This episode originally ran in 2015.

About one hundred years ago, a scientist and statistician named Francis Galston came upon an opportunity to test how well regular people were at answering a question. He was at a fair where lots of people were guessing the weight of an ox, so he decided to take the average of all their guesses and compare it to the correct answer.

What he found shocked him. The average of their guesses was almost exactly accurate. The crowd was off by just one pound.

This eerie phenomenon—this idea that the crowd is right—drives everything from the stock market to the price of orange juice.

So, we decided to test it for ourselves. We asked Planet Money listeners to guess the weight of a cow.

Spoiler: You can see the results here.

This episode was hosted by David Kestenbaum and Jacob Goldstein. It was produced by Nadia Wilson and edited by Bryant Urstadt. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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In this hour, stories from the Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Hosted by Dame Wilburn, with additional hosting from Jay Allison. A woman says goodbye to her childhood ranch; a young girl finally gets her wish to own a pet; a Guatemalan teenager goes on a silent and stealthy mission; and a Dakota man tries to track down someone he has not seen in years. The Moth Radio Hour is produced by The Moth and Jay Allison of Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Hosted by: Jay Allison

Storytellers:

Teresa Jordan returns home to a parched and cracked land.

Dame Wilburn visits Macon, Georgia for a summer and gets an unconventional pet.

Nestor Gomez flees the Guatemalan Civil War to the safety of his mother’s home.

Bobby Wilson hears of a Dakota man he desperately tries to meet.

They’re not being a jerk on purpose, and if you can understand what motivates them you’ll find a better way to co-exist, and maybe even thrive.

Oil Field Cowhand by G. Harvey Giclee on Canvas Signed and Numbered by G Harvey is a(n) Limited Edition. The Edition is Limited to Limited Edition Of 350 pcs

James Cowling of Dropbox tells Robert Blumen about their massive migration from Amazon’s S3 to their own distributed storage system.

MOSCOW, 5 August 2016 – On the occasion of the formal opening of the election observation mission (EOM) deployed by the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe the 18 September State Duma elections in the Russian Federation, the mission will hold a press conference in Moscow on Monday, 8 August 2016.

Jan Petersen, the head of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission, will introduce the role of the EOM and its upcoming activities.

Journalists are invited to attend the press conference at 15:00, Monday, 8 August, at Interfax, 1-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya ul., 2 Moscow, 127006.

For further information, please contact Inta Lase OSCE/ODIHR EOM Media Analyst, at +79166214710 (mobile) or Inta.Lase@odihr.ru

or

Thomas Rymer, OSCE/ODIHR Spokesperson, at +48 609 522 266 (Warsaw mobile) or at thomas.rymer@odihr.pl.

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November marks the 45th year for Manatee Awareness Month as well as the official start of manatee season, which runs from Nov. 15-March 31. During the winter season, hundreds of the gentle giants make their way into Florida's natural springs or power plant outflows as a way to keep warm.

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Julius Ceaser once called the aurochs 'extraordinary'. Now ancient DNA is unlocking secrets of this mysterious beast.

Read more: Trinity scientists find surprising genetic diversity in early cows

[Nile Post] In the mist-covered highlands of Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga National Parks, an encounter with a mountain gorilla is more than just an awe-inspiring moment; it is a rare, profound experience that connects visitors to one of the world's most endangered species and a cornerstone of Uganda's tourism revenue.

Pamela Falk, CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst, discusses the latest in Ukraine and President Obama ruling out a military intervention, but leaving open the possibility of placing even more economic sanctions on Russia.

Space Cowboy

Although California dairy farmers anticipated a bird flu mortality rate of less than 2%, some say between 10% and 15% of infected cattle are dying.

A judge ordered Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin to leave his Otero County commissioner post effective immediately.

Marlboro, 7-Up, DDT. These companies, and more, once included images of infants in their print ads. We've come a long way, baby.

Hippies & Cowboys is a Nashville-based five piece that has a soul-infused Southern rock sound and they've really been ripping it up and building a fan base regionally with their live shows and occasional release of singles

When something is on the ballot that will hurt the National Western Stock Show, the Denver Powwow, our fly-fishing businesses and hatmakers, that should rile us all up. Hands off our hats!

Anrae James was killed while sitting at his workstation.

