Headlines from August 31, 2009

As banks repay bailout money, taxpayers see a profit--to the tune of $4 billion.
New research shows more testosterone makes a better banker.
Men's underwear sales are a reliable economic indicator, and it looks like drawers are filling up.
How to buy happiness.
With an early Memorial Day and a late Labor Day, if the summer seemed long, it's because it was.
For years, Republicans have been trying to write early termination for the elderly into legislation.
An assessment of Roger Federer's ever-expanding logo.
A personal account of how science fiction fandom encourages acceptance of neurodiversity.
Afterbirthers demand to see Obama's placenta.
For this month's "Of Recent Note," tell us your superpower.
If you want people to read your book, then you have to read books; if you want people to buy your book, then you buy books.
At Infinite Summer, Nick Douglas shows how reading Infinite Jest is a biblical experience.
This chair comes with Jonathan Franzen. A book lover's guide to IKEA seating.
Cigarettes; figs ripening; muffins; subtle but rank perfume. A map of the smells of Manhattan.
Notes on where Japan's newly elected Democratic Party may take the country's economy, U.S. relations, and foreign policy.
What the average person needs to know about umami.
TMN's Clay Risen on the differences between American and German beer-brewing.
Good, reasonably brief summary of the state of Israeli settlements, including a lexicon.
Iraqi women visiting plastic surgeons in larger numbers to cope with literal and figurative war scars.
To save money, more people are cutting their own hair, and hair salons make money repairing botched jobs.
Traffic stops have "broad social usefulness," including catching big criminals.
Instapaper for the commute: Why Texas may become the first state to officially admit to executing an innocent person.
Five-year-long Stanford Study of Writing finds evidence of a flourishing literacy revolution.
Federal agents fear fraud could dump stimulus money straight into mafia coffers.
Our ability to collect data now outstrips our ability to maintain it for the long run.
Enjoyable account of the previous Age of Wonder, followed by dicier claims about the next one.
Gallery of abandoned NASA projects.
Keggers of yore.