Month: February 2017

In addition to hollow coins and decoder compact mirrors, it turns out government sleuths have a few grammar tricks up their sleeves.

The American Civil Liberties Union is one of the most famous civil-rights organizations in the U.S., defending First Amendment freedoms for everyone, regardless of their views. Here are nine things you might not know about the almost century-old organization.

1. IT’S ACTUALLY TWO NONPROFITS.

There are two arms of the ACLU. The ACLU itself is a 501(c)(4) corporation, meaning that it is a membership organization that participates in lobbying state and federal government. Because of its lobbying status, you can’t take a tax deduction for your donations to the ACLU. But the ACLU Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, just like most nonprofits. Those tax-deductible donations go only toward funding litigation and education programs.

2. IT WAS FOUNDED TO SUPPORT CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS.

Created as the Civil Liberties Bureau after World War I broke out in 1917, the ACLU was founded to, in part, oppose the creation of a draft and protect conscientious objectors to World War I, who at the time were subject to routine harassment and restrictions on what they could say for their choice to avoid service. It was initially a committee within the American Union Against Militarism, but split off due to disagreements about the organization’s vocal opposition to the government’s war policies. Then called the National Civil Liberties Bureau, it lobbied for conscientious objectors to be protected in the Selective Service Act and advised men worried about the draft. It was reorganized as the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920.

3. MANY OF ITS LAWYERS ARE VOLUNTEERS

While the ACLU does have a full-time legal staff, it relies heavily on the work of volunteer attorneys. These “cooperating attorneys” analyze proposed legislation for civil liberties issues and write commentary and complaints to government administrations and officials. As former ACLU legal director Burt Neuborne points out in a 2006 article, “one of the unparalleled strengths of the organization is the ability to mobilize literally thousands of volunteer lawyers in defense of the Bill of Rights” [PDF].

4. THE NEW YORK TIMES WAS NOT INITIALLY A FAN …

On July 4, 1917, the paper ran an editorial called “Jails Are Waiting for Them” arguing that “sensible people of good will do not make the mistake of believing that speech can be literally and completely free in any civilized country.” The author argued that “inevitably there must be restrictions on speech,” and accused the “little group of malcontents” of “antagonizing the settled policies of our Government, of resisting the execution of its deliberately formed plans, and of gaining for themselves immunity from the application of laws to which good citizens willingly submit as essential to the national existence and welfare.”

5. … NOR WAS PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON.

Woodrow Wilson was adamant that free speech didn’t always apply during a war. Arguing for a censorship provision in the Espionage Act of 1917, Wilson wrote to a member of Congress that censorship is “absolutely necessary to the public safety.” The provision didn’t make it into the law (although in 1918 the Sedition Act was added to the same effect), but that didn’t stop the federal government from suppressing some of the activities of the National Civil Liberties Bureau. Though relations between the group and Wilson’s administration were initially friendly, in July 1917, the U.S. Postal Service banned 12 of the NCLB’s pamphlets promoting civil liberties from being sent in the mail. In 1918, the Wilson administration found the bureau’s work in violation of the Espionage Act because it encouraged men to refuse to participate in the draft, and its office was later raided by the Justice Department.

6. ONE OF ITS EARLIEST CASES IS ALSO ONE OF ITS MOST LEGENDARY.

The ACLU was the main driver behind the Scopes Monkey Trial, the landmark case that debated whether a teacher could defy state legislation banning the theory of evolution from public school curriculums. The case was actually a bit of a publicity stunt for the town of Dayton, Tennessee. The ACLU had placed an advertisement in the Chattanooga Daily Times offering to finance a case to challenge the law, which had been passed in 1925. Hoping to bring some fame and fortune to their town, Dayton’s leaders immediately gathered to find a suitable teacher for the role. They ended up choosing the 24-year-old John Scopes, who hadn’t actually taught biology (he was new to teaching, and taught math, physics, and chemistry his first year). He didn’t recall teaching evolution at all, in fact, but he agreed to participate anyway, and he was arrested a few days later, with ACLU member Clarence Darrow serving as his lawyer. The trial lasted just eight days, and the jury deliberated for less than nine minutes; Scopes was found guilty and fined $100.

The ACLU planned to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the verdict was later reversed due to a technicality. According to the ACLU, “the ultimate result of the trial was pronounced and far-reaching: the Butler Act was never again enforced and over the next two years, laws prohibiting the teaching of evolution were defeated in 22 states.”

