Indice dei contenuti per March 2014 in Reader's Digest

IT WOULD BE HARD to overstate my fear of reptiles. Early in our marriage, for several weeks after watching a Nat Geo special about the Amazon, I made Steve do a nightly sweep of our Cleveland Heights apartment, including a check under the bed for snakes. Someone upstairs chuckled when my two daughters, Sophia and Olivia, turned out to have not only a deep love for animals but a passion for coldblooded ones. (“Mommy! Can I have snake sheets for my bed?”) My girls produce live animal shows for our annual block party, write storybooks about turtles, and design information sheets for their bedroom frog museums. I can nurture their passion without touching the creatures, right? One recent evening, I was met at the door by a concerned husband and…

ACCIDENTALLY RUNNING OVER the foot of a lawyer’s child with your shopping cart. Being unsure whether you are or are not on a date. That word you’re unable to put your finger on. Swimsuit season. Being bitten by a toddler. Asking, “When are you due?” and being told, “It’s benign, actually.” Prominent dog testicles. Looking like a tourist. Forgetting the names of people who think they’re important. Wearing socks with holes to the airport. When the circus lion angrily decides he’s had just about enough of this nonsense, thanks. Sweaty handshakes. American flags made in China. Being stopped because they’ve heard that one before. When it’s your fault we need a cleanup in aisle seven. All the things you should have said but didn’t. All the things lost in translation.…

ON CHRISTMAS DAY in 2003, Nancy Sue Brown took her daughter and grandchildren to see the film Cheaper by the Dozen at an AMC movie theater in a Georgia mall. The theater was packed. When the film was over, Brown, then 63, followed the large crowd through the lobby toward the exit. As she passed the concession stand, she suddenly tripped, then tumbled to the ground. About ten minutes earlier, an AMC employee had mopped up a spilled drink in the area and placed a sign saying Wet Floor over the spot. It was an A-frame sign—the kind used by businesses everywhere—made of bright yellow plastic, with CAUTION in red capital letters across the top. The sign had fallen over—probably trampled by the crowd—and Brown hadn’t seen it lying flat…

ON TIME It would seem to be more efficient to do away with daylight saving time altogether. Frequent and uncoordinated time changes cause confusion, undermining economic efficiency. There’s evidence that regularly changing sleep cycles lowers productivity and increases heart attacks. Being out of sync with European time changes was projected to cost the airline industry $147 million a year in travel disruptions. ALLISON SCHRAGER, economist, in Quartz ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS Intelligence doesn’t just mean tracking down terrorists; it means finding out what is in people’s hearts and minds. KAREN ARMSTRONG, writer, in Origin magazine ON SPORTS Basketball, like all team sports, has a built-in ethical question: Does the talented individual try to win on his own or trust in his lesser teammates? It’s the predicament of modern life. BETHLEHEM SHOALS,…

• For cleaner counters, place all ingredients on an empty baking sheet prior to prepping them. (This will help you catch spills and avoid wasting time hunting for an item as you cook.) • Break a glass? If a tumbler tumbles, pick up the shards with a slice of white bread.even tiny slivers will cling to it. • To protect a treasured recipe card (or cookbook or magazine) from splatters and stains, place it under a clean glass pot lid. • As you cook, toss scraps, eggshells, and other garbage into a large bowl. This will contain messes and save time if a trash can isn’t readily accessible. Line the bowl with a plastic bag to make cleanup even easier. • To prevent an olive oil bottle from becoming greasy,…

FROM THE BOOK ALL JOY AND NO FUN WHEN PROSPECTIVE mothers and fathers imagine the joys of parenthood, they seldom envision the adolescent years. Adolescence is the stretch of childhood that Nora Ephron opined can be survived only by acquiring a dog (“so that someone in the house is happy to see you”). Gone are the first smiles, warm nuzzles, and cheerful games of catch. They’ve been replaced by 5 a.m. hockey practices, renewed adventures in trigonometry, and middleof-the-night requests for rides home. And these are the hardships generated by the good adolescents. Yet their parents are still going half mad. Which raises an important question: Is it possible that adults experience adolescence differently from children? That the classification, in fact, might be more useful for parents than for the…

