Folk Tale Map: Explains Deep Link Between Cultures

http://www.businessinsider.com/folktale-map-reveals-cultural-links-2014-12

Annotated History of Oil Prices Since 1861

http://www.businessinsider.com/annotated-history-crude-oil-prices-since-1861-2014-12

Animation: How European Languaged Evolved

http://www.businessinsider.com/map-how-indo-european-languages-evolved-2014-12

Lobbying Doesn't Boost Corporate Bottom Lines?

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/why-lobbying-is-a-dud-for-most-companies-but-benefits-their-ceos/article/2550773

Can Trade Prevent War?

By Matthew Jackson and Stephen Nei:
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/matthew-o-jackson-can-trade-prevent-war

TED Video: History of the World in 18 Minutes

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_christian_big_history?language=en

Think About Money in Relative, Not Absolute Terms

http://danariely.com/2014/10/25/ask-ariely-on-buying-beer-realizing-wrong-and-productive-periods/

What British People Say vs. What They Mean

http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/what-british-people-say-vs-what-they-mean#nfz18

Should You Hope to Die at 75?

http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/09/why-i-hope-to-die-at-75/379329/

Dan Ariely on Divorce

Q: Why is the divorce rate so high?


Dan: In is hard to imagine we can be happy with any decision even a year down the line, much less 10, 20 or even 50 years later.  Frankly, I am amazed by how low the divorce rate is.

World's Economic Center of Gravity

http://www.businessinsider.com/economic-center-of-gravity-map-2013-11

Why Are So Many Koreans Called Kim

http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/09/economist-explains-5

Forecasters Turn to the Wisdom of the Crowd

http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-intelligence-community-explores-more-rigorous-ways-to-forecast-events-1409937859

Simple is Better for Happiness

A new study finds that the older people get, the more happiness ordinary experiences deliver.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/30/your-money/affixing-more-value-to-the-ordinary-experiences-of-life.html?_r=0

Is Lobbying Effective?

http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2014/08/26/top-tier/?utm_source=American+League+of+Lobbyists&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=4609599_ICYMI+%2379+-+9%2f5%2f2014&dm_i=1RTI,2QSSF,AAXVMU,9ZU40,1

How Pollution Travels Through World's Oceans

http://www.businessinsider.com/here-is-how-pollution-travels-through-the-worlds-oceans-2014-9

New Technology Shaking Up Prostitution Industry

http://www.businessinsider.com/new-technology-is-shaking-up-the-worlds-oldest-profession-2014-8

Map: The Wealthiest Person in Every State

http://www.businessinsider.com/this-map-shows-the-wealthiest-person-in-every-state-2014-8

How to Win an Argument - Don't Make it an Argument

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-win-an-argument-2014-7?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+businessinsider+%28Business+Insider%29

Warmest Days of the Year in all 50 States

http://www.businessinsider.com/when-is-the-hottest-day-of-the-year-2014-7

The Middle East Friendship Chart

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/07/17/the_middle_east_friendship_chart.html

Happiness Benchmark by Each State

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/17/map-happiness-benchmark_n_5592194.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

Map: Biggest Banks of Every State

http://www.businessinsider.com/this-map-shows-the-biggest-bank-in-every-state-2014-7

Happiness = Making $83K, not 75K?

http://www.businessinsider.com/happiness-benchmark-for-annual-income-2014-7

Map That Explains Every Culture in the World

http://www.businessinsider.com/inglehart-welzel-culture-map-2014-7

Cool Map of Languages

http://www.vox.com/2014/7/2/5862696/where-people-speak-what-languages

On Teeth & Mental Disorder

Theodicy and the Dentist's Chair
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303701304579547761689093426?KEYWORDS=decayed+teeth&mg=reno64-wsj

Investment Advice from Warren Buffett

"The markets are designed to transfer money from the active to the patient."


http://online.wsj.com/articles/look-whos-beating-the-market-1403888067

Advice for Graduates - Don't Fail to Notice When Your Happy

http://parade.condenast.com/297072/connieschultz/my-advice-to-new-graduates-just-breathe/

Harvard MBA Indicator

Use this to predict bubbles...it's a bad sign when Harvard grads go to Wall Street...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/05/28/want-to-spot-the-next-bubble-look-at-where-harvard-grads-work/

Hongeo: Fermented Fish from Korea

As the NYT describes it: a delicate mix of outhouse and ammonia.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/world/asia/hongeo-south-koreas-smelliest-food.html

How to Make Someone Happy to Pay You

Dear Dan,

Early in my career, I wrote a massive Excel macro for the large bank where I worked. The macro (a set of automated commands) would take a data dump and turn it into a beautiful report. It took about two minutes to run, with an hourglass showing that it was working away. The output was very useful, but everyone complained that it was too slow.

