“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.
Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing our Managing Editor at [email protected].
Header Image Via: Space.com
This whole week has been one giant countdown for the uncrewed launch of Artemis 1, NASA’s Space Launch System mega-rocket. It is the first of three launches that will ultimately lead to a crewed mission with Artemis 3 and a lunar landing. That’s right, we’re going back to the moon (fingers crossed)! The mission for Artemis 1 is to send the Orion spacecraft into space, then into our moon’s orbit, and then back to Earth, testing all crucial systems in preparation for a crewed flight in later missions. The Artemis 1 will use 8.8 million tons of thrust to leave Launch Pad 39B and to clear Earth’s atmosphere to begin its journey to that tiny rock in the sky we see every night. Weather and technical systems permitting, the Artemis 1 has the green light to launch on Monday August 29th, between 8:30 AM and 10:30 AM EDT. You can tune in live to the current mission briefings happening throughout the weekend, or a live shot of the Artemis 1 SLS mega-rocket through the free online NASA broadcast.
Stan Barrett most certainly could qualify as the Most Interesting Man In The World. He’s a Golden Glove boxer, has two black belts in Karate and has regularly trained with Bruce Lee. He was also the main stuntman for an actor you might have heard of, Paul Newman. And in 1979, Barrett broke the land speed record, going 739.66 mph, and being the first to break the sound barrier on wheels. On that day, Barrett is famously pictured wearing two Rolexes on his left wrist; a Daytona and a GMT Master, both of which were gifted by Newman himself.
Both the Daytona and GMT-Master will be a part of the Sotheby’s “Important Watches Sale” auction that will take place later this year. The Daytona will come on its original slip-through velcro strap worn on the day the land speed record was broken. Aside from being pictured on Barrett’s wrist, the GMT also bears the engraving, “Stan Barrett 739 MPH Mach 1.0206 12-17-79” that connects the watch to the record breaking ride in the Budweiser Rocket Car. Also going to auction is Barrett’s yellow gold GMT-Master 1675 that was gifted to Barrett from Budweiser for his troubles. Given the significant provenance of these watches, they’re definitely going to fetch for a considerable amount. Get your bidding paddles ready.
Tactile Turn owners know that you just don’t own their pens because they write well. The experience goes way beyond that. It’s the sturdiness in hand, the feel of the grooves along the length of the pen body, and the satisfying “click” when you engage the button/bolt that makes the process of putting pen to paper that much more enjoyable. This week, Tactile Turn announced a new and slimmer version of the Side Click appropriately dubbed the Slim Side Click. The diameter of the Slim Side Click is now a leaner 0.365” compared to its larger sibling that comes in at 0.43”. It also sports a slimmer clip with only one screw drilled into the body as opposed to two, providing a “deeper pocket carry.” You still get the familiar grooved exterior, as well as three different size options and four different case materials; Titanium, Bronze, Copper, and Zirconium. Tactile Turn is slated to drop the Slim Side Click next Tuesday, August 30th at 12 noon CST. Tactile Turn
Leatherman has been the go-to multitool since they developed the first prototype back in 1975. Heck, Leatherman invented the word “multi-tool.” Over the course of their existence, not much has changed as far as the general makeup and functionality of their tools. But more recently, the brand has dabbled with stepping out of the box through their Research & Development department dubbed the “Garage.” The first two products to come from this experimental branch came in the form of the “Mr. Crunch,” an updated version of the original prototype and “The Darkside,” which is a PVD-coated version of the Charge tool.
Now Leatherman is back with their latest tool called PARTS – using a flash of color (which they have been doing more of late) and focuses on sustainability. The PARTS tool is a pocket knife with interchangeable blades. One being a “work blade” and the other a drop point. Both can easily be swapped out via a bit multi-tool. The kicker here, PARTS is constructed out of 26 spare parts used in other Leatherman tools within their catalog, eliminating the need to create new molds, fashioning screws and developing multiple prototypes. There will be less than a 1,000 of these made, and the very first two tools in the Garage line immediately sold out, so if that’s any indication of how long the PARTS model will be available, you might want to head on over to Leatherman asap.
Apparently somewhere out there in the world, there’s likely someone that will resemble the way you look. So much so that facial recognition technology can’t even recognize between the two. According to a recent scientific study, two people that resemble each other and are not directly related, both may have similar genetic qualities. The research had 32 pairs of people with strikingly similar resemblance go through a series of facial recognition tests. Of the 32 pairs, 16 pairs had similar scores to identical twins. Further research into those specific 16 pairs showed that they shared more genes in common. The images of these unrelated, complete strangers is quite mind boggling and begs the question, is there someone out there that might be you Doppelgänger?
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