Monday Links from the Bench vol. CDXVIII

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Monday Links from the Bench vol. CDXVIII

Another year of this nonsense, you say? Oh, go on then:

”A three-part series based on never-before-published training manuals for the KGB:”
This is the stuff Vladimir Putin learned in his old job. The original documents are here.
Hospital and Morgue S, England - Urban exploration: ”Hospital and Morgue S is a large hospital complex originally constructed in the 19th Century, that has been abandoned since the early 2010s. It is one of the earliest pavilion style hospitals and originally had a large enclosed central courtyard. Several phases of demolition and expansion has led to a jumble of tightly packed mis-matched architecture, obliterating the original pavilion layout. Today the corridors linking the various departments are a maze, difficult to navigate now all the signage has been removed and many internal doors are locked. It took several visits, some at night, to see all the important areas of the hospital."
The 25 Most Popular Longreads Exclusives of 2017 - Several of these have already been in Monday Links over the past year, but although not all of them will be to everybody’s taste (Laurie Penny four times? Really? ), there’s probably something new to interest you
How Raganwald Lost His Crown - "This is the legend of ‘How Raganwald Lost His Crown.’ Attend closely, for it contains within it, the answers of many of the riddles of the universe. And in the telling and retelling of this story, we are reminded of our place upon our earth and within the firmament of the heavens." From neutron stars to dentistry
29 Viral Photos and GIFs From 2017 That Were Totally Fake - Matt Novak: ”It’s that time of year again when we look back at the photos and GIFs that went viral over the past 12 months… 2017 was even weirder than usual. How so? There were so many fake images swirling around the internet that it was difficult to decide which ones to debunk.”
We Fact-Checked 8 Animal Emojis—Here's What We Found - "For starters, caterpillars don't have antenna and zebra ears aren't pink." NatGeo castigates emoji designers.
Everything That Should Die In 2018 - "It was a miserable year full of miserable things. Here is some stuff from 2017 that we hope stays in 2017."
The mystery of the miniature coffins - "Satanic spell, superstitious charm or echo of Edinburgh’s grisly underworld history? We examine the theories put forward to explain the strange tale of these tiny coffins, discovered on Arthur’s Seat almost 200 years ago."
How to map the circuits that define us - Kerri Smith on current research into actual neural networks in living things: ”Understanding even the simplest of circuits… presents a host of challenges. Circuits vary in layout and function from animal to animal. The systems have redundancy that makes it difficult to pin one function to one circuit. Plus, wiring alone doesn't fully explain how circuits generate behaviours; other factors, such as neurochemicals, have to be considered.”
Monster Otters, Motörhead Crocs, and Zuul: The Best Paleo Art of 2017 - "Every year, new discoveries and research shake up old assumptions about life that existed on Earth long before us, and 2017 was no exception. The results, from the colour of dinosaurian feathers to soft tissue discoveries, are incredible… I'd like to highlight some of the best art that graced new studies published this year.” Including Lemmysuchus obtusidens, named for the late Lemmy Kilmister, depicted by artist Mark Witton: