When you think of the dangers of riding a motorcycle you might visualize a mound of crushed steel, bleeding gas and oil over the white lines of a highway. But believe it or not, per capita, horseback riding is 20 times more dangerous. In a landmark 1985 study, Dr. J.L. Firth estimated that while “a … Read more
Recreational fishing is one this country’s most cherished and profitable pastimes. According to the American Sportfishing Association, the country’s 40 million anglers generate almost $50 billion in retail sales. A 2009 Outdoor Recreation Participation by the Outdoor Foundation lists recreational fishing as the most popular outdoor activity in the United States in terms of participation rate. Nearly … Read more
Since MTV began broadcasting its seasonal “Spring Break” program in 1986, it’s gotten hard not to see spring break as 150 unbroken hours of alcohol- and pot-fueled streaking and random sex. Hitting the sand, the suds, and maybe the sack is high on the list for many. For one week a year, Palm Beach, South … Read more
Contrary to popular myth, Dr. Robert Atkins—creator of the low-carbohydrate Atkins Diet—did not die of a heart attack. What killed him was a patch of ice. Atkins, 72 years old, fell on his way to work and died nine days later from an epidural hematoma, or bleeding between the brain and skull. Nine years later, … Read more
Chances are most people know what pink ribbons mean. Advocates for breast cancer research, spearheaded by groups like Susan G. Komen for the Cure, have stamped the symbol into Americans’ consciousness as they combat the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women. But what about prostate cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in men? The incidence, or annual … Read more
Newsboy spreads the word
If Scott Norwood had been born later, the former Buffalo Bills kicker would have had a better chance of being remembered as a hero who won Super Bowl XXV in 1991, rather than the kicker who blew it. That’s because the odds of kicking a successful field goal in the NFL have improved over time. … Read more
Pitching is so important in baseball that as the position players arrive at their Florida and Arizona stadiums this week for spring training, they’ll find the pitchers and catchers already there, limbered up and ready to go. For pitchers, mental toughness is just as important as talent and physical conditioning, and they need all the … Read more
In 1928, Emilio Fernández Romo, a former Huertista rebel who’d been exiled to Los Angeles, was asked for an odd favor. Could he pose for a sketch, in the nude, holding a sword? Fernández—half Mexican, half Kickapoo Indian, and nicknamed “El Indio”—worked as an extra in Hollywood. He was, perhaps understandably, noncommittal. But his friend, … Read more
From Americana to emo, chamber pop to punkgrass, there seem to be as many subgenres of music in our culturally fragmented 21st century as there are bands. But take a step back, put your ear to the ground, and you can still hear those time-honored beats: a big chunk of America’s love affair with music … Read more