• Science

    The Commercials Commerce

    By Abby Seiff Posted on 5.15.2008 15 Comments

    Im going to be straight with you—if you dont click one of the ads on this page, were all doomed. Maybe not today or tomorrow or next week; but if all those banners and pop-ups and pop-unders and interstitials and nagging floating ads continue to be ignored, or worse, blocked outright, were every one of us in a mess of trouble. Im talking the entire high-flying media world dropping from the sky like flaming meteors. Like it or not, were all in an economic cold war. However, in this one, were fighting against ourselves.

  • Cars

    Big-Ticket Beaters

    By John Mahoney Posted on 5.16.2008 6 Comments

    A rust-dappled Hyundai for $3,000, a clapped-out Geo Metro for $5,000, and a censurable Ford Festiva for six grand? Welcome to upside-down world. The rising price of dinosaur champagne has already decimated the large-SUV business, and now the realities of gasoline economics are elevating what was once the lowliest segment of the used-car market into Croesus' territory.

  • The Environment

    Green Until The Very End

    By John Mahoney Posted on 5.9.2008 7 Comments

    Worried that embalming fluids or emissions from cremation will pollute the earth after your death? There may be a more eco-friendly albeit somewhat grisly alternative—dissolving the body in lye. The process, which has been used to dispose of animals and lab specimens for many years, is now being considered more seriously for human use. Called alkaline hydrolysis, the method uses a steel cylinder that dissolves the body in lye with 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch. The result is a sterile, coffee-colored liquid with the consistency of motor oil that can be safely poured down the drain. A small amount of bone residue that can be scattered like cementation ashes is the only solid byproduct.



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