Want to read Reddit but don’t have the time? Our daily Reddit Digest highlights the most interesting or important discussions from around the social news site—every morning.
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Earlier this year r/trees‘s creator and moderator, cinsere, resigned when users discovered he’d been collecting donations for a nonprofit that didn’t yet exist. Now another r/trees scandal has emerged. This time surrounding moderators using their positions to ask for …. donations. Intriguingly, the mods in question blame cinsere, posting under another account, for stirring the pot. There’s too much to go in to here, so check out the r/trees thread here and the r/SubredditDrama thread here. (/r/SubredditDrama)
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At r/TrueReddit, redditors discuss James Cameron’s so-called trillion-dollar question: “Is it legally possible to stake a claim to an asteroid in the first place?” Redditor harpwn says, maybe. “The answer is currently unknown and is legally pretty murky. The outer space treaty says that no sovereign nation can claim extraterrestrial bodies as territory or property, and that it’s all part of the common heritage of mankind. There is currently no legal framework in place for private actors in space.” (/r/TrueReddit)
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This is the most lingo-heavy r/askscience question I’ve seen in a while: “Could the human pineal gland, if exposed to light due to trepanation of the skull, function in extraretinal photoreception?” In other words, if you could find a way to shine light on the pineal gland (“the third eye“), would you be able to perceive that light? Apparently not, though there are photosensitive cells within the brain. (/r/askscience)
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Let’s follow that serious science discussion with a painting of a bunch of popular ’80s toys playing poker. (/r/pics)
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There are a few great AMAs worth reading today, including one by Ezra Klein and another by Dan Bull, who calls himself a “pro-filesharing geek rapper” who’s “on the front page of The Pirate Bay, aiming to hijack the pop charts.” Oh, and let’s not forget the inverted nipples AMA. (/r/IAmA)
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Also at r/askscience, redditors debunk an old BoingBoing post (“Immortal McHorror”) about fast foods that don’t spoil. (/r/askscience)
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Here’s a fun r/askreddit thread: “Historians of Reddit, what’s your favourite hilarious event from history?” My favorite response is from redditor sarmatron: “North Korea trying to invade South Korea via a tunnel, then claiming it was a coal mine when discovered, and trying to back up their claim by painting a bunch of rocks in it black.” It’s all true! But sarmatron forgot the tunnel’s name, which is the best part: “The Third Tunnel of Aggression.” (/r/AskReddit)
Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments.
Photo by wwarby