All Blog Posts from Fast Draw

Fuzzy Math - Kids at two schools in California are losing their summer vacations because adults messed up on their math, accidentally under-scheduled a number of school days by five minutes. As a result of state rules, that would put millions of dollars in jeopardy, so school will not be out for the summer. Click here for the story.

Holy Medicine - The ancient art of trepanation - drilling a hole in the skull - may be making a comeback to treat Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. Doctors have used it to help patients with traumatic brain injuries but a top doctor in the UK says it may have wider applications to help the brain. Click here for the story.

Scared To Death - Opponents of deep-water sonar exercises by the Navy say there's undeniable proof that loud noises underwater can harm whales and dolphins. An investigation after England's largest mass beaching of dolphins has found military activity the most likely cause. The Royal Navy disputes the findings. Click here for the story.

Rest In Peace, Online - Websites are encroaching on another traditional area of newspapers' turf: obituaries. Sites like Legacy.com create obituaries that are more responsive to friends and family but less beholden to facts or objective portrayals of someone's life. Who should have the last say in how you're remembered? Click here for the story.

Kids These Days - A major demographic shift is taking place fueled by the youngest citizens. In almost one out of every six counties, minority kids now outnumber white kids. The trend is not expected to reverse, which will soon raise the question of what defines what exactly defines a minority. Click here for the story.

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Home Stubborn Home – A person’s home is their castle. It can also be a thorn in the side of very powerful neighbors. Here’s what happens when the holdouts really hold out. (Check out the farmers who farm on an active runway.) Click here for the story.

IQ Clues – Child development experts say they’ve figured out a way to predict some children’s future intelligence when they’re just weeks old. The technique could help families prepare for the challenges of raising a special needs child. Click here for the story.

It's Alive! – Bacteria that’s been frozen and dormant for more than 100,000 years has been revived, opening a window on the Earth’s past and providing hints of what life might look like if it exists on other planets. Click here for the story.

Waste Not – Evolutionarily this plant got the short end of the stick. But it’s making do. Click here for the story.

Classified Humor – Craigslist is officially weird. Weird Al. The king of parody’s take on the website where you can find (for better or worse) anything. Click here for the story.

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Look On The Bright Side, See More - People who see the world through rose-colored glasses also see more. At first glance this might seem like a good thing but yes, even optimism has a downside (some consolation for those of you who woke up on the wrong side of bed today).
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Empires Strike Back - U.S. and British authorities are taking the fight against hackers to the net. In the brave new world of cyber-warfare, your computer can become a tool of the enemy and collateral damage in this battle for the world's flow of information.
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Sound The Alarms - Toddlers get a potty-training boost from a "friendly" electronic diaper alarm. What other high-tech devices do you know of that are guiding today's children through developmental stages. And are they a good thing?
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The College Try - Is the four-year undergraduate degree a thing of the past? Hundreds of schools are now taking six years to graduate a majority of its students. In college we used to joke about guys on the "six-year plan" but is it now becoming the norm?
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Super Weeds - Just when you thought you ran out of things to worry about with a warming Earth, climate change is turning one of the most invasive plant species in the U.S. into an even more powerful monster.
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New Seven-Year Itch – New research finds the total number of friends people have stays about the same – but individuals replace half their friends about every seven years. How and why depend on a number of factors. The findings go against recent assumption that social networks are shrinking in size. Click here for the story.

Gossip Girls – There’s more to gossip than just good dirt. U of Michigan researchers say when women dish, their levels of progesterone increase. This boosts feelings of well-being and reduces stress, indicating gossip is part of a “neuro-endocrine” aspect of social bonding. Click here for the story.

Vitamin M – Music is proving to be a powerful treatment for people with Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis and for others recovering from traumatic conditions. Therapists have known about these effects for years but science is only now uncovering how music works wonders. Click here for the story.

Men Of Their Words – Book clubs for men are apparently becoming popular, although reading may not be a priority. Click here for the story.

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Josh Landis And Mitch Butler discuss genetically modified monkeys the glow in certain light and illustrate how almost everything we eat is also genetically modified.


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With the economy down, a lot of people are looking for ways to pick themselves up. There are ways to get happy and there are ways not to get happy. Here's The Fast Draw's guide to both.

Volumes have been written on the pursuit of happiness -- the Declaration of Independence even calls it one of our "unalienable Rights."

Someone who knows a lot more about the pursuit of happiness than us is Gretchen Rubin. She’s a former Supreme Court clerk who left the legal profession to write. Her latest project is The Happiness Project.

Rubin has another happiness myth to add: The Arrival Fallacy. It's the belief that when you arrive at a certain destination, you’ll be happy.

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In this latest "The Fast Draw" installment, Josh Landis and Mitch Butler take an animated look at the various scientific theories regarding the long standing bond between mankind and canines.

In the latest "Fast Draw" installment, an animated account of the dangers of focusing purely on money, especially during times of economic hardship.

In both parties, an elite squad of political pundits called Super Delegates has the final say on who gets the nomination.

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