Written Pyramids

I once heard that The New York Times is written on an eighth-grade reading level and that the Boston Globe is on a fifth-grade level. I have not been able to confirm that, and I suspect it might have been something someone told me to get my very academically competitive elementary-school aged self to read both newspapers.

I've since heard that the Times is at a higher reading level, or maybe a lower one. Or, maybe reading levels are bogus.

I have no idea what reading level the Post is supposed to be at. I suspect it is slightly less snobby than the Times. Still, this line from a relatively complicated science article surprised me:

""If, through a process of melting, they collapse and are submerged in the sea, then we really are talking about sea-level rises of several meters." (A meter is about a yard.)"

(Emphasis mine)

Oh. Really? Thanks. I missed that lesson. Are there really readers who need that reminder? The Post seems to think so.