Popcorn Shorts
Cool stuff that’s too small for a big article
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 necessarily 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!
In 2014, Cops stole more than Burglars for the first time
This is from a 2015 Washington Post story that we just saw this month– “Officers can take cash and property from people without convicting or even charging them with a crime — yes, really! — through the highly controversial practice known as civil asset forfeiture. Last year, according to the Institute for Justice, the Treasury and Justice departments deposited more than $5 billion into their respective asset forfeiture funds. That same year, the FBI reports that burglary losses topped out at $3.5 billion.” The link to the amasing WaPo article is below, along with one we wrote on the subject in 2017…
Law enforcement took more stuff from people than burglars did last year, Christopher Ingraham in Washington Post, Nov 2015
News To Make You Furious- Jeff Sessions plays “Dukes of Hazzard” for real, Charles Letherwood in the Tom Dwyer Automotive Newsletter, Jul 2017
Where will you get shot in Portland?
from WWeek.com– “For this week’s cover story examining the encroaching crime alongside Dawson Park—a park that’s long been an important place for the Black community in North Portland—the city’s Community Safety Division provided a map to WW of the places in Portland where gunfire injuries are most likely to occur. The map, produced in July, shows the places in the city where people were most often injured by gunfire, using shooting data from between Jan. 1, 2019, through April 30, 2022. Only shootings where a person was injured or killed were included. The city commissioned the study this summer from Boston University professor and researcher Jonathon Jay…
The 2022 IgNobel Prizes
(from CEN.ACS.org)- “Scholars of scorpion constipation, synchronized duckling swimming, and moose crash test dummies all garnered awards at the 32nd Ig Nobel Prize ceremony. The humorous honors, which are given for “achievements that first make people LAUGH, and then THINK,” were awarded at a virtual ceremony Sept. 15. The satirical magazine Annals of Improbable Research produced the event, and its editor, Marc Abrahams, an authority on absurdity, served as master of ceremonies…”
Portland… the #1 Foodie City in America!
(from WalletHub)– Americans today apply the term “foodie” to anyone who loves gourmet dining. But foodie culture isn’t limited to restaurants. Foodies enjoy discovering new and unique flavors wherever they can find them, including in their own kitchens and less prominent establishments like street food stalls. For these people, the experience of eating is elevated to a hobby or even a lifestyle… WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 29 key indicators of foodie-friendliness. Our data set ranges from cost of groceries to affordability and accessibility of high-quality restaurants to food festivals per capita…”
