Nerds, and more

Good week for:

Nerds, after a University of New Mexico study found that men with the highest IQs also have the healthiest sperm.

Conspiracy theorists, after two Bangladeshi newspapers published an article from the satirical newspaper The Onion as if it were true. Astronaut Neil Armstrong admits in the article that the moon landing was filmed on a soundstage. “I suppose it really was one small step for man, one giant lie for mankind,” he says.

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Supply and demand, after a group of entrepreneurial atheists started offering pet-care services to devout Christians who expect to ascend bodily to heaven in the Rapture. Since the founders of the company have no chance of salvation, they say, they can guarantee years of humane post-Rapture care for just $110.

Bad week for:

Books, after Cushing Academy, a Massachusetts prep school, said it was discarding more than 20,000 books and replacing the library with a digital learning center. “When I look at books,” said headmaster James Tracy, “I see an outdated technology.’’

Nicolas Sarkozy, the 5-foot-7 French president, who was accused by critics of recruiting even shorter people to stand around him during public appearances.

Social networking, after two girls, ages 10 and 12, trapped in a storm drain in South Australia, decided to seek help by using their cell phones to update their Facebook statuses, rather than calling Australia’s equivalent of 911. Officials said the youngsters’ fixation on Facebook delayed their rescue by hours.