She wasn’t a Muslim, but she would do for now. Last March, at just about the time American troops were massing outside Baghdad, she shuffled, dressed in a dark burqa, into a cramped schoolroom in the New York City borough of Queens. The class she was addressing was organized by the U.S. Center for World Mission and packed with eager evangelical Christian students wanting to learn how to be missionaries in a foreign country.

The “selfie stick”—a small, articulated monopod designed for cell phone-wielding photographers—is, by all accounts, more popular than ever. “[Just last month], I’ve seen several around midtown Manhattan, including inside Grand Central Terminal and outside the main branch of the New York Public Library,” says Henry Posner, the director of corporate communications at the popular B&H Photo retail chain. “The extension handles for smartphones are very popular, deceptively simple, and elegantly designed,” he tells TIME.

Events in Seoul History 1897-02-01 Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul. US Enters Korean War 1950-06-27 North Korean troops reach Seoul, causing the UN to ask member states to aid South Korea. Harry Truman orders the US Air Force and Navy into the Korean conflict. 1950-06-28 North Korean forces capture Seoul, South Korea in opening phase of the Korean War 1950-09-15 US troop land on Wolmi-Do island off of Seoul 1950-09-26 UN troops in Korean War recapture South Korean capital of Seoul 1951-01-04 Korean War: Chinese forces recapture Seoul 1951-03-12 Communist troops driven out of Seoul 1951-03-15 UN forces recapture Seoul, the fourth and final time the city changes hands in the Korean War 1955-10-04 Rev Sun Young Moon leaves prison in Seoul 1971-12-25 Worst hotel fire in history kills 163 at Taeyokale Hotel in Seoul 1974-11-02 78 die when the Time Go-Go Club in Seoul, South Korea burns down.

He was a jockey when today’s veteran best—Eddie Arcaro and Ted Atkinson—were wearing diapers. He raced to victory on horses with such names as Man o’ War, Zev, Flying Ebony, Gallant Fox. and he won the Kentucky Derby three times, the Belmont Stakes five times. In a time of purses far smaller than today’s, he brought home more than $3,000,000 worth. In the age of sport known as golden, Jockey Earl Sande was the best in his business.

It sounds like a load of hot air. But it’s now possible for some people to lose weight by inflating a balloon inside their stomach, according to the results of a new study. The device, created by the California company Obalon, is a deflated balloon stuffed inside a small capsule. Attached to the pill is a thin catheter, and when it’s swallowed, the tube sticks out. Once the pill hits the stomach, the balloon is released, and a doctor pumps gas into the tube to inflate the balloon.