Hacker News with Generative AI: London

TfL bans most e-bikes on trains amid concern over igniting batteries (theguardian.com)
Most e-bikes will be banned across the London Underground and other Transport for London services, after growing safety concerns over igniting batteries.
Transportation, London, Safety, Electric Vehicles
4 points by saltysalt 9 days ago | 1 comments
An iPad dug up from the Thames solved museum thieves' murder plot (bbc.com)
A Ming vase stolen from a Swiss museum. A shooting at a comedian's house in Woodford, east London. The robbery of a luxury apartment in Sevenoaks, Kent.
Crime, History, Museums, London, Theft
10 points by vinni2 10 days ago | 2 comments
Met Police gets first permanent facial recognition cameras in London (lbc.co.uk)
Police are setting up London's first permanent facial recognition cameras, despite privacy fears.
Surveillance, Facial Recognition, London, Police
9 points by pseudolus 11 days ago | 0 comments
London's Heathrow Airport announces complete shutdown due to power outage (cnn.com)
London, Airports, Power Outages, Travel Disruptions
245 points by dfine 14 days ago | 248 comments
The Cat's Meat Man: Feeding Felines in Victorian London (publicdomainreview.org)
As cats evolved from feral ratters into beloved Victorian companions, a nascent pet-food economy arose on the carts of so-called “cat’s meat men”. Kathryn Hughes explores the life and times of these itinerant offal vendors, their intersection with a victim of Jack the Ripper, and a feast held in the meat men’s honor, chaired by none other than Louis Wain.
History, Victorian Era, London, Animals, Food
6 points by giuliomagnifico 21 days ago | 0 comments
Kitchen foil and Algerian markets: When your phone is stolen in London (londoncentric.media)
There was a lot of coverage of this week’s London Centric story on Lime bike safety, with ITV London running the reporting on its evening bulletins and national news outlets following it up. London Centric’s own documentary about the subject is now available to view on YouTube.
London, Crime, Transportation, Media, YouTube
15 points by BerislavLopac 28 days ago | 2 comments
London air pollution down since Ulez extended to outer boroughs, study finds (theguardian.com)
People in London have been breathing significantly cleaner air since the expansion of the ultra low emission zone (Ulez), a study has found.
Air Quality, London, Environmental Policy, Urban Planning
7 points by zeristor 28 days ago | 0 comments
A waste dump is constantly on fire in London. Why will no one stop it? (theguardian.com)
Under Arnolds Field, tonnes of illegally dumped waste have been burning for years, spewing pollution over the area. Locals fear for their health – and despair that no one seems willing to help
Environment, Pollution, London, Politics, Waste Management
9 points by tapper 31 days ago | 0 comments
Railings Made from WWII Stretchers (wikipedia.org)
Stretcher railings are railings or fences which enclose some buildings in London, England, that were made of repurposed medical stretchers left over from the Blitz during World War II.
History, Architecture, London, Recycling
11 points by lqet 42 days ago | 1 comments
Top London restaurants adopt minimum spend to deter bots and influencers (ft.com)
Restaurants, London, Influencers, Business, Technology
14 points by mmarian 42 days ago | 5 comments
The Cat's Meat Man: Feeding Felines in Victorian London (publicdomainreview.org)
On January 10, 1901, twelve days before Queen Victoria did the unthinkable and died, 250 cat’s meat men sat down to a slap-up dinner at a restaurant in Holborn, on the edge of central London.
History, London, Animals, Victorian Era
4 points by pepys 42 days ago | 0 comments
Edgware 1924: The Making of a Suburb (modernism-in-metroland.co.uk)
One hundred years ago, the new Edgware Underground station was opened. It marked the completion of the tube extension from Golders Green, on the line we now call the Northern, but what was then the Charing Cross. Euston & Hampstead Railway, owned by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, the forerunner to London Transport.
History, London, Transportation, Suburbs
16 points by benbreen 49 days ago | 4 comments
Traces of London's first Roman basilica found beneath office basement (heritagedaily.com)
Archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) have discovered traces of London’s first Roman basilica, dating back nearly 2,000-years.
Archaeology, History, London, Ancient Rome
25 points by janpot 50 days ago | 3 comments
Beginnings of Roman London discovered in office basement (bbc.com)
A discovery underneath the basement of an office block has been described as one of the most important pieces of Roman history unearthed in the city of London.
Archaeology, History, London, Roman Empire
140 points by petethomas 50 days ago | 32 comments
Age of Invention: How Coal Won (ageofinvention.xyz)
Over the course of 1570-1600, people all along the eastern coast of England, and especially in the rapidly-expanding city of London, stopped using wood to heat their homes. They instead began to burn an especially crumbly, sulphurous coal from near Newcastle in Northumberland — a fuel whose thick, heavy smoke reeked, stinging their eyes, making them wheeze and cough, and tarnishing their clothes, furnishings, and skin.
