The inspiration for today’s theme is brought to you in part by John Jay Residence Hall’s three fire drills this morning:  Is your dorm ablaze? Need to escape? First read about the esc key’s creation and then evacuate the building. (Youtube, NYT) There was a consensus among John Jay residents this morning that being electrocuted for […]

Foxconn is vehemently denying that its workers are striking at the iPhone 5 factory in China. This is a wise move on Foxconn’s part to save face for Apple and to avoid rioting. However, econ majors will soon realize that the iPhone 5 is turning into a Veblen good. (Huffington Post) Depression and suicide rates have soared […]

As tensions between Turkey and Syria escalate, and nothing seems to help, Syria has decided the solution is to bomb its own rebels. (BBC) The unemployment rate has fallen to 7.8%, its lowest level in three and a half years, but predictably, small business owners still think the economy is about to fall off a […]

Users in the U.S. can now promote Facebook posts for a mere $ 6.30. Never again can any of us escape the shame of ignoring a friend’s fundraising event. (TechCrunch) A potential new adorable friend  has been discovered by a paleontologist at the University Chicago. Pegomastax africanus was the size of a cat and apparently […]

One of the hallowed traditions of our Ivy brethren has come to an end. Yale coordinators have cancelled future Safety Dances after paramedics transported 8 students to hospitals in the aftermath of the annual event. (Yale Daily News) New traditions are only beginning at Cornell, though, as a pornographic video shot in its engineering library recently […]

Columbia’s list of MacArthur fellows keeps growing: the 2012 geniuses were announced yesterday. Two of our own, geochemist Terry Plank and mathematician Maria Chudnovsky, are in the list. Congratulations! (The Huffington Post) Princeton’s list of first world problems keeps growing: students are complaining about a sudden price increase in campus sushi. (The Daily Princetonian) Seth […]

Turns out, fish are more like shrinky dinks than we originally thought. Thanks, Global Warming! (BBC News) Next, biologists ask the important questions: why are we here? Where did we come from? Why are fish penises so funny looking? (io9) Honey, have you seen my glove? If you think you have it bad, take a […]

In an attempt to harness energy from nuclear fusion, American scientists built a giant laser that has largely failed and cost taxpayers over $5 billion. (NYT, Yoplait, Amazon) Authorities are cracking down on the black market for tiny pet turtles in that these shelled reptiles can cause salmonella.  (Walmart, Wikia, Washington Post) The $790 million […]

Wake up from your drunken daze all-nighter with Bwog’s take on the lengthy Sergio Leone classic. The Good: A recent Japanese study has shown a positive correlation between watching cute animal pictures and concentrating better afterwards. The paper’s title? The “Power of Kawaii.” (WSJ) The Bad: Hide your wife, hide your kids! A lone scout […]

Late last night, four people were shot outside a local business in Minneapolis, prompting some to question when the recurring nightmare of recent shootings would be over. (Wall Street Journal) The man behind the inflammatory anti-Muslim video that caused so much recent strife has been arrested, but not because of the film. Or at least, nobody […]

PrezBo will become the most senior Ivy President at the end of this year, after 2 other Ivy Presidents step down. Since he took office in 2002, he only needs to serve until 2046 to beat Nicholas Murray Butler’s record of 43 years.  (Spectator) Some other university’s chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha is in the […]

A team from Chicago is trying to make your procrastination a tad more intellectual, with a side of creepy. For the low price of $9.99, you can now scroll through hundreds of images of Einstein’s brain from the convenience of your table in Butler. (Business Week) A 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Baja California yesterday. Reports have not confirmed […]

After seventy-two years, the Bleecker Street subway connection will finally be completed tomorrow. Way to finish what you started, New York! (NY Daily News) The phenomenon of dance-fighting has spread out of the fictional world of “Zoolander” and “West Side Story” as Thai gangs take to the streets…Gangnam Style. (The Guardian) Dethroning “Mad Men” for the […]

Adding to the recent medical breakthrough brought about by arguably the greatest mind of our generation that “your love” is a drug, research finds that certain foods mimic drugs in their effect on the pleasure centers in the human brain. (Wikimedia, New York Times) Even when you’re full, there’s always room for some cake. (Buzzfeed, […]

A Dutch girl’s decision to send birthday party invites via Facebook quickly turns awry as she neglected to change the privacy settings to, well, private. Hilarity and lawlessness ensues as over 30,000 partygoers show up. (CBS News) Apple decides to oust Google’s presence on their baby by creating the Apple Maps app to replace Google […]