EST. 2026
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Vol. I / No. 1759
Tag

quiet institutions

Community Jul 27, 2026

Their small-town movie theater has shown the same 90-second short film before every movie since 2003. The projectionist has never explained why.

A small independent movie theater in Muncie, Indiana has, since 2003, shown the same 90-second short film before every feature it has screened. The projectionist — a woman who has worked there for 31 years —…
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Work Jul 22, 2026

The employees at a small Nebraska water plant have been writing letters to their eventual replacements for twenty-nine years.

Seven employees at a small municipal water treatment plant in central Nebraska have, over twenty-nine years, developed the specific practice of writing letters to whoever will be doing their jobs after they retire. Every new employee…
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Community Jul 16, 2026

Their small-town library has become the unofficial repository for objects nobody has claimed. Nobody working there decided this.

A small-town library in western Massachusetts has, over the past nine years, become the community's unofficial repository for objects nobody has claimed. The head librarian never decided to accept them. Neither did any of her staff.…
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