CAUSE OF DEATH: INVISIBLE BULLETS

The first of seven amusement machines that would be released before 1978's true video game cabinets, Laser Clay Shooting System wasn't just a pioneer; it could also have spelled disaster for Nintendo's gaming ambitions were it not for the heroism of a man by the name of Genyo Takeda.

WORKING TOGETHER — OR NOT

Are these differences simply the result of arbitrary historical accidents, with some societies — such as those in East Asia — following different cultural paths than others — such as those in Northern Europe? Or do these differences arise from more general processes of adaptation and change?

WALK LIKE A MAN, TALK LIKE A YOUNG WOMAN

Young women, even those in positions of authority, might be met with derision or disapproval if they use these linguistic features which, as it happens, are naturally found not only in the speech of their peers but increasingly in older generations of speakers else as well.

THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES

America is literally falling apart around us. Roads, built decades ago, are littered with potholes from carrying ten times the number of cars they were designed to carry. Crumbling Cold War–era gas pipes are exploding. One in nine of the country's bridges is structurally deficient. And some dam or levee is always just one rainstorm away from wiping out a neighborhood.

NOT EVEN WORTH A THUMBS DOWN

Just before Christmas, Kirk Cameron's holiday film "Saving Christmas" got the best gift ever: After some coordinated trolling on Cameron's part, it was bestowed the title of worst movie on IMDb and rocketed to the No. 1 spot on its bottom 100 chart, where it still sits. We got curious. What else was down there?