Life

Santa Claus “does a perennially poor job of matching stuff with people. In doing so, he destroys a lot of value,” says Joel Waldfogel, author of “Scroogenomics.”

Hundreds of post-secondary schools are fostering a party atmosphere in an effort to retain students and maximize profits.

Burdened by high expectations, many students find college to be a letdown. Guest columnist Dr. David Leibow puts things in perspective.

It wasn’t all that long ago that everyone drank water from the tap. Today bottled water is everywhere—one of the most successful commercial products of the past few decades.

“We’re not so much making fun of individuals, we’re making fun of poor choices,” says Luke Wherry, co-founder of People of WalMart dot-com.

Armed with markers and correction fluid, Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson—co-authors of “The Great Typo Hunt”—are on a mission to rid the world of misspelled words, mislaid apostrophes, and other impediments to clear communication.

Countless individuals have predicted the end of the world, and they’re been wrong—every time. Why do we continue to pay attention?

No doubt you’ve heard how Travis the chimp permanently disfigured Charla Nash. Did you know that his mother, Suzy, was gunned down in a similar incident in 2001?

“Join with the president and stand up for him,” says Lenny Kates. “He’s doing a wonderful job in a very difficult time.”

Inspired by a segment on Oprah, Lisa Shannon launched Run for Congo Women, and now works full-time advocating for women in the Congo.

The Stand Still Parade put Whalan on the map. But can the parade survive the town’s population decline?

Architect Victor Gruen denounced suburbia, hated traffic, and had little interest in shopping. What possessed him to create the shopping mall?

Caretaker-turned-entrepreneur James Brown opens Mr. Vacuum Cleaner in Eastwood, England.

The 35th annual Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest will take place on Tuesday March 23, 2010, with contestants vying for $2,500 and a place in the Odor-Eaters Hall of Fumes.

Jeremy Seifert hopes to inspire you to eat trash.

Ten years after the initial release of “No Logo,” Naomi Klein continues to provide invaluable marketing advice to the corporate world.

Historian Elizabeth Fraterrigo methodically combed through hundreds of issues of Playboy magazine to write her book.

Six days after her husband left her for a man he met on gay.com, Rhoda Janzen was seriously injured in a head-on motor vehicle accident. Then she went home to her parents — and started writing.

When it comes to holiday parties, ugly is the new hot.

Cakewrecks.blogspot.com serves up all manner of cakes gone wrong, including some that are downright inappropriate, like the “no sexual harassment” cake pictured here.