Welcome to this week’s Reading List, where you’ll find the best popular technology, culture and science stories on the internet assembled in one delightful package. This week: science art, colonizing the solar system, international business, toys and CGI.
- Maria Sibylla Merian was a naturalist in the 1600s, drawing up fantastic images that helped to inform scientists of the day. [The Atlantic]
- Kim Stanley Robinson points out that colonizing our solar system will be difficult, but moving beyond to others will be even more difficult. [Scientific American]
- In 2013, Target embarked on a major expansion into Canada. It was a disaster. [Canadian Business]
- Funko’s vinyl toys have exploded in popularity. Here’s why you can find them everywhere. [Mental Floss]
- CGI has become a mainstay for science fiction and action films in the last couple of decades. This year, a handful of major films have eased back on the computers. [New Yorker]
Image credit: NASA