15 Really Strange Beaches

http://www.theworldgeography.com/2013/08/strange-beaches.html

Switzerland's New Drive-In Brothels

http://www.businessinsider.com/switzerlands-new-drive-in-brothel-goes-live-2013-8

and, are Nevada brothels going under?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/brothels-in-nevada-shrivel-as-web-disrupts-oldest-trade.html

On Korea

I heard this on TV this morning, I think CNBC: "Korea has an inferiority complex because it is in between Japan and China.  It wants its products to have quality of Japan and the prices of China." 

A nice, succinct explanation.  It would be interesting to put something short and sweet like that together for all countries of the world.

On Goya (Yes, the one you seen in the grocery store)

How Goya Bought Ethic Food to White America
by Lydia DePillis
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/23/how-goya-brought-ethnic-food-to-white-america/

Housing & Happiness

Is homeownership the key to happiness?

Can a House Confer Bliss
by Michelle Higgins
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/realestate/homeownership-the-key-to-happiness.html?ref=michellehiggins&_r=0

40 Maps That Explain the World

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/12/40-maps-that-explain-the-world/

Happiest & Saddest Day of the Year

August 11 is the happiest day of the year.
February 27 is the saddest day of the year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/opinion/sunday/dr-google-will-see-you-now.html?_r=0

Maillard Reaction: A Craving for Meat

Why does food taste better when it is browned?  Do animals prefer cooked food?
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/07/25/why_does_food_taste_better_when_it_s_browned_the_maillard_reaction_and_caramelization.html

P/E Ratios Aren't Always What They Seem

Price-to-Earings Ratios Aren't Always What They Seem
by Mark Hulbert
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323455104579014782497257644.html

The Home-Sellers' Dilemma: Price a House High or Low

Should Home Sellers Overprice or Underprice Real-Estate Listings?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324136204578643942655355194.html

Evolution Wants Us To Be Unhappy?

Does Evolution Want Us to Be Unhappy?
by Alison Gopnik
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323829104578622293883165294.html

Foreign Policy's Twitterati 100

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/13/the_fp_twitterati_100_2013

Who Owns Which Car Brands

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/01/who-owns-which-car-brands/index.htm

Cool Map: Density Map of the World's McDonald's

http://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-around-the-world-density-map-2013-7

Countries that Love the US

Countries that love and hate the US:

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/10-countries-love-hate-america-most-163930019.html

Cool Map of the Month: World Beer Map

http://www.businessinsider.com/beers-of-the-world-maps-2013-7

On Workations

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/learnvest/how-i-make-my-living-on-workations_b_3187545.html

12 Things That Americans Love That the Rest of the World Finds Bizarre

http://www.businessinsider.com/things-americans-love-that-the-rest-of-the-world-finds-bizarre-2013-7

Quote of the Day: Debating

Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.

-Mark Twain

CNN: World's 100 Best Beaches

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/28/travel/100-best-beaches

US Ban on Mimolette

Gut-Wrenching Punch to Lovers of French Cheese
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/au-revoir-mimolette-fans-unhappy-as-fda-blocks-french-cheese-shipments-over-mites/2013/06/28/08ed8c56-dda6-11e2-948c-d644453cf169_story.html

Gallup: Most Workers Hate Their Jobs or Have "Checked Out"

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-employee-engagement-gallup-poll-20130617,0,5878658.story

76% of Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck

http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/24/pf/emergency-savings/

Quote of the Month: Happiness

Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.

Five Ways to Prevent NSA From Spying On You

5 Ways to Prevent NSA From Spying
by Timothy Lee
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/06/10/five-ways-to-stop-the-nsa-from-spying-on-you/

And, "How To Hide From the NSA"
http://news.yahoo.com/want-hide-nsa-guide-nearly-impossible-150644605.html

Religious Companies

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/big-u-s--companies-you-might-not-know-are-religious-175228053.html

Spend More Time In Nature

"Studies show that people spend 87 percent of their time inside buildings and six percent in enclosed vehicles.  In other words, they are roaming around outside enjoying the wind and sky and weather for only seven percent of their time."

http://www.citypages.com/advice/free-will-415/

Graphs: Dating and Age

http://www.businessinsider.com/one-cool-chart-will-tell-you-everything-you-need-to-know-about-dating-younger-people-2013-6

Asking for a Raise? Avoid Round Numbers

Asking for a Raise? Avoid Round Numbers
by Lauren Weber
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324310104578511583633691660.html

Who Says New York is Not Affordable?

That may not be surprising, but once you account for these different preferences, it turns out that living in New York is actually a relative bargain for the wealthy.

While compiling her research, Handbury looked at Nielsen shopping data for 40,000 American households, across more than 500 food categories, with details on everything from organic labeling to salt content. Remarkably, she found that for households earning above $100,000, grocery costs are 20 percent lower in cities with a high per-capita income (like New York) than in cities with a low per-capita income (like New Orleans). There’s evidence that the same forces hold true for other products that cater to upper-income people, from high-end retail to beauty services. The average manicure, for example, is about $3 cheaper in New York City than in each of the rest of the top 10 biggest cities in the United States, according to Centzy, a company that collects data on the prices of services.

Part of the reason high-income residents get good deals, Handbury explains, results from a particular economic system. Highly educated, high-income New Yorkers are surrounded by equally well-educated and well-paid people with similar tastes. More vendors compete for their business, which effectively lowers prices and provides variety. There’s also a high fixed cost to distributing a niche product to an area; if there’s more demand for that product, then the fixed cost can be spread across more customers, which will justify bringing the product to the market in the first place. That’s why companies go through the expensive hassle of distributing, say, St. Dalfour French fruit spreads in rich cities but not in poor ones and why New York can support institutions like the Metropolitan Opera.

Who Says New York is Not Affordable?
by Catherine Rampell
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/magazine/who-says-new-york-is-not-affordable.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Isn't Extinction Part of Evolution?

From a WSJ opinion piece:

Does it ever occur to folks like William Brown that extinction is one of the natural outcomes of Darwinian evolution as it goes through the process of selecting the strongest species for survival (“Wanted: A Noah’s Ark for Species’ DNA,” op-ed, April 23)? Does it ever occur to them that maybe extinction is nature’s method of improving the viability of the biosphere as a whole? Does it ever occur to them that mankind’s activities that result in species extinction are in fact simply part of the process of Darwinian selection? Does it ever occur to them that mankind’s attempts to prevent extinction possibly, just possibly, might in fact be an unnatural act that ultimately harms the health of the biosphere?

http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-222677/

100 Jobs That Bring the Highest Salary

http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2013/04/these-are-the-100-jobs-that-bring-the.html?ana=e_du_nat&s=article_du&ed=2013-04-30&u=12128882374ce6b6c9c9db3f8c5900

and the 100 highest paid jobs in Washington:
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/the-100-highest-paying-jobs-in.html?ana=e_du_pap&s=article_du&ed=2013-05-03&u=12128882374ce6b6c9c9db3f8c5900

People Regularly Wear Just 20% of Their Wardrobe

The Clothes Seemed Great in the Store; Why People Regularly Wear Just 20% of Their Wardrobe
by Ray Smith
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324240804578415002232186418.html

Selling in May: One Market-Timing Strategy That Works

Selling in May: One Market-Timing Strategy That Works
by Mark Hulbert
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323916304578402671772990066.html

Our 20s = Time of Your Life

The brain favors memories from late adolescence and early adulthood...

Your 20s Really Are The Time of Your Life
by Katy Waldman
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/01/reminiscence_bump_explanations_why_we_remember_young_adulthood_better_than.html