Analog Nation

The 2008 NFL season is underway, and with it comes a nation’s worth of Super Bowl hopes, body paint and beer. A lot of stock will be placed in how the teams fare in their first game, probably more than is fair. Fans should rest easy in the knowledge that however bad their teams may [...]

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The discovery of the Burgess Shale in 1909 was a watershed moment in paleontology. An ancient mass sedimentary rock, the shale was formed by layers of mud millions of years ago, preserving an array of fossils in remarkable detail.
These specimens were like nothing seen before. They defied classification, and unveiled a variety of prehistoric life [...]

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When baseball’s Seattle Pilots moved east to Milwaukee in 1970, new owner Bud Selig wanted to do something to distinguish their new identity. His advisors presented an idea: The team was to be called the Brewers, so why not make beer?
And so was born Brewer’s Best, the only microbrewery ever to be fully owned [...]

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Czech footballer Jan Skorkovský has the distinction of holding the most world records in history. His considerable shadow eclipses the achievements of Helen Louise Abernathy, who held the title until Skorkovský came along, and is still the leading record holder among women.
Among her 819 records:

Largest ball of melted crayons (1.3 meters in diameter)
Longest unbroken [...]

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Despite months public outrage, the Seattle SuperSonics are on the brink of moving to Oklahoma City. Basketball fans in the Emerald City can perhaps take comfort in the fact that they are by no means the only city to be held hostage by a sports team owner. The strangest such instance may have come at [...]

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Many baseball fans know how the New York Highlanders became the Yankees, that the Cubs were so named because of the youth of their lineup, or that the Blue Jays got their name in an alcohol-soaked dare. But it’s the rare fan who knows why Pittsburgh’s 9 are known as the Pirates. When [...]

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