7. IT’S A REGULAR FIXTURE AT THE SUPREME COURT.

The ACLU participates in more Supreme Court cases than any other private organization. ACLU lawyers represented the petitioner in the 1944 case on Japanese internment camps, Korematsu v. United States, and Mildred and Richard Loving, the interracial couple at the heart of Loving v. Virginia. The organization also regularly files amicus briefs, which are written arguments submitted to the court by someone who has an interest in the case and wants to influence the ruling but isn’t directly involved. The ACLU has filed amicus briefs in landmark cases like Brown v. Board of Education and Miranda v. Arizona.

8. ITS CLIENTS AREN’T ALWAYS LIKEABLE.

The ACLU’s crusade for freedom of speech extends to the full political spectrum—even causes that might be morally abhorrent to some of the organization’s liberal supporters. In 1978, it famously represented a Nazi group that wanted to hold a march in the heavily Jewish town of Skokie, Illinois, which included a large population of Holocaust survivors. Some ACLU members resigned over that choice, but the organization as a whole held that the principle at stake was still free speech. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

It has since also defended Confederate flags on license plates, online writing by NAMBLA members, the Westboro Baptist Church’s right to picket military funerals, and the Ku Klux Klan’s right to adopt a highway.

“Historically, the people whose opinions are the most controversial or extreme are the people whose rights are most often threatened,” the organization explains on its website. “Once the government has the power to violate one person’s rights, it can use that power against everyone. We work to stop the erosion of civil liberties before it’s too late.”

9. IT WASN’T IMMUNE TO THE RED SCARE

While defending Communists was a major part of the ACLU’s work in the early 20th century—it was accused of being a Communist front by the House Un-American Activities Committee—it was not entirely immune to the Red Scare’s influence. It banned Communists from serving on its board of directors in 1940, along with any other member of a “political organization which supports totalitarian dictatorship in any country.”

With that decree, it booted one of its founders, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, who was publicly a member of the Communist Party, from the organization. It repealed her expulsion 36 years later, a dozen years after her death.

“Much of the internal rhetoric that surrounded the ACLU’s deeply principled, but controversial, decision to defend the Nazi Party’s right to march in Skokie, Illinois was driven by a fear of repeating the 1940 betrayal of principle,” Burt Neuborne wrote in his history of Flynn’s ouster [PDF].

Mark Twain was famous for his stinging wit, but he also had a softer side. The author was the father of two daughters, Clara and Susy Clemens, and every night, he told them a bedtime story. Twain never published any of these fairy tales, but he did outline one, and called the 16-page work “Oleomargarine.” Now, The New York Times reports, publisher Doubleday is expanding the tale into an illustrated children’s book, slated for release this fall.

Researcher John Bird was perusing University of California-Berkeley’s vast Twain archives in 2011, searching for food references to add to a Mark Twain-themed cookbook. He thought “Oleomargarine” sounded like a recipe—but it turned out to be a bedtime story, written by Twain nearly 140 years ago.

“Oleomargarine” refers to a prince of the same name, who’s kidnapped by giants, and held hostage in a cave guarded by dragons. A poor boy named Johnny—who gains the power to talk to animals after eating a magic flower—embarks on a mission to rescue him.

After perusing Twain’s journals, which mentioned nightly bedtime tales featuring a boy named Johnny, Bird guessed that Twain told the story to his daughters in 1879 (third daughter, Jean, was born the following year). Susy and Clara eventually grew bored with the character, but nobody quite knows why Twain didn’t finish “Oleomargarine,” nor whether he ever planned to share it. However, experts do believe it may have been the only fairy tale that Twain—a prolific journalist, essayist, novelist, and short story writer—ever committed to paper.

Bird notified the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, and they sold the rights to Doubleday Books for Young Readers. The publisher hired author-illustrator duo Philip and Erin Stead to expand on the work; the final product is The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine, a 152-page book featuring original drawings.

Twain’s voice is always present, even though the book is framed as a tale “told to me by my friend, Mark Twain.” Philip Stead read a few volumes of the author’s massive autobiography to capture his natural tone, and in one scene, Twain even pops into the story and argues against the plot’s progression.

The Guardian reports that The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine will be published on September 26, which is the 150th anniversary of Twain’s first book, the short-story collection The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches (1867).

[h/t The New York Times]

If you want to find a place to settle down, you could do worse than looking to this latest Gallup-Healthways report for direction [PDF]. Rather than ranking states by healthcare resources, economy, or workplace equality, the index looks at the overall well-being of each state’s residents.

Gallup surveyed over 175,000 Americans about several different criteria, such as their health, sense of purpose, sense of economic security, the quality of their relationships, and satisfaction with their home.

