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How a Muslim Immigrant from Bangladesh Became America’s Master Builder

If the United States has a national architectural form, it is the skyscraper. The notion of building a tower to the heavens is as old as Genesis, but it took some brash 19th century Americans to devel...

Click to view the original at hackaday.com

Hasnain says:

"He eventually convinced the owner to leave the braces in place by using an engineer’s most powerful rhetorical device: purposefully indecipherable technical jargon intended to confuse the other party into submission. Khan got his way, and the top tier diagonals were built"

Posted on 2016-02-12T05:26:09+0000

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Gravitational Waves Detected, Confirming Einstein’s Theory

Scientists say they heard the faint chirp of two black holes colliding a billion light-years away, fulfilling Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

Click to view the original at nytimes.com

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I Made Less Than $13 an Hour to Serve $13 Bud Lights at the Super Bowl

What it’s like making less than $13 an hour to serve $13 beers at one of the biggest games on Earth.

Click to view the original at www.slate.com

Hasnain says:

This is a pretty interesting and depressing article.

"The lack of actual tasks didn’t mean we were off the hook. An hour later, still waiting for a customer, I was instructed by a manager to “find something to do.” Taking a co-worker’s advice, I grabbed a wet rag and started wiping down the glistening countertop. From then on, the rag remained in my apron pocket. Whenever someone wearing a suit was in sight, I pulled it out and started wiping. No one seemed to care that I was cleaning the same two-foot by two-foot section of the counter. I had found something to do."

Posted on 2016-02-10T16:32:25+0000

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Hasnain says:

This is a pretty great read.

"The No Child Left Behind Act, which shaped education for nearly 15 years, further contributed to the neglect of these programs. Ignoring kids who may have had aptitude or interest in accelerated learning, it demanded that states turn their attention to getting struggling learners to perform adequately—a noble goal. But as a result, for years many educators in schools in poor neighborhoods, laser-focused on the low-achieving kids, dismissed suggestions that the minds of their brightest kids were lying fallow. Some denied that their schools had any gifted children at all."

Posted on 2016-02-10T06:23:35+0000

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Not-so-secret atomic tests: Why the photographic film industry knew what the American public didn’t

It's one of the dark marks of the U.S. Government in the 20th century — a complete willingness to expose unwitting citizens to dangerous substances in the name of scientific advancement. It happened with the Tuskegee syphilis…

Click to view the original at imaging-resource.com

Hasnain says:

""Kodak complained to the Atomic Energy Commission and that Government agency agreed to give Kodak advanced information on future tests, including 'expected distribution of radioactive material in order to anticipate local contamination.'

"In fact, the Government warned the entire photographic industry and provided maps and forecasts of potential contamination. Where, I ask, were the maps for dairy farmers? Where were the warnings to parents of children in these areas? So here we are, Mr. Chairman. The Government protected rolls of film, but not the lives of our kids. There is something wrong with this picture.""

Posted on 2016-02-10T06:23:00+0000

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Social network age limits ignored by young - BBC News

More than three quarters of 10 to 12 year olds in the UK have social media accounts, even though they are below the age limit, according to a survey from BBC Newsround.

Click to view the original at www.bbc.com

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Why are Americans so angry? - BBC News

Americans are generally known for having a positive outlook on life, but with the presidential election now well under way, polls show voters are angry. Why are they so cross?

Click to view the original at www.bbc.com