Joe Brancatelli had a simple question: Why does airline travel today stink? He went through a 78 page report released by the department of transportation that had the answer to the question:

• Airline travel has become expensive because of rapidly rising fuel costs.
• Air travel has also become more uncomfortable because airlines have cut the number of individual flights, so that more seats are filled on each plane.
• Aircrafts have become smaller. Flights on twin aisle planes – the largest type available – have gone down by 44%.
• Air service has become more inconsistent because the company you actually buy the tickets from usually doesn’t operate the aircraft. United Airlines is the worst offender, with 68% of its flights being operated by third parties.
• Service in general has declined because the number of employees have been cut by 20% since 2000, and each employee is paid less than they used to be.

Read more about the problems that the TSA has created for travellers, and how much money flight attendants can expect to make, over here.

Source: The Business Journals

Via: Marginal Revolution

Tim Heffernan went over how hunting is doing in the United States:

• There are more hunting targets than ever before. Suburbs are an ideal habitat for white-tailed deer.
  • In fact, they have become a pest that make the habitat unlivable for other species.
• Yet there are fewer hunters than ever before. In 1991 1 in 13 adults hunted. Now it’s 1 in 18. Hunters have also become older.
• Hunting technology has advanced substantially. Developments include:
  • Autonomous infrared trail cameras.
  • Advanced target acquisition systems.
  • Chemical weapons such as scents that will make you smell like deer.

Read more about how this is a paradox over here.

Source: The Atlantic

Beneath the city of Paris are miles and miles of sewer, tunnels, catacombs and rooms ‘big as ballrooms’. Will Hunt tells us that

• In the 1780s, when cemeteries were full, bones of around 6 million deceased were poured underground into pits.
• ‘Cataphiles’ are those today who go underground to drink, smoke and party.
• The author managed to walk for 14 miles, North to South, entirely underground.
• Other underground users had helpfully stolen road signs and placed them in the tunnels, to signify what street lay above.

Read more of the history of the Parisian underground, including the author’s own tour of the underground here.

Source: The Economist Intelligent Life Magazine

It has been over a year now since the various Occupy (Wall Street, St Paul’s) movements began, arguing that bankers have acted unfairly and immorally (full list of grievances here) . And yesterday they were told “They are right”. By a Bank of England director.

• Andrew Haldane, said banker and executive director of financial stability, also suggested that a ‘rising share’ of the infamous ‘one percent’ in fact agreed with Occupy.
• According to Haldane the 99% agree that Occupy are pointing out ‘growing iniquities in allocation of wealth’.
• Interestingly, in a poll in the Guardian newspaper, only 81% of people agreed with Haldane.
• Responses from within Occupy have been surprisingly mixed, ranging from cautious to hostile.

Read more in a short and sweet article over here.

Source: The Week

It turns out that rather than political pundits, ESPN forecasters might have the best idea of whose about to win the American Presidency in 2012:

• A study has found that the result of a college football game can alter the election.
• In particular, if the home team wins a week before the election, then the incumbent can expect to see a 1.5% surge at the polls, because people are happier about how things are going in their airea.
• If the home team wins on the eve of the election the incumbent could see a 3% boost.
• Surprise victories are worth more to the incumbent than expected ones.
• This result also seems to hold true for basketball game results.
• Since the 2012 election is expected to depend upon the results in Florida, Ohio, and Virginia; a couple of football games on October 27^th might determine the future of the United States of America.

The authors conclude by suggesting that the candidates discuss football strategy with the playing teams before the game. Read more about the study and its limits over here.

Source: Slate

Airline routes can tell us a lot about a country’s economy, culture, and history writes David Yanofsky:

• International air travel in the US has more than doubled since 1999.
• The most frequently travelled route is New York – London, a journey that 2,451,521 passengers undertook last year.
• Honolulu – Tokyo, and New York – Toronto come next in the list although they barely carry half as many passengers as the New York – London route.
• If grouped by region however, Latin America beats out Western Europe, as the most popular destination.
• The China-US route has grown 144% over the past eight years.
• Popular airline routes can also tell us something about a city’s demographics. The Korean diaspora in Los Angeles is the reason why the LA-Seoul route is the seventh most travelled.

Read more about what this tells us about the United States, and find a fascinating infographic over here.

Source: Quartz

Via: Marginal Revolution

Are platonic relationships between men and women possible? Adrian F. Ward reported on a study that tried to answer the question:

• Males are more likely to believe that there is the potential for romantic involvement with a ‘friend’ than females.
• Males are also likely to overestimate the amount of romantic attraction that the female friend has for them. Females on the other hand thought that the lack of romantic attraction was mutual.
• In the cases where a female is attracted to a male friend, females are unlikely to pursue anything if they know their friend is already in a relationship. Males are less likely to allow pesky things such as existing relationships dissuade them from trying to be more than just friends.
• As males age they become even more likely to rate “romantic attraction” as a benefit of opposite sex friendships.

Read more about the methodology of the study and its conclusions over here.

Source: Scientific American