Headlines from December 12, 2012

What they don’t often consider is whether that waste will flow outside that zone. How the U.S. let industry pollute its underground water supply.
Medical evidence continues to prove daily aspirin can help prevent cardiovascular disease and even cancer—why aren’t more people taking it? #opinions
Study suggests women who are light smokers—smoking even one cigarette a day—double their chance of sudden death. #health
In the U.S., average milk consumption has dropped by almost 30% since 1975—butter, sugar, and booze are up. #food
Tumblr of the day: Cats that look like pinup girls. via
Office workers are interrupted—or self-interrupt—roughly every three minutes. Why we can’t get anything done.
Couples flock to get married on the last “triple-date likely to occur in their lifetimes”—a generous use of “likely.”
The New York Times fluff piece the last time it was 12/12/12. #history
Jeep ramps, movie production, and other outlandish stories from Mexico’s drug war in 2012.
Target shelves Anna Karenina in the “emerging authors” book section. #books
I didn’t grow a beard or move to Vermont. Lewis Lapham’s drug diary.
Owner of Ikea monkey considering legal action to retain custody. #animals
Keeping up with the future of weather prediction in an age of powerful storms. #tmn
Nirvana reputedly to reunite for the Hurricane Sandy benefit tonight with Paul McCartney on vocals. #music
Sitar legend Ravi Shankar dies, age 92. #obit
Google’s 2012 in review. #video
White House recognizes Syrian rebels and seeks greater influence.
The racist representation of Arabs is so exponential that one does not know where to begin. Homeland, Obama’s show. #opinions
The idea that political views have a genetic component is now widely accepted, and has its own field: “genopolitics.”
Philosopher goes anti-natalist, rebelling against notion that philosophers must be parents first.
Economist addresses whether it’s better to dry your hands with a paper towel or with an air dryer.
If all goes as planned, vultures may again consume the Parsi dead by January 2014.
Notes on the insiders and influencers who have brought America to the “brink of a gay-marriage tipping point.”
Louis C.K. fights Vanity Fair’s Proust questionnaire.
Book explains minutia of American life to Russian readers.
Study finds millennials like to read the news as much as their grandparents, and pretty much in the same exact format.
Americans are suckers for cartoon superheroes—Lance Armstrong, David Petraeus, Joe Paterno. #opinions
Even as I tweak the dorks of the music world, I can hear my own cry. Duncan Murrell on the anxiety inherent to “authenticity” in New Orleans music. #longreads
TMN-endorsed holiday shopping: Ellen Ullmann e-books for only $3.
Also endorsed: Field Notes’ new backcountry-ready notebooks and Space Pens.
Historical account of “wild” Christmas shows the holiday’s real history without consumerism’s whitewash. #tmn
See also: Choire Sicha responds to a little girl’s incoherent “Dear Santa” letter.