December 1, 2011: Afternoon
By The Morning News
—
- After 18 months of no government, Belgium appears ready to appoint a French-speaking socialist as PM.
- Nearly half of a German city evacuates for the defusing of a WWII-era bomb.
- Comedy theorist claims "sense of humor is the lure that keeps our brains alert for the gaps between our quick-fire assumptions and reality."
- See also: "Standup Comity," on the art and practice of comics and comedic academics.
- Jonah Lehrer explains why chewing gum improves our performance on tests—better than caffeine—but only briefly.
- HP insists, No, hackers cannot make your HP printer suddenly catch fire.
- Japanese wary of e-books, being "pro-tech but even more pro-quality." Success of cell-phone books not mentioned.
- Woman sleeps with man who gives her The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and we wonder, was it the Chip Kidd hardcover?
- Related: Kidd vs. Birnbaum.
- Recipes written in the style of famous authors.
- When a song has indecipherable words, the FBI is on the case.
- New York's great pizza critic, Slice Harvester, writes his final review, having tried every slice of pizza in New York City.
- The Economist eats America's lunch (with its successful business model).
- John Waters interviewed by the Financial Times at home on why he's a capitalist.
- World's largest supporter of AIDS programs says, due to the global financial crisis, it is well short of its fundraising goals.
- Economist launches advent calendar with its "24 most popular maps, charts, data visualisations, and interactive features."
- A Leslie Harpold advent calendar, pieced together with the Wayback Machine.
