Link roundup

1. "This is why it's notable that some little blue-green bacteria hitching a ride on the exterior of the International Space Station came out of it alive -- after a record-setting 553 days. That's a year and a half in a near-vacuum."

2. "Mao's Great Leap Forward killed 45 million in four years." The details are horrific.

3. McDonald's sponsors sports not to advertise to customers, but to excite store owners about being part of the McDonald's family. Via.

*Buy The Andromeda Strain at Amazon.