Reading

George Washington borrowed two books in 1789 and never returned them, racking up $300,000 in late fees at a New York library. via The source of this content is BBC News.

This blog post examines why some laws are reliably enforced while others are left to the discretion of authorities, contrasting private and centrally-enforced law.

via Overcoming Bias.

Al Jazeera's live news updates cover Hezbollah rocket attacks on Haifa and Israel's bombing of Lebanon. via The source of this content is Al Jazeera.

This blog post on American political ideologies shares two satirical pieces. via kottke.org

Arnold Kling shares some quick thoughts on the preparedness of college students, the Greek debt crisis, and rising profits alongside declining employment in Forbes 500 companies. via Econlib

This 404 page suggests checking out recently published stories like Olympic closing ceremony flagbearers, an Israeli air strike in Gaza, and a plane crash in Brazil.

via The Irish Times

Robin Hanson explores the concept of cultural influence and suggests we should be more open to other cultures instead of assuming our own is superior.

Shakespeare used 31,534 different words in his writing, but it's estimated his total vocabulary was more than double that at 66,534 words. via kottke.org

Despite rumors, Fidel Castro wasn't a professional baseball player but did participate in exhibition games after taking power. via kottke.org

Steven Landsburg cracks jokes about subliminal learning CDs that claim to teach skills like dancing and stock trading while you sleep. via The Big Questions

A new paper suggests that internet reading is less ideologically segregated than the networks we build in our personal lives. via Marginal REVOLUTION.

Robin Hanson's blog post, "Strange Law", examines seven recent examples of discrepancies between stated law and actual practice. via Overcoming Bias.