On May 9, 1960 — which this year falls on, um, Sunday — the FDA announced it would approve Enovid for use as a contraceptive pill. But the actual approval didn’t happen until June 23. Guess which date everyone’s running with for the Pill’s golden anniversary? [AP]

“Republican U.S. Representatives are 36 percent more likely to incorporate the American flag on campaign websites than Democrats; Congressmen are 64 percent more likely to do so than Congresswomen.” [University of Minnesota, via Political Wire]

No, they’re not changing the rules, just spawning a demon: “Mattel, which owns the rights to Scrabble in England, is going to release a completely new version of the game there called Scrabble Trickster, in which anything goes, including the use of proper nouns, spelling words backwards, stealing letters, and so on.” [CNet]

Oh, those clever Brit designers:

The flip-top cigarette pack is one of the most successful pieces of packaging design in history. TankBooks pay homage to this iconic form by employing it in the service of great literature. We have launched a series of books designed to mimic cigarette packs — the same size, packaged in flip-top cartons with silver foil wrapping and sealed in cellophane.

And if you get bored, you can always rip out the pages for rolling paper.

Tales to Take Your Breath Away [TankBooks]

As this is the plane I’ll fly on when I finally head for Japan, I’m very pleased:

This is the carbon-fiber Boeing 787 Dreamliner at 150% service load during the ultimate wing load test required for FAA certification. During the test, the wingtips underwent 25 feet of vertical deflection without failing. Engineering is awesome. [Boeing via Wired]

Boeing 787 Dreamliner : Ultimate Wing Load Test [Jalopnik]

On a day when the GOP should be crowing over a meaningless congressional party switch, Michael Steele has managed to distract attention:

Michael S. Steele, Republican National Committee chairman, is using his title to market himself for paid appearances nationwide, personally profiting from speeches with fees of up to $20,000 at colleges, trade associations and other groups — an unusual practice criticized by a string of past party chairmen.

We know, we know — who can expect a dude to survive on a $223,500 salary?

Read more »

Not to pile on, but…

A senior U.S. intelligence official told ABCNews.com the approximate estimate of 100 al-Qaeda members left in Afghanistan reflects the conclusion of American intelligence agencies and the Defense Department. The relatively small number was part of the intelligence passed on to the White House as President Obama conducted his deliberations.

We’re not interested in gotchas here, but our critique remains: Barack Obama failed to make the case Tuesday night.

President Obama’s Secret: Only 100 al-Qaeda Now in Afghanistan [ABC, via Political Wire]