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A school in Kentucky banned phones. And the kids started talking to each other

A school in Kentucky banned phones. Unsurprisingly, they interacted more, and surprisingly, library circulation went up.

“There is definitely a different feeling,” Neuss said. “It’s hard to quantify something like that. But it’s noticeable when you talk with students, walk through the hallways and go into classes.”

What is easier to quantify is the immediate impact of the ban on students’ use of the school library. In the first month of school this year, students took out 67 percent more books than the same month last year, with 533 books checked out in August 2024 and 891 books checked out in August 2025. That’s for a student body of 2,189.

PJH Studios artwork, Portrait of a sun

PJH Studios

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  • A school in Kentucky banned phones. And the kids started talking to each other

    A school in Kentucky banned phones. Unsurprisingly, they interacted more, and surprisingly, library circulation went up. “There is definitely a different feeling,” Neuss said. “It’s hard to quantify something like that. But it’s noticeable when you talk with students, walk through the hallways and go into classes.” What is easier to quantify is the immediate…

  • A conservative concentration of media power

    Margaret Sullivan with an astute and sobering take on the consolidation of conservative media power: In 2020, only a tiny fraction of Americans got news from TikTok. These days, that number has soared to one in five. For young adults, those figures are much higher, with almost half of adults under 30 getting news there,…

  • Interesting Bars

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  • The story behind the blinking guy meme

    A random moment made Drew Scanlon famous, and uses the fame to raise money for multiple sclerosis. An avid cyclist who enjoys rides through Marin, he’s participated in a charity bike ride for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for 10 years. At this point, he’s raised more than $300,000 for research into the disease, which…

  • Drones tracking shoplifters

    Is sending a drone after a shoplifter really the best thing? “Instead of a 911 call [that triggers the drone], it’s an alarm call,” says Keith Kauffman, a former police chief who now directs Flock’s drone program. “It’s still the same type of response.” Kauffman walked through how the drone program might work in the…

  • Sushi’s rise in the USA

    Sushi’s popularity continues to grow. Once a small niche of the seafood business, sushi is now the industry’s growth leader. Most of that growth is not happening in $300-per-head omakase restaurants (though those are proliferating). It is happening in gas stations and big-box stores, bowling alleys and stadiums, U.S. Army commissaries and amusement parks. Retail…

  • History as seen through in IKEA catalog

    History as seen through in IKEA catalog.

  • Robot umpires are coming to the Major League

    It was only a matter of time: robot umpires are coming to Major League Baseball. Human plate umpires will still call balls and strikes, but teams can challenge two calls per game and get additional appeals in extra innings. Challenges must be made by a pitcher, catcher or batter — signaled by tapping their helmet…

  • Treat anxiety by microdosing LSD

    More research suggesting that LSD can treat anxiety based disorders. A rigorous new study finds that a single dose of LSD can ease anxiety and depression for months. The study involved 198 adults with generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, a disabling form of anxiety that affects about 1 in 10 people over the course of…

  • Cheating at stone skimming championship

    Who knew you could cheat at stone skimming?