On cold days, watch for: • HEART ATTACK One 2012 U.S. study found an 18 percent increase in heart attack deaths in winter and a 10 to 12 percent decrease in summer. Cold weather may constrict blood vessels or lead to more blood clots. • PSORIASIS FLARES Cold, dry air sucks moisture out of the skin, which makes it more vulnerable to the disease’s trademark red, scaly patches. A good, greasy, penetrating moisturizer can help. On hot days, watch for: • GOUT Dehydration from sweltering temps can cause uric acid, a trigger of gout pain, to accumulate. • MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS Steamy weather and even slight rises in core body temperature.caused by a fever or taking a hot bath.can exacerbate symptoms. When lightning strikes, watch for: • MIGRAINES A study found…

The Sleep-Heart Connection Although sleep apnea is associated with heart disease in both men and women, the sleep disorder may negatively affect the heart rates of women more than those of men, according to recent research. During various physical challenges, the heart rates of sleep apnea patients didn’t change as much or as quickly as the rates of healthy adults (a sign of greater cardiovascular disease risk). The effect was even more pronounced in the women. Researchers plan to study whether treating sleep apnea with CPAP therapy improves patients’ heart rate function. When Brain Blips Aren’t Dementia The challenge: Name the place where you can view celestial bodies on the inner surface of a dome. If you struggled to come up with planetarium, don’t worry: It’s not a sign of…

Start the whole nightmare on a whim. Kind of as a joke, really. Walk up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan with a little time on your hands. As you turn past the Plaza Hotel, spy a sandwich board on the sidewalk advertising fortune-telling and psychic insights. Notice how the sign points to a prewar building where the rents must be astronomical. The address alone signals that this operation—you’re unsure what exactly psychics do, to be honest—is legit, that it isn’t some carnival-barker-at-the-fair scam. Not that you’re thinking about it so deeply. This isn’t to be a big deal, a major financial mistake, an event in your life that you will later come to describe with the words disgust and shame. It’s just a little entertainment, initially, as you step inside the…

HE WAS A GENTLE MAN but didn’t see it that way—he felt like a pushover. He was intelligent but hung out with a defiant crowd in high school (“the cool troublemaker types,” he says now), struggled to complete his Army service, and at 24 lived in Columbus, Ohio, without a place of his own or a steady job. When Eddie Hill, a slight young man with pale, worried eyes, looked in the mirror, he didn’t glimpse promise. He saw “pretty damn worthless.” He lacked the courage to protect his own goodness. In May 1989, he agreed to do a favor for his ex-brother-in-law, Donald “Duke” Palmer. Duke, also 24, was a 220-pound, six-foot-oneinch Army vet. He’d towered over Eddie when they’d met at 15 at Martins Ferry High School and…

Photograph by Tim Hetherington Chosen by Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm, journalist, and codirector with Hetherington of the Oscar-nominated film Restrepo “Tim took this photograph in 2008 at a remote American outpost in Afghanistan called Restrepo. The first time I saw him taking photos of sleeping soldiers, I asked him what he was doing, and he said, ‘Don’t you get it? This is how their mothers see them.’ War is fought by vulnerable boys who are desperately trying to be tough, grown men. This image shows that truth much more powerfully than any combat photo ever could.” Hetherington was killed in 2011 while on assignment in Libya. He was 40.…

ARTHUR DUPERRAULT had long dreamed of taking his family sailing on the azure seas of the tropics. Looking out on the chilly blue waters of Lake Michigan, the optometrist from Green Bay, Wisconsin, recalled the warmer waters to the far south that he had sailed during World War II. He spoke often of wanting to live for a year on a sailboat, cruising around the world from island to island. BY 1961, Duperrault had become successful enough to fulfill that dream, at least in part. That year, instead of facing a hard Wisconsin winter, he, his wife, Jean, son, Brian, 14, and daughters Terry Jo, 11, and René, seven, would head to the Bahamas. They planned to spend a week trying out life at sea on a chartered yacht and…

