Bananas, sauerkraut, hand wipes and mouth wash: these are all things that could cause you to test positive for alcohol, even if you haven’t had a drink. Although why you wouldn’t have had a drink is beyond me.

Do you want to learn…

How to Sob Uncontrollably?

How to Pour Milk?

How to Pay Off Your Credit Card Debt?

Now you can! It’s The Content Farm! Featuring “informative articles about every topic, written by people with a passing knowledge.”

“Alternately, I asked, have researchers considered the possibility that the dust might have come from under my bed? Recently, my wool Schlitz hat fell down there. When I retrieved it, the hat had grown a full, gray rabbinical beard. ‘That doesn’t have anything to do with it,’ Dr. Mahowald said, without even pausing to consider my hypothesis. Her study didn’t measure dust from human sources, like our burping tailpipes and pilling sweaters, she explained. Dust is such a vague term. ‘I’m being very particular here: soil particles suspended in the atmosphere.’”
 — But Michael Tortorello is interested in the wider phenomenon. And his enjoyably florid story in the Home section of today’s

Times goes from clocking the speed at which a dust mote just 100 microns in diameter falls through the air (about a foot per second) to interviewing a bunch of hyper-fastidious neat freaks about how they keep their apartments clean. It’s all great fun. Here are some more songs about dust.

You’re never going to guess where this ad is going.

In the latest installment of what is somehow the Internet’s only cooking and book chat show, Emily Gould chats with author Emma Rathbone about her new book, The Patterns of Paper Monsters as they bake cookies reminiscent of supermarket strawberry wafer cookies.

Cooking the Books is directed by Valerie Temple and shot and edited by Andrew Gauthier. You can see all the Cooking the Books episodes here or even subscribe via iTunes. Previously: Doogie Horner Makes “Gettin’ Laid Lemonade,” Emily Gould and Tao Lin Make Raw Salad, Jennifer Egan makes macaroons.

“In a grim sign of the economic recovery, the divorce rate, which dipped during the recession, appears to be on the rebound.”

by Andrew Piccone

Tell me about the harmonica.

In 1964 when I was 10 or 11, I started playing harmonica. I got a harmonica from my older sister, she had played for about two years. I found the sounds to be wonderful, and I loved it. After playing harmonica, I tried many other instruments. I played the Chinese fiddle, the violin, the cello, the piano, every instrument I wanted to try. But no matter what I always came back to the harmonica. I think the harmonica has a very special, unique sound. When playing the harmonica, I have a easier time controlling the music than with other instruments, it’s just using your breath, it’s so simple. I’ve been playing for 47 years! I’m still interested in the harmonica because it is so unique, it’s such an interesting instrument. There is so much you can do with it. There are harmonica concertos, classical music, everything. In the harmonica world there are not too many classical players, not like the violin or the piano. It’s the same mentality though, you have to practice everyday, take it seriously. I love classical music, that’s what I play mostly with the standards thrown in there too.

How do you respond to the idea that the harmonica is a novelty instrument?

Well, I think the violin or the piano have very long histories that the harmonica does not. Most instruments have been around for hundreds of years, the harmonica has not. It’s very young, it has 180 years of history. So if you think about it like that, the harmonica still has a very long way to go. The instrument is still evolving. Most people play the harmonica for fun, but if you want to play classical music on the harmonica you need to learn how to read music and practice. You must practice. I had learned all these other instruments growing up, and the classical music training helped me to learn classical music on the harmonica. I took many pieces written for other instruments and taught myself how to play them on the harmonica. There is very little music that is written for the harmonica, so you have to make do, improvise and do things differently. Over time the harmonica will progress and become an instrument you see more. Every year the harmonica you see in more and more places.

Where are you from originally?

I am from China, I was born in Beijing. I came to the United States in 1998. In China, I was a performer, I performed all over the country, and I traveled worldwide to play. Before I moved to the United States, I came here to compete in the national harmonica competition in 1991 and I came in 3rd place. When I moved here, I came with a performance visa, an artists visa. I liked it here, so I applied for permanent residence status. I like New York, I like the music here, I like the audience here. I travel all over though. I like to travel. Playing in the United States is different than in China. Usually in China I play with other people, as a part of a larger show, or with a group. In the United States when I play I usually will play alone, and have solo concerts. I like it better to be playing by myself, right now I do both, but mostly I will play a concert solo. I live in Queens now, I like Queens, I like being close to both airports.

Have you heard any good jokes lately?

Um, oh, one time, this is very funny, I was hired to do a concert. Usually I come prepared and I read my music. This time I forgot to bring it. So when I get there and the concert starts and I don’t have my music book! So what can I do? It was really terrible. But I realize I can play from memory. So in that concert I played with no music, and it was wonderful! So, because of that, right now, I try to memorize all the music I play.

You went on “America’s Got Talent” a few years ago?

I did! That was a great opportunity to show a more mainstream audience what the harmonica is capable of. I used a few different kinds of harmonicas, sometimes I use one, sometimes I use five. In March I’m going back to Europe to play in Oxford, and for that show I’m going to use 16 harmonicas! The audience on “America’s Got Talent,” they seemed to like it a lot. The judges, too, and everyone stood up at the end. I was selected to move forward and play in Las Vegas. It was very good.

