“I Was a Nazi and Here’s Why” – the New Yorker
Not many ex-Nazis have been clear and honest about why they did what they did, but Melita Maschmann is an exception.
Our Dad, the Water Witch of Wyoming – Collector’s Weekly
“For most people, the practice of dowsing for water is tolerated (if not understood) because it’s so ingrained in Western culture. To paraphrase the old saw about bad architecture, anything can become respectable if it’s around long enough.”
A House Divided – Slate
“I first set foot on the University of the Free State (UFS) campus in February of 2010 to study Afrikaans. On paper, the school was integrated: 70 percent of the student body was black. But 15 years after the end of apartheid—the infamous system of racial separation and black oppression that lasted from 1948 until the coming of democracy in 1994—it felt as though apartheid had never ended.”
Why Tipping Should Be Outlawed – Esquire
“Can I march into your office and adjust your pay depending on how well you do in our meeting? Or — more accurately — depending on your skin color, your breast size, or your age? Well, of course not, is the answer to that one. Because that would be barbaric.”
Why ‘I Have Nothing to Hide’ Is the Wrong Way to Think About Surveillance – Wired
“If the federal government had access to every email you’ve ever written and every phone call you’ve ever made, it’s almost certain that they could find something you’ve done which violates a provision in the 27,000 pages of federal statues or 10,000 administrative regulations. You probably do have something to hide, you just don’t know it yet.”
Caffeine: For the More Creative Mind – the Atlantic
“A cover article titled “Is Caffeine Killing You?” would, almost regardless of its execution, probably be the most popular thing on this site. Ninety percent of people in the U.S. ingest caffeine on a daily basis, and many of them also fear death.”
The Marineland Dreamland – the Walrus
“Two decades later, scandal has rocked the park. A Toronto Star article, the first in an ongoing series, ran on August 15, 2012. It documented a horrific inventory of mistreatment, ranging from poor water quality to tiny enclosures to insufficient or undertrained staff. These were cited as the cause for a litany of health concerns in the animals, such as fur loss, inflamed eyes, open sores, general listlessness, blindness, and more.”
