Links for June 28th through July 4th

This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on July 4, 2010). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

Sometime between June 28th and July 4th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Troopers issue nearly 700 citations for using cell, texting while driving: "State troopers have issued nearly 670 citations for cell phone or texting violations since June 10, when holding a cell phone became a primary traffic offense. At $124 a violation, that's about $83,000 in fines. The count runs through Thursday, July 1. The State Patrol district that includes King County leads with the biggest number of stops, 235, and the biggest number of citations, 142."
  • Architecture’s Modern Marvels: "When V.F. asked 52 experts to choose the five most important works of architecture created since 1980, they named a staggering 132 different structures. Here are the top 21, in order of popularity." (Seattle's Central Library places fifth!)
  • Why Some Countries Drive on the Right and Some Countries Drive on the Left: "Today I found out why some countries drive on the right and some countries drive on the left. The origin of this varies based on the time period and country, but primarily throughout history people used the 'keep-left' rule. It has only been very recently that the world has predominately switched to the 'keep-right' rule."
  • Scientists Invent First Male Contraceptive Pill: "The scientist behind the male pill discovery has developed a tablet that removes a vital protein in sperm that is required for a woman to conceive. So while sperm still get through to the uterus they are unable to fertilise an egg. Using this approach, researchers believe they have a pill that is 100 pc effective at stopping pregnancy. Not only is it long lasting but it also has other pluses. There are no side effects as suffered by women who take the contraceptive pill."
  • Surely It’s 30 (Don’t Call Me Shirley!): "'A lot of comedies in the last 30 years have wanted to be 'Airplane!,' ' said Patton Oswalt, a comedian and actor and the voice of the hero in 'Ratatouille.' 'But most of those movies took the wrong message from 'Airplane!' They were gag, gag, gag, gag, where 'Airplane!' is really structured, driving the story along all the time. In a weird way it's like a Beatles movie. It looks like the easiest thing in the world, but there's a lot of sweat and blood that went into it.'"