Miscellaneous: Sports, Culture, Religion, and More

Here’s a grab-bag of interesting web pages. We hope you enjoy it!

Sports

Lance Armstrong in disgrace: what did he do?

Olympic athletes shattering records – how winning times and distances have changed over time

The 50 highest-earning American athletes

What is a “bounty” in football? Ask a Saint…

What is March Madness?

Hockey and degenerative brain disease

College sports, corruption and scandal

The one and only Mariano Rivera: more saves than any pitcher in baseball history

Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak: an unbroken record, 70 years later

Want to be a quarterback? Throwing a spiral is harder than it looks

Surprising baseball statistics

Culture

YouTube, free speech, and anti-American violence: a clash of cultures

Tintin? Who’s Tintin?

Does anyone actually buy the new designs modeled at fashion shows?

The story of Mardi Gras

Wang Shu: the first Chinese architect to win the prestigious Pritzker Prize

Pixar Animation: how it got started

What Apple achieved under Steve Jobs: timeline of a cultural revolution

The life of Bob Dylan — so far

Bruce Springsteen’s eulogy for Clarence Clemons

Religion

Basic beliefs of the Mormon religion

What’s the difference between a religion and a cult?

Basics of the Sikh religion (Note that it’s unrelated to Islam)

Do you speak Christian?

The Rapture

Profiles

Barry Commoner, pioneer of the environmental movement, 1917-2012

A brief biography of Nelson Mandela, in honor of his 93rd birthday

Remembering Elena Bonner, who fought for freedom under the Soviets

About Neil Armstrong

Roger Fisher: a man who made conflict resolution his life’s work

Dr. Paul Farmer: bringing modern medicine to the world’s poor

About Dominique Strauss-Kahn: personal and professional

Meet the young Kenyan whose solar-powered lantern lets children study at night in homes without electricity

Holidays

All about Earth Day

What is Cinco de Mayo all about?

A short history of Memorial Day

A different side of Memorial Day history

Fourth of July myths debunked

Etc.

What money can buy, and what it shouldn’t be able to buy

How childhood stress leads to lifelong problems, in school and elsewhere

Career vs. family: a super-achiever who stepped down from a position of power says women can’t have it all

Is it possible to put an end to war? This author thinks so.

The animals we eat: we should make sure they suffer less

What is Satyagraha, and why do we need it now?

Child protection laws grew out of animal cruelty laws: here’s how…

Do you know your news basics? See if you can do better than the average American.

What were the biggest news stories of 2011? A quick recap.

Will the world end on December 21, 2012? What were those Mayans thinking?

How much of your stuff was made in part by slave labor?

The grisly process of factory-farming turkeys and chickens: this may turn you into a vegetarian

What parents can do to help their kids become better students: advice backed up by international research

Earthship: self-sufficient homes made of discarded tires and dirt

What the average American eats in a year

How should we shield kids from adult internet content?

Rescuing five young girls from prostitution in India

All about crystal meth