A possible future for Damn Interesting

Heavens to Betsy. My server alerted me that traffic was far exceeding a median Thursday. For the record, I am a fairly active user on HN, but I was not responsible for sharing this link here, directly or otherwise. I have little stomach for self-promotion (probably to my detriment).

Admittedly, I haven't read DI in quite a while, but seeing this post brought back a flood of memories from my college days of waiting for the next article to drop. This blog was the precursor of an entire genre of "generally interesting shit" that has kind of underpinned most of the spirit of podcasting today. Shows like 99PI, Stuff You Should Know, RadioLab and so on owe I think a little something to this blog.

The amount asked for is meager, and I was more than happy to throw some bucks at it.

That explains why it’s so rare for a new episode to appear.

I’ve been reading (then listening) to DI forever. Not the full 20 years, because I remember reading through the entire back catalog when I first found it, but a very long time.

Happy to help. Donated.

I miss the old internet. I wish this fellow traveler well.

The amount asked for is meager, and I was more than happy to throw some bucks at it.

> 99PI, Stuff You Should Know, RadioLab

It's funny you mention those three in particular. We've collaborated with Stuff You Should Know several times, and we almost worked with both 99PI and RadioLab on separate occasions (i.e., I pitched ideas that got some traction, though they didn't ultimately materialize). I still think my pitch for RadioLab is a good one, though it's a throwback to when they did episodes with three stories around a central theme (e.g., Blood).

> I was more than happy to throw some bucks at it.

Thanks! If this fundraiser works out, you're part of the reason we get to keep going.

Generally interesting shit, as a category, has been shedding audience figures. It's unclear which of the explanations for this is correct.

I miss the old internet. I wish this fellow traveler well.

That explains why it’s so rare for a new episode to appear.

I’ve been reading (then listening) to DI forever. Not the full 20 years, because I remember reading through the entire back catalog when I first found it, but a very long time.

Happy to help. Donated.

> 99PI, Stuff You Should Know, RadioLab

> I was more than happy to throw some bucks at it.

Thanks! If this fundraiser works out, you're part of the reason we get to keep going.

Generally interesting shit, as a category, has been shedding audience figures. It's unclear which of the explanations for this is correct.

Site News/Podcast: An attempt to secure the future of the site, with an unfortunate quantity of moist metaphors.
Written by Alan Bellows • Non-Fiction • July 2026

Printed from https://www.damninteresting.com/a-possible-future/

Listen to Podcast

Alan Bellows here, founder of Damn Interesting. For the better part of twenty years, I kept this project afloat by working part-time engineering jobs to pay the bills, and spending the other halves of my work days researching, writing, editing, and podcasting. But in recent years, the landscape has shifted, and those part-time positions appear to have gone extinct. Employers want all or nothing⁠—at least those willing to respond to an application from a graybeard.

So a few years ago, after months of searching, I finally had to just take a full-time position. I had always been a bit of a bottleneck around here, but now I’m a downright cork. Meanwhile, a tsunami of AI slop sloshes over most of the Internet.

Clearly something must be done. So I am trying an experiment⁠—a one-off fundraiser. I know the timing isn’t ideal, but the goal is restrained. My hope today (and possibly again a year from today) is that we can raise the same as I used to make with my part-time salary, which will allow me to return much of my time and attention back to this project for the next 12 months.

If you want to push back against the rising tide of AI, and see more long-form articles from Damn Interesting, here’s how to chip in:

GoFundMe →

This fundraiser is entirely separate from our Give a Damn donation system, which aims to cover Damn Interesting monthly expenses⁠—web hosting, subscriptions, usage licenses, link curation, and that sort of thing. An amazing array of donors support us through that system, and those lovely people are the reason we survive to this day. This new experiment is specifically so I myself can afford to spend more time writing and running the site.

Thanks for reading, and for helping out if you can.

Original 1948 patent for 'liquid filled dice agitator'

Pictured at the top of this post is the twenty-sided die from inside a “Magic 8 Ball Novelty Fortune-Telling Toy,” invented in 1950 by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman in Cincinnati, Ohio. When the toy is upturned, the buoyant icosahedron floats to the top of a cylinder filled with blue-dyed alcohol, pressing one of the yes-or-no answers against the clear viewport.

Contrary to common expectations, the toy’s affirmative and negative responses do not appear with equal frequency. There are five “no” responses, five “unclear” responses, and ten “yes” responses. That means the Magic 8 Ball is twice as likely to provide a yes answer than a no. So will my outlandish fundraiser actually work? Odds are, signs point to yes.

GoFundMe →

Printed from https://www.damninteresting.com/a-possible-future/

Since you enjoyed our work enough to print it out, and read it clear to the end, would you consider donating a few dollars at https://www.damninteresting.com/donate ?

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A possible future for Damn Interesting

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