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13 Tragically Demolished Buildings that Depict Our Ever-Changing Attitudes Toward Architecture

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13 Tragically Demolished Buildings that Depict Our Ever-Changing Attitudes Toward Architecture

"Immortalized through photographs, drawings, and stories, buildings that have been demolished or completely renovated exist in the realm known as “lost architecture.” Either for economic or aesthetic reasons, the old gets torn down for the new, often to the disdain of community members and architects. But demolished buildings tell a story about the ever-changing politics of preservation—and often, they tell it far better than buildings that were actually preserved ever could. As the architectural landscape continues to change around us, it is important to recognize our past, even if its traces have been eliminated from the physical world."

Why Are Car Thermometers So Inaccurate?

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Why Are Car Thermometers So Inaccurate?

"Unfortunately, your car's thermistor is also not very helpful in the winter. Because it isn't accurate to always distinguish between above and below freezing, it can't help you figure out if the road may be coated with black ice. With all these limitations, car thermometers are a fun toy, but not very useful if you actually are looking to find out the temperature. You're better off checking the weather on your phone. As long as you're not currently driving, anyway."

Here’s How Much Businesses Pay To Get On Those Big Blue Exit Signs

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Here’s How Much Businesses Pay To Get On Those Big Blue Exit Signs

"If you own a business that falls into one of these groups—attraction, pharmacy, camping, lodging, food and gas—and your business is located near a controlled-access state highway, then you’re eligible to get your company on the big blue sign. This could be a great opportunity to bring in more customers."

"But not everyone is eligible to display their firm’s logo; that’s because the state’s requirements are rather strict, specifying things like distance from the highway, operating hours, required amenities, and number of parking spots available."

Janet Yellen Explains Why The Fed Is Flying Blind

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Janet Yellen Explains Why The Fed Is Flying Blind

"To understand the import of these statements, a bit of background might help. Like most mainstream economists, Yellen believes that there is a causal relationship between the jobless rate and the rate of inflation. When unemployment falls below a certain level, the scarcity of workers enables them to negotiate higher wages, and inflation picks up. Economists call this threshold the Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment, or “nairu,” for short.

"If you are running the Federal Reserve, a clear understanding of the nairu is obviously a very useful thing to have. For the sake of argument, let’s say that you think the nairu is five per cent. If the monthly unemployment rate then dips below that—to 4.8 per cent, say—you would expect inflation to pick up in the coming months. And that might well prompt you to start raising interest rates to prevent an inflationary spiral from developing."

"As it happens, the Fed did once think that the nairu was somewhere close to five per cent. Today, though, the harsh truth is the Fed doesn’t know what the figure is, or whether it even exists in a usable form. "