1 The Mist Stephen King’s 1980 novella was one of his more upbeat tales: Monsters attack; a man and his son flee to save themselves. So leave it to Hollywood to destroy the one happy ending the guy gives us. How? In the 2007 film based on writer Frank Darabont’s screenplay, the father and son die. King said that he would have incorporated the movie’s changes into his plotline if only he had thought of them first. Early in the development process, studio execs initially rejected Darabont’s script, preferring the original story’s Pollyanna ending. But King disagreed with them, explaining that horror fans actually like to be frightened and deeply disturbed. He was right. 2 Fight Club The movie based on Chuck Palahniuk’s novel cleaves pretty closely to the source…

EVERYDAY WELLNESS 50 Shades of Me Probably silly, sure, but we found five free online quizzes that deliver surprisingly nuanced personality reads. Our favorite is Test Color, which reveals how creative and smart you are by the colors you like. MOST RETWEETS ON TWITTER THE HUMAN BRAIN How to Spend Less While Shopping Leave the plastic at home, and try to bring new bills. Studies show people are more likely to part with wilted dollars than crisp cash. Also, wear high heels; focusing on your balance makes you more likely to buy midrange items. WAYS TO SAVE Is Mouthwash a Waste of Money? According to some experts, it’s less effective at fighting plaque than regular brushing, flossing, and pro cleanings. Swishing might kill germs in the short term, but alcohol…

THE YEAR AHEAD I can think of a 21st reason why 2014 will be better than 2013 (“20 reasons Why this year Will be better than 2013”): your January issue! i love the new format, the reduction in advertisements, and all the wonderful, funny, and amazing stories you find. i especially loved “the brave among us” and “Let’s hear it for the boys!” (which made me cry). Keep up the good work! BETH BUTTAZONI, Sonora, California ON THE REDESIGN How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love the new paper’s look and feel; I love that the articles are longer and more intellectual and provocative; I love that the Twitter sensibility is gone. I love the new look, period. VIRGINIA PHARR, Allen, Texas I am a…

AFTER A ROUGH DAY spent corralling my rowdy kids, I’d had enough. “I think I’m going to sell them,” I hissed to my sister. “You’re crazy,” she said. “For thinking of selling them?” “For thinking someone would buy them.” SHERI MUELLER, Lehi, Utah PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE notes left for some noisy neighbors: • “Hi. Just thought you might like to know that I think your pet elephants have been bowling while you’re out.—Your Downstairs Neighbor.” • “Good morning! We hope your exorcism was successful last night. We do ask as a courtesy that you limit expelling demons to Friday or Saturday nights. Thank you in advance.” • “Dear Neighbor, Your car’s sound system is amazing. It is so loud and the bass is so rockin’ that it actually shakes all the apartment…

…I said I’d never have kids. KATRINA COTTRELL GROVER …He saw all the stuff I blamed on my younger sibling. RICCI JONES II …Bruce Almighty was filmed. ANDREA ENGLISH …He learned about Grumpy Cat. HARMONY BROWN …I fell off my front porch taking pictures of my grandson riding his bike without training wheels. SUE WILLIAMS ...He made the threetoed sloth. KATE EASTMAN …sarcasm was born. ANNETTA GRACE …He set a swarm of bees on me last summer! SARAH BAUER …I sat beside a six-week-old Chihuahua puppy when I thought I hated dogs. She is now my beloved companion of many years. LAWANDA KINARD …He created politicians. DEBBIE WHITTEMORE…

WHEN I WAS 21 and approaching my final semester of college, my research adviser offered me the chance to spend the term in India, working at the University of Mumbai. I squealed and jumped up and down, excited beyond words. It would be so thrilling to live abroad, I thought. The adventure of a lifetime! I shared the wonderful news with my parents. Sadly, they did not think it was so wonderful. They thought it was crazy. “Where will you stay while you’re there?” my mother asked. “I ... um ... I don’t actually know,” I replied, a little embarrassed not to have a good answer. “And what will it cost? What will you live on?” I didn’t know that either. All I knew was that going to India for…