What’s the best part about what you do?

The harmonica is a very easy instrument. Everyone can learn, one day, two days, three day, you can learn. Some people don’t believe me, I tell people you can learn this. It’s all breath, it’s only from controlled breath. There are only a few holes, that’s it! Everybody can learn, very quickly. There is no age limit to the harmonica, I teach people who are young, and over 70 years old! With the piano, your fingers change as you get older. With the harmonica, your mouth, your lips, they’re always soft! If you can sing, you can play.

Andrew Piccone is a photographer in New York.

“That to me is what the fascinating thing about it is. All these individual factors that have to do with ecology, population, animals, different people traveling from all over the world. There’s that perfect storm that has to happen, and then you might have something interesting.”
 — But for now we’re fine, says Dr. Don Weiss, director of surveillance for the New York City Health Department’s Bureau of Communicable Diseases, discussing the range of exotic illnesses (including leprosy, cholera, Bubonic plague, and others) that find their way into town.

Gabriel Snyder, now head of Atlantic Wire, who was fired to make room for current Gawker editor Remy Stern, incited the wrath of his successor last night — by wondering about the traffic results of Gawker’s takedown of Congressman Chris Lee. To the digital record!

Gawker’s latest scalp didn’t come with eyeballs: Sitemeter shows slight traffic bump http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=stats&s;=sm5gawkerless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone

Gabriel Snyder
gabrielsnyder

@gabrielsnyder Sitemeter hasn’t been working since the redesign took effect. Nice try.Thu Feb 10 04:24:39 via web

Remy Stern
remystern

@remystern Hmm. Recent trend on SItemeter http://t.co/Lkr0m8j seems to track with Quantcast http://t.co/vJucULjless than a minute ago via Twitter for Mac

Gabriel Snyder
gabrielsnyder

@gabrielsnyder Here’s the spectacular, record-setting growth of the last 11 months. Enjoy! http://bit.ly/gA3RScThu Feb 10 04:25:21 via web

Remy Stern
remystern

@remystern That is an impressive graph. Kudos! If Google Analytics is your stat of choice, can we see the week since the redesign launched?less than a minute ago via Twitter for Mac

Gabriel Snyder
gabrielsnyder

@remystern @gabrielsnyder if it wasn’t working, wouldn’t it register zero rather than a over a million pageviews per day?Thu Feb 10 04:26:45 via TweetDeck

Anthony De Rosa
AntDeRosa

@AntDeRosa Apparently the ajax is making it difficult for the counters to track traffic properly.Thu Feb 10 04:41:32 via web

Remy Stern
remystern

@remystern how about your google juice? shouldn’t you guys be getting a better ranking there for this story?Thu Feb 10 04:45:45 via TweetDeck

Anthony De Rosa
AntDeRosa

@AntDeRosa The link to us at the top of Drudge which has been up for hours would normally show a much bigger impactThu Feb 10 04:43:47 via web

Remy Stern
remystern

@gabrielsnyder Thanks! Thought you’d enjoy seeing what amazing success we’ve enjoyed since your departure.Thu Feb 10 05:45:35 via web

Remy Stern
remystern

Uh oh. Seems like I touched a nerve. @maureenoco should be very proud of her scoop, no matter the numbers.less than a minute ago via Twitter for Mac

Gabriel Snyder
gabrielsnyder

@remystern @gabrielsnyder id bet on long term future of a site based on quality of content not quantity of visitors and in that regard…Thu Feb 10 05:20:08 via web

Hunter Walker
hunterw

@hunterw Content has never been better. Can’t say the same for The Daily. A total embarrassment.Thu Feb 10 05:34:06 via web

Remy Stern
remystern

@gabrielsnyder If the ajax is affecting the ability to track stats, that impacts all site measurement tools. Duh.Thu Feb 10 05:44:14 via web

Remy Stern
remystern

@remystern @hunterw @gabrielsnyder YOU GUYS. Stop it. Don’t make me come over there.Thu Feb 10 05:53:42 via web

Jessica Pressler
jpressler

@jpressler Ha, okay. I’ll keep quiet now.Thu Feb 10 06:10:25 via web

Remy Stern
remystern

@remystern @gabrielsnyder Why are you stopping? It was just getting fun 🙁Thu Feb 10 06:22:23 via web

science is sexy
biocuriosity

I’ll believe Mubarak is stepping down when I see it with my own eyes (uh, through Al Jazeera). Also? Oh great, stepping down to the evil, Cheney-esque Vice President! (Or, you know, the military. Neat.) But signs do look good: “Hassan al-Roweni, an Egyptian army commander, told protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Thursday that ‘Everything you want will be realised.’ Protesters have demanded that Hosni Mubarak stand down as president…. Ahmed Shafiq, the country’s prime minister, told the BBC that the president may step down on Thursday evening, and that the situation would be ‘clarified soon.’”