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LEGO bricks taught people braille | LEGO bricks helped people learn braille | Progress was made on using blood tests to detect Alzheimer's Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( We live in an era of information overload, so SmartBrief has assembled a team of experts to cut through the clutter and bring you all the news that happened during your workday that really matters -- so you will know what noise you can ignore. While You Were Working SmartBrief is a FREE, daily publication designed to help you catch up on all the news that broke … well … while you were working. [Subscribe here.](We encourage all professionals to subscribe to While You Were Working SmartBrief. Scroll below to view today’s issue. [Sign Up]( While You Were Working SmartBrief is a SmartBrief original publication and is not affiliated with our association partners. SmartBrief, Inc. | 555 11th St. NW | Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20004 | [Unsubscribe]( April 24, 2019 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( News, Not Noise [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [FORWARD]( ADVERTISEMENT [] This Happened [] [] [LEGO bricks helped people learn braille]( Why it matters: The idea of using LEGO bricks to teach people braille is a no-brainer. Other groups have worked with the concept of [Braille Bricks]( in the past, but now LEGO is taking the teaching method mainstream. [TechCrunch]( (4/24) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Progress was made on using blood tests to detect Alzheimer's]( Why it matters: Alzheimer's is a notoriously difficult disease to detect. New research suggests blood tests could be used to detect the presence of the kind of accelerating nerve cell damage in the brain that is linked to the disease. One of the lead researchers said blood tests may one day become the preferred method for detecting Alzheimer's and measuring the damage the disease has wrought. [ScienceDaily]( (4/24) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Boeing felt the financial pain of the 737 MAX disaster]( Why it matters: Not surprisingly, the crisis sparked by the fatal crash of two Boeing 737 MAX planes has rattled the company's financial results. The plane maker said it is halting share buybacks and abandoning its previous financial outlook for 2019. The debacle has already cost the company at least $1 billion. To his credit, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg repeated one simple phrase multiple times when discussing the disaster on a call today: "We own it." [Reuters]( (4/24) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Mark Zuckerberg launched a podcast]( Why it matters: It remains to be seen if a Mark Zuckerberg podcast will matter. Sometimes it seems like people are tired of Zuckerberg and might be suffering from "Facebook fatigue." What do you think? [The Verge]( (4/24) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Are you interested in listening to a podcast hosted by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg? [Vote]( [Yes.]( [Vote]( [No.]( [] [How you experienced time was up to you]( Why it matters: This piece explores the basic "laws" of psychological time. You have more control over how you experience the moments you are living than you might think. Preventing your mind from focusing on ideas and issues beyond your current environment can ultimately have a negative impact on how you experience the passage of time. [The Conversation (UK)]( (4/24) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] For Your Listening Pleasure [] [The Karate Kid and The Flash Boys]( [] [Podcast: Bill Simmons interviewed Ralph Macchio and Michael Lewis]( Why it matters: This podcast features quite the adolescent double-whammy of the Karate Kid and the author of The Flash Boys. The chat with Macchio is pretty refreshing, especially the moment when Macchio admits "Karate Kid 3" was a "money grab." Speaking of adolescents, readers who recall the [WYWW poll we did last week]( might be interested in hearing the thoughts Lewis and Simmons share on parenting and specialization in youth sports. [The Ringer]( (4/24) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] People Do Cool Things ADVERTISEMENT [] [Botanists did thrilling things ... yes, botanists]( Why it matters: When you think of exciting jobs, you probably don't associate being a botanist with on-the-job adrenaline rushes worthy of the X Games. However, these botanists do their work in a pretty amazing place: atop the world's tallest trees. [Gizmodo]( (4/24) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Here and There ADVERTISEMENT [] [Uber drivers planned to strike]( Why it matters: If you are going to need a lift somewhere on May 8, you might want to make sure you have the Lyft app downloaded and ready to roll. [Fortune]( (4/24) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Hmm... ADVERTISEMENT [] [The US Navy drafted new guidelines for reporting UFOs]( Why it matters: Wow! Are so many members of the Navy reporting UFO sightings that new guidelines had to be developed to streamline the process? Is there a form one fills out with