Most see 9/11 conspiracies as an aberration in American political life. But historian and author Andrew McKenzie-McHarg argues that there’s nothing surprising here. Through investigating the genealogy of conspiracy theories, he argues that we can come closer to understanding when to reject them as apocalyptic demonologies in secular garb and when to take them seriously as credible possibilities in criminal or journalistic investigations.

🇺🇸 Marilyn Monroe and Sydney Sweeney apparently have more in common than Hollywood comparisons. They're actually related. Genealogy site MyHeritage traced the two actresses back to a shared ancestor, Ezra Perry, an English settler in Massachusetts in the 1600s. That makes them ninth cousins, once removed. And Sweeney isn't the only one. Dakota Johnson, who recently played Monroe in a short film, is reportedly her ninth cousin, three times removed. Some families pass down recipes. This one apparently passes down leading roles. Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Writer: Julie

The Vegas Justice League Justin Woo and his wife, Lydia Ansel, co-founded the @LVJusticeLeague, a nonprofit that brings together local entrepreneurs and business leaders to fund forensic genetic genealogy testing to help solve cold cases. Since partnering with LVMPD in 2020, and working with @othram, the organization has helped solve 10 cold cases, bringing answers and closure to victims’ families. The City of Las Vegas has proclaimed July 21 as Vegas Justice League Day.

Thank you to our OCP Volunteer Leaders. The Open Compute Project Foundation is powered by dedicated volunteers who contribute their expertise, leadership, and passion to advance open infrastructure innovation across the global technology ecosystem. Their contributions help make OCP’s mission possible. John Leung - Intel What is your role in the OCP Community? John is a Principal Engineer at Intel and a longtime contributor within the OCP Community. Over the past decade, he has helped bridge standards development with real-world customer needs, bringing practical perspectives into industry-wide collaboration efforts. How long have you been involved with OCP? John has been a member of the OCP Steering Committee for 10 years, and has led several workstreams. Why do you volunteer your time to OCP? John values OCP’s close connection to end users and customers. He believes OCP provides a unique opportunity to understand end user problems and how technologies and standards are actually deployed, ensuring innovation remains practical and impactful. What impact has OCP had on you professionally? OCP has provided visibility across technologies far beyond his core specialty, including liquid cooling, AI infrastructure, and emerging data center innovations. Just as importantly, it has connected him with an incredible network of industry peers. What are you most excited about right now? John is looking forward to his eight-week sabbatical, his fourth during his career, and the opportunity to reflect, learn, and explore. Something people may not know about you? John has traced his family genealogy back to approximately 700 AD. Volunteer Leadership Quote: “OCP keeps us focused on building technologies that solve real customer problems.”

A 1615 sketch by indigenous chronicler Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala depicts a quipucamayoc, or Inca accountant, holding a quipu. (such as a simple overhand knot or a long knot with multiple turns) and its position on the string. A knot near the top might represent thousands, while one at the bottom represented single digits. The color of the string, the direction the fibers were spun, and the spacing between cords added further layers of data, indicating what was being counted—llamas, gold, or taxpayers. The empire relied on a specialized class of administrators called quipucamayocs(knot makers) to read and maintain these devices. These officials traveled throughout the provinces collecting census data, tracking crop yields, calculating labor obligations, and managing military logistics. Recording narrative history, however, was a different challenge. The Inca maintained their history primarily through a strong oral tradition. A specialized class of wise men called amautas memorized royal genealogies, military victories, and religious myths, passing them down through highly structured poetry and songs. Yet Spanish chroniclers reported that quipucamayocs could also "read" histories from their cords. Because a quipu does not record phonetic sounds, scholars believe the strings functioned as complex mnemonic devices. The physical structure of the knots and colors provided a framework that triggered the memory of a trained official, allowing them to recall specific historical narratives and recite them verbatim. When the Spanish conquered the region, they initially relied on quipus to calculate tribute. However, in 1583, the Catholic Church declared the cords to be instruments of idolatry and ordered them burned. Only about 1,000 quipus survive today. While modern researchers have successfully decoded the numerical data on many of them, the exact method the Inca used to translate strings and knots into historical narrative remains undeciphered.