Author: Brendan Barry

  • Can You Land Philae

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    Brendan Barry
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    Today is Friday, so let’s take it a bit easy. You have heard of Philae and the comet landing. But we also know now that it bounced upon landing. But could you do any better? The BBC produced this game to let you try to do just that. Credit for the piece goes to the…

  • Mapping Equal Populations

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    Brendan Barry
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    After a week of some depressing material. Let’s lighten things up. Since, you know, it is a Friday. Two weeks ago we looked at comparisons of actual geographic area. These are sometimes useful comparisons. But more often than not we are talking about the people that live in said areas. And speaking as someone who…

  • Drawing Down America’s Presence in Afghanistan

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    Brendan Barry
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    The United States and its allies are slowly beginning to pull out of Afghanistan. While several thousand troops will remain, the total will be nowhere near the peak figure a few years ago. This graphic from the Washington Post details just how this transition has been occurring. Credit for the piece goes to Richard Johnson.

  • Philae on 67P

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    Brendan Barry
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    In a few hours—not long after this blog post is published—we should know whether or not the washing-maching sized probe Philae has successfully landed on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The operation is very complicated, this is a moving and spinning comet with a boulder-strewn surface dotted with ice spires. And as of a few hours the lander…

  • Armistice Day

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    Brendan Barry
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    Today is Armistice Day, alternately known as Remembrance Day or Veterans Day. Originally the date remembered the armistice that ended World War I (hence those two names). The war ended at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. But in the preceding years, millions of Europeans died along with just over…

  • The Fall of the Berlin Wall

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    Brendan Barry
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    Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. But with the reunification of Germany a year later, has the former East Germany been able to catch up to what was West Germany? The Economist looks at the results in this graphic and the answer is yes. And no. Credit for the…

  • Twitter Language

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    Brendan Barry
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    An MIT report looks at, among other things, the words used in tweets based on whether they were tweeted at home or at work. And, well, Malcolm Tucker would be surely disappointed. Because somebody screwed up and switched the words home and work. Clearly they should be reversed. Credit for the piece goes to the…

  • New New Orleans

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    Brendan Barry
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    Nine years after the impact of Hurricane Katrina upon the city of New Orleans, the touristy French Quarter has returned according to an article in the National Journal. However, the new New Orleans beyond the French Quarter is different from what once was. In short, the new city is whiter and more Hispanic. And while…

  • University Graduation

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    Brendan Barry
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    Today’s piece from the Washington Post examines the graduation rates of 100 people who enrolled at university in 2002. The data set tracked them over the following six years. Credit for the piece goes to Darla Cameron.

  • The Libyan Revolution’s Results So Far…

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    Brendan Barry
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    The Libyan Revolution that removed Gaddafi from power was just over three years ago. Unfortunately, if we have not learned by now, the process of building Western-like liberal democracies is clearly a messy process. Because Libya is far from it as this graphic from the Economist shows. Credit for the piece goes to P.J.W. and L.P.