When it comes to the vocabulary of sensory perception, smell is at a significant disadvantage - especially if you speak English

Several years ago, the sensory psychologist Avery Gilbert wrote a blog post on the subject of body odor in the erotic romance novel “Fifty Shades of Grey,” by E. L. James. The book, he observed, is liberally scented. At one point, its male protagonist, Christian Grey, is said to be redolent of “freshly laundered linen and some expensive body wash,” which prompts its female protagonist, Anastasia Steele, to announce, “I want to breathe this elixir for eternity.” Ana’s aroma is equally enticing...

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Singapore at 50: From swamp to skyscrapers

Fifty years ago Singapore became an independent state,

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Anthony Mason, bruising ex-Knicks forward, dead at 48

Anthony Mason, who died Saturday morning, played 13 seasons in the NBA with six teams but is best remembered for his days with the Knicks.

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Happy Christmas! Stolen Picasso posted to New York by FedEx

It appeared to be a mundane parcel like scores of others lovingly posted across the ocean in the run-up to the holiday season: a package labelled “art craft/toy” with a value put at $37 (£24) and the message “Happy Christmas”. But when US customs officers examined the contents, they found a stolen Picasso painting worth at least $2.5m, which had been lost for 14 years. The 1911 Cubist masterwork, La Coiffeuse (The Hairdresser), had been registered missing from...

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Indiana may install 'baby boxes' for abandoned infants

A 2-foot-long metal box is Indiana's attempt to save newborn infants from dangerous abandonment and possible death. The proposed baby box is an answer to the state's problem of unwanted infants who are abandoned in the woods, creeks and dumpsters. Local officials want to put these boxes in local hospitals, fire stations, churches and nonprofits for parents to use as a safe, anonymous last resort.

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Uber Breach Affecting 50,000 Drivers Went Unreported for Months

Uber waited more than five months to notify 50,000 drivers whose names and drivers-license numbers were taken in a computer-security breach last year, much longer than allowed by many state laws.

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Rethinking office space

Not the sexiest title for a blog post, I know. But as we’ve inhabited a variety of workplaces—including a garage in Menlo Park, a farmhouse in Denmark and an entire New York city block—we’ve learned something about what makes an office space great. And we’re excited to put that into practice, starting here at our home in Mountain View.

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Graffiti artist Banksy highlights condition of people living in Gaza

The elusive graffiti artist Banksy has reemerged among Palestinian ruins to give his instantly recognizable stenciling style a meaningful backdrop. A politically charged travelogue of a war-ravaged neighborhood appeared on his YouTube channel late Wednesday with the title "Make this the year YOU discover a new destination.” The footage shows Palestinian civilians standing among the devastation of war as darkly satirical captions appear.

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Weed Vending Machines Have Hit the U.S.

This month, Washington state’s legalization of recreational marijuana seemingly reached its logical conclusion with the installation of the state’s first weed vending machine in Seattle. In abstract, the device (which is also Bitcoin-compatible, just for added zeitgeist-y value) sounds like a terrible idea, prone to the sort of general abuse that could set back the tide of legalization that’s been sweeping the country.

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The remote Alaskan village that needs to be relocated due to climate change

This is a project that has been in the works for a while now, but funding is an issue (most of Alaska's income is from oil, which is down right now). Another issue is the fact that this is relatively unprecedented. There is no 'Depertment of Relocating Villages' to take charge of this project.

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Dom'Up Treehouse

Dom'Up is an innovative treehouse that draws inspiration from tree camping and traditional treehouse structure. Dutch arboriculturist Bruno de Grunne and architect Nicolas d'Ursel from Trees and People invented this new suspension style cabin. The end result is a tree shelter that's reported easy to install and leaves no trace or impact on its surrounding environment and trees.

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Doctors Join Forces With Lawyers To Reduce Firearms Deaths

More than 32,000 people die each year in the United States in gun-related suicides, violence and accidents. The physicians seek universal background checks and other measures to reduce the toll.

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Why Alaska Is Warmer Than the Continental U.S.

Over the past week or so, I've posted several comments and links talking about how warm it is in Alaska relative to the East Coast. Here's a decent explanation for why that's happening.

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Life in Prison for Selling $20 of Weed

On September 5, 2008, Fate Vincent Winslow watched a plainclothes stranger approach him. Homeless and hungry, on a dark street rife with crime, the 41-year-old African American was anxious to make contact, motivated by one singular need: food. Another man, this one white, stood next to Winslow. He is referred to in court documents exclusively as “Perdue.”

