Victor Gruen's Shopping Mall

Architect Victor Gruen denounced suburbia, hated traffic, and had little interest in shopping. So what possessed him to create the shopping mall?

Age of the Castrato

In sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italy, thousands of pre-pubescent boys were castrated to preserve their youthful, high-pitched voices and allow them to pursue singing careers. Was getting castrated better than the alternative?

Life imitates Paul Newman's 'Slap Shot'

Johnstown, Pennsylvania loses its failing hockey team -- the Chiefs -- to Greenville, South Carolina.

Utility truck fail

Here's what can happen when you fail to put (or keep) the downriggers out on a utlity truck. This accident occured on Friday March 26 in Ketchikan, Alaska. The worker in the bucket at the end of the truck's extended boom suffered a bloody nose and bruised ribs.

Conn. girl wins Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest

Trinette Robinson, 11, of Bristol, Connecticut, won the 35th annual National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker contest this morning.

The 2010 Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker contest is March 23

The Odor-Eaters National Rotten Sneaker Contest is a unique competition held annually in Montpelier, Vermont.

If ET calls, who answers for humanity?

Meet Paul Davies, chairman of the SETI Post-Detection Group, and author of the new book The Eerie Silence.

This Day in Failure - Isabella Gardner Museum heist

On this day in 1990, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston was robbed by two men dressed as police officers, who made off with artwork worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The case remains unsolved and the artwork missing.

The Eerie Silence

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is 50 years old next month. Yet still no sign of E.T. Theoretical physicist Paul Davies says it's time to re-think the search.

The Viking in the Wheat Field

Failure magazine interviews author Susan Dworkin about the late scientist Bent Skovmand, and her new book The Viking in the Wheat Field.

Remember Up With People?

The new Behind the Music-like documentary Smile Til It Hurts captures the essence of the ideologically-motivated singing group Up With People.

Living Off America's (Food) Waste

Filmmaker Jeremy Seifert hopes to inspire you to eat trash.

The Illusions of Entrepreneurship

"The Illusions of Entrepreneurship," by Scott A. Shane, is now out in paperback (Yale University Press).

"Fallen Giants"

"Fallen Giants," a remarkable history of Himalayan mountaineering, is now available in paperback from Yale University Press.'

Rhoda Janzen interview

Six days after her husband left her for a man he met on gay.com, Rhoda Janzen was seriously injured in a head-on motor vehicle accident. Then she went home to the Mennonite community of her youth, and started writing.

Masha Gessen interview

New Science & Technology feature published today: An interview with Masha Gessen, author of 'Perfect Rigor: A Genius + the Mathematical Breakthrough of the Century' - a biography of Grigory Perelman, who in 2002 solved the Poincare Conjecture.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party feature

Just posted a new feature about Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties on our home page. While we didn't feel it was appropriate to use the photo at right with the main article, we do hope you find it compelling enough to make you read the article.

New Jersey Nets tie NBA record

Last night the New Jersey Nets lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 106-87 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, tying the NBA record for most consecutive losses to begin a season.

'Significant' crack discovered in Bay Bridge

The bridge is likely to remain closed beyond its Tuesday morning scheduled re-opening.

At one NY hotel, it's the guests offering the spectacular views

Apparently, beautiful skyline views aren't the only visual attraction at New York's Standard Hotel.