We live in an area with a series of three of four roundabouts that, despite having been there for years, continue to confound local drivers.
In fact, Washington D.C. is just 20 minutes south of us and is filled with roundabouts. Massive roundabouts that are, understandably, intimidating. Our roundabouts are tiny and well marked… not like some of the ones in the UK where it’s just a little metal circle on the ground.
I love roundabouts because they work. They’re more efficient. And I wish there were more of them.
I’m all for this Freakonomics podcast from 2021!
Should Traffic Lights Be Abolished? [Freakonomics] – “Could the humble roundabout really save thousands of lives? It is true that more than 35,000 Americans are killed each year in traffic crashes, and about a quarter of those deaths happen at intersections. All those crashes that kill 35,000 people also cause millions of injuries and nearly a quarter-trillion dollars in property damage, medical and legal costs, lost productivity, and more. What would all those numbers look like if some of our standard intersections with traffic lights were swapped out for roundabouts? Today on Freakonomics Radio: we consider this and many other roundabout questions, including the economics of the traffic intersection:”
OK I know that has nothing to do with money, per se, but I don’t care. I want more roundabouts and fewer traffic lights.
It’s Time to Rethink Retirement [Darious Foroux] – “Here’s what the structure of modern life looks like for most. In the early years of a child, the focus is on learning and playing. Once the playing is done, a teen starts their educational career. Then start a career. And save up for retirement. Those are the three main stages of life as we know it: Study, work, then retire. It might look like these stages are natural to human life, but that’s a wrong assumption. These stages are, like most things in modern-life, made up. This structure was created in the 19th century, when the Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck implemented the first national old-age social insurance plan in 1889.”
And of course, I had to share this big news from last week – Billionaire No More: Patagonia Founder Gives Away the Company [New York Times] – “A half century after founding the outdoor apparel maker Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, the eccentric rock climber who became a reluctant billionaire with his unconventional spin on capitalism, has given the company away.”
Amazing.