The Last Page

Surveys say that nearly 73 percent of all Americans enter their houses via the garage—each of them staring straight ahead to avoid seeing the stuff piled up where the cars are supposed to go.

The Hoarding Instinct

Dispatches From My War on Stuff

Rating a lunar vacation.

The Tour Bus Has Landed

The ups and downs of a lunar vacation

After sitting down for a meal at a restaurant alone, the writer overhears an intriguing story.

Guess Who Came to Dinner

A table for one can be the best seat in the house

Remembering passwords is not always an easy task.

Locked Out of My Own Life

Threats of identity theft prompt personal questions that can stymie the best of us

Branding a nation clearly poses many challenges.

Strike Up the Brand

In an ever more competitive world, nations strive for the perfect slogan

Guidelines for advertising on U.S. currency.

On the Money

Advertisers discover the value of a dollar

A dozen roses from a suitor may be flattering, but they can't compare to the tacit admission that we are in the same league.

The Newlywed Games

"You compete me"

A parent hopes an authentic Roman banquet will bring the Latin language alive for their son.

Ad Nauseam

Recreating a Roman banquet seemed like a good idea

Is the Internet rewiring our brains for the worse?

Turn on, Log in, Wise up

If the internet is dumbing us down, how come I've never felt smarter?

Marquee languages definitely serve their purposes. But when you learn a minority language, like Romansh or Sioux, you become a member of a select group.

Spoken Like a Native

Learning a minority language opens doors—and hearts

Doris Day, Miles Davis and Devo all share the stage in the form of old vinyl LPs on the author's shelf.

Together, At Last

Doris Day, Miles Davis and Devo share the stage

None

There Was an App for That

Software applications changed the course of history

"If you try to tell your kid to mow the lawn, he will cite a study published in Geophysical Research Letters..."

Daughter Knows Best

Kids have discovered a diabolical new use for science: rebutting their parents

"Paionian—which was spoken in Illyria (or possibly Thrace) some 2,2000 years ago—is one of many languages that have survived only as fragments."

Fluent in 60 Seconds

Learning a new language is a breeze—as long as it's Paionian

Has technology created a nation of zombies?

My Big Hang-Up in a Connected World

One man's rage against the communication revolution and the dying of civility

Findings from the first major study on human-robot marital discord since the passage of the Automaton Marriage Act of 2050.

Married, With Glitches

Will human-robot interactions be undone by technical difficulties?

"While classified ads in the newspaper are mostly limited to local opportunities, Craigslist lets me go global."

Will Work for Brain Scans

Your dream job—part-time zombie? candle consultant?—is only a click away

An American speaks to a group of French nationals and tries to purge his vocabulary of American idioms.

A Novice's Guide to Foreign Idioms

If you think learning foreign idioms is easy, just try combing the giraffe

For every hybrid sport that gets the Olympic seal of approval, there are dozens of others languishing in obscurity.

Hybrid Sports in a League of Their Own

From underwater hockey to chess boxing, could these unheralded hybrid sports be ready for prime time?

The Postal Service is not exactly known for its speed. I mean, the USPS just got around to issuing a Bob Hope stamp last spring, six years after his death.

Stamp Tact

How the post office can lick other countries at their own game

Page 1 of 3