Headlines from December 18, 2013

This November was the warmest one since 1880; in fact, the 10 warmest Novembers on record have happened in the past 15 years.
Map of mishaps that have occurred so far during the 2014 Sochi Olympic torch relay.
Unsuccessfully marketed as an American patriot, Snowden has now rebranded himself as a Brazilian one. #opinions
Google’s 2013 Zeitgeist released; “tomato mozarella” was the top searched appetizer.
Traffic violation data shows that Louisiana has the worst drivers, followed closely by other Southern states.
The quietest place on Earth is a lab in Minnesota; the longest anyone’s lasted in it is 45 minutes.
Harvard Business Review experiment suggests that failing to acknowledge racial differences impedes communication and may be even more racist.
Former prosecutor tries to get himself arrested to experience the system, but continually gets ignored or lost by the police.
Covert observational study monitors the survival time of chocolates on hospital wards.
IBM employees offer five predictions for the next five years—like local retail beating online shopping.
Zebras evolved to have stripes because they cause optical illusions that mislead predators.
Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill also suffered from “FOMO,” the alleged plight of narcissistic urban dwellers.
Americans spend $40 on average for a Christmas tree, with 70% of trees still sprouting from the ground.
Infographic shows the most popular toys of the last 50 years. #holidays
Thanks to climate change, Santa would have drowned long ago if he really lived at the North Pole.
Australian postman found with 10,000 pieces of unopened mail in his bedroom.
For a month, TMN’s Giles Turnbull mailed his tweets instead of typing them. #tmn
See also: Man replays the “space opera” he buried in a time capsule 30 years ago. #longreads
OED birthday word generator offers words that originated in your birth year.