Hawaii ranks highest overall, with a well-being score of 65.2 out of 100 possible points. But that doesn’t necessarily mean tropical weather is the key to health and happiness: Alaska, South Dakota, and Maine occupy the next three spots. The report also includes the states with the lowest overall well-being rates. West Virginia takes last place with a score of 58.9, with Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Indiana faring only slightly better.

No matter where in the country you live, the 2016 Well-Being Index has good news for the U.S. as a whole. Overall well-being levels are at their highest since Gallup began administering the survey in 2008, with historically low smoking rates and record-high health insurance coverage. But not every area saw improvement: On the flip side, obesity, diabetes, and depression rates have also reached new heights.

[h/t CBS News]

Every year on the second day of February, the country checks in with a dorky and lovable northeastern weather forecaster to see what he has to say about the fate of the remainder of winter. It’s not Al Roker, of course, but a pampered groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, a mythological staple of American childhoods for generations. Rooted in European folklore and brought to the U.S. in the 1800s, the tradition holds that there will be six more weeks of winter if Phil comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow. If he doesn’t see his shadow, it means we’ll have an early spring that year.

If he’s wrong—analysts can’t quite agree on his accuracy rate—authorities in Punxsutawney insist the clairvoyant groundhog prophesied the weather correctly and his interpreter simply misheard him. If only that excuse worked for meteorologists! Nobody seriously expects an accurate weather forecast from a woodchuck whispering to a guy in a tuxedo and top hat, but everybody expects accurate forecasts from the professional men and women who issue predictions every couple of hours the whole year round. Despite the annual show in rural Pennsylvania, weather forecasting is still one of those professions that’s cool to hate. That disdain is undeserved. Here are four reasons why.

1. FORECASTERS AREN’T IN CAHOOTS WITH STORES TO SELL SHOVELS AND UMBRELLAS.

It’s common for small talk to begin with the assertion that your friendly neighborhood meteorologist is a liar and a guesser, taking wild swings at a map all while stuffing their pockets with bribes from hardware stores to falsely forecast bouts of doom and gloom. Yet despite all of that supposed misinformation, most people still reliably check the weather forecast at least once a day.

The bad rap that weather forecasters get is the result of confirmation bias on the part of people repeating these myths in the first place. You’re more likely to remember an inaccurate forecast—called a “bust”—than you are to remember a forecast that was dead-on, and all those memories add up after a while, making you think that forecasts are more inaccurate than they really are.

2. WEATHER FORECASTING IS ACTUALLY PRETTY ACCURATE THESE DAYS.

The hard data backs up the fact that most weather forecasts are issued on solid footing. Some areas are harder to forecast than others. Miami’s weather is reliably monotonous, while Atlanta, just a few hundred miles away, can experience several dramatic swings in weather conditions in just one day.

Nationwide, Forecast Advisor calculates that the average accuracy rate for weather forecasts generally rests somewhere between 70 and 80 percent. This figure includes most major public and private weather outlets, including the National Weather Service (NWS), The Weather Channel, and AccuWeather. This statistic reflects the fact that meteorologists are equipped with better technology and better knowledge than ever before, allowing them to more confidently issue predictions with greater accuracy for a longer stretch of time. And forecasting is only going to get more accurate, thanks to the newest GOES satellite and a group of suitcase-sized satellites that track hurricanes, all of which launched in late 2016.

Getting three-quarters of your predictions right isn’t perfect, but weather forecasting is one of the only careers where it’s your duty to predict the future every day. There’s always going to be some unpredictability in a vast, fluid atmosphere, but our ability to anticipate its movements is slowly getting better with time.

3. TEMPERATURE FORECASTING HAS IMPROVED DRAMATICALLY IN RECENT DECADES.

The NWS is the official branch of the United States government that issues weather forecasts and monitors the skies to issue alerts to help the public steer clear of hazardous conditions. Like all good forecasters, the NWS keeps track of all their forecasts [PDF] and compares them to actual weather conditions through a process called verification. This data helps them figure out what they did right and improve on the forecasts that they got wrong.

One of the most interesting aspects of their forecast verification is how far we’ve come in telling temperature over the past couple of decades. According to their findings, a two-day temperature forecast in 2015 was just as accurate as a one-day forecast back in 1995. Even more astounding is that a five-day temperature forecast issued in 2015 had the same accuracy as a two-day forecast issued in 1985. That means that a high-temperature prediction issued on Monday for Friday of the same week was just as accurate in 2015 as a forecast high issued on Monday for Wednesday just 30 years ago. That’s pretty good—and it’s getting a little better each year.

