Via The New York Times By Tyler Watamanuk For some time, status in the first world has not been signaled just with expensive clothes and designer handbags, but also with so-called elevated versions of everyday items: an elegant pour-over coffee kit in place of a humble Mr. Coffee machine; dinky house ferns replaced by exotic Monstera plants; and in recent infamy, drinking straws and paper clips from Tiffany. Now, as the wretched heat of summer settles, let us consider what has happened...

Via Elle By Mahalia Chang We don't mean to alarm you, but we have some news. Despite prevailing misconceptions that bar soaps were nothing more than grandma bathroom accoutrements and harbingers of germs, we're happy to report that they are back—and they're chicer than ever. Taking over from the liquid soaps and body washes we've come to rely on, luxury bar soaps have slipped back into our beauty routines to tick all our boxes. Fabulously tactile; easy to use; and...

Via The New York Times By Richard Klasco, M.D. Q. Are there any health risks to using a communal bar of soap in, say, a health club? A. No. Bar soap does not appear to transmit disease. The most rigorous study of this question was published in 1965. Scientists conducted a series of experiments in which they intentionally contaminated their hands with about five billion bacteria. The bacteria were disease-causing strains, such as Staph and E. coli. The scientists then washed their hands with...