Blog Posts by Jessica Ferri

McDonald's UK will distribute 15 million free books in Happy MealsMcDonald's branches in the United Kingdom will include a book with each Happy Meal sold as part of a promotion called "Happy Readers," starting Wednesday.

With one book per Happy Meal in the U.K., McDonald's estimates that they will become the largest children's book distributor in the country, with a total of 15 million books handed out by the end of 2014.

International test shows United States falls behind in education

The initiative was inspired by data complied by Britain's National Literacy Trust, which recently revealed that out of a group of 21,000 children, only 50 percent of them said they enjoyed reading "very much" or "a lot."

For the next five weeks, Happy Meals in the UK will feature non-fiction books from DK Books' Amazing World Series, with categories of Stars and Planets, Big Cats, and Oceans. Children can also redeem a voucher from their Happy Meal if they'd prefer to choose their own book at bookseller WH Smith.

"Our research tells us that there is a very clear

In celebration of the Duchess of Cambridge's 31st birthday tomorrow, we've picked 31 of our absolute favorites of her dresses, everything from inexpensive Zara frocks right off the rack to high glamour designers like Alexander McQueen and Jenny Packham.

Coca-cola dissolves stomach blockages, who knew?Your mother always told you that soda would rot your teeth, and she was right, sort of. But it turns out that the same aggressive acidity of the soft drink that rots your teeth also dissolves harmful stomach blockages.

Believe it or not, the chemicals in coke act similarly to gastric acid, which helps to digest food, and can work to dissolve a gastric phytobezoar, a blockage in the stomach that can lead to bowel obstruction, infection, and in some cases, death.

What soft drinks are doing to your body

A new study conducted by the University of Athens shows that Coca-cola was successful in treating 90 percent of patients with phytobezoars-helping them to avoid surgery. The carbonization of the drink only helps to speed along the process.

The formula for Coca-cola has long been a source of speculation, as the drink was developed in 1886 by a pharmacist, and at some point contained a small amount of coca leaves, hence the commonly-held belief that Coke once contained cocaine.

The

Kevin Krim speaks at his children's memorial service. Kevin and Marina Krim are surviving a parent's worst nightmare, the murder of their two children. And, it's become clear this week, they're doing it in public, regularly posting photos and status updates on an all-access Facebook page that they started for the Lulu & Leo Fund, a charity in remembrance of their two lost children. Their third surviving daughter, they have said, "saves us every day."

A post on January 5 was from day 3 of a cross-country trip, and got 462 likes and 76 comments, from loving friends and other bereaved parents thanking the Krims for sharing the healing process. A previous post, on December 28, for the Krims' surviving daughter Nessie's birthday, read, "I want to wish our daughter Nessie a huge happy birthday. She turns four today. Marina and I couldn't be more proud of her. She is very smart, beautiful and tough. And she's grown so much over the past two months. She saves us every day."

Tragic: Manhattan nanny kills two children in her care

The Lulu and Leo Fund Facebook page.Perhaps eager to

Rogien, right, with Girls' Marnie, played by Allison Williams.American Eagle's lingerie line, Aerie, has asked the costume designer for HBO's Girls to create a line of underwear for the brand. Now you too can wear the underwear of Marnie, Hannah, Jessa, or Shoshanna.

The director of marketing at Aerie told WWD that she's brought on Girls' costume designer Jenn Rogien because "she really understands what girls want and need."

What we can expect from Girls' season two fashion

Girls has been praised for its realistic take on the lives of young women struggling to succeed in New York, including navigating awkward dates, career blunders, sexual frustrations, body image, and of course, friendships. There are also inevitable comparisons to that other show about four female friends living in New York, but Girls is decidedly more honest.

For instance, creator Lena Dunham has been both praised and criticized for appearing nearly nude on the show sporting tattered undies—so it's interesting that American Eagle sees her character's fashion choices as

The cast of HBO's Girls.Though it seemed like a good promotional idea for Drybar, a hair salon offering all sorts of blowouts, to offer free appointments in honor of the return of HBO's Girls, the chain seriously underestimated the popularity of the show.

Last Thursday, Drybar announced that it would be partnering with HBO to promote the return of shows Girls and Enlightened by offering free blowouts in all of its 25 locations across the U.S. on January 11, 12, and 13, between 6 and 7 p.m.

But shortly after the announcement was made, Drybar's online booking system was totally overwhelmed, according to Racked L.A. An e-mail apology from founder Ali Webb followed, which read:

Drybar owner Alli Webb"Ladies, Unfortunately, despite staffing up our phone receptionists for this promotion, we dramatically underestimated the response here and are terribly sorry for any inconvenience. I have read all the frustrated emails and truly feel awful. Please know we are doing everything we can to rectify the situation as quickly as possible. And

The newest Bachelor, Sean Lowe.Monday January 7, ABC will premiere the seventeenth season of its popular reality show The Bachelor. Undoubtedly many will tune in to watch latest contestant Sean Lowe's search for a wife, after he was rejected on the last season of the Bachelorette by Emily Maynard. Last year 7.7 million people watched the premiere of Ben Flajnik's season. But with only three couples still together after eleven years and sixteen seasons, why do we still care about relationships that are destined to end in failure and humiliation?

Sean Lowe is officially 'The Bachelor'

To call the interactions on The Bachelor "relationships" is pushing it, though, and to say that we "care" about them isn't quite the right description. In watching The Bachelor, we are willing participants in the total mockery of the search for true love. Just listening to the language used on the show is enough to make your skin crawl. The Bachelors really want the women to "open up" to them on the "journey," and later exclaim to the

Scarlett at the Hitchcock premiere."To me, being in a functioning relationship doesn't mean you have to be married. I never think about marriage. Is that weird? The only time I ever think about it is when people ask me," Scarlett Johansson tells Elle UK in an interview published in this month's issue.

Johansson, who is 28, was once married to actor Ryan Reynolds, 36. The marriage lasted two years. Reynolds married Gossip Girl actress Blake Lively, 25, in September.

Scarlett Johansson opens up about her devastating divorce

Johansson's comments might seem like the typical inflammatory celebrity interview, but the truth is many women her age feel the same way.

In 1960, half of all women were married by age 20. Today, the average age for a woman to marry is 27. In 1950, most couples had only known each other for an average of six months before they married. These days, 60 percent of couples live together before they marry.

"Many young adults view their 20s as a prolonged period of self-exploration with the goal of