Informative Links

The little-told story of how the U.S. government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition. The scheme never discouraged drinking, but killed around 10,000 of those who dared to drink.

In Tiny Courts of N.Y., Abuses of Law and Power. As bizarre as these stories of small town justice are, you can bet they go on in other parts of the country as well. (via Boing Boing)

The Land of Underwater Birds. An author looks at what makes a book title a winner -or a loser. (via Metafilter)

4 Famous TV Co-workers (who struggled to get along). Big egos plus big opportunity often equals a thin sheen of tolerance.

10 Astounding Actions Earning A Medal of Honor. These are the stories of ordinary men in extraordinary situations who did what they had to do, and did it better than anyone else.

An interactive scale model of our universe. Slide your way from the whole enchilada down to the strings in your string theory.

West Brain, East Brain: What a difference culture makes. Neural mapping research done in one country might not hold water in a different part of the world, again raising the nature/nurture question.

During World War II, V-2 rockets were developed and built at a concentration camp called Dora, where prisoners were used for slave labor. When the US Army liberated Dora in 1945, they found 750 workers and 3,000 corpses -and the engineers and equipment they needed to start the space program. (via Metafilter)