Tag Archives: linkdump

“Our school’s emergency bags are remarkably sparse. No band-aids, no first aid materials. We have one flashlight, one sign with my name to help my students find our class if they get separated during a mass exodus, one copy of … Continue reading →

“Wearing face masks that adequately cover the mouth and nose causes the error rate of some of the most widely used facial recognition algorithms to spike to between 5 percent and 50 percent, a study by the US National Institute … Continue reading →

“In much the same way that the toilet paper industry was overwhelmed by the coronavirus quarantine, so, too, is the agriculture industry dealing with a sudden and unexpected shift in their priorities.” “While the killing of George Floyd has galvanized … Continue reading →

The Space Force has a horse. Of course, of course. “An extraordinary new archaeological discovery has revealed that humans arrived in the Americas at least 11,000 years earlier than previously thought – rewriting the human story of the continent and … Continue reading →

The COVID risk chart we really need. “Folks, this is the nature of child-rearing.” “The detonation forever changed the course of history, ensuring the end of World War II and marking the dawn of the atomic age. After 75 years, … Continue reading →

“The North American Scrabble Players Association announced that derogatory language would be removed from the game’s official word list.” The Far Side is producing new content, which is news we can all use in 2020. “The beer industry, like so … Continue reading →

“A surge in restaurant spending appears to predict a surge in coronavirus cases weeks later, a new JPMorgan study found.” “Both the anti-quarantine protests that the far-right orchestrated in April and May and the recent civil unrest have accelerated the … Continue reading →

“Three and a half years into his presidency we know so much that it raises the question: What do we not yet know about Donald Trump?” One thing we do know: He’s been a racist for an awfully long time. … Continue reading →

“The Anti-Vax Movement’s Radical Shift From Crunchy Granola Purists to Far-Right Crusaders”. How to read the polls like a pro. “It might seem like a small scandal in the context of everything else Trump has done, but it’s actually a … Continue reading →

“The 2024 GOP presidential nominee is highly likely to be an acolyte of the president’s.” “It’s been five years since Glee left the airwaves and I struggle to think of a television show of its caliber that became so popular … Continue reading →

When you see a headline that says Spanish penis candle mogul accused of causing death by ritualistic toad venom, you’re going to click the link, right? Wait, Lady Gaga was a guest star on The Sopranos? Spencer Tunick keeps on … Continue reading →

“Workplace temperature checks are becoming more common as the pandemic wears on. They’re also happening at airports, restaurants, and stores. But it’s not clear how effective these screenings are at preventing the spread of the coronavirus—especially when they’re conducted by … Continue reading →

“Prince Andrew has not had a good six months. But can it get worse? In Andrew’s case, the answer is: Always.” “There have also been hints, inferences from different countries’ mitigation strategies and some initial studies suggesting that mask wearing … Continue reading →

“Strong Social Distancing Measures In The United States Reduced The COVID-19 Growth Rate”. “A politician who desperately wanted re-election would’ve been hard at work, from the moment he or she was alerted to the danger, attempting to contain the pandemic … Continue reading →

“In the midst of the constant up-and-down of coronavirus news, both from science and the markets, it’s easy to lose sight of the scariest scenario of them all: the one where there’s no magic bullet. In this entirely plausible situation, … Continue reading →

A parable, or maybe just an allegory, about secrets, small towns, and people that everyone knows. “I feel like I’m hardly one to talk, since lockdown orders barely affect me at all. Still, these two charts suggest that Americans were … Continue reading →

If you are reading this, then we have not been obliterated by an asteroid. Whether that’s good news or bad news is a matter of opinion. A delightful Twitter thread featuring the creepiest objects in various museum collections. “Many security-conscious … Continue reading →

“The Answer to All of Your Social Distancing Loophole Questions Is No”. I happened to come across two strange but delightful stories about art on the same day late last week. They are about Pierre Brassau, Monkey Artist and the … Continue reading →

The most meme-worthy moments from every MLB team’s history, if social media had existed at the time. Some truly wacky stuff in there. “We’ve heard these arguments before. For years, they were offered by Republicans in defense of George W. … Continue reading →

“That’s more people than ever died in a single year from HIV/AIDS, drug overdoses, gun violence, or car crashes in the US. It’s more than American casualties during the entire Vietnam War. But it’s also a horrifying number, in part, … Continue reading →

“Aspects of America’s identity may need rethinking after COVID-19. Many of the country’s values have seemed to work against it during the pandemic. Its individualism, exceptionalism, and tendency to equate doing whatever you want with an act of resistance meant … Continue reading →

“Copper is antimicrobial. It kills bacteria and viruses, sometimes within minutes. In the 19th century, exposure to copper would have been an early version of constantly sanitizing one’s hands. Since then, studies have shown that copper is able to destroy … Continue reading →

“How the GOP’s War on Government Paved the Way for Trump’s Deadly Incompetence”. “Small disruptions create small societal shifts; big ones change things for good. The O.J. Simpson trial helped tank the popularity of daytime soap operas. The New York … Continue reading →

Beware The Ides of March. Especially the horn section. “I took a deep dive into the Trump administration’s failure to bring any new Voting Rights Act cases in the first three years of his term. This dry spell of new … Continue reading →

“Did Nate Silver and FiveThirtyEight Lower 2016’s Voter Turnout? A New Paper Says Yes.” “Now, as fears about the coronavirus spread, at least one historian is worried the Trump administration is failing to heed the lesson of one of the … Continue reading →

“Begun, the streaming wars have. Worse and far more harmful than the cable wars of years past. And with the new content wars will come a fresh internet hell.” “But why? What makes this cycle so unusual? This is a … Continue reading →

“On Feb. 14, 1990, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft captured one of the most iconic photographs of the space age; to commemorate the moment’s 30th anniversary, NASA has digitally dusted off the image.” “High Fidelity, which was released in 2000, doesn’t … Continue reading →

If you’re a fan of Lost and some other shows, you’ll be able to stream them for free soon. “The New Majority Behind Sex Work Decriminalization”. Finally got around to reading Diana Moskowitz’s story about the Netflix show Cheer and … Continue reading →

“So because Republicans have now become the party of intransigence, that is the new norm and gets a pass when it comes to accountability. The burden is placed on Democrats to conjure up some magic trick to stop Republicans from … Continue reading →

What might have happened in the next season of some TV shows that got canceled. Gotta say, as a fan of “Castle”, I’m glad the Season 9 that might have been never did happen. “[Alan] Dershowitz’s career is a testament … Continue reading →

“Trump May Be Even More Unpopular Than His Approval Rating Shows”. “This passage is one of many reminders that the equation of Christianity with homophobic, racist, misogynist and false beliefs did not originate with any of these writers. It’s an … Continue reading →

A deep and myth-busting dive into the life of the notorious Countess Elizabeth Bathory. “After Floridians approved an initiative to restore voting rights to approximately 1.4 million people with felony convictions, Republican lawmakers immediately moved to sabotage the historic effort. … Continue reading →

“Imagine a city the size of Washington D.C. going an entire year without any pedestrians or cyclists being killed on its streets. That’s exactly what happened in Oslo, where officials reported this week that zero pedestrian or cyclist fatalities occurred … Continue reading →

Welcome to the third decade of the 21st century… Do better, Chuck Todd. And if you don’t know how, get out of the way and let someone else do it. “Americans may feel as though Christmas lasts forever, but at … Continue reading →