Wolves, like humans, are social creatures. The Economist took a look at the benefits that being group oriented had for wolves:

• One would think that those who live in larger social groups are more prone to getting sick from one another.
• However studies of the wolves of Yellowstone indicated that the size of a pack didn’t affect the likelihood of getting a disease.
• Moreover those in a larger pack were more likely to survive getting a disease, possibly because other wolves could help hunt.
• The researchers also found that age matters. Having an older wolf aged six or more increased the likelihood that a pack would win a fight against a rival pack.
• The effect was large. If two equal sized packs went to war, the side that had an aged wolf would have a 150% greater chance of surviving.
• Since the average wolf lives four years, having a six year old veteran probably means that the older wolf has more tactical combat experience, shepherding its pack-mates to fight better.

Read more about the wolves here.

Source: The Economist

Kathryn Vasel wrote that the legalization of marijuana in Colorado has led to a booming housing industry:

• House prices in Denver, Colorado, increased by 10% in March, the second best, behind San Francisco, out of cities across the United States.
• It’s not just tourists and patients coming for weed. The industry has created jobs in dispensaries, security, and electrician companies.
• Unsurprisingly those interested in technology have also been drawn to the state, causing Colorado to become a potential Silicon Valley like tech hotspot.
• There are some downsides. At least one seller had trouble selling their house because the neighbours grew an alarming amount of pot.
• And if more states begin to legalize it the boom might come to a halt.

Read more about the impact that the legalization is having on Colorado’s economy, and how it could potentially lead to a bust, here.

Source: CNN

Via: Marginal Revolution

On Reddit historians discussed the oldest debts still being paid:

• The loans that the British took out to fight Napoleon in the early 1800s are still being paid back.
• Debts related to the South Sea Company of the early 1700s – a British public/private partnership given monopoly over trade with South America – continue to be paid.
• But the oldest bonds still being serviced are likely those issued by a Dutch water board entrusted with maintaining the condition of local dykes in 1624, almost 400 years ago.
• The currency that this debt is paid in has changed from Carolus Guilders to Flemish Pounds to Dutch Guilders to Euros, tracing the rise and fall of empires.
• Many of these debts are set up as perpetuities – they will pay interest until the end of time – and so could continue to be paid for a long while yet.
• Usually such debts are taken out when the government can get abnormally low interest rates – for example when citizens buy war bonds in a patriotic fervour.
• In such cases inflation will quickly eat away at the value of the interest that has to be paid, making the debt a great deal for the government.

Find the full discussion here.

Source: Reddit

Jessica Hullinger looked into some of the design decisions that influence the way that airports are created:

• There is a “golden hour” – the first sixty minutes after a passenger clears security – when passengers are in a self-indulgent mood and are more likely to spend. Shops are arranged to take advantage of this.
• Every additional hour spent at an airport after that is worth $7 in additional sales per passenger.
• To increase the length of time that travelers spend shopping airports are trying to speed up the check in process. The number of monitors with flight information is also increasing to give flyers the confidence to shop without worrying about missing their flight.
• Happily this includes speeding up the process of security. Every 10 minutes spent waiting to be frisked by officers reduces a passenger’s spending by 30%.
• Carpets are used because they create a feeling of comfort. Comfortable shoppers spend 7% more on retail and 10% more on duty-free.
• Some airports will require passengers to walk-through duty free shops with multiple twists and turns to get more merchandise in front of them.
• But it’s not all about sales. To give passengers a sense of orientation, terminals try to provide a clear view of the runway the moment passengers get past security.
• Airport signs usually use Helvetica, Frutiger, or Clearview for their font because of how readable they are. The font is big because every additional inch to a letter increases its viewing distance by 40 feet (12 meters).
• The colour system of a sign may change in between terminals. For passengers trying to get to another terminal this is an indication that they’re headed the right way. For those who aren’t the sudden change will create a feeling of discomfort which will cause them to pause and see what’s wrong.
• Sculptures will be used as navigational elements. Passengers can say they’ll meet each other by certain statues or paintings.

The full article has more details and will change the way you look at your surroundings the next time you fly. Read it here.

