Sneaker collections: shoes definitely not for play
Sneaker companies are hiring celebrity designers to create limited edition footwear. Some collectors are paying up to $600 for shoes that they won't even wear out of the house. The kicker? The sneakers, like good art, appreciate in value with time.
Model planes, yes, but they're BIG
Driven by the motto "Bigger is better," fans of remote-controlled model airplanes are taking their hobby to extremes. But, with model planes that are nearly half the size of the real thing, a crash can damage a roof and a propeller can easily chop off a finger.
Those "chandelier" earrings? Watch out for your pretty ears
As "chandelier" earrings become the rage, many women are finding their earlobe holes stretched or elongated, to the point where dermatologists and plastic surgeons need to repair the holes and pin back protruding ears.
Rap now preps students for the SATs
A new rap album is fusing SAT vocabulary words with rap-style lyrics set to catchy music. The group, Flocabulary, aims to help college-bound students strengthen their vocabulary ahead of the May and June SAT tests.
Audio books bring literature to multitaskers, and riches to new-style publishers
Audio books have become brain food for the time-strapped multitasker. They get commuters through rush hour, keep joggers up to date and entertain anyone with eyes busy and mind free. They also are a booming business, with more than $800 million in annual sales.
The ultimate art history whodunit: a Michelangelo forgery or a classical antiquity?
A Columbia University art historian says one of the most famous antiquities, the “Laocoon” statue, is really a forgery by Michelangelo. She says she has the evidence to prove it. For art historians, this may be the ultimate whodunit.
Wannabe clowns go to summer camp, too
At a handful of clown camps for adults, party clowns, theatrical clowns, and those just clown crazy gather over the summer to perform, practice new tricks and meet and learn from experienced professionals. As for the problem of how to pack their foot-long tailor-made red clown shoes--well, that's another story.
They're big and doughy, and power eaters can down a pound a minute
Of all the competitive eating contests, none is closer to a Jewish mother's heart than New York's Matzo Ball Eating Contest. They may be big and doughy, but it beats stuffing sticks of butter down your throat.
Taking time off: Even high-powered careerists need a break
A growing number of corporate soldiers are breaking free from the cubicle, taking time off to recharge and rethink their lives. These "career breakers" do anything from study orangutans in Borneo to build schools in remote areas of Costa Rica.
Square dancing for gays and lesbians
Over the last 25 years, square-dancing clubs started by and for gay men and lesbians have sprouted around the country. In contrast to traditional groups, gay clubs are less formal, more inclusive--and you don't need a partner.
Trend spotters identify the next big thing
The latest trend involves consumers designing their own products. As the demand for individualization increases, a number of companies are letting clients have a greater say in what they want made, and how.
Who's calling? Is it your leg or your cell phone?
Phantom cell phone vibrations, the sensation that your cell phone is ringing when no one is calling, have become a symptom of modern life for some users.
Love dogs but can't commit? Foster care may be up your alley
Animal shelters and rescue groups are turning to foster care volunteers to nurture pets who need temporary care before they're adopted. For the foster parents, the arrangement offers the benefits of animal companionship without a full-fledged commitment.
Brown rice gets some respect
Brown rice is no longer a disdained hippie food but an increasingly popular choice for the health-conscious, low-carb diet or not.
Growers push to legalize the hemp plant
After years of lobbying and campaigning, makers of industrial hemp products in the United States are finally making progress in their effort to legalize the growing of the hemp plant, a relative of marijuana.
Snapping celebrities, paparazzi style
Vilified by the stars they capture and sneered at by the public who ogle their shots, paparazzi say they're just doing their jobs. What exactly is that job, and how did they get that shot of Brad and Angelina anyway?
So, what IS 'The Matrix'? It'll cost you to find out
Neo, the main character, may have died at the end of "The Matrix" trilogy, but the franchise lives on with last month's release of a massive new online video game that continues the story ... for a monthly fee. As film franchises find new ways to spread outside the multiplexes, a movie ticket is no longer enough to see the whole picture.
From sailing to skydiving, blind athletes push the limits
Blind athletes are finding new arenas for competition, from hunting grounds to ski slopes. Some sports require special equipment, others just a passion for athleticism.
Serena vs. Andre: A pay gap persists at European tennis tournaments
Professional tennis is the best established and most popular women's sport on the planet, with bona fide superstars, growing TV ratings and packed stands at tournaments. So why, at the upcoming French Open and Wimbledon matches, will Serena Williams' paychecks be smaller than Andre Agassi's?
That writer's "bump" is headed for extinction as people embrace computers
The writer's "bump"--that middle-finger callus that develops from writing by hand--is a vestige from the era of pens. In today's keyboard-dominated world, the sore lump is going the way of the dinosaurs.
Extreme commuting: trains, pains and automobiles
A growing number of Americans are traveling farther to work, with "extreme" commuters spending three hours or more every day on the road. Such stressful commutes make the need for public transportation even greater, say advocates, as Congress votes on transportation legislation that funds highways at four times the rate of public transportation.
Wordsworth for $200, please: Poetry game show has bookworms playing for keeps
Poetry lovers can now flaunt their knowledge at New York City's monthly Poetry Game Show. Through games like Name that Poet, contestants bring poetry out of the stacks and on to the stage.
A dose of compassion in physician education
This year, 35 medical schools across the country taught students that compassion can have a place in the consulting room. A course called "The Healer's Art" is meant to prevent students from turning into frazzled and detached doctors by deepening the emotional satisfaction they receive from everyday interactions.
Needle exchangers look to vitamin C to deal with new drug habit
The increase in the number of people injecting crack cocaine has prompted needle exchange organizations across the United States to add a new weapon to their arsenal. Packets of liquid vitamin C are being handed out along with fresh needles to counter the increased risk of infection.
