The Chatterbox | January 18

File under: “Heroes”

• An inspiring story from MSNBC about 6-year-old Ryan Langston, an adorable child model with Down syndrome, warmed our hearts over the weekend. We’re hoping his appearances in ads for retail giants Nordstrom and Target signal a shift in the industry’s definitions of beauty.

• Examiner.com brings us this article about Kimmie Cares, a Cincinnati-based toy company that produces a line of multi-ethnic dolls who help teach kids about cancer. Each bald doll comes with interchangeable wigs—long and short hair, as well as a headscarf—that address the various stages of hair loss associated with cancer treatments.

• Jonesing for Girl Scout cookies? A brilliant new app uses your phone’s GPS to locate a crack cookie dealer near you. (Related: Keep an eye out for our upcoming issue of TOC Kids, in which we conduct a killer experiment with Thin Mints.)

File under: “Breathing not-so-easy”

• A recent article on CNN.com looks at the impact irregular cleaning and poor school maintenance is having on students who suffer from asthma, as well as on the general health of school faculty. David S. Martin seems to suggest that one solution is to home-school your child—an illogical conclusion. But we’re not surprised to hear that scant funding for regular upkeep is exacting noticeable tolls.

File under: “Heartbreaking”

• A Curie High School senior suffered a terrible beating in Bridgeport on January 15. Mayor Rahm Emanuel described the incident as “a wake-up call.” The Tribune reported today that seven teens are being charged with the beating, including 17-year-old Raymond Palomino, who will be tried as an adult.

File under: “Keepin’ it real”

• The January 14 episode of Saturday Night Live included a painfully hilarious faux talk show titled You Can Do Anything. As Slate points out, the sketch’s skewering of “unearned confidence” echoes points made the following day, in this Washington Post article about the trouble that comes with offering children easy praise.