Best Of MetaFilter

Illustration by Caroline, from Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/20466740@N00/)

In Metatalk, Monkeytoes is asking folks to Share the Hidden-Gem Comments of 2023!

李子柒 Handmade oven

In case you missed them, see the Mahlongwa River breach as a tiny trickle turns into a raging torrent; watch a short, quiet, idyllic video of Li Zikai building a cat-shaped brick-and-clay oven from scratch; read the secrets of a diary written on castle floorboards; view a compendium of four short films about a Kyoto dye workshop that creates a range of rare and beautiful colors solely with plants and other natural materials.

Cabinet constructed in 1716 contained a secret letter from its craftsman

Great post from bonobothegreat about a letter concealed three centuries ago in the secret compartment of an elaborately carved and constructed writing cabinet. (Mefites have also left hidden artifacts for future historians to analyze and puzzle over.)