“Why is there suddenly so much traction? Has the country just finally had enough with these mass shootings?”

The Atlantic: The Parkland Students Aren’t Going Away. “American teens are shaping a new kind of debate about gun violence—but why now?” By Alia Wong. Feb 24, 2018.

“It quickly became clear that these survivors were poised to spearhead a political movement whose message is so loud, and so raw, it’s continued to dominate mainstream news coverage and radio shows and even late-night comedy a week after the shooting—an unusual phenomenon in today’s real-time news environment. They’ve written haunting op-eds and delivered viral speeches; they’ve instigated rallies and prompted nationwide walkouts by students and teachers.”

See the website March For Our Lives.

Der “Papa” des Sams

Mensch Otto – Mensch Theile: Mensch, Otto! – Mensch, Theile!
Paul Maar, Kinderbuchautor. (Podcast, 39min)

“Ein Pferd, mehr Taschengeld oder dass die Eltern sich wieder versöhnen: Kinderbuchautor Paul Maar kennt die Wünsche von Kindern und weiß, was sie fühlen und denken. Seit über einem halben Jahrhundert begeistert er Kinder mit seinen Büchern – rund 100 sind es mittlerweile. Seine berühmteste Figur: Das Sams. Paul Maar bekommt fast täglich Briefe von seinen kleinen Fans, die er handschriftlich beantwortet. […] Maar will Kinder unterhalten und sie natürlich fürs Lesen begeistern. Aber er will sie auch stark machen und ihnen Selbstvertrauen geben.”

Prost!

The New York Times: German Olympians Drink a Lot of (Nonalcoholic) Beer, and Win a Lot of Gold Medals.

“If nonalcoholic beer helped athletes recover more quickly from grueling workouts, then it could allow them to train harder. Scherr credits the nonalcoholic beer’s salubrious effects to its high concentration of polyphenols, immune-boosting chemicals from the plants with which its brewed.”

NPR the salt: Olympians Are Using Non-Alcoholic Beer As Recovery Drinks. Here’s The Science.

“In greek mythology, the Olympians were said to drink ambrosia, which bestowed upon them immortality. […] Today’s Olympians have been swept up in a new trend largely emerging from Bavaria: non-alcoholic athletic recovery beers. A number of breweries, such as Erdinger and Krombacher have, over the last few years, expanded their offerings of sober sports beers. This year, beers from both brands are a common sight in the Olympic Village.

But how much science is there to support the use of beer as an athletic recovery drink?”

“Another person with a gun won’t necessarily help you.”

dangerousmeta!: “My favorite thing to do for people who believe ‘more guns’ is the answer, is to drive them to the graveyard in Cimarron, New Mexico. The original “Wild West.” Often held up as some sort of John Wayne version of perfect American society. Well, here’s that society, as reflected in the cemetery:

Everyone had guns.

And they shot everyone.

Men. Women. Children. Dear lord, they even SHOT THE TOWN PREACHER.”

“Exit wounds can be the size of an orange.”

The Atlantic: What I Saw Treating the Victims From Parkland Should Change the Debate on Guns. “They weren’t the first victims of a mass shooting the Florida radiologist had seen—but their wounds were radically different.” By Heather Sher, radiologist.

“In a typical handgun injury that I diagnose almost daily, a bullet leaves a laceration through an organ like the liver. To a radiologist, it appears as a linear, thin, grey bullet track through the organ. There may be bleeding and some bullet fragments.

I was looking at a CT scan of one of the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who had been brought to the trauma center during my call shift. The organ looked like an overripe melon smashed by a sledgehammer, with extensive bleeding. How could a gunshot wound have caused this much damage?”