Homeless pets find new, loving owners
Larry and Pat Rusecki share their house with a collection of dogs, cats and birds, all of them homeless animals abandoned by their owners. The Ruseckis are among the growing number of New Yorkers who are opening their homes to stray animals. And they've been doing it for 40 years.
New technology enables parents to keep track of their children
It’s the rare parent who hasn’t experienced the chill of fear after losing a child momentarily. But new technologies may make that anxiety a thing of the past. Using Global Positioning System, radio and mobile phone technologies, several companies are marketing sophisticated devices to help parents keep track of their children wherever they go.
To make an extreme bartender, you've got to break a few bottles
For years, bartenders have been entertaining customers with bottle flips and tricks, but a more extreme version of bartending has moved into the mainstream. Top bartenders can juggle up to six bottles and even catch them on their heads.
Old-school autograph hounds shun eBay
Autograph hounds get their autographs the real way: in person. One man searches for Julie Andrews, another waits outside a club for Robert DeNiro. Though eBay has made it easy-as-pie to get a signed autograph, the old timers still believe in the chase.
Adults can now straighten their teeth without all that metal.
Thanks to clear wires, more older Americans are seeing orthodontists to correct their smiles.
Duct tape: from window repairs to works of art
Duct tape, the versatile adhesive originally designed to waterproof ammunition cases in World War II, has recently become more than a utilitarian quick fix. It is also a medium for art. Duct tape artists and fashion designers are selling their wares across the globe. The sticky stuff has even become the theme of a charity ball in Alaska.
Backyard barbeque 12 floors up
New York City's famous skyline is also home to the rooftop equivalent of a backyard, where cocktail parties, dances and barbeques take advantage of the space and the million-dollar views.
Rare old 'lady' sells for record price at auction
Her curves are legendary. Her voice, unparalleled. And on a recent Friday at the famed Christie's auction house in New York, this rare old "lady" sold for a record $2.03 million. "The Lady Tennant," a Stradivarius violin, set a world record as the most expensive musical instrument ever sold at auction.
Should the United States intervene in Iran? American-Iranians are split on the issue
Iranians in the United States watch with interest and concern as the Bush administration and Congress turn their gaze to Iran. While some hope the United States can foster democracy there, others recall that U.S. intervention in 1953 helped overthrow a democratically elected government.
The latest in funerals: Here come the clowns
Mourners in grease paint and red noses are becoming a common sight at funerals as the bereaved seek services that celebrate the life and individuality of their loved one.
A military question: Can honeybees find land mines?
Known as "flying dustmops" for their ability to catch pollen in the air, honeybees are now being studied by scientists to see if they can detect land mines by collecting explosive chemicals leaching up from the soil.
Ayn Rand at 100: An 'ism' struts its stuff
A century after her birth, the followers of Ayn Rand are finally getting ready to celebrate the victory of her ideas. At the Ayn Rand Centenary in New York, the leaders of the objectivist movement laid out their plans, setting the stage for what they think will be an "intellectual revolution" that will make Americans more selfish, more capitalist--and more moral.
In Brooklyn, the lowly pigeon still stirs men's souls
To many urban dwellers, pigeons are merely street rats. But to a group of men in Brooklyn, pigeons are a way of life. The men keep their flocks in rooftop coops and gather at a local pet shop to brag and tell stories about their birds. These men, unlike their feathery friends, are a dying breed.
More restaurants offering gluten-free options
When Cynthia Kupper was diagnosed with celiac disease 12 years ago, she didn't go out to eat for six months. Scarcely anyone knew what her condition was, much less what she could eat. Now she and others like her have options as restaurants start to offer gluten-free menu items.
College wrestlers find money and fame in the cage
With full-contact cage fighting becoming legal in states across the country, many college wrestling stars are finding big money in cage brawling.
CSI pros look to dog DNA to help solve murders
The use of pet DNA to solve crimes is in its infancy, but it could help in the catching of more criminals. Dogs can be witnesses, too.
Is that blood in my plasma TV? A reporter investigates
Could there be actual plasma in a plasma TV? And what the heck is plasma, anyway? Turns out nobody knows. This is one reporter's quest for truth in advertising.
It's not a zonkey, it's not a deebra...it's a zedonk
The notion that an adult male zebra would find occasion to mate with a consenting female donkey sounds like a scenario torn from the lost notebooks of Dr. Seuss. Yet zedonks are quite real and, if the breeders are to be believed, these striped, sterile critters have carved out a small but growing niche for themselves among exotic animal enthusiasts and petting zoos nationwide.
If "The Who" had been "The What," would it have mattered?
How do rock bands pick their names? Very carefully, it turns out--if they want to succeed.
Move over coffee, yerba mate has arrived
Caffeine-crazed Americans have found a new alternative to coffee or tea. Say hello to yerba mate, a bitter tasting tea-like drink drunk from a straw. Its fans say it has a host of health benefits, but some researchers are not so sure.
For young Iranians on the prowl, the Internet is the ultimate veil
Soon after Iranian.com launched in September 1995, Iranians from all over the world flocked to the general-interest site to share stories of exile and nostalgia, to pontificate on the latest headlines and ayatollahs. Iranian.com--and the World Wide Web--also paved the way for Iranians from the Beverly Hills to the Islamic Republic of Iran to come out and express their sexuality.
A private eye's worst enemy: privacy advocates
In the wake of the recent disclosure of security breaches at ChoicePoint and LexisNexis, you would think the calls for tightened privacy legislation had universal appeal. But one group is suffering from the outcry: private investigators.
Shakespeare by hand: the bard's work in sign language
A group of actors, both deaf and able to hear, spent a year and a half translating Shakespeare's comedy "Twelfth Night" into American Sign Language, part of the ASL Shakespeare Project to capture all the bard's works.