A per capita view of Olympic medals
The U.S. won 104 medals at the Olympic Games, the most of any country—but on a per capita basis, we ranked just 50th in the world, with one medal per 3.4 million residents. First was tiny Grenada, which won a medal for every 104,000 residents. Jamaica, with 12 medals, was second on a per capita basis.
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The largest generation in history
More than 3 billion people on the planet are under the age of 25—the largest generation in human history. Even if these young people choose to have smaller families than their parents, the world’s population will still rise from 7 billion now to 9.3 billion by 2050—the equivalent of adding another India and China to the world.
Los Angeles Times
Romney campaign slights Palin
To the dismay of Tea Party activists, Sarah Palin will not speak at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Palin felt insulted when the Romney campaign told her she could not speak during prime time, so she announced that she would not speak at all. With the choice of Paul Ryan as the vice presidential candidate, sources said, Romney’s aides “think they’ve got the Tea Party covered.”
RealClearPolitics.com
A cultural history of pronouns
A textual analysis of 1.2 million books published since 1900 found that the proportion of male pronouns to female pronouns fell from 4.5 to 1 in the 1950s to less than 2 to 1 in 2005. Researchers say the changing ratio reflects the higher status and visibility of women in our society.
TheAtlantic.com
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The Week Unwrapped: Should we be eating less fat – or more?Podcast Plus who will benefit from the surprise Dutch election result? And how can art improve our health?
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AI models may be developing a ‘survival drive’Under the radar Chatbots are refusing to shut down
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Crossword: October 31, 2025The Week's daily crossword
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Very rich and very poor in California, and morefeature California is home to 111 billionaires, yet it also suffers the highest poverty rate in the country.
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Arctic cold kills tree insects, and more
feature This winter’s arctic temperatures have had at least one beneficial impact: They’ve killed ash borers, gypsy moths, and other tree-eating insects.
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Congress's poor record, and more
feature The 113th Congress is on course to pass less legislation than any Congress in history.
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Gender differences in employment, and more
feature
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A first for West Point, and more
feature For the first time, two male graduates of West Point were married at the military academy’s chapel.
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A God given land?, and more
feature More white evangelical Protestants than U.S Jews believe that Israel was “given to the Jewish people by God.”
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Jailing the mentally ill, and more
feature American prisons have replaced state mental hospitals as a place to warehouse the mentally ill.
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Treating Internet addiction, and more
feature Treating Internet addiction; Freshman virgins at Harvard; A salary handicap for lefties; Prices for vintage automobiles soar; Gun permits for blind people