JAPANESE GREEN-THUMBS with a hankering for a spot of gardening but no gardens of their own have resorted to what’s been dubbed “guerrilla gardening.” In Tokyo’s heaving metropolis, little gardens have sprouted in the most unusual places – on median strips, traffic islands and footpaths.

Japan is not the only place. There are al-most 100 community gardens in Los An-geles. A group called “farm-lab” has even build an enormous cornfield next to rail-way tracks in the CBD (Central Business District)

THE COLORS WORN by competitors can shape referee decisions. So say Norbert Hagemann and colleagues at the University of Munster, Germany, who showed 42 taekwondo referees excerpts from sparring rounds between similarly skilled athletes. In each video, one athlete wore blue protective gear while the other wore red. The researchers found that referees gave 13 percent more points to red competitors, even when the performances were exactly the same. Bet the blue competitors were seeing red, too.

WHAT’S THE ONLY MARATHON where most of the racers run in costume? Where the route offers stunning views of chateaus and sprinkled with wine-tasting tests and gourmet stands serving such tempting morsels as steak and seafood? And where the winners receive their weight in fine wine? That would be the Marathon du Medoc in Bordeaux, France.

Participants lucky enough to take part in this year’s race passed more than 50 cha-teaus. “At one chateau,” says Daniel Gauvreau, who’s run it, “women dressed in period costumes served us oysters and white wine.”

However, the more pit stops a runner makes, the longer it takes to get back on the course. No wonder the annual event is known to its fans as the world’s longest marathon.