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To Fight Homegrown Jihadis, Germany Takes Lesson From Battle With Neo-Nazis

Germany has turned away hundreds of neo-Nazis from violence and reintegrated them into society. Could the same approach work for German would-be jihadis?

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Couple married 67 years dies holding hands

Floyd and Violet Hartwig died holding hands at the end of a marriage lasting 67 years. Their daughter, Donna Scharton, said Thursday that once the family sensed the couple was close to death, they pushed their two hospice beds together, gently joining their hands. Floyd went first, followed by Violet five hours later. They died Feb. 11 at home in Central California, as they had wished.

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Mom loses custody for alienating dad

In a stunning and unusual family law decision, a Toronto judge has stripped a mother of custody of her three children after the woman spent more than a decade trying to alienate them from their father. The mother's "consistent and overwhelming" campaign to brainwash the children into thinking their father was a bad person was nothing short of emotional abuse, Justice Faye McWatt of the Superior Court of Justice wrote in her decision.

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Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy hacked to death in Dhaka

Machete-wielding assailants hacked to death a blogger in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, in the latest of a series of attacks on writers who support freethinking values in the Muslim-majority nation.

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"High in Church" (Uncensored)

After doing way too many drugs, Trevor Moore must attend midnight mass with his mom.

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Magical New Bookstore Opens Its Doors In Romania

Enter a magical new bookstore in Romania that sells books, music, movies and a peek into the past.

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What It’s Like to See 100 Million Colors

Tetrachromats can see colors that most people cannot — up to 100 million, estimates suggest, which is 100 times that of the average human. Most people have three cells, or receptors, in their retinas, but tetrachomats have a fourth receptor, which may be what allows for their heightened color perception. They are usually female, and it’s estimated that about 12 percent of women carry the gene for this fourth receptor.

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Peanut allergies? For children, the best treatment may be peanuts

It seemed like a good idea at the time: With the incidence of peanut allergy climbing among children, the American Academy of Pediatrics advised parents in 2000 to keep peanuts far away from infants and toddlers who might have a life-threatening reaction to them.

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Why Going Back In Time Will Make You A Better Architect

Are you passionate about architecture? Did you know that looking to the past can make you a better architect? Here is how to rediscover your love of design and extend your skills even further.

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Meet the Woman Creating a Complete, Copyright-Free Visual Record of America

Carol M. Highsmith is sometimes called "America's photographer," and for good reason. Determined to capture all 50 states in exhaustive, obsessive detail—"the nation's most ambitious visual record since the Depression"—she's been donating virtually all of her shots, copyright-free, to the Library of Congress since 1992, where they comprise a rare, one-person archive of some 30,000 images.

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A Sprinter's Fight to Prove She's a Woman

In a matter of two months, Dutee Chand went from being hailed as India's "sure shot Olympic medalist" to studying to become a train ticket collector. It all began last summer, a few days before a team of more than 200 Indian athletes was set to leave for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Chand, the 18-year-old 100m national champion sprinter, was dropped from the list.

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The Billion Dollar Cockfighting Industry of the Philippines

In the Philippines, the 6,000 year-old sport of cockfighting has been transformed into a fully-legal, billion dollar industry. Known locally as sabong, it takes place in 2,500 dedicated stadiums across the country and kills an estimated 30 million roosters each year.

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Marijuana Investors Lost $23.3 Billion in Penny Stocks Last Year

Investors in small cannabis companies lost $23.3 billion in 2014 because shady stock promoters are capitalizing on the slow tide of legalization in the US by manipulating the penny stock market with “pump and dump” schemes. Penny stocks are stocks in small companies that trade for less than five dollars apiece. They’re quoted and traded on dealer networks like OTC Markets because they don’t meet the requirements to be traded on more formal exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange.

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'You are not suitably dressed': Quebec judge refused to hear single mother's case because of hijab

A Quebec Court judge refused to hear the case this week of a single mother trying to retrieve her car because the woman would not remove her Muslim head scarf. “In my opinion, you are not suitably dressed,” Judge Eliana Marengo told Rania El-Alloul Tuesday, according to a courtroom recording obtained by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

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AQUACRUSH

AQUACRUSH interactive music video

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The Buddhas of Niki de Saint Phalle

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Freezing Temperatures Cause Amazing and Rare Phenomenon at Nantucket

New England's record freezing temperatures have caused a semi-frozen wave phenomenon captured by a local photographer.

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Alaska Farmer Turns Icy Patch Of Tundra Into A Breadbasket

Warmer temperatures in Alaska are giving farmers flexibility to plant a wider range of crops over a longer growing season. One farmer says the secret to his bounty is soil enriched by flooding rivers.

