While driving in town recently, Will Fernandez passed a billboard touting the benefits of "Vitamin D from the Sun and Tanning Beds." If the billboard was to be believed, using a tanning bed could help reduce the risk of breast cancer. This struck Fernandez as odd — most likely a manipulation of legitimate research on the benefits of Vitamin D. So he looked into the matter a bit further.

When going to a store to find a Halloween costume this year, customers were immediately assaulted by outfits sporting names like "Pocohottie" and "Cottontail Cutie." These costumes were not just taking up shelf space, girls were flocking to buy them. Jenny Cooke has a few thoughts on why girls insist on encouraging frostbite on Halloween.

"Freakonomics," in case you happen to be unaware, is a medium-length infusion of quirky, "un-normal" microeconomics topics and more-than-merely-readable nonfiction writing. The sequel, "SuperFreakonomics," has been out for almost a week, and somehow Diana Liu hasn't gotten her hands on a copy yet. She'd better start trying.

While most students are afraid of contracting the swine flu, they forget the No. 1 killer of all teens: driving. Last week was National Teen Driver Safety Week, and Will Fernandez observed it by taking a look at the risks of driving. He came away with a new appreciation of what he and his peers should be concerned about when they get behind the wheel.

Six years ago, the day before Katy Metcalf turned 10, singer-songwriter Elliott Smith died. "Elliott was my hero," she writes. "I wanted to be him when I grew up … not a rock star, but a something better. I can't even describe it, but his death had a profound effect on my life. Not that day, maybe not that year. But the more I've matured, the more I appreciate his music, and the more I miss him."