Was a new baby the reason for Mona Lisa's smile?

"The famous smile on Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa could be because she is pregnant or had just had a baby, research suggests.

Canadian scientists used laser and infrared scans to produce a 3D image of the painting.

This allowed details beneath layers of paint to be seen - including a gauzy dress then associated with pregnant or new mothers."

(credit: BBC)

Chavez endorsement of Chomsky book does wonders

"The United Nations address by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has had an unexpected impact — on the bestseller lists of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

At the start of his talk Wednesday, during which Chavez referred to President Bush as "the devil," Chavez held up a book by Noam Chomsky, "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance," and recommended it to everyone in the General Assembly, as well as to the American people."

(credit: LA Times)

New Monopoly Edition comes with branded tokens

NY Times: "An updated edition of [Monopoly]will include tokens that are styled after name-brand products. Five of the eight tokens in the new Monopoly Here and Now edition will be branded, offering game players the chance to be represented by miniature versions of a Toyota Prius hybrid car, an order of McDonald’s French fries, a New Balance running shoe, a cup of Starbucks coffee or a Motorola Razr cellphone."

(credit: MIT Advertising Lab)

Nokia Silence Booth

Nokia placed these glass silence booths on site at several music festivals in Europe giving fans a chance to speak and be heard - and also to try some new Nokia phones while they're at it. This goes to show you can sponsor music festivals and actually do something other than your typical branding exercise - Nokia could've just as easily dumped their logo all over the place, instead they created an idea that actually fulfills a genuine need. Great thinking.

(MIT Advertising Lab)