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You can’t turn on the TV these days without seeing a commercial featuring a retired athlete pitching a weight-loss plan, a restaurant, automaker, etc. It’s usually a win-win situation for both sides. Business executives get someone with star power to pitch their product; retired athletes who no longer collect big paychecks are eager to sell their endorsement for not only the money, but to extend their fame. Some of these commercials air and are soon forgotten, but a select few become so popular they become engrained in American culture. Here are 10 of the best-known national commercial campaigns featuring retired star athletes, along with a couple of local and national spots you’ve probably never seen.

So you’re sitting around at a family cookout, trying to set up your brand-new smartphone. As you shake your head in frustration at some of the confusing steps, your grandfather speaks up: “It was so much easier when I was your age. You just picked up the phone and dialed a number.” Oh, really? New technologies have always frustrated us. Today it’s iPhones and our wireless router. A few years ago it was our DVD player. But despite what grandpa says, things weren’t easier in the so-called good ol’ days. As the following video clips show, our parents and grandparents had to be instructed about how to dial a phone, pack their car for a road trip … there’s even a video here on how a boy should ask a girl on a date. It’s enough to make the iPhone setup seem like brain surgery by comparison.

This month marks the 150th anniversary of the midpoint of the Civil War (it’s April 26, to be precise). In the weeks ahead you’re sure to hear about the sesquicentennial anniversaries of the Battle of Gettysburg, the famous Siege of Vicksburg, the battles of Chancellorsville and Chickamauga and other more minor skirmishes. Aside from the Civil War’s obvious importance in U.S. history, it also left a legacy as the first American war heavily documented by the relatively new practice of photography. Braving death and injury and using primitive equipment and techniques, photographers captured thousands of images of the bloody conflict. If you’re one of the millions of hard-core Civil War buffs, you’ve probably seen most of the images in this photo essay; for everyone else, here are 10 striking photos from the conflict that shaped a nation.

Scores of companies have mascots or corporate icons. You can probably name dozens off the top of your head: Ronald McDonald, Tony the Tiger, the Morton Salt Girl, Mr. Peanut, the Jolly Green Giant, etc. Then there are the corporations that create an ad campaign establishing a person as the “face” of the company. It’s not an easy task, but for those companies that succeed, the commercial stars sometimes become household names, even beloved cultural icons. And the company ends up earning higher sales and good publicity, sometimes for decades after the original advertising run ends. Here, in no particular order, is a look at 10 somewhat ordinary individuals who became the face of some of the world’s most famous brands.

Many of the world’s oldest and most cherished structures are religious in nature. But for all the thousands of historic churches, synagogues, mosques and temples, it’s hard to match the mystique and allure of an ancient monastery. Take a look at these monasteries and you picture monks working by candlelight, studying ancient texts or rewriting old manuscripts in perfect calligraphy. The monasteries noted here are still active. They’re also open for tours, so you may well encounter monks following in the tradition established by their brothers a thousand or more years ago.

Thousands of cities around the world participated in something known as Earth Hour on March 23, 2013. Many buildings in these cities dimmed or turned off non-essential lights for one hour to help raise awareness of global climate change. (MercuryNews.com features a great photo essay on some of the world's most iconic structures gone dark.) It’s certainly a fine cause, but you won't find any of these photos on those cities' chamber of commerce or tourism websites. In terms of photographic appeal and aesthetics, a blacked-out cityscape can’t compete with a brilliant nighttime skyline. See for yourself with a look at these 10 spectacular city skylines from around the world.

The sluggish U.S. economy has left many people in despair, but it’s created a booming opportunity for con artists out to prey on the less fortunate. Some of the most common and most ingenious scams involve work-at-home offers, and unfortunately, victims of these scams are already in bad financial situations. Variations on some of these scams have been around for many years, but others have developed and grown more sophisticated thanks to the Internet. Here are five of the most common work-at-home schemes, along with tips from law enforcement officials, fraud investigators and consumer advocates to help you avoid becoming a victim in something dangerous that could not only cost you thousands of dollars, but could also lead to identity theft and even criminal charges.

Remember the first time you heard the song Bohemian Rhapsody? If you’re in the over-45 age set, you recall this as a popular 1970s song by the colorful band Queen. If you’re a bit younger, you probably remember hearing it for the first time in the 1991 flick Wayne’s World. That’s just one example of a classic rock song that has achieved cult status far exceeding its original popularity, whether through appearances in movies or TV shows, in commercials or in the video game Guitar Hero. Since “cult” has some very negative connotations, we’ll define it here as a song that appeals to a mass audience, when many of the fans who like it have no clue about the song’s origins.

Each month after the U.S. government releases its official unemployment rate, politicians and pundits from both sides of the political divide seize on the news as proof that the country is either headed for an economic recovery or economic hard times. But in reality, the U.S. and other developed nations have a much different standard of unemployment than people in the Third World, where unemployment rates of 25 or 30 percent or more are common. Even during the depth of the Great Depression, most developed nations never exceeded unemployment rates of 25 to 30 percent. Here’s a look at the nations with the highest unemployment rates in the world, rates that would be unimaginable in the U.S. and other wealthy nations. (All figures are estimates from the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook.)

The Baltimore Ravens weren’t the only big winners in the 2013 Super Bowl. Several automakers also celebrated a strong showing with their commercial presence in the big game. USA Today’s Ad Meter, which used online polling of thousands of viewers to rate every commercial in the Super Bowl, ranked five car commercials among the top 10 among all ads in the game. Chrysler’s Dodge Ram commercial, which used an essay from the late broadcasting legend Paul Harvey in a tribute to the American farmer, ranked third. Chrysler also took fifth place with an ad for its Jeep brand. Kia, Hyundai and Audi also earned spots in the top 10. Cause for celebration, sure, but with Super Bowl ad time this year averaging about $3.8 million per 30-second spot, is it worth it? There’s no question a successful TV ad campaign can boost car sales, sometimes dramatically. Here’s a look back at several successful car commercial campaigns from recent years, and how they impacted sales.