1 FOR THE BEDROOM Jewel of India This large-leaved variety tolerates low natural light and prefers higher temperatures, which makes it an ideal choice for a dimly lit finished attic or a warm bedroom. 2 FOR THE LIVING ROOM Janet Craig Preferring indirect sunlight, this lush plant is easy to maintain, and it offers a splash of color. Let soil dry out completely between waterings, and fertilize only once a year. 3 FOR THE DEN ZZ Plant Even if you neglect it, there’s a good chance this droughttolerant, diseaseresistant succulent will do just fine. In addition, the ZZ plant thrives in low-light rooms. But keep the plant away from pets and small children: Its parts can be poisonous. 4 FOR THE KITCHEN Golden Pothos With heart-shaped leaves that filter formaldehyde,…

A CLIENT WALKED INTO my design studio with a black-and-white flyer. Client: Can you make a color copy? Client: Can you make a color copy? Me: Do you have the original? Client: No. Just this one. Me: Sorry, I can’t make color copies unless I have the original color version. Client (confused): Why can’t you just run it through the color copier? AS A FLIGHT ATTENDANT, I wear a watch with two faces: one set for the time in our departure city, and the other set for our destination city. One day, a passenger asked me for the time. Looking at my watch, I told her, “It’s 9:41 in Chicago and 5:41 in Honolulu.” Intrigued, she asked, “Is the watch available for other cities?” PAM TATREAU, Hermosa Beach, California THERE…

ONE OF THE MOST important recent medical breakthroughs has been the impact of gut flora on overall health. This dynamic mix of bacteria in the digestive tract may affect everything from obesity to asthma. It’s a topic that Reader’s Digest has been closely covering, including in my recent book 21-Day Tummy, a plan to shrink and soothe your stomach by reducing inflammation and balancing gut bacteria. I’m also intrigued by this latest pioneering research: Gut microbes, new studies show, may even influence how happy or anxious we feel. THE GUT-MOOD LINK Anyone who’s ever experienced “butterflies” in his or her stomach knows that the gut and the brain are connected. But until recently, scientists hadn’t realized that the trillions of bacteria in our digestive tract may be driving the relationship.…

The Boy Who Turned Blue THE 2011 HOLIDAY season was rough for Rece Mostek. The 19-month-old from Omaha had spent much of November and December in and out of doctors’ offices with coughs, colds, and fevers. His condition had deteriorated so much that he was hospitalized with pneumonia for four days in February 2012. Even upon his release one Thursday morning, doctors warned his parents that he was not out of the woods yet. Just an hour after he arrived home—and under his father Jamie’s watchful eye—Rece began to cough uncontrollably and turn blue. Believing that his son was choking on a piece of Play-Doh, Jamie called 911 and began CPR. An ambulance arrived a few minutes later. The first responders gave Rece oxygen and rushed him to the nearest…

For every set of horseshoes human beings use for luck, somewhere in this world there’s a barefoot horse. ALLAN SHERMAN Today is Thursday the 13th, which means it’s bad luck to deal with Australians. @KEATINGTHOMAS What does it mean if a black squirrel crosses your path? Will I have adorably bad luck? @SUDDAIN Research has found that because it makes you think positive thoughts, throwing salt over your shoulder can actually prevent bad luck. Or at least give you better luck than the guy behind you. JIMMY FALLON If 13 is unlucky, then 12 and 14 are guilty by association. MITCH HEDBERG Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have nothing but a gross penny you found in some filthy parking lot. @JENNYJOHNSONHI5…

In 2008, I went through a stressful cross-country move with my three children as my husband started a new job. At night, I found myself sipping an uncharacteristic third glass of wine to cope with the sorrow of leaving Oregon for the Northeast. I cut back on my drinking before it became a problem, but my experience made me realize how much alcohol had become intertwined with being a woman today. I saw it in my new suburb with women who held high-pressure jobs, then downed a bottle of wine at dinner. I met moms who poured Baileys into travel mugs to swig after driving their kids to school. I saw it on TV: women hoisting oversize glasses of vino on Real Housewives, Cougartown, or Scandal. On Facebook, I found…

