The Lake Erie salt mine 1,700 feet beneath the lake is a modern marvel. Growing up in Cleveland, I had heard about this mine, but this was pre-YouTube and the modern internet that can showcase it in all its glory. Check out the video and the interview, it's pretty neat.

Who doesn't love chocolate milk? Especially if it's 1%! The Trump administration is relaxing Obama-era standards in public schools that, among other measures, limited schools to offering flavored milk only if it was nonfat.

What's the best thing you bought this year? Over at the Ringer, the blog has released its annual gift guide, showing the best things their staff bought in 2017. It's a better take than most websites' gift guides, so do check it out. The jury's still out for me, but it'll probably be this Keurigesque formula maker I just bought yesterday.

Speaking of product placement... BabyBrezza did not compensate me for that organic product promotion. In fact, I mocked the product's concept back in Week One of being a new parent. Feeding twins at 3 a.m. for a few months, and I know better now. So, you might not at all be surprised to know that writers actually do accept money to promote products in news stories! The Outline has a look at some of the outlets where this unethical practice has taken place. 

John Conyers retires! Because of health concerns, of course. Conyers would like to see his son, John Conyers III replace him in the House. Hopefully, the younger Conyers has grown up in the last few years. He was smart to delete his Twitter account (shouldn't we all?) because his old tweets might haunt him. If he wins, however, one bit of advice: Don't follow dad's lead on the government car.

Roy Moore has a new spox! And she might be as zany as he is! Interestingly, she's based in Cleveland, Ohio! (With remote TV hits, candidates of questionable character don't have to insist their flacks move to whatever place they're based nowadays ...) Janet Porter has a history of controversial statements and strange claims. Like promoting a conspiracy theory that, in 1992 a man named Tom Fife overheard that Barack Obama was being groomed by ... wait for it ... the Soviets. Or the suggestion that the Obama administration was setting up civilian internment camps. But, she's pro-life, so I'm sure it's fine.

SoulCycle cult offering fashionable uniforms to entice potential members. “Athleisure is more than just a trend now—it’s a lifestyle." Thus spoke a 23-year-old workout junkie in Manhattan. BusinessWeek reports:

Since gyms have now fully evolved into social experiences rather than obligatory solo destinations, fashion has become central to working out. “Millennials are as social in their fitness activities as they are in other parts of their lives, unlike many in previous generations, who might have lifted some weights and then left,” said Deborah Weinswig, managing director of retail think tank Fung Global Retail & Technology. And if you’re out with friends, of course you want to look good.

Read the whole thing. It just screams "Cult!"

Vermin Supreme wins! The kooky protest candidate famous for his boot-hat and mandatory brushing and ponies-for-all platform won a legal challenge to bring ponies outside of a Hillary Clinton book signing. He does, however, have to pay for use of the parking spot.

—Jim Swift, Deputy Online Editor

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