In the early 20th century, public outcry following Upton Sinclair's led to stricter food safety protocols. NASA took them a step further. In 1906, in response to public outcry that came after Upton Sinclair's detailed the revolting conditions in Chicago's meatpacking plants, the US government passed the Federal Meat Inspection Act. The legislation created what would become known as the Food Safety and Inspection Service, a force of federal employees who would spend their days in stockyards and packing plants, checking livestock for disease both before and after their slaughter. They did their work organoleptically--with their eyes, noses, and hands--an approach soon dubbed "poke and sniff."

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Mashable Selects Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Look Up Trending Now Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Creator Playbook Switch Off Mashable Voices Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List All Series We did a ton of testing and research to find six models that deserve an A+. Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what's actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons . All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. Starting college comes with a lot of tough choices: which dorm to live in, which major to pursue, whether to use artificial intelligence, when to pull an all-nighter, and how many parties to attend on the weekend. But you don't need to agonize over finding the right laptop for school. There's more to consider than just what supplies to buy this year (though we'll help with that too.)

With every increase in the power of AI, there is a potential increase in risk. 'We're plausibly close to crossing the line': are warnings of uncontrollable AI coming true? With every increase in the power of AI, there is a potential increase in risk. P icture humanity in a boat being swept down a raging river, praying there is no Niagara Falls ahead. Or imagine standing with the pioneering physicists in 1942 before they triggered the first self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction beneath a Chicago stadium.

Mashable Selects Look Up Trending Now Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Creator Playbook Say More Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Switch Off Mashable Voices Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List All Series We've spotted deep discounts of up to 60% on brands like Apple, Sony, TCL, and HP. Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what's actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons . All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers.

Look Up Trending Now Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Creator Playbook Say More Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Switch Off Mashable Voices Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List All Series Save up to $450 on a new Apple, HP, Dell, or Acer computer over the long weekend. Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what's actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons . Lauren Allain is a freelance journalist covering deals at Mashable.

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According to new documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, an undergraduate working with DOGE requested that his work for HUD count towards his University of Chicago degree. Christopher Sweet, an affiliate of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, requested college credit for his time in government, according to new documents obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Democracy Forward, a nonprofit legal organization. Sweet was stationed at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and in emails between Sweet and Scott Langmack, another DOGE affiliate at HUD, it appears that Sweet was looking to frame his work at HUD as an independent study worth three college credits. Sweet joined HUD in the spring of 2025 as an undergraduate college student at the University of Chicago to work on building an AI tool that would crawl through the agency's rules and regulations and flag them for rescission, or the cancellation of contracts. The tool, called SweetRex, was intended to be rolled out across the federal government.