Good week, Bad week
Singles; Comebacks; The face of Obamacare
Good week for:
Singles, after a Chinese website launched a new rent-a-boyfriend service, so young women can take home fake beaus and stop parental nagging about finding a husband.
Comebacks, after Philadelphia voters elected a Whig to public office for the first time in 157 years. Robert Bucholz, who was elected to be a ward election judge, said the nation badly needed a third party that stood for pragmatic compromise.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Freak shows, after hundreds of people lined up at Toronto’s City Hall to buy a signed, limited edition bobblehead doll of Mayor Rob Ford, who recently admitted to smoking crack cocaine. “We’re living in crazy times,” said one local, who waited three hours to get a Ford doll.
Bad week for:
The face of Obamacare, after the smiling woman whose photo appeared on the home page of HealthCare.gov said she had been subjected to fierce cyberbullying. “I didn’t design the website,” said Adriana, who refused to give her surname, “so I don’t think they should have any reasons to hate me.”
Theology, after Sarah Palin expressed her disapproval of Pope Francis, saying he’s “taken me aback” with his statements, which she described as “kind of liberal.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Racists, after a white supremacist who intends to set up an Aryan enclave in North Dakota took a DNA test on a TV show and discovered he’s 14 percent African. The show’s black host gave the horrified Craig Cobb a fist bump and called him “bro.”
-
See the bright lights from these 7 big-city hotels
The Week Recommends Immerse yourself in culture, history and nightlife
-
Scientists want to regrow human limbs. Salamanders could lead the way.
Under the radar Humans may already have the genetic mechanism necessary
-
Seven wild discoveries about animals in 2025
In depth Mice have Good Samaritan tendencies and gulls work in gangs
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Making amends, Justice, Saying ‘cheese’
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Reptile experience; Painless budget cuts; Driving with kids
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Closing the sale; Calling 911; Going to the circus
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Asking Google anything; Misanthropes; Persistence
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Torture, Irritating the cat, Being cheap
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Strolling in Naples; Infallibility; Mississippi
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Tesla; Entrepreneurship; Fortune-tellers
-
Good week, Bad week
feature The miracles of science; Wild times in Wisconsin; Holding hands