In their second preseason game, the Las Vegas Raiders, led by Bermudian Head Coach Antonio Pierce, fell to the Dallas Cowboys 27-12. The Raiders post game review said, “The Las Vegas Raiders fell short in their second preseason game of the year to the Dallas Cowboys, 27-12. Red zone trips and turnovers were the difficulty of […]

Shinichiro Watanabe compares COWBOY BEBOP to LAZARUS but admits nothing beats his experience on SPACE DANDY in this interview.

Michael Irvin asks Deion Sanders about the possibility of coaching the Dallas Cowboys, sparking a funny moment and laughter.

Cowboy Soup is a filling, hearty dish that’s perfect for family dinners or meal prep. This tasty soup is packed with a comforting blend of ground beef, sausage, beans, vegetables, and spices, this soup will keep everyone full and satisfied. This delicious Tex-Mex soup is easy to make with common ingredients from your pantry. Plus, it makes great leftovers and can even be stored...

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From cows to goats to sheep, the availability of dairy is ubiquitous. But with copious environmental and health issues around traditional dairy products, alternatives are in the spotlight more than ever. Now there’s a way to enjoy yogurt, cheese and ice cream without a heavy reliance on animals or nuts. It’s called Precision Fermentation, and it puts an old technology to new use. [...]

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Both countries say they shot down dozens of drones over their respective territories.

It's all over but the crying for a campaign that was supposed to be characterized by 'joy'. There will be no concession speech tonight. At little before 1 am, Kamala is running like a scared rabbit.

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Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia to Confront the West Book sysadmin 17 January 2019

Keir Giles surveys Russia’s history and the present day to explain why its current leadership feels it has no choice but to challenge and attack the West. Recognising and accepting that this will not change in the near future will help the West find a way of dealing with Russia without risking a deeper conflict.

This book is for anyone that cannot understand why Russia and its leaders behave as they do.

The relationship between Russia and the West is once again deep in crisis. A major reason is that Western leaders have too often believed or hoped that Russia sees the world as they do — but things look very different from Moscow. This book shows that efforts at engagement with Russia that do not take this into account are a key reason for repeated disappointment and crisis.

In confronting the West, Russia is implementing strategic and doctrinal approaches that have been consistent for centuries. The roots of current Russian behaviour and demands can be traced not just to the Soviet era, but back into Tsarist foreign and domestic policy, and further to the structure and rules of Russian society. But this also gives the US and the West pointers for how to behave — and how not to — in order to manage the challenge of Russia effectively, based on past experience of both successful and unsuccessful engagement with Moscow.

The book recognizes the reality of confrontation and provides an essential introduction to grasping why Russia sees it as inevitable. Consequently, it offers a basis for building a less crisis-prone relationship with Russia.

This book is part of the Insights series.

Praise for Moscow Rules

About the author

Keir Giles is a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He also works with the Conflict Studies Research Centre (CSRC), a group of subject matter experts in Eurasian security with a particular focus on the wide range of security challenges coming from Russia.

Purchase

• UK (via Amazon)
• Rest of world (via Brookings Institution Press)
• Students (via Browns Books)

Limited expectations as Scholz heads to Kyiv and Moscow Expert comment NCapeling 14 February 2022

After heavy criticism for an initially timid response, the approach of Germany’s new government to the Ukraine crisis is improving as its position on Russia evolves.

Olaf Scholz is a famously quiet and cautious communicator and, as concerns mounted in Washington and London about the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the new German chancellor remained silent.

This time his silence reflected the fact that his government was unprepared for its first major foreign policy test, with marked divisions between the SPD and the Greens on how to manage a rapidly deteriorating relationship with Russia.

When he did speak, Scholz caused dismay in several NATO capitals by defending the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline. He called it ‘a purely private economic project’ even though the company building the pipeline is a subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned Gazprom.

The absence of crisis management from Berlin was a stark reminder of the gap left by Angela Merkel. Her knowledge of Russia and Ukraine, and her personal experience of dealing with Vladimir Putin, were key assets in 2014 in developing a unified western response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its destabilization of south-eastern Ukraine.

Germany has coordinated with its allies

Scholz has prepared the ground carefully for his visits to Kyiv and Moscow, extensively coordinating with NATO allies, such as France and Poland – as part of the Weimar Triangle – and the three Baltic states. His inaugural visit to Washington helped align positions on US-EU efforts to develop an economic deterrent against further Russian intervention in Ukraine.

