Good Week, Bad Week

Good week for:

Paul, the “psychic octopus” at a German aquarium that predicted the outcome of all seven of Germany’s World Cup games, including its loss to Spain. Paul made his picks by choosing between two containers of food, each with a national flag on it.

Longing, after a study by OnePoll.com found that one in five adults in Great Britain is in love with someone other than their partner or spouse—usually a co-worker or a spouse of a friend.

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Reconciliation, after Bristol Palin, 19, and Levi Johnston, 20, announced they had patched up their differences while spending time with their 18-month-old son, and were getting married.

Bad week for:

Lance Armstrong, after federal authorities launched a doping investigation into the cycling champion’s U.S. Postal Service team from the mid-2000s. Armstrong, now competing in his last Tour de France at the age of 38, fell out of contention this week, saying, “It’s not going to be my year.”

Believing in yourself, after nine employees of an Italian real estate agency were badly burned while walking barefoot on a bed of hot coals during a “motivation day” event. The organizer had used the wrong type of wood and coals.

Sitting in a window seat, after about 100 people in Laguna Hills, Calif., staged the annual ritual of mooning passing Amtrak trains. “It took me about a week to build up the courage to do this, and another week to talk my husband into it,” said participant Kim Norris. “But it was all worth it.”