Monday, January 09, 2012

Good Reads and Interesting Links

Al Qaeda appears to be fading away. Since bin Laden's death, the terrorist group has become decimated, discouraged, and underfunded.

10 Amazing Stories of Animal Prosthetics. Not only do they make a world of difference to a disabled pet, but each is also a step toward better human prosthetics.

Celebrating Hollywood’s Love Affair With The Cold War. The Soviets were an easily recognized villain and nuclear war fueled more film plots than we care to count.

The erstwhile Chinese practice of foot binding left millions of women crippled for life. Learn how it was done, but be warned there are pictures that will make you sad.

Genetically-altered silkworms can produce, um, spiderwebs. The spiderweb material is more valuable than silk, but harvesting from spiders was next to impossible.

How Many Stephen Colberts Are There? He formed a Super-PAC last summer and is now starting to use it to highlight the absurdities of our election process.

Stephen Hawking Understands Everything but Women. Black holes, the nature of time, and subatomic particles are easy in comparison (unless you're a woman).

USC’s Ski and Snowboard Team Thrashes Mammoth Mountain. Looks like a lot of fun, but I wonder how many broken bones it takes to get this good.

Believe it or not, Kodak is going bankrupt after 130 years. Take a trip through the company's history before it's gone completely.

The 6 Most Mind-Blowing Modern Ghost Towns. Bad planning and way too much ambition add up to some weird and wasteful land use. NSFW text.

Former Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak lives in luxury, just like she did before the Arab Spring. The power she wielded as part of the Mubarak government is unknown to many outside the country, but she is hated in Egypt.

A Chinese construction company built a 30-story hotel in just 15 days. Watch the time-lapse video and think about whether you would stay there.




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