Hacker News with Generative AI: London

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

73 points by alt227 5 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 8 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 9 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 17 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 24 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 36 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 42 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 49 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 51 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 56 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 57 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 66 days ago | 3 comments

Cheaper to rent in Barcelona and commute to London (2013) (wordpress.com)
I think many people thought I was joking when I boldly declared it would be cheaper for me to rent a two bed flat in Barcelona and commute to London every day than get a one bed flat here. Turns out I was – I could in fact get a three bed flat.

Real Estate, London, Spain

54 points by sebg 67 days ago | 105 comments

Ask HN: Recommendations for London founder / startup meetups? (ycombinator.com)
Does anyone have recommendations for in-person founder / startup meetups within London which they have found worthwhile?

London, Startups, Founder Meetups

8 points by tmitchel2 72 days ago | 9 comments

Inside the Transport for London cyberattack (londoncentric.media)
It’s almost two months since Transport for London’s systems were hacked and many Londoners are still experiencing major disruption to their lives as a result. Although operational systems were largely unaffected by the cyberattack, meaning tube and bus services have continued to run, one senior TfL executive told London Centric that behind the scenes it has been “an utter shitshow”.

Cybersecurity, London, Transportation

101 points by alexbilbie 82 days ago | 85 comments

A day and night running round a track (bbc.co.uk)
It is midnight in central London and the rain is bouncing off the ground.

Sports, Running, London

32 points by HansardExpert 83 days ago | 13 comments

Why the First Pet Cemetery Was Revolutionary (smithsonianmag.com)
In the late 19th century, bereaved and yard-less pet owners began showing up at Hyde Park in London, imploring the groundskeeper to allow them to lay their dog or cat to rest there.

Pets, History, London, Cemeteries

21 points by gmays 103 days ago | 16 comments

The Architecture of London Pubs (1966) (thelondonmagazine.org)
What’s happened to the pub, that most personal piece of English belongings? The place where you stand up and drink, where there are scrubbed oak benches to sit on, partitions to conceal private conversations, men with pipes and caps, and there is sawdust and beer on wooden floors?

Architecture, History, Culture, London, Pubs

136 points by youbet 112 days ago | 51 comments

London saw a surprising benefit to ultra-low emissions zone: More active kids (grist.org)
Restricting the volume of high-emitting vehicles roaming city streets carries many benefits, from clearing the air to quieting the urban din and beyond.

London, Transportation, Health, Environment, Children

332 points by colinprince 117 days ago | 308 comments

Londoners will soon see drones ferrying blood between hospitals (techcrunch.com)
As part of a new, joint pilot program by U.K. startup Apian, Alphabet’s drone company Wing, and the U.K.’s National Health Service, drones will soon be used to fly urgent blood samples between two hospitals in London.

Healthcare, Drones, Technology, London

14 points by bookofjoe 122 days ago | 5 comments

London NHS Drone Delivery (apian.aero)
Apian and Wing are working together with healthcare partner Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust to create a rapid pathology delivery service in London.

Healthcare, Drones, London, Delivery

8 points by xnx 123 days ago | 1 comments

Transport for London: 5k users' bank data exposed, pulls infrastructure offline (theregister.com)
Transport for London's ongoing cyber incident has taken a dark turn as the organization confirmed that some data, including bank details, might have been accessed, and 30,000 employees' passwords will need to be reset via in-person appointments.

Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Transportation, London

3 points by rntn 128 days ago | 0 comments

Transport for London Cyber security incident (tfl.gov.uk)

Cybersecurity, Transportation, London

29 points by seasicksteve 137 days ago | 8 comments

Dickens: The Map (londonist.com)

Literature, London, History

63 points by bryanrasmussen 139 days ago | 5 comments

Sainsbury Wing contractors find 1990 letter from donor (theartnewspaper.com)

Art, Museums, History, London

359 points by bpierre 144 days ago | 114 comments

Fallen London TTRPG scheduled for 2025 (failbettergames.com)