Is it dangerous to inhale helium?: “On June 3, the bodies of two college students were found in a giant helium balloon in Florida. The week before, a 10-year-old in New Jersey collapsed at a birthday party after sucking helium from a balloon. Is helium really that dangerous?” (Slate)

By Kent Sepkowitz, a New York doctor who gets onto New York magazine’s list most years: “Magazine ‘best’ lists are a good read for choosing things that don’t much matter, like fitness clubs and pizza and a summer vacation spot. But when it comes to the basics—health, education, and welfare—no one but a best-list maniac would seek counsel from the printed page. And for the maniacs, well, we can only hope that someone out there is polishing up a survey on the 10 best ways to cure a best-list addiction.” (Slate)

“Not even the inventor of ‘freedom fries’ could stand to be present at the GOP-controlled Congress’ absurd ‘debate’ over Iraq.” (Salon)