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Coral City

Take an exclusive look at the process behind Coral Morphologic's living artworks, colorful reefs created using coral polyps native to Miami.

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Coral City

Take an exclusive look at the process behind Coral Morphologic's living artworks, colorful reefs created using coral polyps native to Miami.

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A Winter's Morning

East of Yorkton, Saskatchewan. A Winter's Morning. © Ian D. McGregor

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Spaniards turn against domestic violence football chant

Tens of thousands of people have posted online messages of anger against Real Betis FC fans, because of a chant that seems to encourage domestic violence.

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Missouri Auditor and Governor Candidate Is Dead from Apparent Suicide

Tom Schweich, Missouri's Republican state auditor and a leading contender for the governor's office in next year's election, has died, according to his office. Earlier in the day, a police source said Schweich had sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The police source said Schweich's wife was in another room of their house when she heard her husband making phone calls, followed by a single gunshot.

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KFC Introduces Edible Cookie Coffee Cups in the UK

When will they land in the U.S.?

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How science made an honest man of God

Until the Scientific Revolution, God’s power included a licence to deceive. How did science make an honest man of Him?

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Pouring the Perfect English-Style Cuppa

The British are very specific about how they take their tea: black, with milk and sugar. But steeping the optimal cup requires a surprising amount of chemistry. Here's a guide to the science.

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When statues look too real

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Photos: The Lady Racing Drivers of Brooklands

The significant influence had by women on motor racing, especially in the formative years of the sport, has been largely forgotten and even swept under the rug in some instances. It seems like a shame to let this history disappear into the ether, especially when you consider the enormous odds that these ladies had to overcome to even be allowed into a car in the first place – let alone permitted to race shoulder-to-shoulder with men.

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Alaska becomes 3rd state with legal marijuana

Smoking, growing and possessing marijuana becomes legal in America's wildest state Tuesday, thanks to a voter initiative aimed at clearing away 40 years of conflicting laws and court rulings.

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Where the Real Skyscrapers Are (Hint: North Dakota)

Name the tallest structures in the world. Maybe flashy skyscrapers in China or the Gulf States come to mind. Or maybe you’re thinking of U.S. icons like One World Trade Center in New York or the Willis Tower in Chicago.You’re almost certainly not thinking of TV towers. But dozens of nearly anonymous towers around the United States, most in small rural communities, dwarf all but the tallest man-made structures in the world.

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The First Death of an Athlete

For the majority of his 18-year NBA career Steve Nash was a better basketball player than anyone had expected him to be. The wiry, soft-spoken, 6’3” Canadian—diminutive by League standards—was drafted with little fanfare out of the small collegiate program at Santa Clara, the only Division 1 school that offered him a scholarship. Nash remained in the league’s proverbial trenches for much of his first four seasons.

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ISIS Burns 8000 Rare Books and Manuscripts in Mosul

While the world was watching the Academy Awards ceremony, the people of Mosul were watching a different show. They were horrified to see ISIS members burn the Mosul public library. Notables in Mosul tried to persuade ISIS members to spare the library, but they failed. The former assistant director of the library Qusai All Faraj said that the Mosul Public Library was established in 1921, the same year that saw the birth of the modern Iraq.

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DC legalizes pot, ignoring House Republicans

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser defied congressional Republicans and implemented D.C.'s new local law allowing its residents to smoke marijuana. In implementing the new pot laws that went into effect Thursday, Bowser rebuffed two influential House Republicans who'd warned her that she'd be breaking federal law -- and risking retribution.

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Cannabis More Than 100 Times Safer Than Alcohol, Study Finds

You are 114 times more likely to die from overdosing on alchohol than you are from cannabis, a recent study has found. The report, published in Scientific Reports journal, compared the risks associated with 10 substances using the margin of exposure approach. This method compares a lethal dose of the drug with the dosage typically taken by recreational users. Substances tested included alcohol and nicotine, as well as illicit drugs including cocaine, heroin, ecstasy (MDMA) and methamphetamines.

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Whoa, This Weird Retro Ad Imagines Birdman as a Real Action Figure

Last fall, Fox Searchlight gave away limited-edition Birdman action figures as part of its marketing for the movie. Now, the Best Picture Oscar winner is reopening in cinemas—and getting a dose of new marketing, including a commercial for those toys.

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Teenager making $480,000 a year babysitting, forced to hire CEO to meet demands

A US teenager who has made more than $480,000 from her babysitting business has hired a chief executive to handle day-to-day business matters while she's at high school.

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