THE WEEK Aug 26, 2011

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Gary Locke a real person?

Rumors surfaced last week after Gary Locke, the new US ambassador to China, was spotted ordering coffee at Starbucks.

It's rare to see such high-ranking officials in China at places like Starbucks. So when a picture of the incredible scene was forwarded more than 30,000 times on China’s twitter-like website weibo, users began speculating whether or not Locke was a real person.

The Week's staff of investigative reporters followed Locke and independently confirmed that Gary Locke is, in fact, a human being.

No marriage for Bert & Ernie

Puppets on the popular children's program Sesame Street are not human beings. And that is one reason why the show's makers cancelled what may have been the biggest celebrity wedding since Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot early this summer.

More than 7,000 people signed an online petition calling for a wedding between the beloved characters Bert and Ernie. Creators of the show said the best friends are puppets and therefore do not have any sexual orientation. But I guess this dog didn't get that message.

Let's consult Clark: Sports Brawls

To honor last week's brawl on the playground, special contributor to The Week Clark Cahill is in the studio to break down some of sports' most historic fights.

Oxford Dictionary adds new words

Next time you open the Oxford English Dictionary, there may be one or two new words you didn't expect to see.

Every year, Oxford chooses new words to add to its pages in order to remain "progressive".

Words like retweet – to pass on a message via twitter, woot – an exclamation used to show triumph – and sexting – sending sexual text messages – made the list this year. But what words didn't make it?

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Director: Lin Hanqing Host: Chris Clark & Clark Cahill

Graphic Design: Zhang Xiao Fauxtographer: Wu Chuanjing

Managing Producer: Christie Lee Producer: Flora Yue