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Today in History

1204		The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople.
1606		England adopts the Union Jack as its flag.
1770		Parliament repeals the Townsend Acts.
1782		The British navy wins its only naval engagement against the colonists in the American Revolution at the Battle of Saints, off Dominica.
1811		The first colonists arrive at Cape Disappointment, Washington.
1861		Fort Sumter is shelled by Confederacy, starting America's Civil War.
1864		Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest captures Fort Pillow, in Tennessee.
1877		The first catcher's mask is used in a baseball game.
1911		Pierre Prier completes the first non-stop London-Paris flight in three hours and 56 minutes.
1916		American cavalrymen and Mexican bandit troops clash at Parrel, Mexico.
1927		The British Cabinet comes out in favor of voting rights for women.
1944		The U.S. Twentieth Air Force is activated to begin the strategic bombing of Japan.
1945		President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies at Warm Spring, Georgia. Harry S. Truman becomes president.
1954		Bill Haley records "Rock Around the Clock."
1955		Dr. Jonas Salk's discovery of a polio vaccine is announced.
1961		Soviet Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin becomes first man to orbit the Earth.
1963		Police use dogs and cattle prods on peaceful civil rights demonstrators in Birmingham, Alabama.
1966		Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American major league umpire.
1983		Harold Washington is elected the first black mayor of Chicago.

Nearly 1 in 10 Americans Have Serious Anger Problems—and Can Easily Get Guns

by Kiera Butler

In the United States, most people diagnosed with mental illness are allowed to buy guns. While state laws vary, federal law prohibits only those who have been committed to a psychiatric hospital or adjudicated as "mental defectives" from owning firearms.
But researchers at Duke University suspect that the law is ignoring a group of Americans who could make for potentially dangerous gun owners: people with a history of angry, impulsive outbursts. In a study published this month in the peer-reviewed journal Behavioral Sciences and the Law, the Duke team looked at more than 5,500 interviews conducted in a landmark survey of mental illness by Harvard researchers. From the interviews, they extrapolated that 1 in 10 adults in the United States has an anger management problem—and access to firearms.
One caveat: While it makes intuitive sense that angry people and guns would be a volatile combination, it's important to note that there is no data yet on whether people with anger problems are more likely to commit violent crimes. Still, lead author Jeffrey Swanson believes that the finding is worrisome. "Probably the strongest predictor of violence is previous violent behavior," says Swanson, a professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke Medicine.
Swanson points to the recent shootings of three students at North Carolina State University. The alleged shooter, Craig Stephen Hicks, had a history of threatening behavior. "People who knew him said that he was very angry; they were scared of him," says Swanson.
And yet, in most states, even people who have committed violent misdemeanors or have had restraining orders issued against them for domestic violence are allowed to own guns.
Meanwhile, people with the types of severe psychiatric problems that lead to involuntary commitment, like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, commit just 4 percent of violent crimes in the United States. Most people with those acute conditions are not prone to violence.
However, Swanson doesn't believe that isolated incidents of anger should prevent people from buying guns—everyone gets angry once in a while. But "the group that we focus on goes far beyond regular anger," he says. "These individuals are off on the extreme." They often get into physical fights and break or smash things when they become upset.
Read more at Motherjones

Wall Street's Bull Statue Was Once Totally Illegal

Italian-American artist Arturo Di Modica created the 7,100-pound sculpture named Charging Bull that greets anyone walking down Wall Street in New York City. It has become an iconic emblem of the financial district. Modica’s aim was to encourage the financial sector after the stock market crash of 1987. What you probably don’t know about the bull is that is was donated to Wall Street with no permit, and no one was expecting it when it appeared on December 15, 1989. It was “guerrilla art.” So the city paid to have it hauled away!

There are lots of examples of guerrilla art that’s both easy to install and easy to remove; graffiti comes to mind. But sculpture, especially bronze sculpture, is not. “Bronzes are not easy to haul around,” says Dianne Durante, author of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide. “There's a Municipal Art Commission that's in charge of all sculptures on city property, and they have a process for approval before they allow a sculpture to be installed.”

Charging Bull was eventually brought back to Wall Street, although its ownership status is still a bit confusing. Read all about it at Atlas Obscura.

