The number of pay phones New York City could replace with pylons providing free public Wi-Fi and domestic calls under a new proposal called LinkNYC. The program would be the largest of its kind in the country and, the Verge notes, would provide dizzying speeds many homes don’t have access to yet. The plan would be funded by advertising on the kiosks, which are projected to rake in $500 million in 12 years. It’s all very ambitious, with a long road ahead.
That’s how many children in the U.S. experience homelessness annually, according to a new study. The numbers represent a historic high and the root causes are primarily economic. In states like California that have a high cost of living, families surviving on minimum wage can’t afford the average two-bedroom apartment, which generally costs $28/hour in income.
That’s how many satellites the U.S. has in orbit, more than a third of the at least 1,200 orbiting earth right now. Using data from the Union of Concerned Scientists, Quartz has compiled massive, beautiful interactive graphic showing them all. You can watch the pace of the satellites at varying altitudes and sort them by country, purpose and more.
The portion of a life sentence Lindy Chamberlain served after being wrongly convicted for killing her infant daughter in the early 1980s. New evidence came to light showing Chamberlain’s claim, that little Azaria has been stolen from the family’s campsite by a dingo, was actually true. Chamberlain was released, but for decades she fought public opinion, which had long condemned her, and the state, which long refused to change Azaria’s official cause of death. Her struggle went largely ignored as “a dingo took my baby” became a pop culture punchline completely divorced from the tragedy. The Retro Report has a new mini documentary on the case.
That’s how much legal marijuana sales is projected to bring in by 2018. The family of Jamaican-born reggae star Bob Marley launched a first-of-its-kind global cannabis brand on Tuesday. The late performer could become a powerful messenger for the emerging marijuana market. As his famous quote goes: “When you smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself.”
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