Nothing reminds me more of the carefree days of childhood than the sharp, waxy smell of Crayola crayons. A fun fact I learned this weekend: The art of Crayola crayon color-naming is ridiculously political. In 1962, the “flesh” crayon was changed to “peach” to reflect the Civil Rights Movement. In 2003, the color “inch worm” [...]

In a recent post, I discussed earworms. Several people wrote to suggest songs that were earworms… And then I found this: A mash-up of all the Top 25 hits of 2009. I have listened to it non-stop since yesterday. If this doesn’t get you happy and excited for the weekend, may I suggest a two [...]

Legos are internationally beloved by kids of all ages, the perfect plastic medium to build anything your mind can invent. I just visited the Lego store in NYC and was inspired. Did you know Legos began in a small village in 1930s Denmark, a carpenter named Old Kirk Christiansen opened a store to sell the [...]

It’s 4th of July weekend, and what better way to celebrate than with sparkly explosions of fire? It’s an American tradition, but the Chinese were the ones to first use fireworks to scare away evil spirits as early as the 7th century. 2010′s displays are probably a little more elaborate, especially those on this list [...]

It has been 65 years since LIFE’s Alfred Eisenstaedt snapped the photograph of a sailor planting a kiss on the lips of a nurse in Times Square. The August 14, 1945 photograph (shortly after the Japanese surrender effectively ended World War II) has become one of the most famous photographs ever made. The image is [...]

In case you missed it, this past weekend the World Beard and Moustache Championships took place in Bend, Oregon. There were four fantastic facial hair categories: 1) Best moustache; 2) Best partial beard (goatees, van dykes, sideburns, musketeers, etc.); 3) Best full beard; and 4) Freestyle. (Anything goes. Anything. Be creative.) By the “looks of [...]

He sat quietly in the bottom right corner of your document. He made a comforting little snapping noise whenever you successfully saved. He even twisted himself into question mark whenever you needed help. Microsoft Word is undoubtedly faster and more high-tech and better now, but something is missing. Where is Clippy? Apparently, Clippy’s suffered the [...]

The season is upon us. This weekend I’ve already got a mapped out list of my garage sale stop and shops. Refer to Facebook for Jay Blotcher’s “off-beat yard sale,” (a pop-culture smorgasbord), Ken Greene’s “Yarden Sale,” (includes delights for the garden), Stephen Gilman’s “UlsterCorp Barn Sale” (amazing stuff all for charity) and Hilton Purvis’s [...]

When I was a kid, I lived to play Pac-Man. Not enough to get a Pac-Man tattoo (at left, yikes!), but certainly enough to get sore wrists and challenge my brother enough that he would turn our friendly Pac-Man competition into a career with Game Stop. This weekend Pac-Man turns 30, so in honor I’m [...]

After the success of Betty White on SNL, there’s already a Facebook page called “Carol Burnett to Host SNL (PLEASE?)!” Its creator says that the divine Carol Burnett (one of my all-time favs) “would be an OUTSTANDING choice to host ‘SNL,’ ” adding, “Icing on the cake would be a cameo appearance by TIM CONWAY!” [...]