As reported late last summer, the Russian oblast of Ul'yanovsk promoted a Conception Day last September 12 to encourage couples to procreate and give birth on July 12 to win valuable prizes. Well, many moms did end up giving birth and Slate reports on the excitement of women trying to have their pregnancies induced to give birth on the magic day to win the equivalent of a month's wages. Is this encouraging population growth or just madness? What do you think?

Outside magazine has published an article on the "20 Best Towns in America." Unfortunately, the folks at Outside don't publish their content online but media outlets are reporting the top ten as...

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Chattanooga, Tennessee
3. Ogden, Utah
4. Portsmouth, New Hampshire
5. Tacoma, Washington
6. Ithaca, New York
7. Louisville, Kentucky
8. Eureka, California
9. Crested Butte, Colorado
10. Columbia, Missouri