AS A CHILD OF THE 1970s AND ’80s, I considered television characters some of my best friends and mentors. Miss Piggy taught me karate. The Fonz taught me the cool way to repair a jukebox. Mork taught me that space aliens are a lot like us, only constantly riffing. Later on, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to create a few TV characters of my own. But with all due respect to Miss Piggy, the Fonz, and Mork (and with somewhat less due respect to Stewie Griffin and Stan Smith), the most unforgettable character ever to appear on my television screen was an actual human, in every virtuous sense of that word. Imagine sitting down each week to watch a television show that doesn’t feature any Orange County…

1 When you’re organizing, you should sort everything into five piles: move to another room, donate, give to a specific person, throw away, and, finally, the “marinating” pile. Pack up the marinating items, and label the box with a date that’s six months to a year later. If you never open the box before that date, you can safely discard those items. 2 Avoid lids on laundry baskets, bins, and other containers. They just make it harder to put things away. 3 Sure, you could sell that item on eBay. But are you interested in finishing your organizing project or starting a new career hocking used stuff? Unless you sell online all the time or need the money, I recommend just giving things away so you can move on. 4…

Marquis de Lafayette, 19 During the American Revolution, Lafayette served as a major general in the Continental Army under George Washington. James Monroe, 18 A lieutenant in Washington’s army, Monroe would grow up to become the fifth U.S. president and the last Founding Father to serve as chief executive. Aaron Burr, 20 An officer in the Continental Army, Burr eventually served as the memorable third vice president of the United States. Alexander Hamilton, 22 Appointed chief of staff to General Washington, Hamilton became one of the most influential promoters of the Constitution and the founder of the first American political party. James Madison, 25 Madison would prove to be instrumental in the drafting of the Constitution and the writing of the Bill of Rights. He ultimately became the fourth U.S.…

GREAT MILITARY MINDS THROUGH HISTORY ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS: How stressful is it to oversee a war? “I’m sleeping like a baby. Every two hours, I wake up, screaming.” GEN. COLIN POWELL (Iraq War) When the enemy attacked, you pulled back. Why? “We are not retreating—we are advancing in another direction.” MAJ. GEN. OLIVER P. SMITH (Korean War) You’re encircled. You’re low on ammo. What do you tell the troops? “They’ve got us surrounded again, the poor @#$%^&*$!” GEN. CREIGHTON ABRAMS (WWII) Any advice for novice officers? “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” NAPOLEON BONAPARTE…

ON A MONDAY afternoon in February 2007, Gretchen Holt-Witt took Liam, her 2 ½-year-old son, to his pediatrician because of some new habits—longer naps, pickier eating. After subsequent tests, the doctor called with impossible news: The ultrasound had found a large mass in Liam’s abdomen. After more testing at the hospital, Gretchen learned that her son had neuroblastoma, a ruthless cancer that affects nerve cells. Liam began three rounds of highdose chemotherapy, then later underwent a 12 ½-hour surgery that left him on a ventilator. He faced more high-dose chemotherapy, multiple rounds of radiation therapy, retinoid therapy, and an antibody therapy so painful that it’s given with an addictive, morphine-like drug. Meanwhile, Gretchen grappled with a startling fact that she discovered the first week Liam was in the hospital: Among…

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN UNDRESSING for me for a long time. I know what you look like: One glance at you, and I can picture pretty well what you’d look like on my table. Let’s start here with what nobody looks like: Nobody looks like the people in magazines or movies. Not even models. Nobody. Lean people have a kind of rawboned, unfinished look about them that is very appealing. But they don’t have plump round breasts and plump round behinds. If you have plump round breasts and a plump round behind, you have a plump round belly and plump round thighs as well. That’s how it works. (And that’s very appealing too.) Women have cellulite. All of them. It’s dimply and cute. It’s not a defect. It’s not a health…