4. TORNADOES ARE STILL TOUGH TO PREDICT, BUT SPOTTING THEM IS GETTING EASIER.

The United States sees more than a thousand tornadoes in an average year. Many of those tornadoes can occur in big outbreaks, but the vast majority of tornadoes occur without much fanfare. Unfortunately, tornadoes are the last thing you want to happen without fanfare.

Tornado warnings are common to a fault. In 2016, the NWS issued 2049 tornado warnings across the country, yet there were only about 1060 tornadoes reported through the end of the year. Assuming that about 60 percent of tornadoes received warnings—the average for the past couple of years—that means that roughly 70 percent of all tornado warnings issued last year were false alarms.

False alarms are a big deal. They have a huge impact on how people react in a dangerous situation. The official false alarm rate reported by the NWS hovers between 70 and 75 percent each year, and the “probability of detection”—whether they issued a warning for a tornado at all—has been around 60 percent for the past few years. That means that tornadoes only form in about 25 to 30 percent of all tornado warnings, and almost 40 percent of tornadoes occur outside of a warning.

Meteorologists have a long way to go on warning us about tornadoes, but they’re getting better. Weather radar is more advanced today than it was five years ago, and much better than it was through the early 1990s. Modern weather radar can detect wind speeds and foreign objects in a thunderstorm—two things that are tremendously useful in trying to spot a tornado buried in heavy rain. New advances coming out in the next decade or two will give us an even better look at tornadic thunderstorms.

Now’s your chance to get into the globe-making game. Bellerby & Co. Globemakers, a London-based globe fabrication studio, is looking for a new apprentice, according to Atlas Obscura.

The job isn’t cartography-related; it’s about the making of the globe itself, so they’re looking for someone with product design, engineering, or sculpting skills. Essentially, if you’re good at making things with your hands, they want you. Ideally, you also have some digital design skills and photo editing experience, too.

You can expect to be in training for a while. According to the job listing, it takes six months to a year to learn to make even the smallest globes by hand, and several years to make bigger ones. You’ll have to have quick fingers and a whole lot of patience. Still, your globes could end up on a Hollywood set or in a BBC production, so the years of training are worth it.

Take a look at the application here.

[h/t Atlas Obscura]

Every February since 1976, the United States has celebrated the achievements of African-Americans during Black History Month. The month-long celebration puts those accomplishments and milestones in focus via the media and in classrooms.

But why February? Was that part of the calendar chosen for any specific purpose?

It was. Black History Month began as “Negro History Week,” a label applied by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926. Woodson was bothered by the fact that many textbooks and other historical reviews minimized or ignored the contributions of black figures. Along with his Association for the Study of Negro Life and History—later the Association for the Study of African American Life and History—Woodson earmarked the second week in February to raise awareness of these stories.

Woodson chose that week specifically because it covered the birthdays of Frederick Douglass (February 14) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12). The ensuing publicity led many mayors and college campuses to recognize the week; through the years, the groundswell of support allowed the occasion to stretch throughout the entire month.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford made Black History Month official, saying that he was urging everyone to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Have you got a Big Question you’d like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions@mentalfloss.com.

Scientists have figured out a way to make skin cells attack brain tumors. A report on their progress has been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

We have stem cells all over our bodies, including in our skin, and they come in lots of different varieties. You may have heard of pluripotent stem cells, which can, as their name suggests, grow into just about any body part. Then there are neural stem cells (NSCs), which develop into nerve and brain cells.

Glioblastoma is the most common type of primary brain tumor. They’re fast and fierce; after diagnosis, the average survival rate is only 12 to 15 months. But they also have a built-in vulnerability: they emit a chemical that naturally attracts NSCs.

Under ordinary circumstances, this would not be a weakness. But researchers have engineered a type of NSC that works like a heat-seeking missile, carrying cancer-killing medicine straight into tumor cells. The idea is to transplant these special skin cells into people with cancer, giving their drug treatment a much better chance of success.

Early clinical trial results have been positive, but the treatment faces the same obstacle as any other transplant: our bodies do not welcome cells they don’t recognize. In fact, we outright reject them, and this rejection can make transplant patients much sicker.

To get around this issue, the authors of the new study took NSCs from the skin of the very patients they wanted to treat—in this case, laboratory mice. They were able to culture the NSCs into drug carriers in an astonishing four days. They transplanted these new microscopic drug mules back into the mice, whose bodies tolerated them well. The treatment had an incredibly high success rate, shrinking tumors and nearly doubling the rodents’ survival time.

We’ll need more research before we can try this in humans, but the initial results seem encouraging and could be used to treat a broad range of tumor types.

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with the full journal name.

