My idea graveyard

It's like a little free library of things that I thought were interesting enough to write down but never did anything else with

I can’t stop sending emails to myself for articles I think I could pitch, details I don’t want to forget, or any other note I think I should remember later. The trouble is that I often forget about them until it’s too late. (Email is not a great system for this.) It’s like that “brilliant” idea that everyone has before bed but doesn’t write down, thinking you’ll remember in the morning but never do. It turns out, that’s probably for the best. The ideas, while fine, don’t grab enough of my attention to be worth the hours it would take to pursue them.

As it turns out, I really would have remembered it if it was worth remembering.

I’m going through my inbox and rather than deleting all of these thoughts, I thought I’d share a list of emails I sent myself that never amounted to anything. Some of these I sent with no subject line. Others have the lofty title of “article idea” or “pitch this”. The interesting thing is that it was still hard to share these. “What if someone takes this idea?!” my brain kept yelling. I hadn’t done anything with them, didn’t want to do anything with them, and yet it was still hard to let them go.  

They’re here in no particular order. Maybe they’ll spark something for you. Maybe you have your own graveyards of ideas that are hard to say goodbye to. (I’ve included the first few for everyone but the rest are behind a paywall because why else have you subscribed if not to read the weird notes of what I find interesting. Thank you!)

Essay on roadtrip bug splatters. Studies on big splats over time.

Oliver Smoot 1958. Boston MIT

Whale earwax studies.

The science of pressing flowers

Underground salt mine horses spend lives underground 

Write about dandelions

Ranger the climbing dog in OR (Note: This is actually a very cute story that’s worth watching.)

History of spinning cake display. Why are they so midwestern? Are they?