October 23, 2026
What Else Is in the Backyard?
If you've ever suspected the experts were bluffing, the stories gathered at Slow News Co. this week will feel like sweet vindication. Rules got broken, myths got tested, and a few long-lost things turned up exactly where nobody thought to look.
A Pink Rock and a Pile of Trees
An Egyptian farmer spotted a carved stone in his field, made one phone call, and two colossal Ramses statues emerged from under his crops. Compare that with the expedition that sailed after a blurry Apple Maps shape, only to find the supposed Earhart plane was a stand of trees.
Other lost things kept surfacing. A venomous, arm-licking primate unseen by science since 1937 had been wandering Indonesian gardens all along, and a famous Siberian cave coughed up a shaggy Ice Age mammal. Even the sky joined in, with Webb catching a glow in empty space that nobody can explain.
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Khaled al-Shahat was simply tending his land in Egypt's Nile Delta when a pink stone etched with hieroglyphs poked out of the dirt. Sensing something special, he called the authorities, and archaeologists rushed in to take a look. What lay beneath was jaw-dropping: the remains of two massive statues of Ramses II, one of history's most famous pharaohs.
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It started with a blurry satellite image off Nikumaroro, a remote South Pacific atoll, showing something that looked a lot like an airplane wing. Researchers called it 'very likely' Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane and set off on an expedition to find out. Alas, the legendary aviator's final resting place remains a mystery, because the shape turned out to be a cluster of large trees.
The big-eyed Bangka slow loris hadn't been documented by scientists since 1937, yet it has apparently been creeping through local homes and gardens all along. It belongs to the world's only known group of venomous primates, which activate their toxin by licking a gland on their arms.
Researchers digging in one of Siberia's most famous caves have uncovered the remains of a shaggy, yak-like mammal from the Ice Age. It's the latest prehistoric surprise from a site that keeps on giving.
Astronomers using the Webb telescope caught a strange flash of light twice in a spot in Fornax where nothing should be. Its source remains a puzzle, and the suspects are anything but ordinary.
Frozen Peas and Unrested Steak
The kitchen had its own myth-busting week. One devoted farmers-market shopper, burned by a sad January batch, now swears the frozen stuff wins, while another cook sliced steak straight off the heat to test the sacred resting rule. Wine pros, meanwhile, are pouring aged Chardonnay and sherry as white wine for steak, and the Cabernet crowd is not thrilled.
History got a rewrite too: that folded box with the wire handle was originally a humble oyster pail. And in Los Angeles, a golf-course cafeteria relic now requires pre-orders and online drops. Status is a strange and wonderful thing.
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One sad batch of tiny, flavorless January peas sent a devoted farmers-market shopper straight to the freezer case. The frozen stuff turned out sweeter, easier and now a permanent fixture on the grocery list.
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Nearly every steak recipe tells you to let the meat rest before slicing. A side-by-side experiment reveals there's more at stake than a few lost juices.
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Big reds like Cabernet and Malbec usually hog the spotlight at steak dinners. Wine pros make the case for aged Chardonnay, sherry, Champagne and more as surprisingly delicious partners.
That folded white box with the wire handle has a surprisingly salty backstory. It's a very American tale of how a humble seafood container became a Chinese takeout icon.
Once a sad golf-course cafeteria staple, the chicken Caesar wrap has become a status symbol in Los Angeles. Restaurants are now selling it via pre-orders and online drops to lure in eager crowds.
Saunas, Ghosts and a Very Long Table
New York spent the week getting cozy. Greenpoint is laying out a comically long pastry spread for marathoners and the friends who cheer them on, and Williamsburg is getting free sweat nights, with cold plunges for the brave.
The city's past got some love as Coney Island's little 1890s beacon inches toward landmark status. And if you like your history with a chill, one borough apparently has ghosts crammed in tighter than a rush-hour train.
That's the week. Go thaw something, sweat something, or question a rule your grandmother swore by, then swing by Slow News Co. whenever you're ready for the next batch.
A comically long pastry table is landing in Greenpoint this week. The giant potluck is meant to help NYC Marathon runners, and their loyal cheering squads, fuel up before the big race. Bring an appetite and maybe a croissant to share.
Brooklyn's coldest months are about to get a lot steamier, with free sweat nights and bracing cold plunges on the menu. It's a toasty new way to embrace winter without fleeing the city.
The little 1890s beacon on Coney Island may finally get the city protection that fans say it deserves.
Forget the rent, the real New York horror story might be your spectral neighbors. One borough has earned the title of the city's most haunted, with ghosts said to be crammed in tighter than a rush-hour subway car. Grab a flashlight and a friend before you go poking around this Halloween.