A decade ago, Europe was the place to go for American college students studying abroad. But now more and more are flocking to countries in Asia and Africa. The experience can be as challenging as it is exhilarating.

Some TV junkies are opting to postpone watching their favorite shows, or recommended ones, for months at a time. One result is epic television marathons — like 53 hours of streaming in four days — that give viewers desirable instant gratification, but challenge the sustainability of the shows they love.

Many women swear by men’s skincare products. The fact that the men’s skincare industry has a narrow, but loyal bracket of women customers is a long-kept secret.

Young fashion designers seeking to launch their own labels and break into the industry are finding that sites like LOOKK.com, UsTrendy.com and NotJustaLabel.com help them directly connect with buyers, stylists and even customers. So what does that mean for the traditional model?

Graduate school. To some, an intellectual paradise. To others, a haven from the stresses of the real world. But some people take both of those aspects to an extreme. Welcome to perpetual grad school, where the lazy and disorganized meet the overeducated and aimless.

A growing number of overweight people are now using triathlons, and the intense training used to prepare for one, as a way to shed pounds. Two weight classes created in the mid-1980s as a way to attract people to the sport are becoming increasingly prevalent on the circuit: Clydesdales, for 200-plus pound men, and Athenas, for 150-plus pound women.

For decades now, exhibition openings and free booze have existed symbiotically, with grog a key constituent in this high-profile arena of cultural commerce. More recently though, the unthinkable has become reality: As a pinched art market has thinned takings, some of New York’s most respectable galleries have sought to curtail this expensive orthodoxy, a decision fraught with potential pitfalls.

Social media has changed the landscape for introverts, and it allows them to even take leadership roles, experts say. Many introverts find communicating on Twitter and Facebook to be a more comforting experience. Introverted children are also benefiting from the use of social media in classrooms — the same person who wouldn’t raise her hand in a large lecture hall is more than happy to blog or tweet to thousands of people.

Across America, a new breed of pedal-powered trash haulers sees green in commercial food waste they hope to pick up and turn to compost. But the upstarts find their plans ensnared in a web of regulations that reflect other concerns.

Marriage preparation classes are mandatory for couples who want to get married in the Catholic Church. More and more Lutheran and Orthodox Jewish parishes offer them as well. But what do couples who have gone through marriage prep think about it? And does it really make for longer-lasting marriages?