Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
The Ins and Outs of Donation Bins
You’ve seen them in parking lots — donation bins. It’s a great way to dispose of old clothes. Especially with the holidays coming up, it’s also a good way to donate to charity. Or is it? The BBB Wise Giving Alliance, an organization that rates charities (http://www.give.org/), has some useful information in the cover story
Football and Justice
I know crazy things can happen during football season, but this study really surprised me — Two economists at Louisiana State University (LSU) have analyzed juvenile court decisions made between 1996 and 2012. They found that for judges who attended LSU as undergraduates, a football loss led to disproportionately stiffer sentences. If the loss was
Happy Birthday, Tarzan
A belated birthday greeting to Tarzan, who debuted on August 27, 1912 in the pages of All-Story Magazine. The title was Tarzan, King of the Apes, and the story was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, who had failed at a whole list of occupations before he tried writing. His inspiration came from the pulp magazines
Slavery and the Law in the Old South
There are many unusual angles to history. At certain key times, the weather, disease, or a simple personality quirk can make a profound difference in the outcomes of critical events. (Was Robert E. Lee having a heart attack during the Army of Virginia’s invasion of Maryland?) So it’s always fun to explore the niches and
The Shortest Geological Epoch on Record
Have you heard the latest from the world of science? We are entering a new epoch. For some 12,000 years, we have been living in the Holocene era, a stable and relative warm climate that has allowed the present world to develop. But on August 29, a working group of scientists at a meeting of
Half-Peace in Our Time?
Just before World War II, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain talked about “peace in our time.” He was wrong, of course. But maybe now we’re halfway there. August 29, 2016 was the official start of a ceasefire in Colombia between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, better known as the FARC. Thus
A Good-News Story About Refugees
I’ve been reading a book entitled The Greatest War Stories Never Told by Rick Beyer and I came across something worth sharing. In September, 1943, Adolf Hitler ordered Denmark’s Jewish population to be deported to the death camps. The logistics were put in place and more than a thousand German police and Gestapo moved into
How Much Does the President Really Matter?
In this very unusual political year, the electorate seems as polarized as it’s been since the Civil War. Many people feel dire things will happen if their candidate is not elected president. Which brings up the question, how much difference does a president make anyway? Remember our Founding Fathers distrusted government at least as much
Again, How Far We’ve Come — The Great Migration
Recently I commented on how far we’ve come regarding women’s suffrage. I’ve just found another reminder in a different area. The September, 2016 issue of Smithsonian magazine is devoted to African-American history and culture. One of the issue’s most fascinating articles is “The Long-Lasting Legacy of The Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson , when blacks
The Verdict on “Baby Think It Over”
Whenever I teach in middle school, it’s not unusual to see girls with babies. Not real babies (thankfully), but realistic dolls that mimic a child’s needs. Their job is to care for this doll as if it was alive, including middle-of-the-night demands. I don’t know how long the assignment lasts, but it’s a mandatory part