Headlines from November 6, 2013

Dutch activists posing as an avatar named “Sweetie” identify 1000 pedophiles soliciting webcam displays.
The United States is second behind China in the consumption of illegal animal products like ivory, rhinoceros horn, tiger blood.
“New Documentary Reveals SeaWorld Forced Orca Whales To Perform Nude.”
Photo of the day: “Lego Record Store.”
Related: A common nomenclature for Lego families, when every family has a different word for “a clippy bit.” #tmn
India’s mission to Mars, with a $72 million price tag, costs less than some New York and London apartments.
See also: Thomas Jefferson explains what he learned from his time spent in France. #audio
Extremely detailed plans and illustrations for a nomadic city that can move on caterpillar tracks.
Kepler finds 3,500 other planets that could provide a suitable habitat for humans.
Reputed engineer’s 1916 plan to expand Manhattan by 50 square miles included draining the East River.
For stressed-out New Yorkers, particularly those afraid of the dark, bicycling becomes therapy. #tmn
See also, a modest proposal: “How to Not Kill a Cyclist.”
On Nov. 9, 1938, the Nazis committed the worst pogrom in Germany since the Middle Ages; new exhibit finds that diplomats mostly shrugged it off.
German dictionary’s addition of anglicized words like “shitstorm” and “snackbox” provokes strong backlash.
German study finds that employees with noble-sounding surnames (Kaiser) have better careers than those with run-of-the-mill surnames (Koch).
Why it’s not hard to lose weight in Germany, even when you’re drinking beer and eating bread. #tmn
“California Explosion Possibly Caused By THC Extraction.”
Democrats win races in Virginia, New York City, Atlanta, and Boston, but not New Jersey.
Among the takeaways from Election Night 2013: Republicans have an un-married people problem.
See also: Election-day oddities include 16- and 17-year-olds voting and Coloradans rejecting a bid for secession.
Obamacare subsides [sic] are designed to help single moms and struggling middle-class families, not married creative-class millennials in pricey cities.
Right-wingers appropriate SpongeBob SquarePants as their latest mascot.
Nicolas Maduro declares it is now Christmas in Venezuela, latest in a series of “oddball” moves after succeeding Chávez.
Regarding Alcoholics Anonymous’ failure in Russia: “Its premise of sobriety through mutual support just doesn’t make sense to a lot of Russians.”
Entrepreneur from Vietnam buys 10-acre property in Wyoming—the smallest town in America—to launch a coffee empire.
Bismack Biyombo leads the NBA in almost never touching the basketball during a game.
Related: Occasional feelings of loneliness are a near-universal experience, but there are ways to stop “alone” from sliding into “lonely.”
Harvard linebacker says a degree from an elite academic school can make a player a magnet for bullying from teammates in the NFL.
See also: Chapter from Rich Cohen’s excellent Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football. #excerpts
In the 2060s or the 2130s, Facebook will contain more profiles of dead people than of living ones.
Soliloquies found in photographs when a single source of visual energy illuminates a picture. #tmn
Fascinating Thinking Allowed episode finds Vietnamese sex workers emigrating, marrying, then working to support their Western husbands. #audio
Maldives protestors hijack tourism board’s hashtag to post evidence of human-rights violations.
Murakami’s work unites Asia in a “culture of coolness” despite—or perhaps because of—its lack of Asia.
“Oakley’s ‘Asian fit’ sunglasses aren’t racist, just science.”