History, Energy, England, Pollution, London
10 points by Khaine 51 days ago | 1 comments
Show HN: Built a site to find London's best art exhibitions (happenz.org)
Indonesian artist explores ancestral memory and gender through paintings, installations and scent, reclaiming traditionally male Balinese art forms.
Art, London, Exhibitions, Culture, Indonesia
22 points by bozkan 52 days ago | 10 comments
London Street Views (1840) (davidrumsey.com)
History, London, Photography
172 points by jfil 60 days ago | 23 comments
Where is London's most central sheep? (blogspot.com)
It's time to tackle one of London's great unanswered questions.
London, Geography, Humor, Trivia
247 points by GeoAtreides 71 days ago | 161 comments
The Curious Gems of the River Thames (atlasobscura.com)
On the banks of the River Thames, when the tide is low, a person walking along the shore can see all kinds of things. With a keen eye, you can spot blue-and-white shards of 19th-century pottery, delicate stems of 18th-century clay pipes, brass buttons from coats, and coins dating back to the Romans.
History, Archaeology, London, River Thames
74 points by alt227 81 days ago | 24 comments
Elon Musk's xAI starts hiring in London after setting up shop (uktech.news)
Elon Musk’s xAI has begun hiring for roles in London as the firm sets up shop in the UK amid the billionaire’s new-found interest in the country’s politics.
Artificial Intelligence, Business, London, Elon Musk
5 points by dukeyukey 84 days ago | 0 comments
The Curious Gems of the River Thames (atlasobscura.com)
On the banks of the River Thames, when the tide is low, a person walking along the shore can see all kinds of things. With a keen eye, you can spot blue-and-white shards of 19th-century pottery, delicate stems of 18th-century clay pipes, brass buttons from coats, and coins dating back to the Romans.
History, Archaeology, London, River Thames
5 points by geox 86 days ago | 1 comments
Signalling chaos: Inside the Elizabeth line's two-day breakdown (ianvisits.co.uk)
Last month, the Elizabeth line suffered two days of problems when the signalling system broke down, and now a clearer timeline of what happened is emerging.
Transportation, London, Technology, Infrastructure
28 points by edward 93 days ago | 11 comments
London Transport Explained in Nine Graphs (londoncentric.media)
How the ability to travel around the city shapes the capital, its residents, and the lives we lead.
London, Transportation, Data Visualization, Urban Planning, Demographics
26 points by bookofjoe 101 days ago | 0 comments
In pictures: Learning the Knowledge (2016) (bbc.com)
Tucked away inside the nondescript walls of a multi-storey car park between Caledonian Road and King's Cross, the family-run Taxi Trade Promotions, better known as Knowledge Point, continues to provide prospective black-cab drivers in London with an education in what is named - quite simply, yet somewhat ominously - the Knowledge.
London, Transportation, Education
14 points by thunderbong 112 days ago | 1 comments
Now Boarding: The Story of Airport (revolvertype.com)
On 13 November 1961, the Oceanic building at London Airport opened to handle long-haul flight departure. In 1979, German publisher Ravensburger brought out a game designed to help children learn to count. Around Christmas 2023, I stumbled across a copy of that vintage game. The type on the box caught my eye, and that’s where this story began.
Games, History, London
58 points by epaga 118 days ago | 22 comments
TfL abandons plans for driverless tube trains (ianvisits.co.uk)
Transport for London (TfL) has dropped its investigation into how it could introduce driverless trains on the London Underground.
Transportation, London, Public Transit
29 points by edward 125 days ago | 74 comments
London's 850-year-old food markets to close (bbc.co.uk)
The oldest meat and fish markets in London, which date back 850 years, are facing permanent closure from 2028.
London, Food Markets, History, Closure
317 points by kepler471 128 days ago | 278 comments
Remembering Cyberia, the first ever cyber cafe (vice.com)
It’s early on a Sunday morning in late 1994, and you’re shuffling your way through Fitzrovia in Central London, bloodstream still rushing after a long night at Bagley’s. The sun comes up as you come down. You navigate side streets that you know like the back of your hand. But your hand’s stamped with a party logo. And your brain’s kaput.Coffee… yes, coffee. Good idea. Suddenly, you find yourself outside a teal blue cafe.
History, Internet Culture, London, Technology, Cafes
150 points by DamnInteresting 133 days ago | 92 comments
Tokyo Metro's overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal (japantimes.co.jp)
A consortium that includes Tokyo Metro will be awarded a contract to operate London’s Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the country’s capital city and environs.
Transportation, London, International Business, Japan
4 points by mikhael 134 days ago | 0 comments
NHS using drones to fly blood tests between Southwark hospitals (ianvisits.co.uk)
Healthcare, Technology, Drones, London
5 points by johneth 142 days ago | 3 comments