Meeting a new person and then flirting with them can be a tense, sweaty experience. Chances are you’re going to say some words they’ve heard before, which is boring; you’re going in with one strike against you. Why not give yourself a fighting chance by arranging those words in new and riveting constructions to reveal odd facts you have recently learned from Wikipedia?

When people talk about the strengths of HBO’s Girls, they tend to mention how relatable and real it is. I enjoy that show, but I don’t see a lot of myself in it besides the sporadic human truths that punctuate these never unclever, coddled existences. Noah Baumbach’s seventh film, Frances Ha (opening this week) is similar in its focus—Greta Gerwig (who co-wrote the script) plays Frances, a 27-year-old dancer who lives in New York. Watching her struggle to eat while feeding her creative impulses and flailing to assert an identity while not quite fully formed as a secure human being felt like a trip back home to me.

The ten worst prisons in America include a familiar one.

Hey, look, it's Jon Lundberg again, the same Tennessee lawmaker who honored himself last month with a formal resolution to celebrate his achievements. Now the Republican representative has moved on to squaring away another personal issue: getting even with that GD son-of-a-bitch stupid BASTARD traffic camera that fined him for speeding in 2010.

Kermit Gosnell, the doctor convicted yesterday of killing three babies at his nightmarish Philadelphia abortion clinic, was spared the death penalty today. The 72-year-old still faces life in prison.

The adoptive parents of an 8-year-old child who received sex-assignment surgery as an infant, are suing the state of South Carolina for allowing doctors to perform the unnecessary and potentially harmful surgery that was intended to "make the child a girl."

In six seasons of Kitchen Nightmares, Chef Gordon Ramsay has never quit on a client. Until last week, that is, when he found Amy and Samy Bouzaglo, owners of Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale, Arizona, simply beyond help.

Remember last week, when ABC News caught the Obama administration red-handed, manipulating its talking points about last year's fatal attack in Benghazi? In that account of the editing chain, ABC's Jonathan Karl reported that one email had specifically asked for the State Department to be protected. According to the orthodox theory of Benghazi-as-Watergate, this demonstrated that the White House was more interested in spinning things to protect the Obama 2012/Hillary 2016 presidential campaigns than it was in presenting the truth.

When New York City authorities announced details of a new municipal bike-sharing program last year, New Yorkers cheered. "What a fun, cheap, and easy way to traverse this great city of ours," thought citizens, 30 percent of whom said they would be at least somewhat likely to use the bikes. "And wonderful for the environment as well."

A Kentucky man was arrested after having an all-night solo party inside a closed supermarket, where he heroically went through 57 cans of whipped cream. He was found inside the ceiling on Monday, and surveillance video revealed his feast of steak, shrimp and beer before the nitrous oxide called.

For years, doctors have advised people to limit their daily salt intake to 1,500 milligrams in order to protect their hearts. Now, other doctors say that keeping your salt intake that low will hurt your heart. What we can say for sure: salt, heart.

An Illinois man honeymooning with his new wife in an Orlando-area resort picked the worst possible time to leave her in the room so he could go meet up with a prostitute.

Today in questionable amusement park ride name choices: A new ride built to replace a Seaside Heights roller coaster destroyed by Sandy will be called "The Superstorm."

The East Village Eye, the legendary magazine published in the late '70s and '80s, is being converted into scannable PDFs—so you can search back issues for wonderful tidbits about Betsey Johnson, Lou Reed, and other fascinating icons of New York lore.

Holy shit. This Bey is pregnant.

In 2012, the hedge fund Clive Capital lost 8.8% for its investors. In return for this negative performance, the fund paid its top partner $33.5 million.

Welcome back to What's Hot and New with the Kidz, a recurring feature brought to you by the New York Times, a Montessori-school newsletter devoted to understanding the hot and new mindset of contemporary Kidz. Today's focus: Why won't my Millennial drive?

In her new book, Primates of Park Avenue, social anthropologist Dr. Wednesday Martin claims to expose a troubling trend: "Upper crust" moms using a "black market" connection to hire handicapped tour guides to walk them through Disney World so they can take advantage of the line-skipping auxiliary entrances for disabled patrons.

From the 21-year-old drinking age to the .08% blood alcohol level now recognized nationwide as evidence of being drunk, the threat of losing federal highway funds has kept America's states from straying on booze laws. So get ready for the .05% drunken driving conviction.

Two waiters were arrested in Mexico City on murder and robbery charges in connection to the death of Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X. Shabazz, 28, was beaten to death last week. The dispute apparently started over an excessive bar bill.