Off topic: Speaking with an accent, espresso, salaries, rat hunters

In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2012, the $1,100 per kilogram ($500 per pound) Black Ivory coffee is poured into a cup at a hotel restaurant in Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. A Canadian entrepreneur with a background in civet coffee has teamed up with a herd of 20 elephants, gourmet roasters and one of the country's top hotels to produce the Black Ivory, a new blend from the hills of northern Thailand and the excrement of elephants which ranks among the world's most expensive cups of coffee. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong) — In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2012, the $1,100 per kilogram ($500 per pound) Black Ivory coffee is poured into a cup at a hotel restaurant in Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. A Canadian entrepreneur with a background in civet coffee has teamed up with a herd of 20 elephants, gourmet roasters and one of the country’s top hotels to produce the Black Ivory, a new blend from the hills of northern Thailand and the excrement of elephants which ranks among the world’s most expensive cups of coffee. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

PUBLISHED: August 11, 2014 at 11:51 p.m. | UPDATED: August 12, 2016 at 8:15 a.m.

Jeopardy champion Arthur Chu writes about speaking English normally and with a Chinese accent. Speaking of pronouncing things, yes, there still is a debate over espresso vs. expresso. An interactive database of salaries by occupation and industry. And a photo essay on rat hunters in New York.

Photo from Associated Press archives