The History and Possible Future of Toy Guns

Welcome to Reading List, a round up of online awesomeness of the past week. We've got stuff that takes place in space, other stuff that takes place in the past, and even more stuff that may be a trip back to your childhood. It's time to get back into the internet swing of things and get caught up on some reads. Enjoy!

• The toy gun is disappearing off commercial shelves, relegated to dusty corners or moving to an "online only" option. The history of the toy gun is a troubled one, often wrapped up as a one of the many systemic reasons for America's violent youth. However, experts argue that toy guns fulfill a psychological need and the case of the disappearing toy gun is more complex and concerning than you'd think. [The Washington Post]


• Boeing and "AV Geeks", super passionate people who stalk aircraft for a quick picture that can pay a handsome amount, play an eternal game of cat and mouse. After the public spectacle surrounding Boeing's trouble 787 Dreamliner launch, fans have only grown in number. Now, Boeing is trying to cater to its swelling number of fans. [The Seattle Times]


• Humanity has a permanent colony in space orbiting our ancestral home. Sometimes, that feat is unjustly ignored or simply thought as commonplace, but it's important. And the people who go through rigorous scientific, mental, and physical training to man the station are often heroes that no one even knows. Charles Fishman details why astronauts are still so important and what life is really like aboard the ISS. [The Atlantic]


• Graduating from Stanford in 1994 was to experience the pinnacle of luck, exiting college right at the commercial birth of the internet. But what was envisioned as an entirely new workforce, one that could shrug off the gender bias of other industries, ended up creating one itself. What happened? [The New York Times]

from ffffff http://gizmodo.com/the-history-and-possible-future-for-toy-guns-1675857393

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