Source: Mental Floss

The Economist took a look at the future of airline interiors:

• At the moment there is a wide gap in the airline experience. On the one end planes are figuring out more ways to cram more seats into economy class.
• At the other end is Etihad airways that offers a three room hotel experience, complete with private chef and butler.
• Things could get worse for those who are only willing to pay for economy. Some airlines are thinking about standing room only planes for short haul trips – if the regulators will let them.
• But other changes could take place. By stacking seats so that some are raised, and some are lowered (pictured above) a plane could fit more passengers without compromising on space.
• Another concept is to have seats made of memory materials that can morph. They adjust to a person’s body size, and if a passenger is willing to pay more, the seat expands to become more like a business or first class one.
• Things like lighting could psychologically convince passengers that they have more space than they do. Lighting ceiling curves with sky-blue light generates a sense of expanding space above a passenger’s head.
• Meanwhile illuminating vertical walls with white light creates a sense of greater width.
• And the overall flying experience may improve. Large screens could replace windows and provide a better view of the outside as passengers fly through the air.

The full article has many more details, with pictures showing the various configurations that may greet the passengers of the future. You should read it here.

Source: The Economist

As recently as 1970 United Airlines offered men only flights wrote Gary Leff:

• The flights operated between the New York-Chicago and Los Angeles-San Francisco business districts.
• Both women and children were banned from the planes except, of course, for the air hostesses who would light the men’s complimentary cigars.
• “Last minute message service” was offered, allowing passengers to have the airline make a call to the office on their behalf.
• The flights also had a teletype update service to provide passengers with closing market numbers.
• One possibly apocryphal story from the era suggests that when wives of frequent travelers on the men only flights were asked about the flight, the most common response was “what flight?”

See ads for the flight from the era, and read more over here.

Source: View from the Wing

Via: Marginal Revolution

Cracked covered some of the more interesting career options available in the computer gaming industry:

• Computer Sports athletes can make incredible sums of money. Not just through winning game championships – which can be worth millions – but also through team sponsorships.
• Sponsoring a computer game player is particularly lucrative since a lot of people who watch professional esports are players themselves and so a sponsor knows that they’re appealing to their target base.
• But players don’t have to play professionally to make money. Those who stream their screen through services like Twitch while they’re playing can also make a load of money, as long as the way they play is entertaining.
• Any professional sport has professional commentators that describe game action and provide pre/post-game analysis.
• Professional teams with millions banked on them also need teem managers to ensure the players are well rested and don’t party too hard before a game.
• Unfortunately the average person can’t necessarily take up any of these jobs. A lot of the support roles are filled by retirees from the industry – usually those around 30.

Read more about the industry and other fascinating career tracks here.

Source: Cracked

Chico Harlan looked into the depths of internet history and after clearing the dust away was surprised to find a thriving company:

• Fifteen years ago MapQuest was a verb much like Google. People would say that they are “MapQuesting” the directions to a place.
• Yet today it’s not at all a part of the national conversation – despite having the second highest share of the American mapping market.
• It has considered changing its name to get more attention but decided not to as it has a lot of brand equity. 40 million people use MapQuest every month.
• Unlike the users of Google, Bing, and Apple maps who find it preinstalled on their phones, users of MapQuest are making a conscious decision to find and use MapQuest specifically.
• The company has also tied up with businesses. Papa John’s uses MapQuest to power its pizza delivery system.
• The company is careful with its spending. HERE, a competing mapping service, has 6,000 employees. MapQuest makes do with 100.
• It has also avoided jumping on trends that attract a lot of attention but seemingly serve little purpose such as 3D buildings.
• As a result of this the company is profitable and after updating its website, is aiming for a second wind.

Read more about the company, how it got here, how its parent company’s acquisition by Verizon could change things, and more over here.

Source: The Washington Post

Via: Marginal Revolution

Ella Morton wrote about Presidential Libraries:

• The tradition began when, instead of keeping his White House documents with him when he left office, Franklin D. Roosevelt donated them to the Federal Government.
• To showcase them the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum was built.
• By 1978 handing documents over to the government at the end of one’s tenure in office had become law since documents from previous administrations such as George Washington’s kept getting lost or destroyed.
• Libraries serve the purpose of complying with the law and a museum section builds a story of the President’s legacy.
• Money for the libraries is raised by a foundation while the President is in office. The foundation for George W. Bush raised $500 million.
• Because of this the libraries are biased to portray the President in a positive light – even for infamously notorious one such as Nixon.
• Over time, as the administration’s team begins to age and fade away, it is possible for the library to take a more critical view of the President’s legacy.
• For example Truman’s Presidential library wasn’t able to scrutinize the President’s decision to use the nuclear bomb against Japan until long after he had passed.
• As libraries age, and the President’s they’re focused on begin to fade from public memory, the libraries struggle to draw visitors.
• They can then be repurposed as community areas with events such as speakers.
• Nixon’s library is actually a surprisingly popular place to host weddings.

Find out which Presidential Library is the most popular and which is the least, as well as many more details here.

Source: Atlas Obscura