Chemicals — what would we do without them? Twinkies wouldn't have a shelf life of a decade. Diet Coke wouldn't be diet. And microwave popcorn wouldn't cause some weird lung disease. We just read today that diacetyl, one of the main substances used to flavor microwave popcorn*, isn't so good for the lungs. Truthfully, when we read the first article about the first consumer that is likely to have "popcorn lung" (bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, or... more ›

Missing Presidents? more ›

Jan Lorys, Director, Polish Museum of America more ›

After a brief jaunt out west, Chicagoist is back at the homestead, making camp here on the prairie that is sweet home Chicago. But just because we took a long weekend doesn't mean that our elected officials did. Here's a look back at what's been newsworthy so far this week: Illinois junior senator Barack Obama has a huge lead — in MySpace friends! Outpacing Hillary Clinton's "friends" by some 20,000, he's clearly in the lead,... more ›

So, today is Presidents' Day. All you lucky financiers, government employees, library workers and Chicago Public School kids have the day off. We're pretty sure when we were kids, we got both Lincoln and Washington's birthdays off as separate holidays! Sweet. Talk about a short month. We don't really get it so much anymore, though. What exactly are you supposed to do on Presidents' Day? Have someone recite the Gettysburg Address? Think about all presidents... more ›

In the US, February marks Black History Month, and while there are no shortage of opportunities to learn about important and significant people of African descent this month, the purpose and history behind the event is sometimes lost. While Africans have been present in North America at least since colonial times, black history had barely begun to be studied — or even documented — when the tradition formally began in 1926. It wasn't until later... more ›

Between fake terrorist alerts and scandals big and small, this just might be the best Best of the -ists ever. We're exhausted just thinking about it. First up, SFist, who saw their little 'ole site be the center of what was a nice little scandal (even getting their editor on TV) only to find their scandal dwarfed by the even bigger scandal caused by their Mayor boffing one of his aides' wife. We're not... more ›

The -ists this week had politics on the brain. And what goes better with politics? Partying-- that's two great tastes in one. Oh, and Kevin Federline...can't forget about Kevin Federline. That's three great tastes in one. -Bostonist discussed two big state issues-- what sort of math constitutes a marriage and what kind of alcohol can be sold in most grocery stores. And the politically minded Curt Schilling went on "Jeopardy!". -Chicagoist celebrated the election... more ›

If you were looking for a Halloween party this past weekend, you didn’t have to look far. We saw some cute costumes – Paris Hilton, an Oompa-Loompa, Superman and a cowgirl – and those were just the dogs. more ›

If you've got a craving for some good old fashion public radio today, you may want to tune in at noon to today's Odyssey program on WBEZ 91.5 FM that will explore the question, "How do blogs really relate to society, the academy, and other forms of media?" more ›

Chicagoist was just commenting, it seems, about how President's Day is one of those half-holidays where nothing happens really, but if you're lucky you get the day off. Well, same with Pulaski Day. Except you have an even slimmer chance of getting the day off. more ›