August 24, 2017
Warmer winters and a Reagan-era decision to axe CDC rodent control leave America “on the verge of Ratpocalypse.” / The New Republic
After economic freedom, East German women orgasmed twice as often as their capitalist German counterparts. / The New York Times
“If the Broken Earth trilogy as a whole shows a world where cataclysm and upheaval is the norm, The Stone Sky interrogates what right worlds built on oppression and genocide have to exist.” Most of the time, a hero saves the world. We can’t wait to read NK Jemisin’s new book, which reverses that trope. / NPR
Farmed salmon escaping in the Pacific Northwest likely wasn’t eclipse-related, but it could hurt wild populations. / Quartz
Adding red seaweed to cows’ diets reduces the methane content of their burps up to 99%. / Australian Broadcasting Corporation
A rundown of possible scenarios regarding Trump’s wall, a shutdown, including their likeliness to occur. / The Washington Post
Everything you need to know about the debt ceiling, in cartoon form. / The Morning News
Even before Mount Vesuvius wiped out Pompeii on this day in 79 CE, lead poisoning was slowly killing the city. / National Geographic
You must go offline to view this page. / Chris Bolin
The combination of the debt ceiling, a new spending bill, and Trump’s wall could spell disaster. / Bloomberg
“Tips go up two percentage points if a server writes ‘Thank You’ on the back of a patron’s check...and five points if a server touches a patron’s hand (though this last study was conducted only with female servers).” Behavioral scientists hold a cafe experiment to learn what makes you tip. / Los Angeles Times
Decision to toss out Texas’s voter ID legislation follows years of maneuvering around previous discriminatory laws. / The Texas Tribune
One job stat that’s definitely up under Trump: volunteer legal notetakers at protests. / BuzzFeed
Three years of war in Yemen have resulted in one of the worst humanitarian crises of the past 50 years. / The New York Times
After a massive immigration influx stretches its government thin, Canada dims its welcoming tone somewhat. / BBC
A recent history of the parents of longhaired sons who’ve fought Texas schools’ grooming codes. / Texas Monthly
Scientists speculate about the existence of snowstorms on Mars and diamond rain on Neptune and Uranus. / Inside Science
“There’s been some talk in Kessler’s neighborhood about throwing a block party once he’s gone entirely, to bring people together and reestablish a sense of safety.” The neighbors of the white supremacist who organized the Charlottesville rally fear a backlash. / The New Yorker
Alamo Drafthouse in Austin is having a clown-only screening of It, which, no. / The Verge
It’s 2009 all over again, with Federer and Nadal back on top—it’s because their second serves dominate. / The New York Times
Unlike UPS brown or Home Depot orange, trademark board rules consumers don’t associate yellow with Cheerios. / Ars Technica
Topi Tjukanov drew a map of North America using only its roads, and nothing else. / Reddit