You may remember the story of the Thai boys stranded in a deep cave years ago. There was an international effort to get them out that lasted weeks. But the story of how they actually rescued the kids is so unbelievable, so amazing, so insane, and so crazy that it is definitely worth watching The Rescue, the thrilling National Geographic documentary about this unlikely feat. The heroes of The Rescue are unexpected and unlikely themselves. I call this the best documentary of the year. (Streaming on Disney+) — KK

I’ve never had much success with sharpening kitchen knives to a razor’s edge by hand using traditional sharpening stones. But I now get razor sharp knives very fast using a small motorized sharpening belt made for the purpose. The Work Sharp MK2 requires little skill, it’s small, and relatively inexpensive ($80) for a sharpening system. Sharpening takes maybe 5 minutes per knife even when very dull, and is pretty foolproof. It also sharpens scissors, axes, and other tools. I now sharpen our knives much more frequently. — KK

Researchers at UC San Diego created a 7-question survey that can determine your level of wisdom called the Jeste-Thomas Wisdom Index. You can take the 5-minute test here. The questions relate to 7 components of wisdom: Acceptance of Divergent Perspectives, Decisiveness, Emotional Regulation, Pro-Social Behaviors, Self-Reflection, Social Advising and Spirituality. Wisdom scores range from 1-5 with a score of 3 being considered neutral. My highest score was a 5 in Spirituality and my lowest score was 3.75 in Social Advising, which is kind of ironic because this is a recommendation. I posted my scores here. — CD

I used small squares of Gorilla Heavy Duty Double Sided Mounting Tape to attach panels of plywood together as part of an art project. To test the strength of the adhesive, I pried the panels apart with a screwdriver. The wood broke before the tape did. — MF

The Internet Dungeon of Unexplained Phenomena is a website of AI-generated images and text depicting paranormal occurrences — like Dimensional rift at Scholastic Book Fair and The spooky locked door in the public library. It reminds me of a visual “Welcome to Night Vale”. It’s creepy and poetic and just scrolling through the blog excites my imagination. — CD

You might not know that we publish a few other newsletters besides Recomendo. One of them is Book Freak. Each issue offers four short pieces of advice found in useful books. Here are two quotes BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits, which is the subject of issue 61. — MF

— Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson

Tales is a fantastic way to capture and preserve family stories. After asking their team to interview my father, they handled the scheduling, phone interviews, and editing. Two weeks later, they sent me a link to a private podcast about my dad’s life that sounded like an NPR show. Within 30 seconds of listening to the first episode, I was learning things about my dad I never knew! After listening to the podcast, my daughter said, “I just listened to that podcast with Poppy. I’m so glad you got that made.” A Tales private podcast would truly make an incredible holiday gift. — MF

How to Begin: Start Something That Matters is the tool to make 2022 better. Oliver Burkeman calls it “an intensely practical manual to figure out what to do with your ridiculously finite time on the planet.” Austin Kleon says it’s “a friendly voice and a guiding hand.”

Ready to save time and work smarter? Check out the new Android Shortcut Supercourse. It’s a free e-course that’ll teach you all sorts of efficiency-enhancing magic. No cost, no catch — just pure productivity-boosting intelligence, from veteran tech journalist JR Raphael to you.

Every week, it’s a treasure trove full of serendipity — which makes it truly one of the best places on the internet. Thanks to the Weekly Filet, I’ve discovered perspectives on the world I didn’t even know existed. — Longtime readers love the Weekly Filet. Join them!

CleanMyMac X is an all-in-one package to awesomize your Mac. It replaces dozens of optimization tools for Mac, cleans megatons of junk, and makes your computer run faster. Use the promo code RECOMENDO for a 30% discount. (scroll down to the bottom of the store page and click on “Enter it Now” under “Already have a Coupon Code?”)

The perfect holiday gift! Pre-order From Strength to Strength, the roadmap for finding purpose, meaning, and success as we age, from bestselling author, Harvard professor, and The Atlantic’s happiness columnist Arthur Brooks.