Turn on a faucet. Any faucet. If the faucet you've chosen is in Albuquerque, the water that surges out of your hose, into your kitchen sink, onto your head or down your toilet is older than Christianity. Older than the Roman Empire. At least as old as the end of the last Ice Age. This 10,000-year-old water is pumped from beneath your feet and forced to the earth's surface from a fractured network of vessels that make up the city's aquifer.

How long is the world's longest chile ristra? After a scuffle with a news cameraman, what happened to one APD officer? Who is Bill Richardson talking about but not endorsing for governor in 2010? Where's the armor on a Typothorax?

The assignment was simple: Interview someone operating a game booth or running a ride at the State Fair.

Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign prodded a drowsy, sharp-tongued beast.

Throughout the Republican National Convention, politicians, including McCain, derided the press for playing sides in the presidential race. They mocked what they said was the media's unfair treatment of McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and accused the media of being covertly sexist.

But, as the Boston Phoenix’s Adam Reilly points out, McCain’s war with the media started before he selected Palin as his vice president. In July, McCain’s campaign decided to limit reporters’ access to the senator. The man who pioneered the “Straight Talk Express” is keeping journalists at arm’s length. Never mind that the campaign has refused to allow the press to ask Palin any questions at all, save for an interview with ABC’s Charles Gibson last week.

The presidential and vice presidential debates that will take place in the next few weeks hold enormous potential dangers for the Democrats. They are almost in a perilous no-win situation.

Dateline: Congo—A herd of “wrongfully imprisoned” goats have been freed from jail thanks to the intervention of a Congolese minister. According to the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper, Deputy Justice Minister Claude Nyamugabo spotted the herd of goats crammed into a cell during a routine prison visit. The animals were apparently charged with being sold illegally by the roadside. The goats were scheduled to appear in court, alongside their owner, in the capital city of Kinshasa. Nyamugabo said the mistake had arisen because police officers had gaps in their knowledge of the law and would be sent for retraining.

Is Sarah Palin under attack or is she just setting the tone for the end of these elections? According to Jim Scarantino's article [Re: The Real Side, "Palin Drone," Sept. 11-17], she is a damsel in distress. Yes, sexism exists; I've felt it as well as prejudice growing up a Hispanic female.