internet explorers club | the bedazzling of the american email newsletter

So, I guess the Olympics are going on? Just kidding, my DVR is at 90% because it has been recording 24 / 7! Dive into the past with this compilation of all the pictograms of previous summer Olympics, dating back to Tokyo 1964.

Having been enraptured by the women’s gymnastics this year, while simultaneously lamenting the terrible commentary, I welcomed this New Yorker piece calling for better coverage. It takes NBC to task for their watered-down coverage while offering soupçons of information about specific gymnastics moves that would be tantalizing if offered during commentary, such as:

Follow-up reading: The New York Times on the “bedazzling of the American Gymnast.” Bear with me! It talks about the history of leotards, and the advantages in having spangles that catch the light (and the eye of the judges).

In an entirely different textile direction, designer Menja Stevenson made outfits out of German public transit upholstery fabric, and then photographed herself riding the respective trains.

Lucy Bellwood writes lovely comics about tall ships, but most recently wrote one about the rebirth of wind-powered cargo shipping. Follow that up with this map of where all cargo ships are on the planet.

Are you all watching Stranger Things? Sarah Glass writes on the typography of the title sequence and why it’s so compelling, and Vox dove into the actual creation of the sequence.

Anna Felicity Friedman finds a tattoo shop in Jerusalem that’s been tattooing religious pilgrims since 1300 (!) and talks with the current owner about his technique (antique stamps) and taking on the family business.

Two bittersweet stories about our relationships with our parents and food. The first, Kevin Pang writes about realizing his father had a YouTube following for his cooking videos, and the second, Michelle Zauner about her relationship to her late mother’s Korean cooking.

A palate cleanser in the form of a look within Prince’s fridge. As with everything Prince-related, it’s not as simple as it looks—Prince specified that they could only illustrate (not photograph) the contents, and ask him questions about it later. His responses are delightful. I love it.

Etcetera: We don’t know why all the corpse flowers are blooming at once.