* 1954 or 2016? Court orders Mississippi schools to desegregate. * Oklahoma's dedication to tax cuts for oil producers ended up gutting the state's school system. * This tool shows how the gender pay gap varies across US industries. * McConnell wants women to register for Selective Service, where, if
A brief tour of Pantone’s factory headquarters in Carlstadt, NJ, where global color standards are set—to make sure that red you’re using really is red. Credit: Quartz If you enjoyed this, check out Graham Beck’s investigation into how America’s military elects to paint itself.
In 1977, David Nash planted 22 ash saplings and trained them to grow into a dome. Nearly 40 years later, his vision continues to take shape. via This Is Colossal See also: A man who spent three years painting the same English tree repeatedly—in all weather, day and night—
In the 1660s, German alchemist Hennig Brand intended to turn urine into gold. But 1,500 gallons of dehydrated pee led him instead to discover phosphorus. From Wikipedia’s history of alchemy: “In the eyes of a variety of esoteric and Hermetic practitioners, alchemy is fundamentally spiritual. Transmutation of lead
* April is the seventh month in a row to break temperature records. * German electrical grid nearly overburdened with all the renewable energy being produced. * Fifty years after the Cultural Revolution, China is torn between a promise of progress and a tether to Mao. * The Cultural Revolution—hell for millions—still
Referencing historical photos of Denali National Park, a photographer takes exact matches that show how climate change has altered the landscape. via WBEZ Chicago Also, if you liked this video, you’ll probably enjoy Paul Colangelo’s “Sacred Headwaters” series about three of Canada’s biggest salmon rivers.
* The Economist on why democracy fails in the Middle East: fear of Islamist parties; the diversity of Arab peoples. * America needs the government to reclaim its role as an employer to complete the recovery. * "Americans Don’t Miss Manufacturing—They Miss Unions." * Could an American “baby lull” presage
* White House directs all US public schools to accommodate trans students' gender identities. * Seven months after promising to relocate 10,000 Syrian refugees, America has settled under 2,000. * Global urban air pollution is worsening, and most cities in developing countries fall far shy of WHO air quality standards.
To sing in water, composer Laila Skovmand developed “a technique where she keeps an air bubble in her mouth and sings through it when submerged, rising to the top about every minute to take in a breath and a new bubble.” Related: Here’s Thom Yorke kind of singing underwater,
* US missile shield in Europe goes live today to protect NATO from Iranian rockets. * Hollande's Socialist government to resign en masse if it loses today's confidence vote in France. * Study finds that mandatory voting in Austria doesn't affect electoral outcomes. * Turkish troops shoot and