Bank Workers Tell Their Bosses: Stop Making Us Sell Shady Products To Poor People

The call for reform is coming from inside the bank!

Your Bra May Be Killing You

Scientists Call For Boycott Of Komen

The bra is deeply woven into the female fabric of American culture, but does it really do more harm than good? The Susan G. Komen association says the idea that bras are a health hazard is a myth, but research studies say otherwise. This article is a must read to reveal a different perspective to the culturally accepted bra habit. Interested to hear what you think after reading!
“The bra/breast cancer connection is a thing of myth, according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the American Cancer Society (ACS). But at least five research studies have shown that there IS a strong connection between breast cancer and bra wearing for many hours per day. Some scientists are calling for a boycott of Komen and the ACS, because they say this cover-up is costing lives.
The problem with bras, according to medical anthropologists Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer, is that they restrict the flow of lymphatic fluid, thereby retaining toxins in the breast that have nowhere to go. They compare it to the feet and ankle swelling that occurs on long flights, because the lymphatic fluid pools in the lower extremities and isn’t allowed to circulate.
Singer and Grismaijer, co-authors of Dressed To Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras, say that wearing a bra more than 12 hours a day dramatically increases the risk of getting breast cancer. A woman who wears a bra 24/7 is 125 times more likely to develop breast cancer than a woman who rarely or never wears a bra. Those who sleep in their bra, they found, have a 75% chance of developing breast cancer at some point in their lives.” Keep reading…

8 Food Myths You've Been Believing

A lot of misconceptions float around in the kitchen, and you need to separate fact from fiction: While some myths are just silly, others can be detrimental to your health. Here are some persistent fallacies you might still believe.

What Do American Pie's Lyrics Mean?

When the jester sang for the King and Queen, in a coat he borrowed from James Dean. Now the half-time air was sweet perfume. No angel born in hell could break that Satan's spell. Who broke the church bells? And what really was revealed 'the day the music died?'
As the original manuscript for Don McLean's 1971 classic 'American Pie' is sold at auction, fans may finally discover what his song is really about. So what are the popular theories?

Cops Pay Ransom to Hackers to Get Their Files Back

According to the Boston Globe, the Tewksbury, Massachusetts, police department was so desperate to get the information from their computers that had been encrypted by hackers, they ended up paying the requested sum of $500 for the decryption key. And they aren't the only police department that has resorted to paying hackers in so-called "ransomware" schemes. From the Globe:

"At first, the problems with the Tewksbury Police Department system — difficulty calling up arrest and incident records — seemed to be just the usual system crankiness. No big deal.

But it persisted, and a technician was called in.

That was when the menacing message popped up on the screen, an explanation in the form of a ransom note:
“Your personal files are encrypted,” it read. “File decryption costs ~ $500.”
It continued: “If you really value your data, then we suggest you do not waste valuable time searching for other solutions because they do not exist."

Because they hadn't backed up their systems, the Tewksbury Police were in a terrible position. Read the rest of the story, as well as that of the other U.S. police departments that have fallen victim to the same schemes, at the Boston Globe.

A Murder Case that Gripped America Twice

In 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Robert Franks. It was a sensational crime, as both the killers and the victim were from wealthy and prominent families, which influenced the investigation. Although both eventually pled guilty, the real mystery was why they did it. Leopold and Loeb had no particular hatred for Franks.

The prosecution’s experts downplayed any evidence of mental disturbance and claimed the motive was largely financial. That was most certainly not true. With rich allowances and indulgent families, the boys lacked for nothing. Though they sent a ransom note demanding ten thousand dollars, these killers were heirs to fortunes thousands of times greater than the ransom. And in truth, they never had any intention of returning the victim to his family. For these boys, the ransom was a way to exert power over the victim’s family. The money was proof of their superiority, it was not the motive.

Thirty years after the crime, it became a sensation again as the subject of a 1956 “true crime novel” titled Compulsion by Meyer Levin. The Daily Beast takes a look at the original crime through the revelations in the later novel, in what may be a nearly-century-old case of “affluenza.” 

