“Years from now, when school groups visit the National Museum of American History, they might learn about the impeachment of a president through a fidget spinner. And they will have Jon Grinspan, the Smithsonian’s curator of political history, to thank.” – The Washington Post
Author: Matthew Westphal
Want High School Kids To Get Excited About Engineering? Try Teaching Them To Make Guitars
“Unlike science and math, engineering and technology skills aren’t typically included in the standardized tests used to evaluate students and their teachers. Because the stakes are high, schools generally make the subjects that are tested their highest priority. When kids make guitars, they learn the math and science, but also the importance of mechanical precision, the design process and basic manufacturing skills, which are central to what engineers do.” – The Conversation
How Lula And Erwin Washington Have Kept Their Dance Company Going For 40 Years
“Both are 69 now. As the wife and husband who founded the Los Angeles dance company in 1980, the two continue to strike the delicate balance between artist and administrator” — a job Erwin gave up his own career in journalism to do — “between ambitiously creative and cautiously pragmatic.” – Los Angeles Times
YouTube Earned More Than $15 Billion From Ads Last Year
For the first time, Google and its corporate parent, Alphabet, broke out from overall revenue reports the income from its video platform — and that income is enormous. What’s more, YouTube ad revenues have almost doubled over just the past two years, and the platform is bringing in another $3 billion annually from its 20 million paid subscribers. – The Hollywood Reporter
Proposed Missouri Law Could See Librarians Jailed Or Fined For Lending ‘Age-Inappropriate Sexual Material’
“Missouri House Rep. Ben Baker introduced the bill, dubbed the ‘Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act,’ in January that calls for the creation of a panel made up of non-library workers who will determine the removal of ‘age-inappropriate sexual material,’ from their local branch. Libraries that don’t comply will lose their funding. Library employees providing material deemed inappropriate would be hit with a misdemeanor charge and liable for a $500 fine or a maximum jail sentence of a year, according to the bill’s current language.” – ABC News
One In Six American Adults Sings In A Choir — And They’re Healthier For It
“[A recent] study identifies numerous reasons: Singing in groups has been linked to better mental and physical health, a sense of belonging and feeling connected to others, better social skills, increased civic engagement and volunteering, developing leadership skills and much more.” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Mystery/History of the Bottle in the Box
Recently we had a small dinner party at Millwood Farm, the excuse for which was to drink a special bottle, one that had been in my cellar for a very long time. It was in its own, individual wooden box, and I had long overlooked it. – Paul Levy
A Brief History Of Punctuation
Classical Greek and Latin writing didn’t use punctuation at all, or even spaces between words; that sort of thing was left to the person who’d be speaking the text. St. Isidore of Seville systematized punctuation in the seventh century, but there were only three marks. “Over the following centuries, the existing punctuation marks became increasingly differentiated in order to prevent confusion. At the same time, new marks such as the question mark … arise when a lack of clarity needs to be redressed, communication controlled and sense disambiguated, an emergency perhaps stemming from greater reliance on written diplomacy as well as the newly fashionable art of letter writing.” – History Today
No Matter How Many Problems There Are With The NFL, Hordes Of People Keep Watching The Super Bowl. What Keeps Us Hooked?
“The Super Bowl isn’t just a game. It’s the halftime show; it’s the ads; it’s the chips and guac. It is sport but also music, dance, costumes, TV production and stage design — a pop culture event greater than the sum of its parts. Perhaps most important, … the Super Bowl is one of the last true vestiges of an era when we all watched the same things at the same time.” Times journalists Wesley Morris, Caryn Ganz and Austin Considine discuss. – The New York Times
David Sedaris On His Sister Amy
“Movies and TV can’t capture what’s special about Amy. She’s not an actress, exactly, or a comedian, but more like someone who speaks in tongues. As opposed to myself, and just about everyone I’ve ever known, she lives completely in the moment. ‘What was that funny thing you said yesterday when we saw that old blind woman get mowed down by a skateboarder?’ I’ll ask. And she’ll have no memory of it. When Amy gets going, it’s like she’s possessed.” – Elle