Olympics

You can walk across a large part of downtown Montreal without ever going outdoors. But it is worth going outdoors, no matter what the weather, to see some of the unusual structures that give the city its distinctive character.

While skiing in Kashmir, Julian Wilson and Aaron Patillo came up with the idea of starting a luxury clothing company that would use yak hair from Tibet and Mongolia. Their designs were worn in Vancouver by Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong of Ghana.

Game on! The Winter Olympics are under way. Big events like alpine skiing and ice hockey dominate the television schedules, but it's worth taking time to check out the less popular sports — especially the one with its own medieval language.

They have analyzed the dynamics of curling and the hand positioning of downhill skiers. They have studied snowflakes and steel-on-ice interaction. They have used video technology to help skater Patrick Chan do the right thing. They want gold.

The Winter Olympics will officially be opened on 12 February by the governor general of Canada, Michaëlle Jean. She is a refugee from Haiti who came to Canada in 1968. The motto of the Games is "With glowing hearts/Des plus brillants exploits".

They fought a gaming Cold War for decades: Mario was the mascot of the Nintendo empire, while Sega fought back with Sonic the Hegdehog. But the rivalry has ended for the Winter Olympics. Mario and Sonic are the mascots of the Vancouver video game.