Core77’s editors spend time combing through the news so you don’t have to. Here’s a weekly roundup of our favorite stories from the World Wide Web.
Why Planes Don’t Fly Faster
In 50 years of commercial flight travel, we’ve made no improvement on time; it takes the same amount of time to fly from NYC to LA today as it did in the 1960s. Given technological improvements, why is this so? The answer isn’t a short, easy one, but is satisfying to grasp; it involves everything from turbine design, engine efficiency at certain speeds, the cost of fuel versus the cost of an airplane, and the true needs of travelers both time-wise and cost-wise. Here the folks at Wendover Productions explain it.
—Rain Noe, senior editor
All About Visards and Why I’ll Be Sporting One This Summer
So glad I came across this article on the 16th century visard trend—now I know just what to pack for my cruise this summer! I’m a redhead that needs full sun coverage, but nothing on the market currently offers this. A visard is the solution I’ve been looking for my whole life. No more oily face sunscreen plus the added bonuses of avoiding conversations I do not want to have and an overall air of mystery that will leave people wondering, “Who is she?”
—Emily Engle, assistant editor
The Mystery of the Classic Quebec Maple Syrup Can
“The identity of the artist (and his or her medium) will be a mystery for the ages—like trying to ascertain who gets the credit/blame for inventing poutine.”
—Eric Ludlum, editorial director
How the Most Successful Innovators in the World Got Their Start
This week, I’ve just started diving into NPR’s “How I Built This” podcast series, which interviews some of the most successful business people in the world to figure out how they got their start. Might I suggest first this episode with Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, who it turns out didn’t even want to start a giant business—he just wanted to make some great outdoor goods for himself. Get into the full series here.
—Allison fonder, community manager
Bad Hospital Design Is Making Us Sicker
Hospitals are among the most expensive facilities to build, with complex infrastructures, technologies, regulations and safety codes. But evidence suggests we’ve been building them all wrong—and that the deficiencies aren’t simply unaesthetic or inconvenient. All those design flaws may be killing us.
—Stuart Constantine, publisher & managing partner
http://www.core77.com/posts/61910/Why-Planes-Still-Dont-Fly-Faster-How-Hospital-Design-Flaws-Are-Making-Us-Sicker-and-the-Mystery-of-the-Classic-Quebec-Maple-Syrup-Can