The engines were cut and with the precision of a surgical team, the crew manoeuvred the 71m vessel slowly and safely just near the bear, who, intrigued by the sight of the boat, walked over to take a closer look.

BBC: Life in the fragile, frozen Arctic

And our meal at 21212 deserves every spike of its sparkler - it's a humorous and clever romp without losing sight of deliciousness: plates look like elaborate puzzles, ingredients deliver snort-making surprises like parchment made from mushrooms, or smoked salmon with fingernail-sized buttered crumpets, all in a room that looks like Shrek's pulling parlour.

BBC: Postcard from Edinburgh

From a French fur trader with an iron hand to the Army Corps of Engineers reshaping the riverbed, Indian casinos built on brownfields to 280, 000 radioactive mice buried at the Falls, many of Niagara's stories are like the drums secreted in its landfills: shoved out of sight, covered over to look presentable, and driven by with glazed eyes, a quick flick of the radio volume.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Inventing Niagara'

It's palm-sized with a single blue LED light indicating a connection, but honestly you don't ever need to look at it: it doesn't need line-of-sight to your handset because it uses a wireless protocol called WiFi Display, which means you can happily leave it dangling out of the way behind your TV.

ENGADGET: AllShare Cast wireless streaming dongle for Samsung Galaxy S III -- hands-on (video)