After some dental work I wanted to get some soft-bristled toothbrushes and found these Nuva Dent bamboo ones on Amazon. They’re cheaper than plastic brushes and the bristles are as gentle as I hoped. — MF

This is just for fun: Tinder for Cats. I can easily spend all day swiping right on cute cats and rejecting others — even though they’re all cute of course! — CD

I’ve worked with Stewart Brand for 40 years, and at nearly every single interaction I’ve learned something important from him. He is a true original, an OG of the first order, who has been at the forefront of countercultures starting with beatniks, then the hippies, and eventually the digital technologists, and beyond. Most know him because of his early Whole Earth Catalog bestseller, but his influence and wisdom go much wider and deeper. Indeed he had a remarkable ability to be present at the beginning of many significant American cultural movements, yet his influence has been unappreciated. To remedy this, legendary New York Times reporter John Markoff has written a compelling biography of Brand, called appropriately Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand. As much as possible Markoff weaves into the story of Brand’s unusual life, his insights, his original approach to creativity and invention, and the methods by which he was able to bend our culture. It’s an easy and fast read. Full disclosure: I am biased and also appear in the book. — KK

According to the Michelle Drouin, the behavioral scientist who wrote this article “The Time Hack Everyone Should Know,” the key to taking your time back is not a phone detox or monitoring your screen time, it is to remember we have the tool of choice (use, omit or substitute) and to have a plan of action ready the next time you reach for your phone.

There are two types of action: omission — carving out some intimate times (e.g., dinner) and intimate spaces (e.g., at night in bed with a partner) without your phone, and substitution — swapping passive time on your phone with something that has proven health benefits, like a call to a friend or a walk. Then, each time you interact with your phone, you’ll have three choices: use, omit, or substitute. Remember: Shifting in small ways can lead to big changes in our daily timeclock.

She’s right when she says, “Don’t deceive yourself into thinking you’re being sucked into your technologies. Instead, see your tech use for what it is: you knowing what you like, and you choosing to engage in it (at the cost of other opportunities).”

— CD

I wear cut-safety gloves when I am wood carving or using sharp bladed tools in my workshop. Many professional workers using knives all day wear similar gloves. These are made with HPPE, formerly called Kevlar, which is a soft fabric wound around steel, and is overall stronger then steel. It greatly reduces the chances of getting your hand / finger cut. Yet the gloves are not bulky at all, but are extremely flexible and comfortable, and can be washed easily. The brand I use are NoCry Gloves, which are $13 pair and have 13,000 reviews on Amazon. A pair last a long time in part because the gloves are ambidextrous and I only wear one at a time on my holding hand. — KK

Samples from a monster-length Twitter thread of hard-to-believe facts:

“One of the favourite shades of paint used by Pre-Raphaelite painters, Mummy Brown, was made by adding ground up remains of Egyptian mummies.”

“Hippos were almost released in Louisiana as a way to control invasive plants and as a food source for people”

“There are about 150 million starlings in North America. They are all descended from 60 birds released in Central Park, by a guy whose motivation was to introduce them to America because they had been mentioned in Shakespeare.”

“The last guillotining in France occurred the year Star Wars first premiered.”

— MF

Artvee is a collection of tens of thousands of digitized paintings and illiustrations from museums around the world. According to the site, these images are “available for use for any purpose with no restrictions attached.” I especially like these typographic theater posters. — MF

I love reading lists of ways to improve your life and even more so when they are virtually effortless ways. Here is a list of the Guardian’s 100 ways to slightly improve your life without really trying. My favorite ones are:

22. Laugh shamelessly at your own jokes.

34. Go for a walk without your phone.

55. Learn the names of 10 trees.

60. Drop your shoulders.

78. Always book an extra day off after a holiday.

97. Listen to the albums you loved as a teenager.

— CD

I don’t have a single tattoo. Not one. And I have no intention of getting one. But I follow this fantastic tattooist on Instagram because their designs are so delightful. Michele Volpi creates exquisitely detailed monochrome diagrams that are whimsical, elaborate, yet scientifically precise. My kind of thing. — KK

Ebikes are a fantastic, but still underutilized, transportation option. Ryan Johnson wrote up the best roundup of buying advice for ebikes I’ve seen for anyone in the market for an ebike — and you should be! — KK

I needed to figure out how long it would take a stamped letter to reach the other side of the country and an initial google search buried this very helpful, color-coded “delivery days” map of the US. You can filter by originating zip code or the destination, as well as class of mail. You might never need this, but in the off chance that you do it’s useful to bookmark. — CD

This little Picquic screwdriver has 7 bits stored in the handle. I use it to fix eyeglasses, open battery cases, and repair other small items around the house. — MF

This breakdown of pricing tactics is useful to check out, even if you are not a marketer. I learned that consumers respond to alliteration in prices, like “two t-shirts for $25” because it just feels right. Which I agree with! Also, be precise with large prices — like in real estate transactions — $362,978 is better than $350,000. Why? We associate precise numbers with small values. If you sign up on Nick Kolenda’s website with your email address, you’ll get access to his other psychology + marketing PDFs, like Choice Psychology, Font Psychology and Color Psychology. — CD

Despite the fact that I use Google maps almost everyday for something, I didn’t know about these 5 cool functions built into the system. I wish I had known about how to share locations earlier. The hacks are presented by Steve Dotto on Dottotech channel in this short video. — KK

This website lists the astronauts in space right now, with links to their Wikipedia entries. They’re all in the International Space Station and come from Russia, China, the United States, and the European Union. — MF

Among my circle the most recommended new baby book is The Happiest Baby on the Block which presents the 5-S sleeping framework. It outlines five suggested guidelines for getting infants to sleep well. Our daughter and all her new-parent friends have used these principles successfully. I’ve been very impressed how quickly and well our infant granddaughter sleeps. A lot of this info is online by now, but the book is easy to read and handily organized. — KK

This article in Greater Good Magazine tells you five ways to clear brain fog. Three things that can cause brain fog are isolation, stress and uncertainty. For me, walking my dog and using my rowing machine help me to clear out my head, but when that doesn’t work, self-compassion always does. — CD

This short extension cord has an AC plug on one end and four AC receptacles on the other. I like it more than a power strip because you can plug in bulky adapters without obscuring the other receptacles. — MF

One of my favorite Instagrammers worth following is Geomorphilogical Landscapes. It’s a parade of unusual, amazing, bizarre, weird, and surprising natural landscapes. Geological, biological, weather, and urban. Some scenes are beautiful but most are just astounding. I feel glad to be on the same planet. — KK

If I don’t gel my hair after washing it, it lays flat and resembles the hair style of Moe Howard or Captain Kangaroo. While I have nothing against either of these fine gentlemen, it’s not a look I’m aiming for. I discovered Got2b Ultra Glued Invincible Styling Hair Gel about 10 years ago, and it’s by far the stiffest hair gel of the many dozens of brands I’ve tried since 1979. I only need to use a drop or two and my hair defies gravity for the rest of the day. — MF