October 16, 2014
- Dallas County Commissioners set to declare a "state of disaster" after two cases of Ebola.
- America's most dire threat at present is a "hugely overhyped fear" of Ebola and the Islamic State.
- ISIS loots important historical sites, including some from the Bronze Age, in Syria and Iraq.
- Germany may deploy Oktoberfest beer tents to house people fleeing war in Syria.
- Brief history of American presidents handling pandemics.
- See also: What presidents drink when they drink alcohol.
- Other hysteria news: Anonymous promises “complete and utter fury” toward Atlantic Records for delaying release of new album by Lupe Fiasco.
- R&B icon Erykah Badu busks anonymously in New York City and makes about three bucks.
- Fascinating article about women's colleges grappling with "sisterhood" as increasing number of students identify as trans, not as women.
- Explanation of the Supreme Court's recent decisions regarding cases, as they don't appear interested in explaining themselves.
- Handy guide to Mitch McConnell's lies about the Affordable Care Act.
- Florida governor stalls debate upon learning his opponent uses a hidden electric fan to stay cool.
- Apple's offer to freeze female employees' eggs suggests freedom to choose job or career, but not both.
- On the Keystone debate, environmentalists won by making the issue unpalatable; energy companies won because oil is booming.
- Alaska, it turns out, has never been mapped to modern standards.
- Lockheed Martin claims compact nuclear fusion is a decade away; scientists urge skepticism.
- Photographs of a new cloud likely to be anointed by the World Meteorological Association: undulatus asperatus ("turbulent undulation").
- Font designer explains how typefaces get their names—in the best cases, it's a one-word sales pitch.