In the 1723 cookery book “The Cooks and Confectioners Dictionary,” the author John Nott shares a recipe for chicken breasts, in which the skins get lifted and stuffed with grated bacon, anchovies and herbs. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it’s one of the first written accounts of the noun cluster “chicken breasts” in the…
Miss Mismanagement I’ve spent the past year working for a small nonprofit. My manager is difficult enough that I’ve considered quitting, but my inability to find work elsewhere has kept me here. Part of my manager’s problem is that she is so behind on everything as to be in a constant state of crisis. She…
In her book, Dr. Swan suggests that sperm counts have plummeted largely due to the rise of endocrine disruptors, a class of hormone-mimicking chemicals found in everything from shampoo to TV-dinner packaging. (She also cites lifestyle factors like obesity, alcohol, and smoking.) Dr. Swan has shown in previous studies that exposure to these chemicals in…
Mr. Murray spoke similarly. “When she held my hand it felt like coming home — she made me feel calm,” he said. “I’m a nurturer and a caring person. She became the one I wanted to give attention, help and love to.” The next year and a half was filled with Mr. Murray visiting monthly…
Lauren Thomas knew on their first date, in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood in 2018, that Charles Finkel was intent on capturing her attention. She just didn’t know quite how intent he was. “He mentioned that he wasn’t really a dog person, but when he came to pick me up, he brought treats for my dog,…
Reclaiming the skies. In early May, I took my first commercial flight since travel restrictions have eased and my vaccination reached full potency, to visit my daughter in Texas. I didn’t feel wildly unsafe; it was psychologically uncomfortable, but I have always disliked airports and planes. I ate and drank nothing onboard, and my mask…
Joshua Corey Kappel said he had no choice but to issue an ultimatum in October 2015 to Samantha Marie Presnal, who was dating another man at that time. “She had just started dating this guy a few months earlier, and though we both knew that what we had was stronger, she just wasn’t willing to…
Benjamin Louis Wald did his best in January 2015 to get some art into his life, then Jacqueline Rebecca Spar stepped in. “A mentor suggested I keep as much work-life balance as possible,” said Mr. Wald, 31, who often worked 12-hour days and traveled to Europe, usually London, at least once a month as an…
You might say that Rachel Schallom and Brent Lobdell met the old-fashioned way: Her best friend had a crush on his best friend, and so the two were introduced as a means of facilitating an entirely different romance. But when it came to the course of their own relationship, they broke with convention. To begin…
Mr. Ankari has undergone 15 sessions with an Em-Sculpt, a device that uses electromagnetic energy to trigger intense muscle contractions, which promises to improve abdominal tone, and plans to start Botox treatments in another year. “Especially as summer approaches, we all want to work out and eat clean, but some of us are taking shortcuts,”…