So, the second political debate went down last night. Hofstra University, the location of the town-hall style showdown, apparently cut their losses and swapped debate for football three years ago with tangible successes. (NBC, NYTimes) Columbia’s football team may have an upcoming battle, but when it comes to endowment investment return, Columbia already fares well compared to […]

Drop everything and pick up a chocolate bar! Columbia’s Dr. Messerli releases the most important advancement in medical history—one that allows us to eat chocolatey treats! Because hey, all the Nobel Prize winners are doing it. (Examiner) Our very own Nicholas Lemann (well, not ours anymore) asserts that journalism is doing just fine, thank you. (Daily […]

The Taliban recently sent out a hit squad, but instead of their usual targets, they were after a fourteen year old girl. (Reuters) Lance Armstrong is not out of trouble, as testimony claiming he used steroids is now coming from an unexpected contingent – his former teammates. (CSM) Just when you thought eating cereal was […]

DSpar took some time off running Barnard to give the keynote address at the opening of the Harvard Business School’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the admission of women to its two-year M.B. A. program. (The Crimson) The vice presidential debate is tonight. For the politically disengaged, that’s Democrat Joe Biden vs. Republican Paul […]

Is the mid-week slump making you stress, grumble, and complain? (Oh, really, you couldn’t have held that door open for me? No, I didn’t brush my hair, but do you have a problem with it?) We’re here to remind you that it could be worse, and then give you some cuteness to gird your loins […]

The Yellowist movement has taken a Tate Modern canvas victim—Vladimir Umanets, one of its representatives, has vandalized a 1958 painting by Mark Rothko. He claims his signature adds value to the piece. (CBCNews) Huawei and ZTE, two of the biggest Chinese telecommunications companies, have been classified as national threats by a congressional committee. The House Intelligence […]

Happy Columbus Day, Columbians! This is what it feels like to go to the only school where there’s not a long weekend. Ugh. (Time and Date) In Venezuela, Hugo Chavez was re-elected as president by a narrow margin. (CNN) For the record, we here at Bwog would be super okay with Adele showing up out of the blue, […]

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 […]