Forget the lectures, scientific breakthroughs and high-level discussions.

All they really want is a hug.

That’s what members of the high-IQ society Mensa did at their recent annual conference in Denver in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most hugs in an hour by an individual.

Millions of young men live their lives entirely on the Internet, unable to leave the house, in fear of human contact. In response to this troubled niche, an entertainment company has come up with a possible cure. Videos of girls that stare into the camera…. and occasionally say good morning…

Next week, July 20-26, our nation will celebrate National Parenting Gifted Children Week to bring broader awareness to the joys – and challenges – involved in raising academically gifted children.

On first glance, some may think parenting a gifted child is about as challenging as a multimillionaire deciding where to go on vacation or what car to purchase. But parents of these children – along with teachers, counselors and researchers – know this amazing joy is not without its share of struggles.

Bob Homans, aka Watermelon Slim, has fought in one war (Vietnam) and fought against another (Iraq). He has degrees in history and journalism but mostly drives trucks for a living. A member of Mensa, he restored his blues cred by farming watermelons in his home state of Oklahoma � hence the stage-name.

Four and a half months out of the womb, Avery Yarbro spoke her first sentence.
Yes, reports her mother, her first sentence, not word.
“I said, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you,” Alyssia Yarbro said. “She looked up at me and said, ‘I love you.'”
What Avery’s Olive Branch parents suspected, Mensa affirmed before the girl reached her third birthday.

Kit and I are back from Denver, where we both spoke at U.S. Mensa’s Annual Gathering. Several readers have asked what a Mensa gathering is like. Mensans simply have one thing in common: they’re all in the 98th percentile of intelligence — pretty smart people.

Smart doesn’t necessarily mean they’re well educated (though they tend to be), nor does it mean they necessarily have any common sense, nor does it necessarily mean they have any social skills, nor any other particular trait not related to intelligence. All in all, most of them are pretty normal people …with a few “outliers” that help to give Mensa its reputation for being weird or nerdy. Some can be stand-offish and superior, but most are humble, interesting people.

Which animals sit on Hamilton’s coat of arms? Who is the Speaker of the House of Commons? How many Inuit live in Canada? On our national day, test your knowledge of our fascinating home and native land and its people. Mensa Canada’s annual Canada Day Trivia Quiz covers everything form music to history to sports and everyday life. Few Mensa Canada members could pass the entire quiz. Why not try it, eh? Here are the first dozen questions.

Just before Thanksgiving I volunteered on a nonprofit farm near Princeton, chopping beets to donate to local families in need. While we worked, I started chatting with one of the workers. He appeared to enjoy his work, and seemed like a nice guy – until we got on the subject of the people we were helping.

Poor people, especially those on welfare, are “lazy,” he said. “They” sit on their stoops in Trenton in the middle of the day, “when they should be out looking for work.” He said he knew they were on welfare because of their skin color.

On the first and third Monday of every month � except in summer months when only one Monday will do � in an old building on a downtown street wanting for bustle, the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of Wellsburg Lodge No. 2 meet. Members only, and only men.

1) a) Mary Magdalene b) For God so loved the world