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It’s over. Thirty-three games, more than 1,100 correct responses, and $2,464,216 dollars after first taking the Jeopardy! contestant podium, James Holzhauer lost. While his run failed to match Ken Jennings’ for either longevity or earnings—he fell just $56,484 short—Holzhauer has left as indelible a mark on the game. How did he do it? By not treating Jeopardy! like a game at all.

Serena Williams descended upon the clay courts of the French Open in Paris this week, where, the year prior, she had become a lodestar of ridiculous controversy. In one early bout, Williams' decision to wear a black catsuit resulted in a violation; the form of dress has since been banned by the French Tennis Federation. "The combination of Serena this year, for example, it will no longer be accepted," FTF President Bernard Giudicelli told Tennis magazine.

English professor Matt Barton grew up loving computer role-playing games like Pool of Radiance and Baldur’s Gate, and was discouraged when that style of thoughtful, analytical gameplay almost disappeared. “For a long time the very words ‘turn-based’ were enough to make everybody laugh at you,” Barton says in Episode 363 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “It was like, ‘Who wants that? It’s boring.

Technology changes us as much as we change technology. It trains us to behave in certain ways, to modify how we speak or move to better accommodate its utility. In some cases, technology can transform the very things that define us. Perhaps the most literal example is our handwritten signature, a core talisman of identity. Developed in response to the ancient technology of paper and ink, it’s lately been confronted with the primacy of keyboards and screens.

The bicycle manufacturer Cannondale is well known for its high-performance bikes—pricey chariots that are ridden by some of the world's top pros in the elite trail- and road-cycling ranks. But things were not always so. The company's first cycling-related product, released way back in the early 1970s, was a bike trailer called the Bugger. You'd mount the accessory two-wheeler to your bicycle's rear triangle and use it to haul groceries, bags of potting soil, or your toddler.

It’s a beautiful day. The family’s in attendance, side dishes and beer in tow. Your sister-in-law brought a trunk full of Super Soakers. It’s BBQ time. Time to kick back in the yard and fire up the … stove? Hmm, that doesn’t sound terribly exciting, does it? But that’s basically what you’re doing when you cook out on a gas grill, which is powered by the same largely flavorless fuel as your kitchen stove.