Recreation
Leisure activities, including sports, travel, entertainment and hobbies
People Are More Rational When Speaking in a Foreign Language
In addition to helping you navigate an exotic city or impressing your friends at cocktail parties, researchers say that knowing a foreign language can also help with decision-making abilities.
July 10, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Hungry? Pull Over. Here’s Your Guide to the Best Bets of Roadside Foraging
All along the roadways of America—and the world—there's figs, avocados and wild berries ripe for the picking
July 10, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Meet Edith and Fanny, Thomas Jefferson’s Enslaved Master Chefs
Monticello research historian Leni Sorensen offers an impression of what life was like for these early White House chefs
July 09, 2012 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Flower Children on the North Shore of Kauai
In the late 1960s, a gorgeous stretch of beach in Ha’ena State Park was the site of a hippy haven called Taylor Camp.
July 09, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Double-Amputee Oscar Pistorius Will Compete In Olympics 400 Meter Race Without Qualifying
South Africa's Oscar Pistorius was born without bones in both of his lower legs and is a double amputee. But he will run in this summer's Olympics, the first amputee to compete in the games' track meets.
July 06, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
The Tallest, Strongest and Most Iconic Trees in the World
Its bark is fire resistant. Its fruit is edible. It scoffs at the driest droughts. It shrugs, and another decade has passed. It is the baobab tree, one of the longest-living, strangest looking plants in the world
July 05, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Swimsuit Series, Part 3: Is Today Truly the 66th Anniversary of the First Bikini?
The two-piece bathing suit got skimpier and more scandalous in 1946 Paris
July 05, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Fitness Afar: Great Places to Hang Out at the Bar
Going abroad needn’t mean going flabby—determined globe-trotters can find pull-up bars and other outdoor gymnastics equipment in some of the most unexpected places.
July 03, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Doctoring the Dog: The Stunt that Launched Nathan’s Famous Stand on Coney Island
The hot dog eating contest is Nathan's claim to fame now, but in 1916, vacationers to the New York City landmark needed something more appealing to convince them to eat a cut-rate frankfurter
July 03, 2012 |
By Peter Smith
A Trio of French Colonial Sites in Hanoi
In Vietnam's capital city you can still find many wonderful examples of French colonial architecture, including St. Joseph's Cathedral, the Opera House and the luxurious Hotel Metropole
July 03, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Why Are Jim Thorpe’s Olympic Records Still Not Recognized?
100 years ago, Jim Thorpe became the greatest American Olympian of all time, but not if you ask the IOC
July 2012 |
By Sally Jenkins
The Science of Choking Under Pressure
With amateurs and pros clamoring for answers, a psychologist who studies screw-ups comes through in the clutch
July 2012 |
By Abigail Tucker
The Little-Known History of How the Modern Olympics Got Their Start
As London gets set to host the XXXth Olympiad, acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford connects the modern Games to their unlikely origin—in rural England
July 2012 |
By Frank Deford
Summer Olympics Look, a Poem
Poet J. Allyn Rosser's new piece on watching the Olympic Games
July 2012 |
By J. Allyn Rosser
Hope Solo Drops Her Guard
As her controversial new memoir will show, the leader of the U.S. women’s soccer team has always defended her turf
July 2012 |
By Nancy Hass
The Top Athletes Looking for an Edge and the Scientists Trying to Stop Them
Behind the scenes there will be a high-tech, high-stakes competition between Olympic athletes who use banned substances and drug testers out to catch them
July 2012 |
By Christie Aschwanden
The Future of Cheating in Sports
As technology advances, so will access to ingenious—and troubling—new techniques
July 2012 |
By Christie Aschwanden
300 Years of Rowing on the Thames
There must be something in the water at Eton, where rowing rules as the sport of choice
July 2012 |
By Joshua Hammer
A Midsummer Night’s Surströmming
The salty Baltic herring ferment inside a sealed can thanks to salt-loving, anaerobic bacteria that produce distinctive organic acids found in sweat and rotting butter
June 29, 2012 |
By Peter Smith
The Top 10 Biggest Sports #Fails of All Time
For athletes on the world stage, nothing is worse than choking under pressure. Here are the 10 most memorable transgressors
June 28, 2012 |
By Jim Morrison
