When Freakonomics.com was launched in 2005, it was essentially a blog (c’mon, blogs were a thing then!). The first Freakonomics book had just been published, and Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt wanted to continue their conversation with readers. Over time, the blog grew to have millions of readers, a variety of regular and guest writers, and it was hosted by The New York Times, where Dubner and Levitt also published a monthly “Freakonomics” column. The authors later collected some of the best blog writing in a book called When to Rob a Bank … and 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants. (The publisher rejected their original title: We Were Only Trying to Help. The publisher had also rejected the title Freakonomics at first, so they weren’t surprised.) While the blog has not had any new writing in quite some time, the entire archive is still here for you to read.
Thieves are less likely to target brightly colored cars.
Timothy Knowles calls for an end to tenure in primary and secondary schools.
Here is a post coauthored with Yale School of Management professor, Barry Nalebuff, regarding Paul Samuelson’s criticisms of our Lifecycle Investing strategy.
For several years our local grocery story carried a brand of coconut sorbet, Ciao Bella, which we had for dessert several times a week. It was $5 per pint-pretty expensive-but worth much more than every penny. In the last month it hasn’t been on the store’s shelves. The manager informs me that they will not be stocking it…
Why does Levitt find Landis’s allegations so compelling? He describes in great specificity and detail scenarios involving refrigerators hidden in closets, and the precise temperature at which the blood stored in those refrigerators had to be kept; and faked bus breakdowns during which Lance received blood transfusions while lying on the floor of the bus, etc. To make up stories of this kind, with that sort of detail, strikes Levitt as a difficult task.
The three major dietary sources of sodium are grains; meat, poultry, fish, mixtures; and vegetables. Surprised? So was Dubner. The explanation lies in the daily sodium density metric.
Kal Raustiala and Chris Sprigman on copyright in the food industry. The story of Mark Manguera’s Kogi “Korean taco” truck.
A family in Sharon Township, Ohio (where residents are charged for their trash), left behind a big mess when they moved out of their home.
Sumo wrestling controversy continues. NPR reports that 15 wrestlers and 14 stable masters are accused of gambling on baseball games, which is seen as “not in keeping with stringent ethical standards sumo wrestlers are expected to observe.”
Each week, I’ve been inviting readers to submit quotations whose origins they want me to try to trace, using my book, The Yale Book of Quotations, and my more recent research. Here is the latest round.
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