Well, you might say it’s the folks who live in these six countries: United States, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, which are colored an alarming red on Expedia.com’s map of vacation deprivation.

According to Expedia’s study, in 2011, workplaces in the United States, South Korea and Japan gave out the fewest vacation days per year to employees.

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Hey Coolest Stuff fans. Sarah here. I’m so excited to be taking over the reins for Rachel, whose final podcast aired last week. We’ll miss Rachel’s enthusiasm around here, but who knows, maybe we’ll have her sit in from time to time — perhaps to dish about a delicious food destination! We definitely share a [...]

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Few artists embody “space music” quite as well as DJ Food AKA Strictly Kev.

I spoke to the man back in 2010 about cosmic DJ mixes and he had quite a bit to share about sci-fi samples and his own psychedelic space music (you can read that here). But now it’s 2012 and Kev is back with his first full-length album in 11 years. So I checked in with him for the scoop on “The Search Engine.”

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The ongoing resurgence in 3-D movies … it’s a gift and a curse. Or maybe just a curse. At least, that’s what I thought until seeing “Hugo” and its use of 3-D to make the movie more beautiful. We recorded this episode before “Hugo” racked up all kinds of Academy Award nominations, but the episode published almost immediately after. Funny thing, that.

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Yes, you can do this! A newish Web site called Campinmygarden.com enables you to connect with folks who’ll let you pitch a tent in their yards for a small fee.

It’s the same online community concept established by sites like Airbnb.com and Couchsurfing.org — only you’ll sleep outside the house, rather than inside.

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Just what sort of hugger are you anyhow? Do you go squeeze random strangers in deep? Do you grapple your pals in a manly bear bug or go for the dreaded side-hug?

Our affectionate embraces come in a variety of forms and, in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Julie and I discuss the psychology, sociology and evolutionary science of hugging it out.

We’ll even get into the topic of man-hugs — and I think you may agree that the one in the accompanying photo may be the manliest hug of all time.

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We both love brunch. More the swank Sunday late-morning-to-early-afternoon meal eaten in a restaurant than the cost-saving college dining hall brunch. So what is it about this meal that’s so appealing to a certain subset of American culture? And is it really our only exclusively social meal?

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This is a group of 48 monasteries whose walls are painted with biblical themes in very vivid colors. The most famous is the Voronet, which is referred to as the Sistine Chapel of the East. But unlike that religious edifice in Italy, this one has maintained its brilliant colors throughout the years.

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What a night. Nothing really illustrates the power of the Internet like a massive, semi-coordinated series of attacks on dozens of Web sites over the course of a few hours. That’s what’s going on as I write this blog post and it all stems from seven people targeted by the Department of Justice and the FBI. Those seven people were named in an indictment that charges them with crimes ranging from copyright violation to money laundering. According to CNET, if found guilty they could receive a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

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William Gillette set up his castle to play tricks on people. He installed a mirror system, so he could spy on guests from his bedroom — that way he could burst onto his living room “stage” at the most magnificent moment. At dinner, he and his guests were seated on a cushioned bench along the wall; the dining table was on a track, and he pulled it toward the group and locked it into place. “HA HA HA” Gillette probably snickered inwardly. “I own the most clever table-on-a-track in the universe.”

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