The Girl Scouts are about a lot more than cookies these days. Just in time for the organization's 100-year anniversary next year, Girl Scouts badges received a major, modern makeover, their first overhaul since 1987. Where girls once received a badge for fashion, fitness and makeup, they now have the option of earning a Science of Style badge, where aspiring designers and fashionistas learn about the nanotechnology in fabrics and the chemistry behind sunscreen formulations.
In addition to classics like cooking and and first aid, Girl Scouts can now adorn their sashes with badges they've earned by exploring digital filmmaking, locavore awareness, financial literacy, public policy, and website design. There's even a Science of Happiness badge (pictured), designed to "teach girls how to find happiness in their own lives," according to researcher Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania, who helped the Scouts design the very new-wave-sounding topic.
For the first time, proactive tots aren't limited to the choices that the Scouting powers that be think young girls will respond to: there are now Make Your Own badges, which encourage girls to design their own insignia, according to their own personal interests. Welcome to the new generation of Girl Scouts.
Photo courtesy of
Flying this holiday? You're not alone. While 
Do you know what next week is? Besides the beginning of our annual gift guide mania and countdown to the holidays, it's also voting day. Midterm elections take place on Tuesday, Nov. 2, and to celebrate, Foursquare is passing out virtual "I Voted" badges to users who check in to designated polling places. 
