CHILD SOLDIER
Syria’s 11-Year-Old Killing Machine
vice.com
Mohammed Afar is 11 years old. The modified AK-47 assault rifle he carries stretches to nearly two-thirds his height. “I want to stay as a fighter until Bashar is killed,” he says, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
LESSIG
Prosecutor As Bully
lessig.tumblr.com
Since his arrest in the early morning of January 11, 2011 — two years to the day before Aaron Swartz ended his life — I have known more about the events that began this spiral than I have wanted to know.
LETTING GO OF THE CONTROLLER
A Quiet Killer: Why Video Games Are So Addictive
thenextweb.com
On a Wednesday night in early February 2012, a waitress at a Taiwanese-based internet café made a grim discovery. Chen Rong-yu, a binge gamer, was found dead in the chair from which he’d been engaged in a marathon gaming session.
FOREVER PUBLIC DOMAIN
RIP, Aaron Swartz
boingboing.net
My friend Aaron Swartz committed suicide yesterday, Jan 11. He was 26. I got woken up with the news about an hour ago.
FROM FANTASY TO HISTORICAL FICTION
Fossils Suggest 'Hobbits' Once Walked The Earth
theatlanticwire.com
Suddenly, J.R.R. Tolkien's fiction doesn't sound so fantastical. Fossils that suggest hobbit-like humans once roamed have been found on an island that's now part of Indonesia.
A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND
Forget Online Dating: Here's Something That Might Really Hurt Monogamy
theatlantic.com
The things is, there are much, much bigger social forces at work in this country that could explain Jacob's love life than the irresistible charms of a well-curated Match.com profile.
COMMON SENSE
The Treasury Won't Mint The Trillion Dollar Coin
washingtonpost.com
The Treasury Department will not mint a trillion-dollar platinum coin to get around the debt ceiling. If they did, the Federal Reserve would not accept it.
NOT THE HOVER BOARD, BUT CLOSE
I Rode The ZBoard In Las Vegas And It Changed My Life
theverge.com
The ZBoard is an electric skateboard that works like a Segway — leaning forward makes you accelerate, and leaning back slows you down.
THE GOVERNMENT'S GOT A SENSE OF HUMOR
The White House Response To The Death Star Petition Is Amazing
buzzfeed.com
“The Administration does not support blowing up planets.”
EMPIRICAL DATA
This Is What Happened When The U.S. Banned Assault Weapons For 10 Years
washingtonpost.com
During the 10-year federal ban on assault weapons, the percentage of firearms equipped with high-capacity magazines seized by police agencies in Virginia dropped, only to rise sharply once the restrictions were lifted in 2004.
PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THEM
The Worst U.S. Cities For The Flu Right Now
forbes.com
The good news is that, for some spots in the country, the worst may be over.
CLOSE CALLS
Apophis Asteroid May Destroy Some Satellites In 2029
gizmodo.com
The deadly asteroid Apophis is safely passing by Earth today, more than 9 million miles (14.5 million kilometers) from our home planet. Next time we won't be so lucky. On April 13, 2029, Apophis will come so close that it may destroy satellites in orbit.
RECYCLING
A Desktop Machine To Turn Your Old Plastic Into 3-D Printing Fodder
fastcoexist.com
As 3-D printing becomes more ubiquitous, we’re going to need stuff out of which to make our 3-D printed toys and gadgets. How about the contents of your recycling bin?
LONGREADS
Can Meg Whitman Reverse Hewlett-Packard's Free Fall?
businessweek.com
Things are challenging at HP—more, perhaps, than at any time in its history. Customers are buying less of two of HP’s most important products—PCs and printers—while the company has amassed debt and laid out billions on acquisitions that haven’t worked out. Can Whitman save the company?
DEATHS
Reddit Cofounder, Digital Activist Commits Suicide
gawker.com
Aaron Swartz, a programmer and Internet activist who co-founded a company that would eventually grow into Reddit, committed suicide Friday in New York City.
PORTLAND IS ABOUT TO GET CRAZY
Software Millionaire John McAfee Says He Is Now Calling Portland Home
wweek.com
Portland, meet your newest resident: software millionaire John McAfee.
BATHROOM READING
Why Does Coffee Make You Poop?
