Friday miscellaneous (11/15)

Ok, so how is this for strange. NASA has observed an object that looks like a six-tailed comet.

And the Smithsonian has a story about a fake Civil War veteran.

Come take a tour of Ancient Rome.

On to more serious topics, a new economic study has determined that there are significant and measurable benefits to sponsoring poor children in developing countries.

The results in our other five countries confirm the positive impact of Compassion's child-sponsorship program in Uganda. In all six countries, we find that sponsorship results in better educational outcomes for children. Overall, sponsorship makes children 27 to 40 percent more likely to complete secondary school, and 50 to 80 percent more likely to complete a university education. ...

To put it simply, these educational impacts of sponsorship are large—roughly equal to the substantial effects of the Rosenwald Schools program that from 1913–31 educated blacks in the Jim Crow South. They are roughly double those of Oportunidades, the celebrated conditional-cash-transfer program that gives cash to mothers in Mexico for keeping their children in school. It's so successful, it has been replicated in dozens of developing countries around the world with financial incentives from the World Bank. 

Compassion's results extend beyond school attendance. We found that child sponsorship means that when the child grows up, he is 14–18 percent more likely to obtain a salaried job, and 35 percent more likely to obtain a white-collar job. Many of the Compassion-sponsored children become teachers as adults instead of remaining jobless or working in menial agricultural labor. We found some evidence that they are more likely to grow up to be both community leaders and church leaders.

And speaking of economics, it looks like Americans may be trying to kick the credit card habit.

For milenninals who have jobs, LinkedIn is trying to promote take your parent to work day. Yeah, it's kinda silly.

You didn't think I could get through this post without a political link, did you? Well, here's an excellent one on the fallout of the shutdown on the Republican party. And then there's always the attempts to draw meaning from the Virginia elections. But that's all I'm going to say on that topic.

Because this article on C.S. Lewis is better than anything political.

And finally, because we always need a video, here's one to encourage you to keep marching whatever comes your way.