Book review: Big volcanic eruptions happen. A look at the 1783 eruption of Iceland’s Laki in Alexandra Witze and Jeff Kanipe’s Island on Fire: The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Changed the World. (Scientific American)
Technology
- The payoff from LED lighting is huge. (slate.com)
- Can robots be creative? (nautil.us)
- Software that can read emotions is getting better and better. (wsj.com)
- The US is trying to catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to harvesting offshore wind power. (qz.com)
Health
- For your health turn down your thermostat. (slate.com)
- One sure way to kill your sperm count. (fivethirtyeight.com)
- Understanding the "number needed to treat" statistic. (nytimes.com)
Working out
- Couples that work out together stick with it. (m.theatlantic.com)
- Evidence keeps accruing on the benefits of high intensity training. (well.blogs.nytimes.com)
The brain
- Extraordinary experiences are made better with the presence of friends and/or family. (scientificamerican.com)
- On the benefits of slow, controlled breaths. (wsj.com)
- The science of 'brain farts.' (mashable.com)
Food
- Beef jerky has become big business. Hershey ($HSY) wants in. (washingtonpost.com)
- How Shake Shack ($SHAK) went from a hot dog cart to successful IPO. (dealbook.nytimes.com)
- Why you are still at-risk from raw chicken. (newyorker.com)
- Will the Chinese come to embrace potatoes? (bloomberg.com)
- On the rise of the avocado in America's grocery stores. (washingtonpost.com)
Drink
- What the rise of craft beer tells us about the dynamism of the US economy. (newyorker.com)
- The beer can just turned 80 years old. (businessweek.com)
- On the romance of wine. (nytimes.com)
- What makes for a great bartender. (chicagomag.com)
ESPN
- ESPN is spending a lot on technology to stay at the forefront. (theverge.com)
- ESPN is hedging its bets with its coverage of so-called e-sports. (fortune.com)
Sports
- Just how good was Ernie Banks? (thecubreporter.com)
- Real-time data analytics could change sports forever. (gigaom.com)
- NFL kickers just keep getting better. (fivethirtyeight.com)
- More evidence of the dangers of youth football. (nytimes.com)
Entertainment
- Why the Grammys matter. (lefsetz.com)
- Why so many artists supposedly "plagarize" Tom Petty songs. (slate.com)
- CDs sound better than vinyl but for many that does not matter. (laweekly.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- What you may have missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: thinking big. (abnormalreturns.com)
