Free Republic

It's well known that learning to play an instrument can offer benefits beyond just musical ability. Indeed, research shows it's a great activity for the brain – it can enhance our fine motor skills, language acquisition, speech, and memory – and it can even help to keep our brains younger. After years of working with musicians and witnessing how they persist in musical training despite the pain caused by performing thousands of repetitive movements, I started wondering: if musical training can reshape the brain in so many ways, can it also change the way musicians feel pain, too? This is...

New Jersey businessman Dennis Lee says he can make your car run on pickle juice, Listerine, Coke — pretty much any liquid. He has a machine, he says, that can supply electricity to your home for free using magnets. His nontoxic Insect-a-shield bug repellent is drinkable, he claims. Attorneys general in at least nine states say Lee's claims are fraudulent. In nearly 20 years of pitching free electricity and other products, he has gained a reputation among regulators as one of the country's most persistent traveling salesmen. He's not allowed to sell "products, services or business opportunities" to Washington residents,...