CHICAGO, IL (September 23, 2016) — Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement by the Covenant of any views expressed.

Girls’ Life Vs. Boys’ Life

The father who took the picture of the two magazines side by side posted it online, saying, “A sad microcosm of what our society says being a girl vs. being a boy means. With three girls to raise, this breaks my heart.” He vows to fight for a new reality where girls’ accomplishments are promoted and they’re encouraged to aspire to great things. We should do the same.

From the article: “Karen Bokram, publisher and founding editor of Girls’ Life, defended the magazine and said she felt no need to apologize for anything on its cover or on its pages inside. ‘And it’s probably beside the point that all of the haters who have contacted me admit they have never actually read ANY issue of Girls’ Life, no less the one being slammed…,’ Bokram said on her Facebook page.”

Straightforward Answers to Basic Questions About Syria’s War

The questions are basic, but the answers can be complicated. The conflict isn’t just between government forces and rebels. There are wars within wars, involving multiple factions amid the opposition. Foreign governments are taking sides, but sometimes they end up backing different groups battling each other. This article does an excellent job explaining what is behind the fighting that has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions more.

People Walker Business Makes Great Strides

Under-employed actor Chuck McCarthy had thought about supplementing his income by walking dogs but didn’t want to deal with inherent messes. So he came up with the idea of walking people. What initially was a joke has grown into a business that has required him to hire employees due to the high demand for his services, which cost $7 a mile.

From the article: “ ‘Need motivation to walk?’ (the fliers) ask from lamp posts. ‘Scared to walk alone at night? Don’t like walking alone at all? Don’t want people to see you walking alone and just assume you have no friends? Don’t like listening to music or podcasts but can’t walk alone in silence, forced to face thoughts of the unknown future, or your own insignificance in the ever expanding universe?’ ”

Designing Buildings to House Our Favorite Germs

The early research on microbiomes found inside buildings is growing exponentially. Perhaps one day, real-estate agents will highlight all the wonderful, healthy microbes that come with the house.

From the article: “The shift stems partly from studies suggesting that exposure to microbes early in life helps ‘train’ the immune system, lowering allergy risk, and that disturbances in the gut microbiome could be linked to asthma, depression, and other health problems. More broadly, understanding the microbiology of the built environment could help address mounting concerns about antibiotic resistance and help us design healthier cities for growing urban populations.”

The Secret Lab Where Nike Developed Self-Lacing Shoes

A team of brilliant engineers working for one of the most iconic brands in the world puts its best minds together to solve the nagging problem no one has even yet considered a major crisis—basketball players don’t always have their shoes tied correctly. Maybe now they can figure out how to produce those shoes while not exploiting the workers who make them.

From the article: “And after 28 years of brainstorming and 11 years of R&D, after many false starts, delays, and blown deadlines, after the vanquishing of internal skepticism, after innumerable prototypes, iterations, and redesigns, Nike’s automatic electronic self-lacing shoe is scheduled to ship to stores this holiday season. The company is calling the technology ‘adaptive fit,’ and the sneaker is the HyperAdapt 1.0—each shoe has a sensor, battery, motor, and cable system that adjusts fit based on an algorithmic pressure equation. When a foot is inserted, the shoe tightens automatically until it senses friction points.”