The shih tzu, known for its humorous-sounding name (the real pronunciation is actually “sheed-zoo,” thank you very much), has a lot to offer. Loyal service dogs and loving companions, these small dogs are an ideal fit for anyone in need of affection. Learn more about the pooch and its long history of melting hearts. 

1. THEY’RE AN OLD BREED. 

Nobody knows exactly how old the shih tzu is, although it existed at least as far back as 624 CE (we know this because of its presence in art from the era). As with most ancient breeds, it’s difficult to determine when and how exactly it originated, though experts have some ideas. According to one popular theory, the breed was started in Tibet by Buddhist monks and eventually made its way to China. 

Back then, Tibetan monks bred a number of lion-like dogs, which they referred to as “holy dogs.” (Since the time of early Buddhism, the lion has been an important religious symbol, representing the Bodhisattvas, or “sons of the Buddha.”) According to some accounts, the Dalai Lama came to China in the 17th century with a trio of lion-like pooches. These shih tzu predecessors were bred with Chinese dogs, resulting in pups with shorter snouts. 

In the early 20th century, the Chinese empress Tzu-hsi was gifted a pair of Tibetan lion dogs. She was immediately enamored, and kept them from breeding with the Pekingese and pugs in her care. The result: the shih tzus we know and love today.

2. THEY’RE CLOSELY RELATED TO WOLVES. 

They may not look like it, but the modest shih tzu is more closely related to wolves than many fiercer-looking breeds. In 2004, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle tested the genetic data of 414 dogs from 85 different breeds. They concluded that Asian breeds, from the imposing akita all the way down to the diminuitive Pekingese, are some of the oldest and most closely related to Canis lupus familiaris‘s wolf ancestors. (Only the Nordic breeds have these dogs beat: The Siberian husky, Alaskan malamute, and Samoyed, among others, are the “best living representative[s] of the ancestral dog gene pool,” the researchers wrote.)

3. ROYALTY LOVED THEM.

Despite their genetic similarities to wolves, shih tzus were bred to be loving companions. The pampered pets led luxurious lives in palaces, enjoying all the creature comforts a dog could want. Their thick coats made them effective radiators, and their owners would use the dogs to keep their beds warm. At one time, it was even fashionable to keep the small canines tucked away in large robe sleeves. 

4. THEY HAVE MANY NAMES.

For such a small dog, the shih tzu has a long list of nicknames. Shih tzu roughly translates to little lion dog. Other monikers include “under-the-table dog,” “Fu dog,” “shock dog,” “sleeve dog,” “Tibetan poodle,” and more. They are sometimes referred to as the chrysanthemum-faced dog thanks to their unique facial fur, which fans out like flower petals. 

5. THEY ALMOST WENT EXTINCT. 

As with other Chinese dog breeds, the shih tzu was nearly wiped out when the Communist party began its takeover. Luckily for shih tzu lovers, some dedicated fanciers protected the breed and seven males and seven females survived. Those 14 dogs were responsible for rebuilding the entire line. 

6. THEY HAVE LONG, SILKY ‘DOS …

The hair of a shih tzu is truly something to envy. Show dogs can be seen sporting stylish long hair that drags on the floor like a dress’s train. This particular hairstyle is very hard to keep up, so most shih tzu owners opt to keep their dog’s hair in a short style called the “puppy cut.” Usually this involves cutting the hair uniformly about two inches from the body (this is also referred to as the “teddy bear cut,” because it makes them look like a plush toy). Other owners opt to shave the body hair closely, leaving the hair on the head and ears in a bob-like style (this is known as the “top knot cut.”) If neither of these options appeal to you, you can always book an appointment with this groomer in Taiwan, who will cut your dog’s hair into a perfect circle or square. 

7. … AND COME IN LOTS OF COLORS.

According to the American Kennel Club, the shih tzu comes in 14 different colors and three different markings. 

8. THEIR SPOTS ARE THE STUFF OF LEGEND.

Most shih tzus rock a little white spot on their foreheads, which is affectionately known as the “Star of Buddha.” According to legend, Buddha was traveling with a little canine companion that closely resembled the shih tzu. When a group of robbers tried to attack Buddha, the little dog transformed into a fierce lion and chased the thieves off.  Buddha was so grateful he kissed the dog on the forehead, giving it its little white mark. The markings on its back are said to represent the saddle Buddha used to ride the dog-turned-lion. 

9. TRAINING CAN BE TRICKY.

Before you get a shih tzu, consider how much free time you have. The little dogs are notoriously difficult to train and it takes a lot of patience to housebreak them. In fact, it can take around 40 to 50 repetitions of a bathroom routine before the stubborn pup catches on. Owners are urged to start training immediately at puppyhood so irreversible bad habits don’t form.