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If you can't develop a real rooting interest in the Super Bowl, perhaps you can come up with something almost completely arbitrary to help you care.

Russia is preparing for the 2014 Winter Games — turning a sleepy valley in the Northern Caucasus Mountains into an Olympic village, with brand-new facilities for every Alpine sport. Officials say it will be a world-class destination for winter-sports enthusiasts long after the Games are over. Environmentalists say it's an ecological disaster in the making.

David Greene speaks with NPR's Don Gonyea, Scott Horsley and Brian Naylor about The Des Moines Register's Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. The three reporters are riding in the event, also known as RAGBRAI, to explore the Iowa they didn't see on the presidential campaign trail.

Tlacoyos are a doughy corn tortilla of sorts that's cooked on a grill. Whether enjoyed on a plastic plate as street food or fine china in a high-end restaurant, it's been a favorite snack for centuries.

Architects have come up with spectacular concepts for vertical farms that would grow crops in city skyscrapers. But many horticulturists think the future of vertical farming isn't in skyscrapers, but rather in large, indoor warehouses lit up magenta by superefficient LEDs.

In fashion's first hackathon, developers had just 24 hours to build an app for the industry — the finalists will be presented on the runway at New York's Fashion Week. "Right now the industry could really use some innovation," says Decoded Fashion founder Liz Bacelar.

Girdles and hormone therapy for grapes? California farmers go to great lengths to plump and firm up grapes as much as possible. But don't worry: None of these techniques hurts the grapes or those who love them.

Nearly 7 million people visit the Chateau at Versailles a year. But one day a week, it's closed. That's a spa day of sorts, when conservation work and cleaning takes place at the Grande Dame of France royal residences. The hardwood floors alone require nearly 1,000 gallons of wax a year.

If we didn't have a pope and we didn't have a Super Bowl, we might never use these fancy numbers at all. Then again, maybe we would.

Closed-door leadership elections are held on a given day, but really take place over years of interaction and commerce among caucus members. Ideology and issues are not the paramount concern.