boxes to check and multiple-choice answers? I'd love to see that form. [U.S. News & World Report]( (4/24) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Your Future [] [...Might include Airbnb making movies]( [Reuters]( (4/24) [] [...Can be mosquito-free]( [Popular Science]( (4/24) [] [...Might include Lime scooters shouting obscenities at you]( [Motherboard]( (4/24) [] Happy Hour Fun [] [Your personal NFL Draft scouting report is ready]( Why it matters: The hype and coverage of the NFL Draft jumped the shark a loooooong time ago. I like to watch football, but I guess I am too old school because I like to gauge the talent of college football players based on an archaic method called "Watching them play football games." This tongue-in-cheek tool from SB Nation does an excellent job of poking fun at all the draft reports NFL experts produce for all the prospects. All you gotta do is put your name in the box, hit "generate" and the tool spits out your very own "100% accurate" NFL Draft scouting report. Here is mine: "Sean McMahon has the raw physical gifts to one-hand catch a toddler, but scouts say his playlist featuring only Maroon 5 could be an issue." Hmm ... I've caught my toddlers with one hand many times, but the playlist comment makes me think the algorithm doesn't read WYWW. [SB Nation]( (4/24) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] WYWW Playlist [] Introducing the WYWW Creative Cover Song contest What is it?: A contest to find the most popular creative cover song, according to WYWW readers. How does it work?: For the rest of this week, I am going to put my favorite creative cover songs in the "WYWW Playlist" section of the newsletter (see below for today's example). Anyone wanting to submit a song just needs to [email me](mailto:smcmahon@smartbrief.com) the title, the name of the cover artist and the name of the original artist. If multiple readers submit the same song, credit goes to whoever submits it first. Starting next week I will put my favorite reader submissions in the playlist -- one per day. I will probably limit the contest to 5-10 songs, so be creative. After I put the last song in the playlist, we'll do a poll in the newsletter to let WYWW readers determine the winner. The winner gets a $50 gift card to the store of their choice. What do you mean by "creative" cover songs?: Weezer's cover of "Africa" was cool, but it sounds exactly like Toto. I am a huge Parrothead, but when Jimmy Buffett plays "Mexico" it sounds a heckuva lot like James Taylor. DON'T submit songs like those. Aim for a cover that takes the original and goes in a different direction, uses a different instrument, slows things down, speeds things up, etc. Why?: For fun (and $50). When I was enjoying some beers with some colleagues last month, I mentioned the idea of this contest. A couple of my colleagues were dismissive and didn't think a contest about cover songs would be all that interesting. Those same colleagues then proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes playfully debating their picks for the best cover song of all time. It was glorious. [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] ["Just Like Heaven" by Katie Melia]( The original version by The Cure is [here](. Tomorrow will be a gourd-gous cover of Snoop Dogg, while Friday will be a red hot cover of Avicii (so don't submit those). I created a [WYWW playlist]( on Spotify to keep track of all the songs I list in this space. Enjoy! [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] About the Editors [] Sean McMahon Sean McMahon Since I joined SmartBrief in 2003, I have produced content on a variety of topics including finance, energy, infrastructure, politics, telecommunications and international development. One of my favorite kinds of feedback I get from readers is when they tell me how they used stories they read about in WYWW to spice up the conversation at a gathering with friends, family or colleagues. It makes them feel like "the most interesting person" at the gathering (hat tip to Dos Equis). I bet the Creative Cover Song contest will spark many fun conversations. If you like WYWW, hate WYWW or want to submit a story, [shoot me an email](mailto:smcmahon@smartbrief.com). Yes, I actually read them. [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [] It's really interesting how music can knock down a wall and be an open connection between you and someone else where something else can't. Phillip Sweet [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [Sign Up]( [SmartBrief offers 200+ newsletters]( [Advertise]( [Learn more about the SmartBrief audience]( Subscriber Tools: [Manage Subscriptions]( [Update Your Profile]( [Unsubscribe]( [Send Feedback]( [Archive]( [Search]( Contact Us: Advertising - [Aaron Kern](mailto:akern@smartbrief.com) P: 202.407.7866 Editor - [Sean McMahon](mailto:wyww@smartbrief.com) Contributing Editor - [Bridget Reed Morawski](mailto:wyww@smartbrief.com) Contributing Editor - [Evan Milberg](mailto:wyww@smartbrief.com) Contributing Editor - [Paula Kiger](mailto:wyww@smartbrief.com) Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 © 1999-2019 SmartBrief, Inc.® [Privacy policy]( | [Legal Information]( Â