One way to speed up a macro is to make it run in the background, invisibly, with just the hourglass left on-screen. I had done this from the start, but just for fun, I flipped the setting so that people using the macro could see it do its thing. It was like watching a video on fast forward: The macro sliced the data, changed colors, made headers and so on. The only problem: It took about three times as long to finish.

Once I made this change, however, everyone was dazzled by how fast and wonderful the algorithm was. Do you have a rational explanation for this reversal?

—Mike

I'm not sure I have a rational explanation, but I have a logical one. What you describe so nicely is a combination of two forces. First, when we are just waiting aimlessly, we feel that time is being wasted, and we feel worse about its passage. Second, when we feel that someone is working for us, particularly if they are working hard, we feel much better about waiting (and about paying them for their effort). Interestingly, this joy at having someone work hard for us holds true not just of people but of computer algorithms, too.

The life lesson should be clear: Work extra hard at describing how hard you work to those around you.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702304349604579606111586255626

Life's Biggest Breakthroughs Come in Late 30s

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-lifes-biggest-breakthoughs-come-in-your-late-thirties-2014-2

World's 3 Largest Arms Importers Border Each Other

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/worlds-three-largest-arms-importers-165419880.html

Map: Religion in Each State

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-largest-religion-in-every-state-other-than-christianity-2014-6

30 Ways to Save Your Heart

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/heart/30-ways-save-your-heart

Quote of the Day: Anxiety

The whole point of the brain is to predict the future based on past experience.


-Cori Bargmann of Rockefeller University

The Most Common Way People Die in Every State

http://www.businessinsider.com/most-common-causes-of-death-in-each-state-2014-6

End of the World?

Species disappearing 10 times as fast as previously thought, study finds...


http://www.salon.com/2014/05/29/study_species_disappearing_far_faster_than_before/

Question of the Day

Is it not rational not to maximize profits and grow a company?

Almost Everything at Grocery Store Made by One of Six Companies

http://www.businessinsider.com/top-grocery-companies-2014-5

How Many Laws Are There?

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2013/03/frequent-reference-question-how-many-federal-laws-are-there/

Map: Most Distinctive Industry in Each State

http://www.businessinsider.com/state-industry-location-quotient-map-2014-5

What Should the World's Priorities Be?

By summer diplomats are expected to produce a finished list of 10 or so goals, to be anointed by the United Nations General Assembly next year as the Sustainable Development Goals, intended to be a focus on global attention and resources over the following 15 years.  They are meant to succeed the 8 Millennium Development Goals the UN set in 2000.

Sex Trafficking Industry is Hugely Profitable

"The annual profit margin on each women is about 70%.  Highly successful companies such as Google have a profit margin of around 22%," says Nick Grono, CEO of Freedom Fund.

The Easiest & Most Difficult Languages for English Speakers to Learn

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-hardest-languages-to-learn-2014-5

History of the Global Economy Since 1,000,000 BC

http://www.businessinsider.com/world-gdp-since-one-million-bc-2014-5

Best Idea Ever? 5-Minute University

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c00GPvns31U

Map: Most Selective Colleges in Each State

http://www.businessinsider.com/selective-college-state-map-2014-5

Global Poll on Anti-Semitism

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304655304579551974194329920

Map: Every Country's Highest Valued Export

http://www.businessinsider.com/every-countrys-highest-valued-export-2014-5

Should the US Turn to Canada for Help?

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/why-canada-is-prospering-and-america-isn-t-150359533.html

Heat and Violence

http://cdp.sagepub.com/content/10/1/33.abstract

Map: Shale Deposits

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-shale-deposits-2014-5#!JwFSs

Hook-Up Truck

The food truck of sex...
http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/05/01/hook-up-truck-rolls-out-in-bay-area/

Reminder of How Vulnerable Humans Are

And how vulnerable Earth is...

Asteroids caused 26 nuclear-scale explosions in the Earth’s atmosphere between 2000 and 2013, a new report reveals. - See more at: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2014/05/department-of-ho-hum.html#sthash.zbzOwvcf.dpuf

"Asteroids caused 26 nuclear-scale explosions in the Earth's atmosphere between 2000 and 2013."

