The damaging effects of road salt, how 2022 matches up to movies' predictions, and more.

Vivian Le's reads

How does 2022 match up to movies' predictions? Decades ago, several movies were set in the far-off future of the year 2022—but how does reality match up with those movies' predictions? Writing for NPR, James Doubek examines four movies from the past and compares their depictions of 2022 with the present day.

How European royals used to guard their secrets. Hundreds of years before high-tech encryption was available, European royals would "lock" their letters by stitching them together in unique patterns, making them impossible to open without detection. Writing for the New York Times, William Broad describes the intricacies of past letterlocking techniques and how researchers are using new technology to "unlock" these letters without actually opening them.

Alyssa Nystrom's reads

How to actually stay asleep at night. Many people struggle to get a good night's sleep—and two years of pandemic-related bad habits have made it even harder for some people to sleep through the night. Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Andrea Petersen offers five tips to help conquer the nighttime sleep disruptions that could be preventing you from getting a good night's sleep. 

The damaging effects of road salt. Transportation officials across the United States rely on road salt to keep winter roads clear—but the Environment Protection Agency warns that it is an environmental pollutant. Writing for the New York Times, Jenny Gross analyzes a growing body of evidence that uncovers the effects road salt has on the environment.