11 Great Stories That Have Nothing to Do With Politics

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/briefing/tinder-select-microwave-safe.html

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Welcome to Our Picks, a guide to the best stuff to read, watch and listen to from around the internet. Check this space for the must-read long-form article, the next great podcast for your commute, the news-making tweetstorm. And yes, we’re also tooting our own horn here. We’ll share can’t-miss Times stories from the week and reveal some gems you might have overlooked.

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• There’s an invite-only version of dating app Tinder that you’ve likely not seen before. Designed for super models, C.E.O.s and other attractive and/or wealthy clientele, part of the appeal of Tinder Select was that only the in-crowd knew about it. Now, the secret’s out. [TechCrunch]

• Ever stick a takeout container in the microwave only to realize, too late, that it was not marked “microwave-safe”? Fear not! You’ll probably be just fine. [Digg]

• At his heaviest, Paul Mason weighed nearly 1,000 pounds. After surgery gave him a new body, he had to figure out how to be a new man. [GQ]

• Some people obsessively comb stills of “Westworld” for visual clues about the show’s deeper meaning. Others painstakingly catalog and analyze the art that adorns the walls of “The Brady Bunch.” This is a link for those interested in the latter. [We Are the Mutants via Metafilter]

• For a story that is at once heartbreaking and hopeful, read about what happened when a young woman discovered that her biological father was in fact her mother’s fertility doctor. [Hazlitt]

• It’s a marketing problem sure to be taught in business schools across the world: How do you stay true to your company’s mission of sustainability while also selling lots of stuff for people to consume? Retail giants Patagonia and The North Face are excellent case studies in this question of corporate responsibility. [The Guardian]

• On Thursday, a headline from The Associated Press caught our eye: “Fishing magnate known as ‘The Codfather’ to plead guilty.” The life and crimes of Carlos Rafael (a.k.a. The Codfather) were chronicled in this profile from January. [Hakai Magazine]

• Bob Mankoff, departing cartoon editor of The New Yorker, recalls the time his most famous punch line appeared on a thong, plus more stories about the hundreds of his cartoons that appeared in the magazine.

• It’s hard to avoid clichés when you’re talking about love, which is why a longtime weddings writer for The Times is so grateful when people say “something original and sparkly” about it. Here are 10 of her favorite thoughts on love she’s collected in her notebooks over the span of two-plus decades. (Plus: readers share stories of love and loss in response to last week’s Modern Love column, “You May Want to Marry My Husband.”)

• Grab your headphones and immerse yourself in The New York Times Magazine’s second annual music issue (and the accompanying podcast):

• This YouTube creator argues that humans can hear the difference between hot and cold water. We’re not sure we passed the test, but the scientific explanation why is pretty fascinating. [YouTube]

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