Scholz has also repeated Merkel’s language from 2014 to signal to Moscow that Germany and its partners are ‘united and determined’ to stand their ground. And he has spoken of Germany’s continuing double strategy of ‘clear announcements’ to Moscow of the price it would pay for further aggression accompanied by a readiness to use all possible channels of dialogue to preserve peace.

The continuation of Germany’s established policy will not surprise Moscow. But under the surface Germany’s discourse on Russia is evolving as the political class internalizes the fact that the current Russian leadership is openly threatening to use military force to impose its will on Ukraine and re-configure Europe’s security arrangements.

Despite deep concerns about Germany’s dependence on Russian gas – more than half of the gas it consumes comes from Russia – there is broad acceptance that Nord Stream 2 cannot go ahead if Russia invades Ukraine. But typically, Scholz has not yet said as much publicly, limiting himself to stating ‘all options are on the table.’

Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice-chancellor as well as economic affairs and climate action minister, says the ‘geopolitical situation’ requires Germany to diversify its gas supplies and infrastructure for importing gas. For years, a strong pro-Russian gas lobby has dominated the thinking of the Economics Ministry and one consequence is the complete absence of facilities to import liquefied natural gas.

The German debate on Russia is shifting

A public debate has also started about weapons deliveries to Ukraine, even though this runs counter to deeply embedded pacifist tendencies in German society. Some MPs, former diplomats, and experts have begun to make the case for Germany to supply weapons to Ukraine so it can exercise its right to self-defence and deter military attack.

Christoph Heusgen, a former long-standing foreign policy adviser in the Federal Chancellery, says Berlin’s decision not to deliver arms to Ukraine to avoid endangering the Minsk peace process requires revision now Moscow has abandoned the path of negotiation.

Despite its mantra that there is no alternative to the Minsk Agreements, Berlin now admits these currently offer no prospect of resolving the war in Donbas because Russia is not prepared to implement them properly.

Other taboos are also being broken inside Germany. Heavyweight left-of-centre Die Zeit published the first results of its investigation into the SPD’s links with Russia and their place in Russia’s channels of influence in Germany. And even the SPD’s Sigmar Gabriel, an outspoken champion of Nord Stream 2 during his time as a government minister, has raised the question of Germany terminating energy imports from Russia if there is a drastic deterioration of the security situation.

The Dallas Cowboys agreed to trade a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for wide receiver Jonathan Mingo and a seventh-round pick, a league source told UPI on Tuesday.

Veteran quarterback Dak Prescott will undergo season-ending surgery to repair his injured hamstring, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced Tuesday.

Netflix's hit docuseries "America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders" will return for a second season in 2025.

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Breeding-the-Perfect-Bull.html Donnell Brown and his fellow cowboys combine modern science with their decades of experience with cattle ranching to create the perfect specimen of beef.

Ukraine attacked Moscow on Sunday with at least 34 drones, the biggest drone strike on the Russian capital since the start of the war in 2022, forcing flights to be diverted from three of the city's major airports and injuring at least one person.

Ukraine abandoned its constitutional neutrality to pursue EU and NATO membership only in 2019, years after Russia annexed Crimea and backed pro-Russia separatists in Donbas. NATO considered Ukraine’s membership after Moscow invaded Georgia, starting a war in Europe.

Simon Cowell gets candid about 'punching' 90's popstarRecord executive, Simon Cowell has spilled shocking details about indulging into a physical fight with one of the biggest boy band stars of the 90s.The revelation was made in a newly released documentary Boybands Forever, featuring renowned...

Chris does an Xbox 180 while Josh steals Anna Marie's needle. Robert gets the snotty kleenex award because he can't figure out how to stream Suikoden. And Kelley is too busy fawning over Revali to notice.

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Chris plays real life PC building simulator. Kelley is shocked there's a bug in the Switch version. Josh has a heart episode while retrieving a necktie. And we all learn what true chicken love is.

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The Dallas Cowboys quarterback got another opinion on his hamstring and decided that surgery would be the best way to address the injury.

Kelly Clarkson filled in for Cowell as he recuperates from back surgery.

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