Grandmother Poisons Family By Serving Them Hot Chocolate That Expired 25 Years Ago

A 77-year-old Italian woman, known only as as Mrs Rosetta, poisoned herself, her partner, her son, her two grandchildren and their friend when she gave them hot chocolate which expired 25 years ago, Il Mattino reports.
The group were taken to hospital after they began experiencing severe stomach pain and vomiting. It didn't take long for the cases of food poisoning to be traced back to the hot chocolate sachets. Upon inspection, the sachets were found to have expired in June 1990.

More

Dutch vs American

Why the Dutch Grow Taller Than Americans

While the Dutch keep growing taller, people in the United States appear to be shrinking. The findings of a new study may explain.

Oldest Neanderthal DNA

Oldest Neanderthal DNA Sample Extracted in Italy

Remains embedded in a cave in southern Italy confirm the so-called Altamura Man is a Neanderthal who lived around 150,000 years ago.

Active flows on Mars may be from seeping water

by Amanda Kooser

This image of the central peaks inside Hale Crater was taken with the Orbiter's HiRISE camera, which has a powerful telescopic lens for capturing the surface of Mars in detail.

Let's talk about RSL. It's not a medical condition. It stands for "recurring slope lineae," which is long name for some unusual flows seen on certain slopes on Mars. Inside Hale Crater on the Red Planet is an area known as the central peaks, which are an intriguing set of mountains streaked with active flows. An image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter takes a fresh peek at a phenomenon already under study by scientists.Previous Orbiter images show what may be seasonal streaks of salty water that appear as temperatures go up. This new look is interesting because of the reddish color of the RSL on the Hale mountains, which may indicate compounds like rust. Look to the upper left of the photo to pinpoint the feathery red-brown streaks extending away from the cliffs. "The Hale RSL are also unusual because they began activity much earlier than most RSL sites in the middle southern latitudes, and were well-developed in the early spring," NASA notes. "If seeping water causes RSL in Hale crater, it must be rich in salts to lower its freezing point significantly below the freezing point of pure water."
The image was taken with the Orbiter's HiRISE camera, which is equipped with a powerful telescopic lens for capturing the surface of Mars in detail. The color is shifted to infrared wavelengths, which can help to highlight the mineral content in images.
Evidence is piling up about possible water on Mars, both past and present. The Mars Curiosity rover's latest drilling hints at ancient water with an acidic makeup. A study released in March suggests the planet once hosted a massive ocean bigger than the Arctic Ocean, while the Orbiter's colorful images of seasonal features suggest there may still be some watery activity under way.

Florida men attempt to steal honey, are attacked by 30,000 honeybees

Sometimes, justice is swift and sweet.

Three men in Florida were attacked by an estimated 30,000 honeybees on Easter Sunday, and taken to the hospital for treatment. WTSP-TV in Florida reports that Pasco County Fire Rescue responded after neighbors called 911 to report the attack. "They were covered in bees – their beards, their hair, their clothes. Bees were everywhere," said neighbor Tom Johnson.

Firefighters used a hose to douse the bees and assisted the victims. Each man received about 50 stings, deputies said. Deputies said the men were attempting to steal honey from the massive hive, which agitated the domesticated honeybees.

Ant Anarchists

Ants Are Space-Exploring, Junk-Food-Eating Anarchists

They make us squirm and we consider them pests, but they'll outlive us all! Trace recounts the things that make ants awesome.

Sun Hunting

Great White Sharks Use the Sun to Help Them Hunt

The world's biggest predatory fish uses the sun's position to its advantage when approaching prey.

Goldfish Swimming Amok

3,000 Goldfish Swimming Amok in Colorado Lake

Officials think it all started with a handful of pets discarded in Teller Lake #5.

Man Throws Himself into Frozen Lake to Rescue Duck

Last December, Norwegian man Lars Jørun Langøien saw a duck walk on the surface of a frozen lake. The ice was thin and collapsed under the duck. So Langøien dove into the icy water, swimming toward it. Another man, Yngvil Søholt snapped photos of the rescue.
The duck surfaced, but only under the ice. It couldn't break through to breathe. Langøien smashed through the ice and carried the duck to the shore. Then he breathed into its bill in order to resuscitate it. You can see more photos of this thrilling rescue at the tabloid Express.

Animal Pictures