Slate online magazine has a fascinating segment called "The Vault" where it pulls documents or artifacts from the past. Sometimes, they have a direct bearing on today's politics or ideas. Sometimes, they're just interesting pieces of a vanished world.

Today's article has a list of book recommendations for young people by Samuel Clemens. He was ( Read more... )

Does anyone know why the middle lanes are considered better for the competitions? I would think in a pool the lanes would be equal.