• Too many alarms can be as bad as none, if people learn to ignore them. Aesop knew it, but modern society keeps forgetting. (NY Times via @NNgroup)
• Then and now: Russian photographer Sergey Larenkov blends World War II photos with images of the same locations today. I’m a member of a Flickr group that does this with more general timeframes, Looking Into the Past, though I’ve only contributed one myself. It blends the 1997 and 2007 views of the UCI Student Center.
• The Internet Storm Center offers tips on protecting computers from lightning.
• CNN asks: Why are food allergies on the rise? Short answer: we still don’t know. (To preserve your sanity, don’t read the comments.)

And not so serious:

• Fantastic image: Firefly crew as the Enterprise crew. Classic Star Trek, of course. One thing that really struck me was the reminder that there’s really only one woman among the regular classic Trek cast: Uhura. Nurse Chapel and Yeoman Rand are there, but neither of them would really have had the kind of focus that Kaylee, Zoe, Inara and River have here.
• Incredible custom action figure maker Sillof collaborated with Glorbes on a Star Wars in World War II series.
• The webcomic SMBC presents: The Logogeneplex! I’m pretty sure I’ve read stuff that this was used on. (Warning: archives are NSFW.)

• Bottom Lines on Following Pages Tell What to Do While Battle Rages
• Tin Cans in the Garbage Pile Are Just a Way of Saying “Heil!”
• Waste Fats in Good Condition Help to Make Fine Ammunition
• Boys and Girls, Every Day, Can Give War Aid in Many a Way—
• Every Time You Buy a Stamp, You Feed the Flame in Freedom’s Lamp
• If You Have an Extra Quarter, Buy a Stamp to Make War Shorter
• However far soldiers roam, the want to have some mail from home
• Collect Old Paper, Turn It In—Help Your Uncle Sam to Win
• You Can Walk to School and Store! Saving Gas Helps Win the War!
• Boys Are Smart, Girls Are Wise, Black Markets Not to Patronize
• IF YOU STILL HAVE METAL SCRAP, TURN IT IN TO BEAT THE JAP
• Turn Out Lights Not in Use —War Production Needs the “Juice”

Case and punctuation are preserved as closely as possible. And yes, they used a racial slur in a kids’ book.

Out of 12 slogans, 10 give specific suggestions. They break down as follows:
4 on recycling (tin, scrap metal, fats, paper)
2 on conservation (electricity and gas)
2 on funding (stamps)
1 on morale (write to the troops)
1 on crime (black markets)

The black market warning doesn’t seem to fit in, since it’s not, as far as I can tell, directly related to the war effort. Concern that criminals might be funding the enemy, or undermining supply chains? Or maybe they just knew it was a problem (in response to rationing), and decided to include it in the list as a public safety issue?

Anyway, seeing this in a comic book, which at the time really was aimed at children, is an interesting reminder that, during World War II, we didn’t just mobilize the American military—we mobilized all of America.