Olympic medal mania Winning athletes in :he ancient Olympics were rewarded only with the traditional laurel wreaths, but also with money and fame. Many modern Olympic victors also have a shot at fame, like lucrative endorsements and pro contracts. But since the birth of the modern Olympics in 1896, the chief reward at the time […]
Avoiding asteroid Armageddon: How do you stop an asteroid from hitting Earth? Hollywood envisions nuclear weapons, but scientists favor a gentler approach Henry Fountain Sooner or later, scientists say, it’s bound to happen: Astronomers will discover an asteroid that has a significant chance of striking Earth. Unlike several recently discovered asteroids that were given very […]
A sizzling economy remakes India: shopping malls, technology, and Western-style consumerism are transforming the nation of Gandhi Amy Waldman Tarun Narula, a 25-year-old computer instructor, celebrated Mohandas K. Gandhi’s birthday on October 2 by going to the Metropolitan Mall. So did so many thousands of others that the parking lot was full, as were those […]
Made in the USA? Not anymore: Levi’s and Etch A Sketch are just two of the many ‘American’ products that are now made overseas. How will the increasing outsourcing of jobs affect workers and the economy in the U.S.? Joseph Kahn Since it was founded by a German immigrant who began outfitting gold miners in […]
Should the U.S. Pay for Slavery? Randall Robinson Some say society should compensate blacks financially YES In the 246 years of slavery on this continent, blacks endured unimaginable cruelties: kidnapping, ownership as livestock, deaths during terror-filled sea voyages, backbreaking toil, beatings, rapes, castrations, maimings, murders. They worked long, hard, killing days, years, centuries–and they were […]
1971: 18-Year-olds get the vote: with the Vietnam war as a backdrop, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution towered the voting age from 21 Adam Liptak The explosive youth movement of the 1960s was born in the civil rights era and blossomed into a full-blown counterculture on college campuses and at music festivals like Woodstock […]
Advertising: by the numbers John Wanamaker, a department store mogul of the early 20th century, once said: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” Many of today’s advertisers probably feet the same way, but spending on ads has continued to grow nonetheless. In 2005, companies […]
War of words: for more than 200 years, Americans have revered the Constitution. So why can’t we agree on what it means? Adam Liptak The Constitution is a brisk little document, a mere 8,000 words, including its 27 Amendments. You can read it in half an hour, and some of its language flows like poetry: […]
Learning vs. testing Alex Boostrom “Are Tests the Answer?” (3/25/02) makes a good point about too many tests, but the real problem with education today is the entire grading and evaluation process. I have found that I will cram for a test to get an A on it and then forget the information after the […]
Give tech a chance: with the number of computer-science majors declining, Bill Gates is touring colleges to talk up the computer industry Steve Lohr Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft at age 19, has been on a campaign tour recently, trying to reinvigorate his base, as they say in politics. The number of students majoring in […]