A young Dorothy Parker

Reader staffers share stories that fascinate, amuse, or inspire us.

Hey, did you read:

• That retailers mark their goods up so they can mark them down for charades like Black Friday? —Steve Bogira

• That the Pope is a socialist? —Drew Hunt

• That the “knockout game” isn’t necessarily a “trend?” —Gwynedd Stuart

• The movement on campuses and in some towns to divest from oil, gas, and other fossil fuel companies? —Mick Dumke

• About the clock that knows when you’re going to die? —Brianna Wellen

• About the British “bonking crisis”? —Tony Adler

• About the enduring importance of the artful sentence? —Sam Worley

• The story of Dorothy Parker and the two Lolitas? —Kate Schmidt

• About the Whole Booke of Psalmes, dating back to 1640, expected to sell this week for between $15 and $30 million? —Aimee Levitt

• That longtime Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan (whose many credits include Pretty Woman, L.A. Confidential, and Fight Club) has admitted to working as a secret agent and arms dealer for Israel? —Ben Sachs

• Or see these maps of imaginary places? —Aimee Levitt