In late 1984, The New York Times published a piece that was, at least indirectly, about a word I could do without. The story covered the release of ‘The Official Foodie Handbook’ by journalists Ann Barr and Paul Levy, which chronicled, among other things, the lives of food lovers around the world. They were food […]

Tinder is built around the profile photo. You make snap judgments — aka left or right swipes — about someone based on their cute, kooky or creepy snapshots. But since the app started letting users include their jobs and education in November, daters are getting fuller pictures of their potential matches. Users who note their […]

According to the common emoji keyboard, women don’t run. Only men run. See? But that could soon change under a new draft proposal to the Unicode Consortium, the body that develops and maintains software standards for texts and characters. The document outlines a number of changes, including male, female and neutral gender options for many […]

NEW YORK  — You know you need to exercise more, but there’s always next week, or the week after. To entice you to stop procrastinating, your company or insurer might soon reward you for wearing a fitness device to track your steps, heart rate and more. For instance, in one program announced Wednesday, some workers […]

A few months ago, there were unexpected aromas in the air at Baxter Brewing Co. in Lewiston. Along with the smells of hearty stouts and malty lagers were the warm and comforting scents of soup, chili and chowder. Those smells explained why, despite the freezing cold air outside on that day, 150 people were gathered […]

KUSHIRO, Japan — “Hoot, hoot.” As a low and heavy note echoed through a snow-covered forest in eastern Hokkaido, Japan, a large bird silently flew down the banks of a river. It was a Blakiston’s fish owl, also called the kotan kor kamuy (“god ruling the village”) by Ainu indigenous people. The owl flew into […]

Like many of her illnesses, 24-year-old Katie diagnosed this one herself. “I struggled with hypochondria for as long as I can remember,” said Katie, a marketing manager in New York. “At summer camp, when I was 10, I had headaches, and I just assumed it was a brain tumor. It felt very real.” As her […]

Everyone says kids are like sponges. Because they’re germy and start to smell really bad unless you wash them well in hot water and soap. Also, because their little minds are growing and expanding at approximately twice the rate of the average American waistline, and that’s saying something. But before you get out the flashcards, […]