Published December 15, 2012 12:00AM
The best articles, photos, and videos that I didn't post this week—until now. If you only click on one thing, make it “A Soap Opera on the High Seas,” by Charles Homans.
For the best longreads of the week, check out “Weekend Reading: If You Love Them.”
ADVENTURE
A profile of the man behind “Deadliest Catch,” The New York Times Magazine
The Taliban blew up my climbing wall, Adventure Journal
On the end of the tall tale, Outside
Oscar Pistorius races … a horse? In Qatar? YouTube
What happens with a 10.1 100m sprinter when you put him on a rugby pitch? YouTube via David Epstein
Everything you wanted to know about the catch of that 445-pound yellowfin tuna, including why it isn't a world record, San Diego Union Telegram
Wait, Shackleton left whisky behind? DHL
What's your Himalayan IQ? Outside
Snowboarder Jeremy Jones wants you to learn from his mistakes, Jones Snowboards
Surfer Taylor Knox retires, Surfer
Diary of a Yosemite climbing steward, Alpinist
SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The rollerblading rock star scientist of Harvard, Smithsonian
Why porcupine quills go in so easy, but are so hard to pull out, Not Exactly Rocket Science
The Cook Islands adds to the world's largest shark sanctuary, BBC
U.K. to gain 31 marine conservation zones, but conservationists aren't happy, The Guardian
The management of wild horses out West has reached a tipping point, The New York Times
Fifty years of planetary exploration in one simple graphic, NASA
Puerto Rico's boa constrictor problem, USGS
Don't pee on that jellyfish sting, Scientific American
More than 1,000 elephant tusks seized in Malaysia, The New York Times
The floating robot detecting rogue waves that satellites are missing, Scientific American
Flight of the science bloggers, Columbia Journalism Review
The world's ocean are far from a quiet place, The New York Times
Frigatebirds return to Ascension Island after more than a century's absence—thanks to the “disappearance” of cats, The Guardian
Big and old trees are dying fast. OK, faster than they should. The New York Times
Mapping an invasive grass against a pattern of fires out West, Science
HEALTH AND FITNESS
Life expectancy goes up around the world, and more people are dying of “rich-country diseases,” The New York Times
How GoPro cameras are helping athletes train, Wired
Can this machine build a better athlete? Daniel Coyle
Just exercise, The New York Times Well
The most interesting health stories of 2012, The Atlantic
FYI, your eyes can get sunburned too, The New York Times Well
GEAR, DESIGN, AND TECH
Even if you can, why you shouldn't walk and text at the same time, NPR Shots
That photo of Everest from space wasn't actually of Everest, The Adventure Blog
A review of Google's new map app for iPhone, The New York Times
Apparently Flickr's new mobile app is really good, Forbes
Why making robots is hard, The New Yorker
TRAVEL
The nautical roots of popular tattoos, Collectors Weekly
The 10 most ethical travel destinations, Outside
An Airstream Thanksgiving, Outside
OTHER
An aerial view of a desert, The New York Times Lens
The 10 best photos of the year, National Geographic
The best-kept secret in journalism is Murray Kempton, Esquire
—Joe Spring
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