The Federal Aviation Administration recently granted (likely for the first time ever) an application to fly a paper airplane. Prominent drone advocate Peter Sachs had applied to conduct commercial aerial photography with his 鈥渁ircraft鈥� (a Tailor Toys model with a tiny propeller and maximum range of 180 feet), and the agency, concerned with air traffic safety, accommodated by treating the request (unironically?) under the rules for manned flights (that, among other restrictions, Sachs must not exceed 100 mph and must engage a licensed airplane pilot to fly it). 鈥淲ith this grant,鈥� said the 鈥渧ictorious鈥� Sachs, 鈥渢he FAA has abandoned all logic and sensibility.鈥�
Questionable Judgments
鈥� Because temperatures were in the high 90s the last weekend in August, tourists visiting the historical Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland were greeted by the outdoor sprinkler system dousing them near the gates. It was intended as relief, said operators, to keep guests from fainting, but, as one Israeli visitor said, 鈥淚t was a punch to the gut鈥� 鈥� too reminiscent of Auschwitz鈥檚 gas chamber. (Jewish prisoners had been marched calmly to their deaths under the pretense that they were only being taken for showers.)
鈥� DIY dentistry seemed off-limits 鈥� until amateur orthodontia got a boost from a 2012 YouTube video in which Shalom DeSota, now 17, praised rubber bands for teeth-straightening. DeSota鈥檚 family lacked dental insurance at the time, so the would-be actress experimented by looping rubber bands around two front teeth she wanted to draw together. Many painful days later, she succeeded. The American Association of Orthodontists expressed alarm in August at the video鈥檚 recent popularity. So much could go wrong 鈥� infection, gum-tearing, detachment between tooth and gums 鈥� that DeSota, the organization said, had simply been lucky.
New World Order
Digital World: (1) The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction announced in July that it would be experimenting with online phys ed courses for high schoolers. Students would watch videos on certain activities, then engage in them, and later self-report their (as the agency calls it) 鈥渕astery.鈥� (2) British police warned in August of a brand-new sex crime based on the iPhone app AirDrop. The app sends text or photos instantly to nearby AirDrop users (who choose to receive from 鈥渃ontacts鈥� or from 鈥渆veryone鈥�). Thus, perverts can 鈥渇lash鈥� strangers by posting nude pictures of themselves to reach AirDrop users set carelessly (or purposely!) to 鈥渆veryone.鈥�
Seems Like the Season of Email Muddles
(1) All Sherri Smith wanted was copies of background emails about her son (who has a disability) in the files of the Goodrich, Michigan, school system, but the superintendent informed her in June that the Freedom of Information request would cost her $77,780 (4,500 hours of searching 鈥� taking two years to complete). (Michigan鈥檚 FOI law was somewhat liberalized on July 1, and Smith said she may refile.) (2) After a McKinney, Texas, police officer was filmed pointing his gun at unarmed black teenagers at a pool party in June, the online Gawker Media filed a Public Information Act request for the officer鈥檚 records and any emails about his conduct. The city estimated that request鈥檚 cost at $79,229 (hiring a programmer, for 2,231 hours鈥� searching 鈥� plus 鈥渃omputer time鈥�). Gawker said it would appeal.
Government Inaction
The streets of Jackson, Mississippi, apparently have potholes that rival the worst in the country, but without adequate budget to fix them, according to Mayor Tony Yarber. His remedy, offered earnestly to constituents in August: prayer. 鈥淚 believe we can pray potholes away.鈥� (Yarber, elected in 2014, was pastor of the Relevant Empowerment Church.)
Names in the News
Charged with choking and punching his fiancee: Mr. Daniel Gentleman, 28 (Prescott, Arizona, May). Charged with killing her husband and burying his body in a manure pile on their farm:
