As the weekend rolls in, you don’t want to be without your football Snuggie and and good reads for halftime. Here are four articles to get you started.

1. The little cube that changed the world – CNN

Erno Rubik never dreamed that small cube he created as teaching aid for his design students would turn out to be the most popular toy ever made.

The puzzle, which started out as chunks of wood and rubber bands, has sold nearly 350 million units over the past 40 years. Check out CNN’s interview with Mr. Rubik, where he admits that he is not, in fact, good at solving the Rubik’s Cube.

2. Weird & Wild: Rare Maned Lionesses Explained? – National Geographic

Did you know that some lionesses have manes? We didn’t, either. In Botswana, some female lions sport the luscious hairdo of their male counterparts.

While this phenomenon may be due to embryo disruption, the definite cause is still unknown. Luke Hunter with the Panthera conservation group has all the details.

3. Books as Muses – The New Yorker

Books aren’t just for reading. Many artists use them for creative inspiration, or even as the centerpieces of their compositions. In this photo gallery, artists explain how books haven given life and meaning to their work. Warning: Photos may cause excessive salivating for avid book-lovers.

4. A Home at the End of Google Earth – Vanity Fair

Let’s face it—until now, Google Earth was only good for getting a bird’s-eye view of your neighborhood and playing I Spy with your friends.

Saroo Munshi Khan, an India native who was separated from his family at the age of 5, used the detailed map tool to trace his family using only distant memories. The entire process took him three years, and required a complex math problem to determine a search perimeter. How’s that for putting us to shame?