We all suspect that cats run the world by controlling our minds. Could a cat parasite actually be responsible? Or at least be the cause of a common stereotype?

Following up on the previous Otl Aicher appreciation: Steven Heller presents a short and entertaining animated history of Olympic pictograms. His assessment of their varying degree of success is right on. I would have liked to see more on Min Wang’s clever icons for Beijing. How was I unaware of the awesome work for Athens? I nominate Tom Gauld as designer for 2016’s theme.

A new Lost podcast sets itself apart from the others by focusing on the scripts rather than the episodes. Oh, and is hosted by an actual cast member. Nice to know he’s sometimes just as confused as viewers are.

Thanks to Coudal for alerting me to the existence of Pr*tty Sh*tty, Josh Berta’s blog comparing nicely-designed everyday things with their less pretty counterparts. He posted a good interview with design hero Paula Scher. I love her work and non-elitist attitude. Her reflections on design exploration are reassuring for the self-critical designer.

To make change, I try things that are just horrific. Sometimes I feel like I don’t know how to design anymore. … Sometimes amidst the bad stuff I see something in a new way. That’s what I’m looking for.

I love this collection of toy cameras by Flickr member Thonk! His other multi-framed images are also nice.

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories deconstructs one of my childhood favorites, Blip. Clever pseudo-digital design for a mechanical game. (via Waxy.)

I’m sad to hear that top-notch illustrator and nice guy Nick Dewar has died at the young age of 37. His work is crisp and deceptively simple, and he never feared sharing the secrets to his success.

James White makes awesome retro-inspired rainbow-tastic digital artwork. His latest commission for the Finnish band Reckless Love is a love letter to 80s hair metal.

I’ve been wishing a long time for a USB-compatible classic Atari joystick to play emulators with. This brand new luminescent blue model goes beyond my wildest dreams. It leads the way in what I predict will be a coming wave of Tron nostalgia.

Cycling Inquisition has a terrific appreciation of German designer Otl Aicher and his contributions to the 1972 Olympic Games. I love the author’s introduction which reveals his childhood Pavlovian hatred for the Aicher’s ubiquitous pictograms. You’ve probably never wondered where the generic man/woman symbols used for so many bathroom signs originated, but you should so go read it.