Just like it says, Popcorn Shorts is about the kind of things we think are really interesting, but don’t really need a large article to explain them. From the sublime to the ridiculous, check in here for crunchy bits of info you’ll love to munch. By the way, much (but not all) of our delicious Popcorn comes from articles we’ve posted on our Facebook page. If you’re on Facebook, please stop 
by and “Like” us and we’ll keep a fairly-constant-but-not-frequent-enough-to-be-annoying stream of these coming to your virtual door!
How to take control of your buying choices
We frequently rant about the importance of voting with your dollars, but the factory collapse in Bangladesh illustrates the difficulty in this idea. The products of these shoddy factories change hands many times before they make it to you. How do you know which product to buy? Buycott, a new smartphone app, can shed light on the web of companies behind each product you buy. Just scan a UPC code to get a report on the companies behind your product options and what causes they support or standards they meet. Deciding between the lesser of two evils? That’s up to you.
Comparing Bush’s and Obama’s wartime civil liberties records
Some say there’s no difference between Obama and Bush, but this clear, annotated chart shows their differences on torture, surveillance, and detention. Maybe there is a difference, but there may not be as much difference as a freedom-loving people might want. As one of our Facebook Likers pointed out, on “some issues where they differ, Obama is worse. He got more Americans killed in his first year than Bush did in his worst.” Still, it’s important to know the specifics for yourself rather than to take other people’s word for the generalities.
Who knew you could even train penguins?
When a Japanese family rescued an injured penguin and nursed it back to health, they had no idea they were getting a roommate for life. But this one isn’t like a cat; this one works hard to earn its keep. Every day it walks from the family’s home to the corner fish market, where it picks up dinner for the night. That’s already over-the-top cute, but here’s the clincher… the penguin has a penguin-shaped backpack.
Understanding the new atmospheric normal
You know that “350” refers to 350 parts per million (ppm), a red-line warning level for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. You may not know that in May, the Earth very, very quietly, passed 400ppm. The last time so much greenhouse gas was in the air was several million years ago, when the Arctic was ice-free, savannah spread across the Sahara desert and sea level was up to 40 meters higher than today. It’s a grim milestone, and here are several interactive graphs to help you put it in perspective.
