ArcaMax

The "Rule of Three" in writing says you communicate most strongly when giving information in clumps of three: The phrase "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is a great example. "Life, liberty, equality and the pursuit of happiness?" All worthy, but the three is easier to remember.

The Rule of Three also applies to your child's well-...Read more

One of the most remarkable things about the great golfer Bobby Jones was that he never played golf as a professional. He was a lawyer by trade and won all of his 13 major championships as an amateur.

Now, nobody today is expected to walk out from behind an office desk and qualify for the U.S. Open golf championship -- which theoretically can be...Read more

Once referred to as "The Greatest Strike Partnership in Football," the duo of soccer strikers Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke scored 53 goals for Manchester United in its 1998-99 season. The two were said to have a scary telepathy on the field.

Just as this duo was formidable on the pitch, there's an emerging twosome in medicine that's being shown ...Read more

An episode of "Law and Order" called "Mother's Milk" was a cautionary tale about what happens when a breastfeeding consultant goes completely over the top and insists that a young mother only breastfeed her newborn. When the child won't take to the breast, the result is tragic.

Sometimes a new mom cannot breastfeed successfully. We want to ...Read more

In the 1990 movie "Problem Child," Ben Healy (John Ritter) and his wife Flo (Amy Yasbeck) don't know that Junior (Michael Oliver), the cute 7-year-old they adopted, had previously been returned to the orphanage dozens of times because of behavioral problems. Then, one day Junior drives the family car into the family sporting-goods store. Is ...Read more

If you're like most Americans, you've probably eaten a bellyful of food already today! In the past three decades, U.S. adults have gone from eating almost four snacks and meals a day to eating almost five -- a 29 percent increase in calories. Well, if you're full of regrets, chew on this: Mindful eating, instead of mindless consumption, can ...Read more

In 1949, when Candy Land supplanted Uncle Wiggily as Milton Bradley's top-selling board game, the ol' U.S. of A. was on track to becoming the largest consumer of candy in the world.

These days, Americans spend billions of dollars annually on candy, consuming 22 pounds per person. And overall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that in...Read more

In season 18 of "The Simpsons," as Bart leaves the dentist's office, the hygienist hands him a gift bag, saying, "Here's a free toothbrush! Keep those teeth clean!" He looks into the bag and responds: "So you're saying I should do your job for you, at home, for free? You wish!" He drops the bag in the trash.

We know you would never do that! ...Read more

The star of the syndicated comic strip "Garfield" is a big, funny, lazy orange cat of the same name. In one installment, Garfield's owner, Jon, tells him, "We're going on a run." In the next frame, the cat is still flat on his back, arms by his side. His thought bubble reads, "I'm going for a just-lie-here."

Sometimes a just-lie-here is what's ...Read more

In "Sex and the City 2," Samantha announces that she's "leading the way through the menopause maze" with "my vitamins, my bioidentical estrogen cream, progesterone cream and a touch of testosterone." When her creams and pills are confiscated at customs in Abu Dhabi, she is outraged. "I need to speak to an ambassador, or an embassy, or someone in...Read more

When Elon Musk became fed up with waiting in Los Angeles traffic, he declared he would build a boring machine to create tunnels under the congestion. The bypass of all bypasses. It's named Godot, since, as Musk joked, we're still waiting!

Well, if you too want less weight (OK it's a bad pun, but a good metaphor), nonsurgical, endoscopic sleeve ...Read more

In Shakespeare's "Hamlet," Hamlet's lover Ophelia becomes unhinged. When she makes her final appearance of the play, she hands her brother Laertes sprigs of fresh rosemary, saying: "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray, love, remember."

Rosemary has long been thought to have memory-boosting properties, and now modern science is ...Read more

In the 1960s, on "The Ed Sullivan Show," you often could find Erich Brenn balancing and spinning a dozen plates on top of tall, skinny poles to the strains of the "Sabre Dance." (The world record for balancing the most spinning plates is 108, set in 1996.) Well, balancing acts like that are almost as tough as keeping a teenager's face clear of ...Read more

In the 1993 movie "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," every time Prince John appears on screen, the large mole on his face is in a different spot. His right-hand man finally points this out, saying, "Your majesty, stop me if I'm wrong, but wasn't your mole on the other side?" Prince John responds: "I have a mole?"

The prince's denial of this glaring ...Read more

In the 2011 documentary "Vegucated," three happy-go-lucky meat lovers decide to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks, never expecting they'd be transformed mentally and physically by their encounter with all the stuff that grows from the ground! But they are, and it's a pretty rough, though comic, journey.

Well, that's a transformation your child ...Read more

In an episode in season 2 of "Friends," Rachel has been trying to suppress her feelings for Ross, but hits a breaking point when she finds out that he and his new girlfriend are getting a cat. She treats her mental pain by getting drunk on a date with another man, eventually leaving Ross a message telling him she's over him (which clearly doesn'...Read more

The term "sticky wicket" often is used to describe a tough spot that's hard to get out of. It's also a cricket term, describing the field of play (the wicket) as being wet and soft, and apt to cause a wicked slide of the ball, making it tough for the batsman (batter). Great for the bowler (pitcher), though.

Avoiding the sticky wicket of ...Read more

In 2006, Lucky Diamond Rich was declared "the world's most tattooed person." Ink covers every inch of his body, private parts included. For him, it's too late to think about the downsides, but for those just starting out or still tattoo-free, the latest Food and Drug Administration warning, "Think Before You Ink," is worth paying attention to.

...Read more

From 1902 to 1912, shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers and first baseman Frank Chance were a double-play dream team, anchoring the infield while the Chicago Cubs won four National League pennants and two World Series championships.

Now medical science has discovered a new type of double play: If you work to strike out strokes, you...Read more

A basset hound puppy will routinely fall over its floppy ears. But as it gets older and bigger, and starts tracking, those ears are an asset. They act like side brooms, sweeping up scents along the ground. That's why bassets, along with their cousins, bloodhounds and coonhounds, are such champion sniffers. One problem, though: Because the dog's ...Read more