“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.

Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing info@wornandwound.com.

The New York Times on Malört

Every year, the Worn & Wound team descends upon Chicago for the Windup Watch Fair, and every year, locals tell us that we need to try Malört while we are there. Well, that’s not true: some of them beg us to stay away. As spirits go, Malört is one that has one of the more complex regional reputations, both reviled and revered, and even in our age of contraction, still fairly limited to Chicago and its surroundings. But the popularity of Malört is growing, if slowly. Enough so that the New York Times has waded into the scene, with a fairly exhaustive feature on the liquor. Worth a read for sure if you’ve ever tried the stuff, although we can’t guarantee you’ll want to imbibe after reading this piece.

Apple TV+ Releases Trailer for The Studio 

Whether you enjoy the output of television from Apple TV+ or not, one thing is clear: they have a ton of money to spend. The production values and star studded casts of their original programming is basically unmatched, and that trend appears to be continuing with the trailer for their new series The Studio, a Hollywood set comedy starring Seth Rogen as a beleaguered studio executive. The short clip features a smattering of cameos from A-list stars, perhaps most notably Martin Scorsese, who can be seen hilariously berating Rogen’s character. 

A Very Expensive Banana

Sotheby’s held their hotly anticipated modern art auction, Now and Contemporary, this week, and the star lot did not disappoint. Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian, which famously is a banana that has been duct taped to a wall, sold for over $6 million on Wednesday night. But the sale itself was only part of the story. The buyer, New York City based crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun announced shortly after the hammer fell that he’d be eating the banana, in keeping with the spirit of the work itself. He also reportedly paid in crypto, naturally. ARTnews has all the coverage. 

A Unique Nikon Lens Comes to the Auction Block 

In other auction related news this week, this piece from Digital Camera World has all the info on a remarkable and rare Nikon lens that is currently up for sale. The Fisheye-Nikkor 2.8/6mm Auto 220° is considered by many to be the best fisheye lens ever manufactured, delivering an incredible 220 degree field of view (it’s sometimes referred to as “the lens that can see behind itself”). The example for sale at Leitz Photographica was produced in 1990, and is one of only about 200 ever made. The lens was introduced in the early 1970s, but only produced on a made to order basis, and the high cost associated with it makes it quite rare. Seeing one come up for sale publicly is a big moment in some photography circles. 

A Look at the History Through the Eyes of Ridley Scott 

Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II hits theaters this weekend, and it marks yet another historical epic from the celebrated filmmaker. Few directors have been so prolific in the realm of historical dramas as Scott. His last film, released just a year ago, was Napoleon, after all. But historical accuracy has never exactly been his strong suit, and over the years his films have been criticized by historians for various inaccuracies. Scott, as ever, has a colorful response for those naysayers, and in this piece in The Ringer writer Aric Jenkins takes us through, well, literally all of recorded history examining what Scott gets right and what he gets wrong.