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Google has incorporated the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game into its search function. Morning Edition's David Greene goes to the movies and traces the history of the iconic college game. (This piece initially aired on September 14, 2012 on Morning Edition).

Holiday Sales rose by less than 1 percent from the year before, according to MasterCard's SpendingPulse unit. That's the slowest growth in spending since the 2008 recession. Even online sales — which posted double digit gains over the past few years — were lackluster this year.

The call to the online shoe retailer lasted more than 10 hours. For one thing, the customer on the line wanted to know how the Zappos employee likes living in Las Vegas. The conversation even ended with a sale of Uggs boots.

Washington, D.C., city police are investigating whether NBC News' David Gregory broke the district's laws when he displayed what he said was a "magazine for ammunition that carries 30 bullets" on Sunday's edition of Meet the Press.

Something remarkable happened in 2012.

The Federal Reserve continued to keep its foot on the accelerator in 2012, using unusual tactics to try to boost economic growth. But economists disagree about whether the Fed's policies were effective or whether the inflation risks outweighed the rewards.

Connecticut has suddenly become the epicenter of America's gun control debate, in a way no one there could have foreseen. In the wake of the Newtown massacre, the state that once led the world in making modern weaponry is now the backdrop for arguments over the U.S. gun industry.

There were 138 toothbrush-related patents filed this year in the U.S. Why so many new ideas? "Cleaning the teeth is actually a pretty complex problem, and I think that's why there's been so much invention around it," says the head of Colgate's global toothbrush division.

The Department of Veterans Affairs wanted to reduce a backlog in veterans' claims for disability benefits. Instead, the problem has worsened this year, in part, the VA says, because the department made it easier for more vets to file claims.

Mary and Lenny Buongiorno figured their photos were lost forever after Sandy flooded their Staten Island home. The waterlogged album was in a pile of roadside debris when bus driver Mike Valente spotted it. He spent five weeks meticulously cleaning and restoring the images on his computer. After presenting the new album to the overjoyed couple, he told the New York Post, "I'm all about memories."