Welcome back to Tidings. If you've been reading nothing but election coverage this week, you'll find much more on other topics in this week's newsletter. Our community on Seabird finds great articles on all kinds of subjects from a ton of varied sources. Come check it out!

​He's the top snake catcher, and business is booming​

If you're a firefighter in Bangkok, you're likely called more frequently to capture a snake than to extinguish a blaze. [Gift link.]

The New York Times | Hannah Beech

​The fix for America's terrible internet is hiding in Tennessee​

For a fast internet connection, choo-choo choose Chattanooga, whose municipal network helped revitalize the city.

Vox | Sara Herschander

​The second most photographed fruit in the world​

How optical technology revolutionized the market for cherries, with each fruit imaged 30 times for ideal sorting.

Software is Feeding the World | Rhishi Pethe

​Computer drone technology has come to deer hunting​

How drones and anti-drone tech are creating a new arms race among landowners, hunters, and poachers.

Outdoor Life | Josh Honeycutt

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​Texas Republicans get washed​

"The last time a Democrat won a Senate election in Texas, the Soviet Union was still in Afghanistan, Big Daddy Kane and Salt-N-Pepa had just released new albums, and Americans poured into theaters to watch that classic of American cinema, Crocodile Dundee II." [Gift link.]

The Atlantic | Adam Serwer

​The 'paper son' gambit​

Uncovering the history of "paper sons," the fake identities once created to evade America's exclusionary laws banning immigration from China. [Gift link.]

The Wall Street Journal | Josh Chin

​Mbappé’s Mao gaffe costs him in China​

The soccer star learns the hard way that doing business in China comes with costs to free expression.

New Lines | John Duerden

​Guinness World Record set in Brazil soccer match​

Meanwhile in Brazil, a soccer match ends with a dubious record: the issuing of 51 red cards in a single game.

The Big Lead | Matt Larter

​A decade of despair. A month of reprieve.​

A writer reflects on a month off from doomscrolling living off grid in Scotland. (If you are overwhelmed by social media, may we suggest the relative calm of Seabird?)

Slate | Laura Jedeed

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​The self-making world​

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, long the punching bag to any introduction to Darwinian evolution, is getting a fresh appraisal for his theories of how organisms change.

Aeon | Jessica Riskin

​A crash course in corduroy​

News you can use: a beginner's guide to wearing corduroy.

Esquire | Jonathan Evans

​Why real forests make the best fantasy​

How Portland's real Forest Park inspired the fantastical Impassable Wilderness of Wildwood.

Outside | Calin Van Paris

​There's a completely new kind of whisky​

French distillery Maison Lineti is winning accolades for its whisky by putting fermentation first.

Wired | Jeremy White

​The global rise of listening bars​

The Japanese-inspired bars where good sound systems and full album plays guide the night.

Salon | Melanie McFarland

​The Pollycrisis​

Finally, in bird news... an in-depth investigation into Britain's invasive green parrots, how they got there, and what to do with them now that they've established a new home.

The Baffler | David Wingrave

Tidings is edited by Jacob Grier. The links in our newsletter were all shared first on Seabird, our minimalist platform simply designed for recommending worthwhile links. Learn more about us here and join to discover and share articles like these every day. Your recommendations may appear in a future edition of Tidings.