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Happy Friday, y’all.

The New Yorker called it one of the most highly praised novels of the year so far, President Obama put it on his Summer reading list… and for me, book #23 of the year, Transcription by Ben Lerner, was just meh. Luckily it was short, and I didn’t waste too much time on it. Moving on…

Now I’m reading Salt: A History of the World. And I’m absolutely riveted.

Did you know… that the words: salary (Roman soldiers were often paid in salt or given an allowance to buy it; it’s also where the phrase “worth your salt” originated), salami (salted meat), salad (salted greens) and salacious (in a salted, ahem, a lewd sexual state) all come from the world SALT. Humans used salt to dry out fish and preserve and mummify bodies. In the 19th century, customs officers in Cairo faced a bizarre bureaucratic puzzle when mummies were shipped into the city. Because there was no specific law or tariff category for the import of mummies, officials looked for a regulatory match. Finding no other policy, customs officers officially taxed the mummies under the existing regulatory code for salted fish, given their identical preservation history.

I could go on, but if you’re at all interested in food, history, travel, or how all of those things are related to a mineral you might have previously taken for granted… not to mention the only rock or mineral that humans can comfortably and directly eat, do yourself a favor and read or listen to Salt by Mark Kurlansky.

Here are 5 things I was looking at and loving this week:

Very neat data visualization of the 2026 World Cup (thx Gboy!)

“Some children fly kites, some children feed ducks, some children court genital trauma.” Fun profile on Johnny Knoxville, America’s God of Mischief.

A decade after her dad’s death, Radhika has been painting in his passport

He’s the Last Great Land Artist You’ve Never Heard Of

I think all professional photographers will feel this deeply1.

(PS: If you want your own Philly 250 badge, go here!)