Asteroids caused 26 nuclear-scale explosions in the Earth’s atmosphere between 2000 and 2013, a new report reveals. - See more at: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2014/05/department-of-ho-hum.html#sthash.zbzOwvcf.dpuf

Asteroids caused 26 nuclear-scale explosions in the Earth’s atmosphere between 2000 and 2013, a new report reveals. - See more at: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2014/05/department-of-ho-hum.html#sthash.zbzOwvcf.dpuf

http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2014/05/department-of-ho-hum.html

Three is the Right Number for Persuasion

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/fashion/Three-Persuasion-The-Power-of-Three.html

What Restaurants do Liberals and Conservatives Favor?

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/05/02/liberals-eat-here-conservatives-eat-there/

How Not to be Misled by the Jobs Report

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/02/upshot/how-not-to-be-misled-by-the-jobs-report.html

Should GPI Replace GDP?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genuine_progress_indicator

Why the Rich Now Have Less Leisure Time Than the Poor

http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21600989-why-rich-now-have-less-leisure-poor-nice-work-if-you-can-get-out?fsrc=nlw|hig|4-16-2014|8329786|36582858|

How Much Money You Have to Make to be in the 1%

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-income-you-need-to-be-in-the-1-2014-5#!IPoX8

9 Basics of American Commerce

http://www.businessinsider.com/basic-facts-about-the-american-economy-2014-5

General Public Has Virtually No Influence on Policy

Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens
http://www.princeton.edu/~mgilens/Gilens%20homepage%20materials/Gilens%20and%20Page/Gilens%20and%20Page%202014-Testing%20Theories%203-7-14.pdf

Compensatory vs. Punitive Damages

"Generally speaking, punitive damages that are more than nine times greater than compensatory damages should be viewed skeptically, the Supreme Court has ruled."


http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702303910404579489921055493540

Travel Dilemma: Stick to Familiar or Try Something New?

From Dan Ariely...
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303603904579493523329125720?KEYWORDS=superstitions&mg=reno64-wsj

The Most Abnormal States in America

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-least-average-states-in-america-2014-4

How to Tell if Your Avocado is Ripe

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-check-for-ripe-avocado-2013-7

Video: Tour of British Isles by Accent

http://thechive.com/2014/04/04/a-tour-of-the-british-isles-in-accents-video/

How Much Can You Make Working at a Hedge Fund

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-people-make-at-hedge-funds-2014-4

Where Have All the Lobbyists Gone?

http://www.thenation.com/article/178460/shadow-lobbying-complex#

What Do Women Want on the Dance Floor?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/24/what-women-want-on-the-dance-floor-according-to-science/

48 Psychological Facts You Should Know About Yourself

http://www.businessinsider.com/psychological-facts-2014-3#1-theres-a-reason-why-you-cant-resist-paying-attention-to-food-sex-or-danger-1

Business Schools Get Low Marks from CEOs

Why not to get an MBA:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702303287804579447403696412982

10 Corporations Control Almost Everything You Buy

http://www.policymic.com/articles/71255/10-corporations-control-almost-everything-you-buy-this-chart-shows-how

Lessons on Conformity & Investing

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303426304579405072785847580

The Genetic Atlas of Human Admixture History

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/343/6172/747.abstract?sid=3a8a4e24-47e8-45c8-bbf8-23c1f6d246f5


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/14/science/tracing-ancestry-team-produces-genetic-atlas-of-human-mixing-events.html?_r=0

Americans Wate 31% of Their Food

http://www.thepacker.com/fruit-vegetable-news/USDA-estimates-retail-and-consumer-food-waste-246964951.html

Korean "Food Porn" - Mokbang

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304851104579359592178568668?mod=WSJ_Ahed_AutomatedTypes&mg=reno64-wsj

How a Presidential Phone Call Gets Made

http://news.yahoo.com/how-the-president-makes-a-phone-call-212133128.html

Economics of the Sex Trade

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/us/in-depth-report-details-economics-of-sex-trade.html?_r=0

Do Economic Sanctions Work?

Tyler Cowen on Daniel Drezner on economic sanctions.


http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2014/03/do-economic-sanctions-work.html

President's Pay

How much should a college president make compared to the worker who cleans his office?  According to a proposal put forward by students and faculty at St. Mary's College, the answer is: No more than 10 times as much.


