Guest Thinkers — August 16, 2010

It Was the Small States and Caucuses, Stupid!

So how did Barack Obama beat improbable odds to capture the Democratic nomination? A team of reporters at the Washington Post has the best account I’ve seen on Obama’s ingenious state and delegate strategy.

High Culture

50 years ago, an artist convincingly exhibited a fake Iron Age civilization

The artifacts were often made from found objects – an Ivory dish-soap bottle transformed into an earthenware figure.

The Present

Americans are becoming more likely to cooperate with strangers, not less

Americans are more willing to put the greater good above their own interests today than in the 1950s.

Strange Maps

One ship in two centuries: the strange tale of the SS Warrimoo

On New Year’s Eve 1899, the captain of this Pacific steamliner sailed into history. Or did he?

The Well

Humans are not “tribal”

From politics to culture, we blame “tribalism” for humanity’s problems. This explanation is entirely wrong.

Health

Why are some people mosquito magnets and others unbothered?

A medical entomologist points to metabolism, body odor, and mindset.

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