Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Link roundup

1. "The really remarkable thing about Centralia is not that the fire has been able to burn for so long, it’s that the town, the state, and the federal government spent twenty-two years trying to put it out, and failed."
The Centralia problem was only ‘solved’ when ignoring it became politically embarrassing. In 1982, twelve-year-old Todd Domboski was swallowed by a sudden rift in the ground, and sucked into a pit of hot mud. He was rescued by his teenage cousin. This occurred while a congressional delegation was visiting Centralia to evaluate how much of a problem the mine fire really was, and, you know: it looked terrible.
2. "Three reasons your favorite team stinks at special teams"
In NFL practices, offensive players usually wear white jerseys, and defensive players dark jerseys. If you watch your team’s training camp practices during the fall, and you notice that your kickoff and punt teams are a solid sea of light jerseys, head immediately to your local liquor store and stock up.
3. The Rise and Fall of Trading Spaces, the Home Design Show That Ruled the World
Regret—or the threat of it—was a crucial figure in the show’s background.
...
Her experience seems to speak to a problem the show faced throughout its run, which may have grown in later years: a need to get ratings that drove dramatic, unwelcome makeovers.