Basing a president's pay off the cleaning crew's
by Lilian Cunningham and Jena McGregor
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2014/02/20/st-marys-college-considers-basing-presidents-salary-off-that-of-cleaning-staff/

Indian Headshakes

What do they mean?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj56IPJOqWE

Study on the Effect of Sanctions

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14623528.2014.878112#.Uw9p5c5-Dct

Forbes CLEWI

Forbes' Cost of Living Extremely Well Index (CLEWI):
http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottdecarlo/2013/09/18/cost-of-living-extremely-well-index-the-price-of-the-good-life/

Best Times to Fly

Buy a flight before or between these dates...


http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/seaney/2014/02/12/cheapest-days-to-fly-in-2014/5401149/

Cool Map: Shale Plays in the US

http://www.eia.gov/oil_gas/rpd/shale_gas.pdf

Stock Pullbacks

5% market declines occur three times per year on average.

-Heard on Nightly Business Report (NBR) on Feb. 3, 2014 (according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch)

A Glossary of "Inside the Beltway" Vocabulary

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/09/08/opinion/sunday/ben-schott-washington-words.html?gwh=8D519760F4AB862491463D100D424BC2&gwt=pay

How Many American Men are Gay?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/opinion/sunday/how-many-american-men-are-gay.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Japanese People Eat 80% of Bluefin Tuna

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/05/bluefin-tuna-tokyo-auction

World's 85 Richest = As Wealthy as Poorest 3 Billion

From Oxfam...


http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-worlds-85-richest-people-are-as-wealthy-as-the-poorest-3-billion/283206/

Amazing Surf Video Shot from Drone and GoPro

http://www.businessinsider.com/gopro-drone-surf-video-2014-1

Trends That Will Define the World for Decades

http://www.businessinsider.com/business-insider-global-20-2014-2014-1#4-china-opens-up-16


and


40 Charts That Explain the World
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/15/40-charts-that-explain-the-world/?hpid=z3

Couples Without Children Have Happier Marriage?

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/01/14/study-couples-without-children-have-happier-marriages/

The Global War on Religion

http://news.yahoo.com/religious-groups-face-increased-hostility-worldwide-report-150713420.html

Map: There are 2 Latin Americas

This article has a map showing the countries touching the Pacific Ocean as embracing free markets and all the others touching the Atlantic as favoring state controls.


The Two Latin Americas
by David Luhnow
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303370904579296352951436072

Turkey Legs - The New Hot Food Trend?

Turkey Legs Conquer Land of Mouse Ears
by Brooks Barnes
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/business/media/disneys-newest-star-turkey-leg-wins-hearts-and-stomachs.html?_r=0

Origin of Almost Every Jewish Last Name

http://www.businessinsider.com/origins-of-popular-jewish-surnames-2014-1

Stock Picking Advice from Head of Harvard's Endowment

"Take the long-term view" was the best advice I ever received. If you take the long-term view, you will see things others miss. Nearly everyone thinks about next month, next quarter. Jack Meyer, who ran [the] Harvard endowment for 15 years, taught me that when you think about multiple years or even decades you see opportunities to create value others might not see, and you make different judgments today as a result.


The Best Financial Advice I Ever Got (or Gave)
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702304244904579276963442898436

US Politics Not Gridlocked?

No, It Only Looks Like Gridlock
by Tyler Cowen
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/business/dont-mistake-this-for-gridlock.html?_r=0

Dilbert's Scott Adams of Happiness

Happiness = Health + Freedom


http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/read-this-if-you-want-to-be-happy-in-2014/2014/01/02/d96370f0-7192-11e3-9389-09ef9944065e_story.html

On Value Line and Stock Picking

The Man Who Beat the Market - and Why He's Bullish Now
by Mark Hulbert
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702304244904579278390206935848


also:


This article mentions the classic economic paper from 1980 by J. Scott Armstrong titled "The Seer-Sucker Theory: The Value of Experts in Forecasting."


Value of Stock 'Experts' Is Up for Debate
by Spencer Jakab
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702303640604579296661592902306

The Levy Walk

Study: When Hunger Strikes, Humans Walk a Predictable Path
by Meeri Kim
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/hunter-gatherer-humans-join-insects-sharks-and-other-animals-in-doing-the-levy-walk/2013/12/28/c807769a-6fde-11e3-a523-fe73f0ff6b8d_story.html