Tracie Egan Morrissey, writing for Jezebel:

Given the national debate regarding birth control coverage, it’s increasingly clear that many people have no idea how much it costs it to own a vagina — folks are getting up in arms about the idea that the pill could set uninsured women back about $1000 a year, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s nothing. Do you even know just how much you’re shelling out for your clam? Were you aware of the fact that in your 20s alone, you will spend over $26,000 on vaginal maintenance? Herewith, we do the math on just how much that cooter is costing you.

Marco Arment gives a step-by-step summary of how his bank’s iPhone app processes check deposits via photo. He finds the ordeal to be less than pleasant:

Sometimes, new technology is not progress.

My own bank does not offer this service. I’m interested if people find it a hassle like Marco does, or if it’s useful like commercials lead us to believe.

Matthew O’Brien, writing for The Atlantic about the interesting history of engagement rings:

Put simply, if the man didn’t fulfill his obligation to marry, the woman had legal recourse. This calculus changed once the law changed. Suddenly, women wanted an upfront financial assurance from their men. Basically, collateral. That way, if the couple never made it down the aisle, she’d at least be left with something. And that something was almost always small and shiny. The diamond ring was insurance.

I feel like there is a joke here about premiums and quality of coverage, but I’m too tired to think of one.

From the World Happiness Report, the top 5 are:

1. Denmark
2. Finland
3. Norway
4. Netherlands
5. Canada

You’ll have to go to number eleven to find the U.S.

Reuters:

The teen was from Anhui, one of China’s poorest provinces, where inhabitants frequently leave to find work and a better life elsewhere. He bought an iPhone and iPad, and when asked by his mother where he got the money, admitted selling a kidney.

What a sick and sad situation for all involved.

In case you missed it, Titanic is being released in 3D - some 15 years after the original. Matt Stopera, writing for BuzzFeed, lists 33 things you might not know about the film.

Here are some highlights:

4: On the final night of shooting in Nova Scotia, one or more pranksters mixed PCP (angel dust) into the clam chowder served to the cast and crew. 80 people were taken ill, many hospitalized with hallucinations.

7: The cost to construct the ship in 1910-1912 was $7.5 million which was about $120 to $150 million in 1997 dollars. The movie cost $200 million to make.

22: Robert De Niro was offered the role of Captain Smith but turned it down due to a gastrointestinal infection at the time.

If you have the time, read Jim Behrle’s funny, yet apt, advice for aspiring writers. It is applicable to many aspects of life. Here is one of my favorites:

DON’T LISTEN TO ANYONE’S OPINIONS

We’ve somehow entered an age in which we all must rage against all slights, perceived and imagined. The internet has somehow made us less able to take criticism and less likely to give frank criticism. Because haters be hating. So what? Why should anyone’s opinion matter to you? If you think your novel is amazing, then keep banging away. Even the best novelists usually only write like 1 ½ great books. The rest of them are like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Or Arthur C. Clarke’s 2010, 2061 and 3001. What was it Robert Walser said when his friends visited him in the sanitorium and asked if he was writing? “I didn’t come here to write, I came here to be crazy.” Except in German. Which sounds way more awesome. People on the internet are no more real than the people you imagine. And if you imagine Lincoln Center audiences giving you applause at the end of every paragraph you write, you’ll be better off than if you worry about some dude on Twitter or in the London Review of Books. What great novel did those people ever write? The really great novelists don’t review books or even read anybody else’s stuff. They are too busy counting their money.

The Pew Research Center:

The average reader of e-books says she has read 24 books (the mean number) in the past 12 months, compared with an average of 15 books by a non-e-book consumer.

Pew also found that people prefer e-books over printed books when quick access and portability is desired, while printed books are preferred when sharing with others or reading to children.

That rings true with me. I absolutely love reading on my Kindle or iPad when traveling. The devices are small and can hold thousands of e-books. This saves me from having to tote around a load of heavy printed books. However, if there is a book that I really want to enjoy, keep, and share, I lean toward traditional books. For instance, I bought the hardback version of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs.

I feel like I am in a transitional generation - born and raised in the printed book era, while entering adulthood in the e-book era. My bet is that as the current young generations age, the numbers will eventually reverse and e-books will dominate. The need for tangible entertainment is largely decreasing with this tech-savvy youth.

Some other interesting findings: 21% of U.S. adults have read an e-book in the past year, 30% say that e-content has led to an increase in reading activity, and printed books still dominate.

Richard Danielson, Tampa Bay Times:

If Tampa’s proposed rules for the Republican National Convention are passed, protesters could not bring squirt guns into a designated protest zone.

But they could bring real guns if they have concealed weapons permits.

To recap: during the Republican National Convention, inside the proposed “Clean Zone” in downtown Tampa Bay, people can carry concealed firearms but not string longer than 6 inches. What could go wrong?

Susie An, NPR:

Only four people in the United States carry the official designation of Lego Master Model Builder. And 23-year-old Andrew Johnson of Illinois is the newest — and youngest — to earn the title.

What am I doing with my life?