It makes phone calls, it plays Angry Birds, it takes clear pictures that you can muddy up with Instagram.

FORBES: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Buy the iPhone 4

The muddy 5km path winds up the valley, crossing over a succession of weathered, rickety bridges that span the headwaters of the River Quindio.

BBC: Colombia��s valley of the palms

The Mississippi River rolls its fertile sediment down the spine of the nation from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, picking up the muddy contributions of the Ohio and Missouri along the way and those of countless other tributaries large and small.

FORBES: On The Gulf Coast, Somebody Will Pay

Chaired by author and broadcaster David McWilliams (who allegedly coined the phrase "Celtic Tiger"), the monthly Leviathan nights now pop up as much in muddy festival fields as proper theatres.

BBC: Dublin's underground literary scene

In summer, hikers follow a muddy footpath that parallels the creek, but winter skiers slide directly up the frozen snow-encrusted river in eerie silence.

BBC: Back-country skiing in Canada��s Jasper National Park

We got into his black Audi sedan and climbed a road up into the hills, where we turned onto a rutted muddy track lined with cornfields and brick farmhouses.

NEWYORKER: Boss Rail

Heading up to Sedgley Park we were expecting severe rainfall and a very muddy pitch but we were pleasantly surprised with both the weather and the pitch.

BBC: Clive Stuart-Smith column

Not far from his muddy office is a tiny case in point: a lone, blue crab who ended up in somebody's yard and doesn't seem to want help or anything to do with a microphone.

NPR: Cameron Parish Hit Hard by Hurricane Rita

They traipse along muddy roads on the Czech-Polish border, climbing into cabs to service lorry drivers backed up at customs.

ECONOMIST: Plenty of muck, not much money