WITH HER WARM TONE, sharp eye, and finger on the pulse of American women, Anna Quindlen seems like a friend who both understands you and challenges you a little. Make that a very accomplished friend. Her six novels have all been bestsellers, as have many of her nonfiction books. She also was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for her op-ed columns in the New York Times. The main character in your new novel, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, has had a great career, but now she’s down on her luck. Does she embody your fears of the worst that could happen, or is she just a work of the imagination? Definitely imagination. I’m interested in second and third acts in American lives. I wasn’t so focused on what she’d…

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES THE INVENTOR OF Doritos envisioned this snack in 1964 as a marketing powerhouse that could deliver endless varieties of new flavors. But none of the formulations would surpass Nacho Cheese, whose irresistible taste sent Doritos into the processed food hall of fame, and more recently into a partnership with Taco Bell. I visited Steven A. Witherly, a food scientist who wrote an insider’s guide, “Why Humans Like Junk Food,” and we raided his lab to taste and experiment our way through the psychobiology of what makes Nacho Cheese Doritos so alluring. That Melting Sensation When fat-laden snacks melt in the mouth, the brain thinks that the calories have disappeared, too, in what food scientists call “vanishing caloric density.” This tends to delay the feeling of…

Text Your Way In After you install the Lockitron device ($179) over your door’s deadbolt and download the app, you can unlock the door by texting your password or tapping the app on your phone. The device is placed on the interior side of your door, and the app works with any smartphone. Let In Friends Security gets very social with the August Smart Lock ($199), which uses an app to sense and grant access to those with approved smartphones. Approach the entry while logged in to your account, and the door will automatically unlock. You can temporarily add a friend who wants to borrow a measuring cup or set up a schedule to admit the nanny each weekday morning. Add a Camera For the Einstein of digital unlocking devices,…

FIRST OF ALL, get tested if you’re over age 50 or your doctor recommends it sooner. Colonoscopy is the most widely used screening test for colon cancer, which is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers. More than 50,000 Americans die from the disease every year. Colon cancer almost always begins as abnormal growths called polyps, which can be detected and removed during a colonoscopy, dramatically lowering your risk of developing the disease. But according to recent data, about 23 million U.S. adults have never been tested for colon cancer (even though two thirds of them have a regular doctor and insurance to pay for the test). Two of us—Jim Sears, MD, and Travis Stork, MD—recently underwent colonoscopies on the air. So we grilled experts for advice on everything from choosing…

First, know that despite scary e-mail forwards from nervous relatives, you needn’t worry about disposable plastic water bottles leaching cancer-causing chemicals into the liquid, according to the American Cancer Society. Commercial water bottles often don’t contain concerning hormone-disrupting chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) or phthalates either. But any used bottle can harbor germs from saliva backwash, says Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona and coauthor of The Germ Freak’s Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu. Surprisingly, “that’s not really a problem as long as you don’t share the bottle with other people,” he says, since your immune system has already dealt with whatever cold, flu, or other germs may be in your mouth. One exception: sports bottles that you’ve used your thumb or fingers to press shut.…

A MAN WALKS INTO a barbershop and asks, “How much for a haircut?” “Twelve dollars,” says the barber. “And for a shave?” “Ten dollars.” “All right,” says the man, settling into the barber chair. “Shave my head.” HELEN RUSS, Medford, Oregon “YOU’VE HAD THREE hairstyles. What’s next for your career?” ZACH GALIFIANAKIS to JUSTIN BIEBER in an episode of Between Two Ferns (Catch it on funnyordie.com.) IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH to ruin a film. Sometimes all you have to do is add a word to the title, such as: • The Girl with the Washable Dragon Tattoo • Game of Porcelain Thrones • The KFC Bucket List From twitter.com/ruinmoviee DID YOU HEAR ABOUT the new e-reader? Reader’s Digest and Amazon created software that will condense books when you download them.…

It’s the legal case that lives in infamy. An elderly woman is burned when she spills a cup of hot coffee on her lap. She blames her injuries on the corporation that sold her the coffee, riding it all the way to a $2.7 million jury-awarded jackpot. Headlines scream rip-off. News anchors report the story with barely concealed scorn. Even Jay Leno cracks wise at the victim’s expense. Rarely, however, does anyone bother to learn the full story, and as with most things in life, there’s more here than meets the eye. ON FEBRUARY 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old widow, was in the passenger seat of her grandson’s Ford Probe ordering a Value Meal at the drive-through window of an Albuquerque, New Mexico, McDonald’s. Since there were no cup…

