The Mystery of Flight MH370 and Other Fascinating News on the Web

1. Where is the Plane?

The search continues for any trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. There are now forty ships and 34 aircraft from nine different countrieslooking signs of the missing plane. Here’s director general of Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation: “This unprecedented missing aircraft mystery … it is mystifying. To confirm what happened that day on this ill-fated aircraft, we need hard evidence. We need concrete evidence. We need parts of the aircraft for us to analyze, for us to do forensic studies. We are every hour, every minute, every second, looking at every inch of the sea.”

+ BBC: How the search is being carried out.

+ Buzzfeed: A wrap-up of what we know so far.

+ Travelers who didn’t board the plane and passengers traveling with stolen passports have added to the intrigue. Here’s CNN with the latest.

+ BloombergBusinessweek: Missing Malaysian Air flight highlights stolen passport epidemic.

2. Sigma Alpha’s Beta Test is Over

The national organization that oversees the college fraternity known as Sigma Alpha Epsilon has banned its pledging period in an effort to cut down on hazing. Why is such a ban needed? Consider this: “At least 10 deaths since 2006 have been linked to hazing, alcohol or drugs at SAE events.”

+ Newsweek: Inside the colleges that killed frats for good.

3. Exporting Hate

WaPo’s Chris Cillizza shares one chart that explains why the fight over same-sex marriage in America is officially over. Since 2004, support for gay marriage has increased steadily among all generational groups. And The Atlantic’s Robert P. Jones points out, the geographic support for gay marriage has also increased: “Contrary to what one might expect, today southerners are evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage. Support has risen from 22 percent in 2003 to 48 percent in 2013.”

+ So what do you do if you are an extremist and your message of hate is not resonating with Americans? You export the hate. From MoJo:Meet the American pastor behind Uganda’s anti-gay crackdown.

4. One Hit Wonders

The New Yorker’s James Surowiecki on the upcoming IPO of King Digital Entertainment, the makers of Candy Crush Saga: “Plenty of analysts believe that King has cracked the code of hooking consumers. But that’s unlikely. The world of pop culture contains many more one-hit wonders than hit factories. After all, luck plays a huge role (is there really a good explanation for the hula-hoop frenzy of the fifties?), and, more fundamentally, serial innovation is just tough: studies suggest that most new products fail.”

+ The competition was already tough. But now teens are making their own apps and skipping a few days of high school to go on business trips. Matt Richtel introduces you to the youngest technorati. These guys are far from the youngest. My son just set up his first blog over the weekend, and he’s seven. And he’s already got more traffic than me.

5. The Short Game

Step one: Make a big bet that a company will fail by shorting their stock. Step two: Set out to do everything you can to destroy that company. Mr. Hedge Fund Goes to Washington.

6. The Son

“Any variation on what I did and how my relationship was had to be good, because no outcome could be worse. You can’t get any more evil. How much do I beat up on myself about the fact that he’s my son? A lot.” The father of the Sandy Hook killer searches for answers.

7. What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

“I’m in the unfortunate situation of being about 20 years ahead of my time.” So said Timothy Leary during an appearance on the Merv Griffin Show. Well, it’s 47 years later, and some researchers are beginning to do serious studies on the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic drugs. But when it comes to getting solid funding, even these researcherscould still be a few years ahead of their time.

+ Once pot is legal, should it come with warning labels? (Like what? A warning that, while using this product, you might not be nearly as interesting as you think you are?)

8. Connections

Syndicated from Kottke: When Owen Suskind was three, a switch flipped within him and he went from a typical chatty rambunctious three-year-old to autistic … But a tenuous connection remained between Owen and his pre-autistic self: Disney movies. And through them, Owen slowly learns how to communicate with the outside world again.

+ From the archives: How two presidents helped me deal with love, guilt, and fatherhood.

9. Your Soundtrack

You’ve got your headphones on. You’re listening to some tunes. But are they the right tunes to get the job done? From Quartz: The complete guide to listening to music at work. (The safest bet for extreme productivity is, of course, the metal version of Let it Go fromFrozen.)

+ Time: What the music you love says about you and how it can improve your life.

+ David Dobbs with a thoughtful essay on Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and time’s vain delusions.

10. The Bottom of the News

Now you can ignore your pet in the name of taking care of your pet:Every Dog Has Its Data. (Your dog just wants you to stop looking at your phone and throw the damn stick.)

+ Got Milk? Well, first you’re gonna need a whole lot of water. Dairy products and their big water footprint.

+ Fifty things that turn fifty this year.

+ At long last, a definitive ranking of every Real Housewife ever.

+ I had a few thoughts on what happened to that hour you lost this weekend.