science

The craziest diet ever; how a little bit of weight can be harmful; ending the forced marriage of young girls; the Diva Cup revealed; and Nasa discovers new life on earth

In an article in yesterday's Globe and Mail, television critic John Doyle asks readers which is more disgusting: being too thin or too fat? He frames the debate around the television show Mike And Molly, which chronicles the relationship ups and downs of an overweight couple.

A young man from Hong Kong has smuggled himself into Canada using an elaborate disguise, and now authorities are questioning why he wasn't spotted by airport security. Photos published by CNN show the passenger boarding a Canada-bound flight in Hong Kong as an old caucasian man, and deplaning in Vancouver as a young Asian fellow. The man was detained and his prosthetic old-man face confiscated, but now Canada's Defence Minister Peter McKay is asking questions, namely, did no one notice his supple young-man hands? (Answer: yes.)

If it seems to you like lately American politics are a bit of a joke, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity this past weekend likely did little to remedy the situation. The Comedy Central mock-news anchors hosted the Washington D.C. rally this past Saturday in an effort to restore some sanity to the American political system and the media that covers it. The event was part comedy shtick, part rock concert, and part serious bipartisan plea for reason in the face of the extremist ideologies that are dividing the country. Various news sources estimated the crowd at around 200,000, thought Colbert was more generous, claiming via Twitter that it was somewhere in the ballpark of “six billion.” Check out an amazing gallery of the many creative and hilarious homemade rally signs here.

Using complex algorithms and unusual fieldwork, scientists have discovered the chemical reactions that determine how and why we fall in love. This means big business for matchmaking websites, but does it take the thrill out of romance?