Good Reads

The first telephone switchboard operators were teenage boys, which was a disaster. So telephone companies hired women, who were more pleasant and patient, would work under draconian conditions, and could be paid as little as $7 a week. (via Metafilter)

The Mars Phoenix Lander is scheduled to touch down on the red planet's north pole on May 25. Scientists are biting their nails and crossing their fingers, because they still don’t know what happened to the last polar mission.

Things that are younger than John McCain. It’s a long list.

The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during their trip back. (via Metafilter)

You might train for years and still not build up large muscles. You should do it anyway, because strength and endurance are more important for a long and healthy life.

The Worst Cities in America.

A new material developed by Arch Therapeutics can stop bleeding almost instantly.

Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You With the Bill).

A history of the eugenics movement. Thousands of “undesirables” were sterilized in the US, decades before (and after) the Nazis endorsed the idea.

Portion Size, Then and Now. Large quantities of cheap food have distorted our perceptions of what a typical meal is supposed to look like. Even our plates are larger than they used to be!