Afflictor: Hoping to avoid the Octomom porno. (Image by mileamne.)
- Old Print Articles: People nicknamed “Three-Fingered Jack” cause trouble (1889-1900) + Tales about rain-makers (1894-95).
- Classic Photograph: Phineas Gage (largely) survives an iron rod passing through his head (1848).
- Featured Videos: Hoaxer Alan Abel champions sex partners for felons (1977) and mocks so-called “reality” TV (1999) + A smart jug texts you when your milk has soured on you + G.I. Joe Talking Astronaut had lifelike hair (1970) + Robonaut 2 is even more lifelike than John Glenn + Roboticist Daniel H. Wilson talks performance-enhancing implants + Corning has developed an ultra-thin, flexible glass + Supermarkets utilize bar codes and price scanners (1977) + Economist Richard Freeman opines on the future of human labor + Profile of pioneering female race-car driver Janet Guthrie (1977) + Guy Debord’s film adaptation of Society of the Spectacle (1973) + Bobby Sands wins an election just before his death (1981) + Dutch report about Space Age tourism (1969) + Tom Seaver sings on the Kraft Music Hall (1969).
- Recently Posted on NYC’s Craigslist: Grandma has the sponge again + Overweight women are the lucky ones + Sometimes I overeat + Bonnaroo just got even worse.
- Will Romney’s economic advantage over Obama really make a difference?
- Psychologist Phil Zimbardo recalls the troubling Stanford Prison Experiment.
- Freeman Dyson ponders the general public conducting genetic engineering.
- Daniel Kahneman explains how “priming” prompts our behavior.
- Steven Boone analyzes Mad Men from African-American viewpoints.
- Tim Harford holds forth on technological systems and chaos.
- Julia Ormond was packaged for a mass stardom that never arrived.
- Novelist Jennifer Egan profiled a troubled young model in 1996.
- The Supreme Court is deservedly growing more unpopular.
- Malcolm Gladwell thinks Steve Jobs will be forgotten in 50 years.
- Dutch entrepreneur Jim Halfens is bringing his Divorce Hotel to the U.S.
- Can we–and should we–clone a woolly mammoth?
- A peek inside Peter Diamandis’ ultra-expensive Singularity University.
- A passage from Vernor Vinge’s famous 1993 essay about the Singularity.
- Simon Schama profiles Yoko Ono at 79.
- Doctors may have diminished importance in a wired world.
- Dynamic physical buttons rise from your touchscreen.
- A brief note from 1891 about a sane farmer.
- A brief note from 1883 about a cow puncher.
- A brief note from 1853 about a furious peacock.
- This week’s Afflictor keyphrase searches.