A SOUTH AFRICAN MAN was sailing from East London, South Africa, to Madagascar when his yacht ran aground and was severely damaged. He scooped up his beloved nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier and swam ashore to safety. Only when he was assured that his dog would be all right did he swim back to the yacht to save his other traveling companion—his wife. Source: news24.com AT THE CONCLUSION of the divorce proceedings, a Serbian judge ordered a man to share all his property equally with his soon to be ex-wife, including his dearly loved farm equipment. Following the judgment to the letter, the man purchased a grinder and cut all his tools and machinery in half. Source: Reuters AFTER LEARNING that her husband was cheating on her, a British woman decided…

TAP, TAP, TAP. BUD POWELL’S ALUMINUM CANE LED THE WAY AS HE CIRCLED THE FLOOR OF BLOOMINGTON’S WAFFLE HOUSE. HIS WAFFLE HOUSE. ON THE LAST MORNING, BEFORE THE WAFFLE IRONS WENT COLD AND THE PICTURES CAME DOWN, BEFORE THE LOCK REFUSED TO LOCK, BEFORE THE CLAW CRASHED THROUGH THE ROOF, THE OLD MAN PACED. That Wednesday in September, the owner didn’t know what to do with himself. The smell of frying oil, the same greasy perfume that had greeted customers for 46 years, wafted into his nose as he wandered past the vinyl booths. He sat down, then stood up again. Bud—everyone called him Bud—checked on the dwindling supply of breakfast sausage, peered into the nearly empty freezers, tried to explain to his regulars why it had to be this…

“TOO OFTEN, when people walk into a museum, they secretly think, I can’t see the point of this,” says bestselling author Alain de Botton. In his new book, Art as Therapy, de Botton aims to take the “snob factor” out of art and shows that great works can give anyone a new perspective on life. Here’s what he says three famous pieces have to tell us: The Ordinary Is Extraordinary WOMAN IN BLUE READING A LETTER Johannes Vermeer, c. 1663 “Vermeer celebrates everyday life: Here, a woman who seems nice stands by the window and reads a letter. It wasn’t simple to paint that picture, but the message is quite simple: Ordinary life is OK. We’re so surrounded by images of glamour that we’re constantly made to feel that our…

Within the month of March, we greet the proverbial lion and lamb of weather. This timely quiz brings you other extremes and polar opposites. So go all out (but don’t overexert yourself!), then turn the page for the answers. 1. nethermost (’neth-er-mohst) adj.— A: coldest. B: thinnest. C: lowest. 2. extravagant (ik-’stra-vi-gent) adj.—A: all gone. B: irate. C: over the top. 3. acme (’ak-mee) n.—A: verge. B: highest point. C: overflow. 4. culminate (’kul-mih-nayt) v.— A: fly into space. B: hit the bottom. C: reach a climax. 5. acute (uh-’kyoot) adj.—A: intense, urgent. B: tiny, insignificant. C: pretty, appealing. 6. precipice (’preh-sih-pis) n.— A: very steep side of a cliff. B: earliest moment. C: towering spire. 7. superlative (soo-’per-leh-tiv) adj.— A: outstanding. B: excessive. C: final. 8. antithesis (an-’ti-theh-sis) n.—…

The past is a ghost, the future is a dream, and all we ever have is now. BILL COSBY I DON’T CARE WHAT ANYBODY SAYS ABOUT ME, AS LONG AS IT ISN’T TRUE. TRUMAN CAPOTE I’ve questioned everything about myself, every step of the way. You have to have the same amount of fear and self-doubt as you do hope and blind optimism. TAYLOR SWIFT When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. HENRY FORD What makes something special is not just what you have to gain but what you feel there is to lose. ANDRE AGASSI You don’t just luck into things as much as you’d like to think you do. You build step by step, whether…