What, Was “Putrid Mountain” Already Taken?
…In Freakonomics, we wrote that names — at least people’s names — don’t affect life outcome. But it would have been fun to run a little experiment with the WSJ…
Are fantasies helpful or harmful? How is daydreaming like a drug? And what did Angela fantasize about during ninth-grade English class?…
Who makes the stacks of fake cash used in movies — and how do they stay clear of counterfeit law? Zachary Crockett follows the fake money….
Those low-priced staples on grocery-store shelves — where do they come from? Zachary Crockett finds out at a national convention for private-label manufacturers….
…In Freakonomics, we wrote that names — at least people’s names — don’t affect life outcome. But it would have been fun to run a little experiment with the WSJ…
Evidence from Nazi Germany and 1940s America (and pretty much everywhere else) shows that discrimination is incredibly costly — to the victims, of course, but also the perpetrators. One modern…
Do you really deserve the credit for your accomplishments? Should college admissions be determined by lottery? And how did Mike’s contribution to a charity auction change his life?…
…20) and have been plummeting ever since. Just go to Baby Name Wizard and type them in for yourself — and then be prepared to spend the next several hours…
A conversation with the iconic singer-songwriter, recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “How to Be Creative.” …
Evidence from Nazi Germany and 1940’s America (and pretty much everywhere else) shows that discrimination is incredibly costly — to the victims, of course, but also the perpetrators. One modern…
…that numerals aren’t permitted in first names. (Hat tip: Ryan Hayhurst.) And, in non-name news: the International Symposium on Forecasting begins this Sunday, gathering economists, financial analysts, and scientists to…
How does social media exploit our evolutionary instincts? How dangerous is it to post about your children online? And does Angela regret talking about her daughters on the podcast?…
What is the purpose of negative emotions? Why do we engage with things we know will upset us? And how does Angie deal with rejection?
…an amazing list of writers in the past three years, including big names like Stephen King, Jane Smiley, Nadine Gordimer, Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, John Updike — and I’m leaving…
Playing notes on her piano, she demonstrates for Steve why whole numbers sound pleasing, why octaves are mathematically imperfect, and how math underlies musical composition. Sarah, a professor at the…
…names like Phoebe and Flicker.) In the old days, aptonyms weren’t coincidences; they were professional labels. That’s why there are still so many people named Tanner, Taylor, etc. But in…
…One advantage of having outsiders analyze the data is that it might be easier to name names. The Bureau’s decision to release the names of the companies that consumers complained…
…someone has to do is cross-index the most popular criminal names with the most popular names in general and break them out according to socioeconomic status, etc. As it now…
…The city has begun posting the names and photographs of alleged “johns” on the Police Department’s Web site for all to see, including spouses, children, employers, friends and neighbors, Mayor…
…for blurbs isn’t really consumers at all — it’s bookstore and particularly chain bookstore buyers. Those folks, I am told, want to see endorsements from recognizable (i.e., successful-selling) names, particularly…
…say by how much. The campaign also has lists of volunteers, including the names of neighborhood team leaders who were the most active supporters. A donor database has names of…
Online companies promised to bring transparency to the mattress-buying experience. Did that work out? Zachary Crockett takes a look under the sheets….
…includes eight names. Three of these players – Maxiell, McDyess, and Prince – were on the 2007-08 team. As noted, these players aged and so their production had to be…
…it’s true that most popular names start out among the middle and upper classes and then travel downward, it’s also true that some old-fashioned names (we cite Max and Sophie…
Every language has its taboo words (which many people use all the time). But the list of forbidden words is always changing — and those changes tell us some surprising…
…to have their names recognized in perpetuity with an eponymous endowed chair at their university? Is there anything they can do? Yes. There are two things. First, a much larger…
Every language has its taboo words (which many people use all the time). But the list of forbidden words is always changing — and those changes tell us some surprising…
Adam Smith famously argued that specialization is the key to prosperity. In the N.F.L., the long snapper is proof of that argument. Just in time for the Super Bowl, here’s…
…Still, let’s keep playing along. Besides the names listed above, here are some of the other suggestions I liked: Producer, Miracle Box, Exo-Brain, E-Brain, Byte Box, Tether. I also like…
…in the price per gram. And these names, while colorful, are pretty standardized: newspapers like the LA Weekly run pages of ads that list prices for “White Widow,” “Skywalker OG,”…
A 19th-century Georgia land lottery may have something to teach us about today’s income inequality.
