Another week has come and gone. I’ll actually be working on a redesign this weekend, so things on the site might act a bit silly. Don’t worry, here’s a set of links to keep you entertained while I do a little remodeling.

• Basic Background Deficit Math – Based on this chart, Ronald Reagan broke the Republican party (read: moral conservatism became more important than fiscal conservatism).
• A White Man’s War – Gen. William T. Sherman, famous for leading the march to the sea and burning everything from Atlanta to Savannah, actually committed one of the greatest acts of insubordination in U.S. military history. He refused Lincoln’s presidential order to recruit African-Americans, and was very racist about it, too. Do you still think the Civil War was fought over slavery?
• John McCain’s Favorite Joke – Back in 2003, John Hargrave of Zug.com posed as a 10-year-old schoolboy and sent a written request to 100 U.S. Senators asking,”what’s your favorite joke?” John McCain’s response was classic, and probably not so funny to him 5 years later.
• Kurt Vonnegut: Badass P.O.W. – If you haven’t read Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five yet, you should. Before you do, though, read this letter he sent from an Allied repatriation camp shortly after his rescue. It makes an excellent epilogue to the novel.
• How Not to Take Over a Country – These invasion attempts are so ridiculous that the Bay of Pigs didn’t even make the list.
• San Francisco Opium Den Photos…from 1889 – This is why you should put the cameras away when the bong comes out, stupid kids on Facebook will make fun of you 120 years later.
• 6 Inventors Who Got Jack Sh*t for Changing the Modern World – Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47, the world’s most popular assault rifle got a birthday party 62 years later.
• 8 Online Fads You Didn’t Know Were Invented Decades Ago – Twitter has been around since before Mt. Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii.
• Why Are Barns Usually Red? – This one’s from Mental Floss, so you know it’s gonna be good. Enjoy!
• Senators: Can You Draw Your State? – As part of Geography Awareness Week, National Geographic asked each senator to draw a map of their state and mark 3 points of interest on the map. Unfortunately, only 12 of them rose to the challenge, but it is interesting nonetheless. Of course, Al Franken did the best, but he can freehand draw a map of the entire U.S.

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