinlein. It reads, in its entirety: DEAR BOB: YOUR INFLUENCE ON US ALL, FROM 1939 ON, CANNOT BE MEASURED. I CAN…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Sep 14

What Would You Tell Your Friend if He Was a Terrorist?

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a Oregon State University student, had planned to set off a car bomb at a 2010 Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon before he was caught (in a setup). His friends had no idea. Now, with hindsight, they’re writing letters to him. Bassam Tariq of the “30 Mosques” project, gave all…

Tech News Casey Chan Aug 13

Bring Snail Mail Unto the 21st Century With Recordable, Rewritable Talking Envelopes

Oh, so you still send snail-mail? Boobytrap envelopes by recording 10-second-long messages on these rewritable talking envelopes, which cost $4.75 for a 10-pack. Be sure to address them in pencil only, though! [SoundExpression via RedFerret]

Tech News Kat Hannaford May 12

Who Ships Those 300 Million Holiday Packages, Visualized

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Or least, if you’re in the parcel delivery business. But who exactly is doing the brunt of the shipping this holiday season? Here’s how it breaks down. Volume is actually a boon to the Big Three mailers in the US: UPS, FedEx, and the Postal Service all…

Tech News Brian Barrett Dec 22

Gene Roddenberry defends the rejected pilot for Star Trek in this unearthed letter

After the first pilot for Star Trek was on the verge being rejected by NBC, Gene Roddenberry sent this impassioned letter to his agent on February 12, 1965. It’s a fascinating snapshot of Roddenberry with his back against the wall. https://gizmodo.com/original-pilot-vs-official-pilot-which-shows-changed-5348032 The second pilot for Star Trek — “Where No Man Has Gone Before” —…

Television Cyriaque Lamar Nov 27

letters

George H.W. Bush Wrote a Letter to Donald Trump During the Central Park Jogger Case

Watch a Punchcutter Painstakingly Carve Out a Single Letter

Why Does the Letter Q Almost Always Go with U?

Here’s How Those Big Store Signs Are Made

Huffy Letter Written By Titanic Survivor Sells For $12,000

Here’s What Would Happen If You Asked Ayn Rand To Loan You Money

Calligraphic robot imitates your handwriting using a fountain pen

Letters, Ranked (by Futurists of 1900)

How to Read Text in Binary

The Invention Of The Letter G

Design Legend Massimo Vignelli Is Very Sick—Send Him a Letter

Hundreds of Charles Darwin’s previously unpublished letters to be released online

This App Lets You Send Handwritten Greeting Cards Right From Your Phone

Clever comic explains where the letters of the alphabet got their shapes

These Letters of Wannabe Space Explorers Broke My Heart

Amazingly Touching 1976 Letter from Ray Bradbury to Robert Heinlein: “Your influence on us all cannot be measured.”

What Would You Tell Your Friend if He Was a Terrorist?

Bring Snail Mail Unto the 21st Century With Recordable, Rewritable Talking Envelopes

Who Ships Those 300 Million Holiday Packages, Visualized

Gene Roddenberry defends the rejected pilot for Star Trek in this unearthed letter

Dropbox Is a Joke: Get pCloud Family at $1,550 Off With Free Password Manager

Someone Finally Took a Good iPhone Photo of the Moon. Good Luck Copying Their Trick

In Letter, OpenAI Reportedly Says Elon Musk and Meta Are Coordinating ‘Attacks’ Against It

Artemis 2 Day 6: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Anonymous Sources Detail Sam Altman’s Alleged Untrustworthiness in New Report

Steven Spielberg Still Wants to Make a Horror Film ‘Someday’

Waymo Has Stopped Testing Its Robotaxis in New York City and No One Knows What Happens Next

Samsung Pushes Monitor Deals Further, the 34″ ViewFinity Hits a Record Low at Nearly 40% Off

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

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