Miscellaneous links

1. The magic routine that won the World Championships of Magic is impressive.

2. Bribery to improve democracy? The proposal is more modest than the headline. I still don't like it, but I'm not quite sure why.

3. "Storing it was a problem. I made a bedside table out of it, put it under my desk, in my wardrobe and in the garage. Christmas 2014 was the cheapest ever; everyone got toilet roll. At work, I wrapped up an 18-roll pack for our white-elephant game – a bit like secret Santa – and everyone fought over it. I gave them out for family birthdays because they were coming so thick and fast, but they sent a mix of qualities and I always kept the more expensive mega rolls, which were softer and more luxurious, for myself. When I moved across state, I had to rent a trailer to take the toilet rolls with me." What it's like to win a lifetime's supply of something.

4. Nice article by Alex Massie. What sort of country do we want? (Not about Brexit.)

5. This is well-said about the ridiculously millenarian tone of coverage of Trump. In line with my own thoughts, but with an interesting take on the mis-uses of history. Brexit really is a big deal. Big in the sense that joining the Common Market was a big deal. But Trump is just one guy, and one, moreover, who is not particularly good at anything other than self-promotion.

6. Lovely video of a baby moving around inside the womb. Scientific advances would seem likely to lead to pro-life policies. But then again, ask scientists who work on climate change or on biological sex differences in humans how much impact they are having on policy.