The Week

How a Ghost Army of American artists helped defeat Hitler If...

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:49:00 -0400

How a Ghost Army of American artists helped defeat Hitler

If you’ve never heard of the Ghost Army, you’re in good company. The unit was a classified secret until 1996 — it’s still partially classified — and Rick Beyer, the director of The Ghost Army, only found out about the covert troop of artist-warriors by chance, in a Boston-area cafe, from the niece of one of the unit’s veterans.

Armies have been using subterfuge to fool enemy forces for eons, but the Ghost Army was unusually audacious, and especially good at its job: Designing and deploying inflatable tanks, airplanes, and artillery, plus sound effects and other illusion-spinning tactics to convince the German army that the Allied forces were stronger and more omnipresent than they were.

Science: You’re probably uglier than you think Oh.

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:42:34 -0400

Science: You’re probably uglier than you think

Oh.

climateadaptation: Early warning, communication, training, and...

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:50:49 -0400

climateadaptation:

Early warning, communication, training, and “safe rooms” combined to save thousands of lives from the Okla. monster tornado. It is very clear example of how cities have designed adaptation systems to respond to local weather conditions.

How could so many have survived the Okla. tornado?

Viewers glued to TV following Monday’s tornado that hit here with the destructive force of an atomic bomb very likely expected to wake up Tuesday to a death and injury toll in the thousands.

How could anyone have survived the apocalyptic destruction of a worst-of-the-worst EF5 category storm? Miraculously, most did, despite an official warning coming just 16 minutes before the twister cut a 17-mile war-zone-like path through this city of 56,000.

Local, state and federal officials credit luck, happenstance, timing, faith, heroics, preparation and the seasoned experience that comes with living in the heart of Tornado Alley for the relatively low victim count.

“If they say there’s a chance of severe tornadoes, people take it really seriously,” said Tyler Porter, who lives in Oklahoma City, 10 miles north of Moore. “They pretty much know when it’s time to take cover.”

Excellent coverage by USA Today

Is the GOP blinded by Obama hatred?

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:44:56 -0400

Is the GOP blinded by Obama hatred?: Indeed, several recent polls seem to indicate that the IRS,...

Why NASA is funding a 3D pizza printer You could argue that the...

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:44:43 -0400

Why NASA is funding a 3D pizza printer

You could argue that the different eras of human history have been defined by a few key innovations. Advancements in agriculture some 10,000 years ago allowed our nomadic ancestors to finally stay put in one place. Alexander Graham Bell and his rivals changed telecommunications forever in the 19th century with the advent of the phone. The Internet’s rise in the ’90s sparked an era of boundless information, and the smartphone in 2007 put that information in the palm of our hands.

All of which is sure be to eclipsed by what could be mankind’s greatest achievement to date. Behold: The 3D pizza printer.

Gut-wrenching images from the devastating Oklahoma tornado

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:39:54 -0400

Gut-wrenching images from the devastating Oklahoma tornado

The Moon is regularly abused by meteors, but NASA recently...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:58:30 -0400

The Moon is regularly abused by meteors, but NASA recently spotted a super bright flash as a space rock hit the lunar surface. Here’s what happened.

Everybody chill out. Here’s why the Yahoo deal will...

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:48:30 -0400

Everybody chill out. Here’s why the Yahoo deal will actually be great for Tumblr.

The time's not right for Tesla

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:44:22 -0400

The time's not right for Tesla: But soon it will be. Marc Ambinder writes: There really isn’t...

marissamayr: The great workplace dilemmas of our time… Ha.

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:15:49 -0400

marissamayr:

The great workplace dilemmas of our time…

Ha.

Need something to watch on Netflix this weekend? We asked The...

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:09:56 -0400

Need something to watch on Netflix this weekend? We asked The Week.com’s entertainment editor, Scott Meslow, for a recommendation:

This weekend, so many moviegoers are primed to see J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness that most box-office analysts are projecting the highest-grossing opening weekend in the franchise’s 47-year history.

But if you’d rather stay home and kick back with a glass of Romulan ale, why not check out the very best Star Trek has to offer? In the wake of 1979’s disappointing Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan arrived in 1982 to give Star Trek the shot in the arm it needed. Wrath of Khan stars a never-better William Shatner as an older, sadder James T. Kirk, a former captain who is — like the Star Trek franchise itself — teetering on the brink of irrelevancy. When the villainous Khan (first introduced in the Star Trekepisode “Space Seed”) unexpectedly reemerges as a serious threat, Kirk works with his old allies to take his vindictive adversary down, leading to a high-stakes ending that’s still both shocking and genuinely tragic (even if it was undone by later films in the series). Wrath of Khan isn’t just a great Star Trek film, or even a great science-fiction film — it’s a great film, full stop.

Can you buy cool? Yahoo is reportedly looking to purchase Tumblr

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:23:36 -0400

Can you buy cool?

Yahoo is reportedly looking to purchase Tumblr

PHOTO OF THE DAY: The meteorologist-in-chief (AP Photo/Charles...

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:46:48 -0400

PHOTO OF THE DAY: The meteorologist-in-chief

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

thefader: DAFT PUNK GAP AD (2001) Never forget.

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:26:04 -0400

thefader:

DAFT PUNK GAP AD (2001)

Never forget.

What it would mean if Obama ‘goes...

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:22:35 -0400

What it would mean if Obama ‘goes Bulworth’

4 huge solar flares in 48 hours: What’s going on with the...

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:16:00 -0400

4 huge solar flares in 48 hours: What’s going on with the sun?

5 reasons the U.N. wants you to start eating insects Reason #1?...

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:41:50 -0400

5 reasons the U.N. wants you to start eating insects

Reason #1? They’re good for you.

The FAO estimates that there are between 1,000 and 1,900 edible insect species. As a result, espousing the nutritional benefits of insects as a whole is tricky, akin to saying all mammals are good for you even though braised rabbit and bacon obviously have entirely different nutritional qualities.

theatlanticcities: Don’t like how your car is running? In...

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:44:59 -0400

theatlanticcities:

Don’t like how your car is running? In China, some luxury car owners decide to have their unsatisfactory vehicles smashed to pieces in public.

Read: Car Repair Didn’t Go So Well? Smash Your Luxury Ride to Smithereenes

Meet the mother from How I Met Your Mother After eight long...

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:11:00 -0400

Meet the mother from How I Met Your Mother

After eight long seasons, it’s official: Fans of CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother have finally met the mother — even if series protagonist Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) hasn’t met her yet.

She’ll be played by Cristin Milioti, a 27-year-old Tony-nominated actress. Here she is being interviewed about her role in the 2012 Broadway musical, Once:

See more Cristin Miloti here.

PHOTOS: 7 beautifully terrifying lightning storms Two types of...

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:04:23 -0400

PHOTOS: 7 beautifully terrifying lightning storms

Two types of lightning are at play in this storm over South Dakota: The sideways cloud-to-cloud lightning (on top) and the tentacle-like cloud-to-ground lightning (at bottom). (Mike Hollingshead/SuperStock/Corbis)