Key Findings about Going to College and Other Fascinating News on the Web

What’s Your Major?

Tuition has increased. The job market has tightened. Student debt is going through the roof. So is it still worth it to go to college. According to the latest research from Pew, Millennials answer that question with a resounding yes. There is an increasingly large income gap between those who attend college and those who don’t. And college grads are more likely to be satisfied with their job and less likely to be living with their parents.

+ What’s your major? If your answer isn’t science or engineering, there’s a decent chance you wish you could make a different choice and that your career is unrelated to your field of study. Here are six key findings about going to college.

+ The Atlantic: Indisputable Evidence That Millennials Have It Worse Than Any Generation in 50 Years … at least, when it comes to unemployment.

Pineapple Express

You’ve got guys with names like Charlie Pepsi, Tall Pete, and Vinny TV. You’ve got attempts to smuggle drugs by hiding them in pineapples, coconut milk, and frozen fish. And you’ve got meetings that took place at a Dunkin’ Donuts. Put it all together and you’ve got the latest international mob bust.

+ “The five New York Mafia families claim to abide by a rule prohibiting rackets involving illegal narcotics, but the rule has been violated time and again.”

Empty Rooms

“I don’t know what to do with her room. I guess on some level I’m still waiting for her to come home. I’d be so much more empathetic now. I used to take it personal, like she was doing this to me and I was a victim.” The NYT’s Deborah Sontag: Heroin’s Small-Town Toll, and a Mother’s Grief

+ “In any other area of medicine, if your doctor told you that the cure for your disease involved surrendering to a ‘higher power,’ praying to have your ‘defects of character’ lifted, and accepting your ‘powerlessness,’ as outlined in the original 12 steps, you’d probably seek a second opinion.” From Pacific Standard: After 75 Years of Alcoholics Anonymous, It’s Time to Admit We Have a Problem.

Road Warriors

“To explain, he takes me into a brightly lit room, right next to the test track. It’s Tessa’s brand new morgue, complete with freezers where they’ll soon be storing human cadavers.” From PRI: Europe takes a cue from US and decides to use cadavers to make cars safer. (I’m pretty sure I was behind one of them on the way to work this morning.)

+ Can technology lead us to a world without car crashes?

Five Ring Circus

Last night, I made my kids sweep the entire house by convincing them they were Curling. Aside from that, most of the Olympics talk in my house has been about “The Eye.” Finally, after several days of (inexplicably) going on the air, Bob Costas will sign off until his infected eyes get better.

+ I have no idea if it’s affecting the outcomes, but American athletes still can’t get their Chobani yogurt.

+ Canadians have figured out a way to have their beer to themselves by way of a vending machine that only dispenses brews to those who have a Canadian passport.

+ “GQ’s Jeff Ruby: “There comes a moment in every sports fan’s life when he realizes he’s older than the athletes he’s watching. It happens without warning — and it cuts deep.”

The Most Popular Kid Ever

Shirley Temple Black, who the LA Times calls “the most popular child movie star of all time,” has died at the age of 85. As an adult, Black maintained a career as a diplomat, serving as ambassador to both Ghana and Czechoslovakia.

+ Shirley Temple beat the child star odds. Imagine naming a drink after one of today’s young stars and having it be non-alcoholic.

Branded a Fool

“It’s a truism of business-book thinking that a company’s brand is its ‘most important asset,’ more valuable than technology or patents or manufacturing prowess. But brands have never been more fragile.” The New Yorker’s James Surowiecki on The Twilight of the Brands.

+ Consumerist: Flirting with other brands makes you more devoted to your favorite companies.

+ NY Mag: Why Abercrombie is losing its shirt.

+ Buzzfeed: “Over the last five years, the financial story at American Apparel has been less than rosy. The retailer has been hit by almost everything that can go wrong for a corporation — an immigration raid in 2009; the resignation of its auditor in 2010; embarrassing lawsuits from former employees, shareholders, even Woody Allen; and a transition to a distribution center that was so disastrous that fixing it required Charney to live there for months.” Checking in the latest at American Apparel.

Love Notes

I’m not sure I believe this stat from Pew Internet: Only “10% of internet users who are married or partnered say that the Internet has had a ‘major impact’ on their relationship.” I don’t know any couples who haven’t felt a major technological impact. (Thankfully, my laptop and my wife’s laptop seem to get along great.)

+ “We believe that if we can reach enough people, we can end divorce, end domestic violence, end public crime, and reduce medical bills.” Meet the millionaire couple who will end divorce.

+ According to the NYT: Movie night can double as relationship therapy. (Sure, and buttered popcorn can double as Kale.)

Laughter is the Best Medicine

In an effort to get more young people to sign up for the Affordable Care Act, Illinois officials are partnering with writers from The Onion. If only they could write prescriptions.

The Bottom of the News

Does Barbie send the wrong message to young girls? What about the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue? Not sure? What about Barbie appearing in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue?

+ “It was just too addictive.” The creator of Flappy Bird on why he pulled the game.

+ 28 Days of Fame: The Strange, True Story of Flappy Bird.

+ The Atlantic: True Detective — The Best Show on TV. I can’t think of a TV show with four straight episodes that were this fantastic.