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AmazonCustomers to the online retailer’s first in-person location were disappointed by the limited selection and algorithmic picks Outside Amazon’s first in-person clothing store in California, Diemmi Le, 22, summed up her experience: “You don’t have to talk to anybody.” For years, Amazon tried – and ultimately failed – to translate its online book business into successful brick and mortar bookstores. Dozens of stores were shuttered this spring. Now, the online shopping giant is trying again, this time attempting to reinvent the mall clothing store.

Brief lettersBiologyLettersMy 1950s school was a topsy-turvy worldEating upside down | Riding the Gypsy Queen | School mottos | Big dogs | Letters that divided Britain I remember being taught in biology class in our 1950s grammar school in Manchester that peristalsis works both ways (Dairylea cheese ad showing child eating while upside down banned over choking risk, 19 January). Under teacher supervision, two of us held a boy upside down by his ankles while he drank half a bottle of milk through a straw.

Driving North Carolina’s Highway 12. Photograph: Travis Dove/The GuardianThe islands no longer resemble what I knew as a child, as high tides and storms gnaw constantly at the road. Around here, change is non-negotiable by Megan Mayhew Bergman, with photographs by Travis DoveA few months ago, I decided I wanted to drive the entirety of Highway 12 – a slim highway that snakes along North Carolina’s barrier islands – before the climate crisis alters it further.

Rwanda This article is more than 11 years oldRwandan minister is leader of Congo rebels, UN saysThis article is more than 11 years oldLeaked report names General James Kabarebe as de facto commander of militia accused of rape and other atrocitiesPressure on Britain to halt aid to Rwanda is increasing after one of the closest allies of the president, Paul Kagame, was named as the de facto leader of a violent uprising in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Trevor Phillips This article is more than 2 years oldDaughter of Trevor Phillips dies after 22-year anorexia struggleThis article is more than 2 years oldSister writes that Sushila, 36, a freelance journalist, was ‘a best friend and an inspiration’ A daughter of the anti-racism campaigner Trevor Phillips has died after living with anorexia for more than two decades. Sushila Phillips, 36, who worked as a freelance journalist, “died peacefully in her own bed” last weekend with her parents at her side.

Oklahoma This article is more than 8 years oldThis article is more than 8 years oldOlympian was laid to rest in Pennsylvania town renamed after him in 1953Surviving sons want to move his body to Sac and Fox land in OklahomaJim Thorpe’s surviving sons asked the US supreme court on Tuesday to allow them to pursue reburial of the famed athlete on American Indian land in Oklahoma. Thorpe was laid to rest in Pennsylvania more than 60 years ago.

Make your own designer clothes and accessoriesVivienne WestwoodDifficulty level: Easy1. Fabric Find a rectangular piece of fabric with stretchable qualities, such as jersey. You will also need four or five squares of the same fabric, about 15cm by 15cm. You need the rectangle to be around 70cm by 90cm (make this final measurement longer if you'd like it to be below the knee, or if you are particularly tall, the short side should fit round your chest).

Meera Sodha: ‘I was excited to enter this brave new world.’ Photograph: David Vintiner/The Guardian. Styling: Andie Redman. Hair and makeup: Neusa Neves at Teri Manduca. Fruit and veg supplied by Abel & Cole, abelandcole.co.uk and finedfoodspecialist.co.uk. Earrings: Asos. Top: Emporio ArmaniMeera Sodha: ‘I was excited to enter this brave new world.’ Photograph: David Vintiner/The Guardian. Styling: Andie Redman. Hair and makeup: Neusa Neves at Teri Manduca. Fruit and veg supplied by Abel & Cole, abelandcole.

Damien Walter's weird thingsScience fiction books This article is more than 12 years oldWhat is Rule 34, you ask. Let Charles Stross explainThis article is more than 12 years oldDamien G WalterRule 34 is a science fiction novel about cybercrime, maker culture and porn. But most of all, it's a novel about youIt's 9:30am on a painfully dull Thursday morning in the office. The boss has retreated behind her wall of pot plants after hovering over your shoulder like a huge and bothersome horsefly, peering at your computer screen as you attempt to explain the annual sales speadsheet.