io9.com
You know it when you feel it. You've just sat down at your breakfast table, or settled in at your favorite café. You're a few sips into your brew when, out of nowhere, the urge to download a brownload is becoming urgent. Just a few swigs of coffee and it can feel like you like you've mainlined a laxative — but why?
WHERE DO BABIES COME FROM?
The Geopolitics Of Adoption After The Kremlin's Bizarre Ban
foreignpolicy.com
Where will America's next wave of adoptive babies come from?
SOMEONE LOSES WEIGHT FOR YOU
The $25,000 Gym Membership
marketwatch.com
January is the month when gyms make all sorts of offers aimed at those who are newly committed to getting lean. E at Equinox, however, is all about exclusivity — and the jaw-dropping price tag that goes along with it.
PHOTOGRAPHY
125 Years Of National Geographic Photography
boston.com
On January 13th, the National Geographic Society will celebrate its 125th anniversary. In celebration, they have shared some images that represent their favorite moments of discovery.
MIRACLE BANANA DIET
Why Are Chimps Stronger Than Humans?
scientificamerican.com
The last several years have seen a number of horrific maulings at the hands of chimpanzees. How can animals that share 99 percent of their genes with us, yet are only a fraction of our weight, possess such amazing strength?
STAYING UNFOCUSED
Larry Page Ignored Steve Jobs’s Deathbed Advice, And Google Is Doing Great
thenextweb.com
Shortly after Larry Page re-took the reigns as CEO of Google in April 2011, many looked upon his re-organization of the company and sun-setting of fringe products as proof that he was heeding Steve Job’s death-bed advice to bring more focus to the company.
ON FACEBOOK, YOU LIVE FOREVER
Does Facebook Auto-Delete Content After A Certain Period Of Time?
arstechnica.com
How long do status updates, text, photos, et cetera, stay on Facebook?
REMEMBER ABRAMOFF?
A Former Lobbyist Talks About The Horrifying Things He Used To Do For A Living
upworthy.com
"In the old days back when Lyndon Johnson was majority leader in the Senate, you would come into his office. He had a shoebox. And you'd deposit money, maybe $100,000 to get what you wanted."
SIGNS OF THE AGES
The Best And Worst Treasury Secretary Signatures
thedailybeast.com
Get ready to see this beauty on your cash every time you go to the ATM. It really makes one wonder if President Obama had ever seen Jack Lew's signature before tapping him to be the next Treasury secretary.
STEUBENVILLE
The Lessons Of The Steubenville Rape Case
newyorker.com
We worry that everyone surrenders too much of their privacy on social media but, without the oversharing, things in Steubenville, Ohio, might have gone very differently.
NUCLEAR PHOTOGRAPHY
Rare Photo Of The Mushroom Cloud Over Hiroshima Discovered
theatlantic.com
In the center of Hiroshima, in a part of the city totally destroyed by the explosion and ensuing fires, a long-lost photograph taken shortly after the blast has been discovered among a collection of articles about the bombing.
SO MANY TINY PEACOCKS
Online Pick-Up Artists Have Infiltrated Snapchat
buzzfeed.com
It was only a matter of time before the pick-up artists got ahold of Snapchat. Pick-up artist messageboards and subreddits have lit up in the last month with discussion on how to use the newly popular photo messaging app to their advantage.
GOING MOBILE
Google's Core Business Is In The Middle Of A Fundamental Shift
businessinsider.com
The internet is in the midst in a massive shift towards mobile consumption. So how's Google dealing with the changes?
WE'VE ALL BEEN SAYING 'SEUSS' WRONG
11 Common Words You're Probably Mispronouncing
mentalfloss.com
Ever feel embarrassed when you don't know how to say a word? Don't be. Even the most fluent English speakers stumble. Besides, pronunciations change over time. See if you've been mispronouncing these common words.

Upcoming

The newest stories on Digg
✖

Success!

Your diggs will appear in your Facebook timeline.

Go to Settings to change this preference.

✖

Saved!

Your saved stories are also syned to your Reading List on Digg for iPhone and iPad.

Don't have Digg for iOS?
Download it now →

Sign in

Please sign in to Save a story.

Sign in
Sign in