Elevators Make Monkeys of Us
Say the mounting rate of escalator injuries spooks you into taking an elevator instead. Even if a glitch doesn’t leave you trapped alone in that metal box for forty hours, you’re still captive, for a short while, in a unique laboratory for human psychology. Throw another passenger or two into the mix, and things get really interesting. … Read More »
When to Rob a Bank
I wish I had more details, and/or I wish I knew how true this story may be. But the point is that, like cheating schoolteachers or colluding sumo wrestlers, the people who steal money from banks sometimes leave telltale patterns — whether it’s a lack of vacation or a string of Thursdays — that point the finger right at them. Read More »
The Unintended Consequences of Secrecy
Washington, D.C., is underlaced by miles of fiber optic cables that carry information for the nation’s intelligence agencies. The exact locations of these cables are kept secret so that terrorists and other enemy agents can’t snip the lines. The secrecy has indeed kept the cables safe from terrorists. Instead, the danger comes from well-meaning construction crews, who occasionally sever these sensitive conduits during the course of an innocuous building project. That’s when the men in the black SUV’s show up. Read More »
From MTV to the Stanky Legg
YouTube may become the digital generation’s replacement for MTV, reports NPR’s All Things Considered, as musical artists use it as a cheaper way to be discovered, promote their albums, and post music videos that would never have made the cut at MTV. Getting a video noticed on YouTube, meanwhile, requires a different set of “tricks” than MTV, which may produce a new generation of videos that forgo bling and fancy production for dance crazes and badly shot paparazzi videos. Read More »
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