Freakonomics Blog

Discovered: The Great Atlantic Garbage Patch

Apr 19, 2010

Researchers discover a mass of plastic garbage in the Atlantic Ocean.

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Drunk-Driving Deaths Are Way Down, But …

Apr 16, 2010

It’s still with us – what can we do to change that?

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What Can Cricket Data Tell Us About Labor Luck?

Apr 16, 2010

Your first job luck can follow you for years.

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Will the Icelandic Volcano Cool off the Planet?

Apr 16, 2010

Probably not – it’s just not that big of an eruption.

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Are Economists Influential Enough?

Apr 16, 2010

Economists aren’t cited very often in scholarly journals.

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No Cannibalism Among the Donner Party?

Apr 16, 2010

A scholar finds no evidence of cannibalism among Donner Party members.

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Pay-What-You-Wish Goes to the Theater

Apr 15, 2010

Pay what you wish to see Death of a Salesman in Dallas.

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Quotes Uncovered: We Still Need Libraries!

Apr 15, 2010

Why Google Books can’t yet replace the real thing.

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The Brownstone Next Door

Apr 15, 2010

It may actually be a top-secret emergency subway exit.

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Bring Your Questions for the Sports Economists

Apr 15, 2010

What are the biggest mistakes sports decision-makers make?

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A Snus Conundrum

Apr 15, 2010

Will snus, a possible replacement for cigarettes, ultimately lead to more smoking?

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Getting Paid to Fly Commercial

Apr 15, 2010

A&F CEO gets paid $4 million to not use the company jet for his personal travel.

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The Acquisition of Taste

Apr 14, 2010

Will faking it make a cilantro-lover out of you?

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An Expert on Experts Gets His Due

Apr 14, 2010

Anders Ericsson elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.

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Who's Not Happy About a Falling Maternal Death Rate?

Apr 14, 2010

Maternal health advocates.

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FREAK Shots: If They're Paying Me to Take Them …

Apr 14, 2010

What’s wrong with the second bag of chips?

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Cutting the Currency Gordian Knot

Apr 13, 2010

Get rid of the dollar bill and the penny.

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Cherry-Picking Income Distribution Statistics

Apr 13, 2010

What role should the rich play in solving our fiscal woes?

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Poland's Plane Crash in Pictures

Apr 13, 2010

Images from the wreck and of public mourning.

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A ClimateGate Victim, and the State of the Global-Warming Problem

Apr 12, 2010

A walk though the many angles at play.

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Can Organic Veggies Transform Education?

Apr 12, 2010

Jamie Oliver’s program has been successful in the U.K.

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If There Were a Prediction Market for Events That Are Likely to Become "Talk of the Town" Articles …

Apr 12, 2010

We’d go long on this.

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Bribing Kids

Apr 12, 2010

Does it work?

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Directing Your Charity Dollars to the National Debt

Apr 12, 2010

Would kind of person is likely to do this?

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Freak Shots: Pay What You Think Is Fair

Apr 9, 2010

Pay-what-you-wish for lunch at Phoenix’s Wrigley Mansion.

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Alcohol 101

Apr 9, 2010

College-educated women drink more, and are more likely to report drinking problems.

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iPhones Aren't Just for Fun

Apr 8, 2010

They’re bringing the classics to new people!

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Quotes Uncovered: Nimrods and Boy Scouts

Apr 8, 2010

Fred Shapiro answers readers’ quote questions.

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Who Gains the Most From a College Education?

Apr 8, 2010

The people least likely to get one.

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A Hindu Traffic Nudge

Apr 7, 2010

What’s the one thing that convinces Indian drivers to slow down?

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