Nasty Beatbox Video

http://video.yahoo.com/network/100063489?v=5123291

6 Stress Reducing Moves

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthieryou/13963/6-simple-stress-melting-muscle-relaxing-moves/

How Does Your Salary Stack Up

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/108460/how-your-income-stacks-up?mod=career-salary_negotiation

Psychology of Menu Pricing

Using Menu Psychology to Entice Diners
by Sarah Kershaw
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/dining/23menus.html?_r=1&em

*How to Avoid Being Fooled by a Menu
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/12/how-to-avoid-being-fooled-by-a-menu.html

What Determines How Well You Keep Resolutions?

Blame It On The Brain
by Johah Lehrer
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703478704574612052322122442.html?mod=article-outset-box

Pic: 20 Things That Happen in One Minute

http://imgur.com/gallery/fFmmv

What Are the Odds That the Best Chess Player in the World Has Never Played Chess?

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/12/what-are-the-odds-that-the-best-chess-player-in-the-world-has-never-played-chess.html

Video: The Evolution of Empires

http://vimeo.com/6437816

How Vicotoria's Secret Modifies a Photo

http://www.hackerfactor.com/blog/index.php?/archives/322-Body-By-Victoria.html

Things We Don't Know in Our Daily Routine

I always wonder what things go on in the world as we go on our merry ways. For example:

*Who is reading our email and listening to our phone conversations
*Who is able to hear me/us through the wall(s)
*Who is watching through the window
*Who is a spy or conducting a spy operation
*Who has been Googling me
*Who is thinking about me at any one moment
*Who hates/likes me
*Who has a crush on you
*Who thinks you're smart/stupid
*Who is planning a terrorist attack (or any other crime) at the moment
*Who is inventing something that will change the world (or end it)
*Who thinks that I am a great/bad person
*Who is carrying a gun/weapon on them
*Who is a murderer/thief/gang member
*Who walking among us has cancer/AIDS or other life-threatening diseases
*Who walking among us has a criminal record
*Who walking among us has had a rough childhood
*Where is lightening striking; where are earthquakes occuring, and tsunamis
*Is radiation impacting us at any moment (from satellites, microwaves, cell phones, etc...)
*Who is having an affair
*Who is willing to cheat on their partner
*Who has a crush on who
*Who is living under a false identity
*Who is a multi-millionaire or even a billionaire; who is poor or struggling to get by
*Who has an ultra-high IQ (or ultra-low IQ)
*Whose parents are famous and powerful
*Who is lying to me
*What video cameras (public or private) are focused on us
*Who is stealing from me
*What does it feel like to be someone else
*Which appliance (auto, fridge, drain, etc...) is about to break
*Who is playing a practical joke for a TV show/Youtube video
*Who works for US or foreign intelligence services
*Who is more powerful or less powerful than we think
*What secrets do people know about us (or think they know about us)
*Who is plotting to kill someone
*Who is depressed, suicidal, on drugs, etc...
*What great accomplishments or talents do people have that we don't know about
*What salary does everyone have (what about savings/retirement)
*Who is envious of me (or feels sorry for me)
*What do old friends think of me
*Who is trying to commit fraud
*Who is researching me or my company
*Who is taking advantage of the system
*Who is a really hard worker; how much work are people really doing at work
*Who is the coolest person on Earth
*Who will change/impact my life (in both a positive and/or negative way)
*Will I retire with enough money
*Will I (or people I know) get an uncurable disease
*Will my family/friends survive me
*What foods/products/chemicals are really good/bad for us
*Is there something that is killing me as we speak (x-rays, etc...?)
*Will I achieve all my goals
*Am I worrying too much; am I too tense
*Why simple things can I do that can greatly benefit my health
*Are most predictions really useless (and are all the jobs that try to predict useless)
*Which videos/cameras/satellites capture my movement every day
*Who notices me every day
*Who think I am smart or stupid
*Who pays who; who is whose client
*Who is manipulating stocks or trading illegally
*Who is being targeted for assassination
*Which countries are secretly testing or building nukes
*What are terrorist groups now planning
*Will we all die from a "black swan" event and not even know it
*Who is gay, bi, transgendered
*Whose family is/was/will be poor or wealthy
*Who collects what (antiques, paintings, etc...)
*Who is the most well-rounded person in the world, well-read, well-traveled, well-fed, intellectual...
*What mistakes do I make every day
*What do people dislike about me
*What clothes/color look best on me
*Will I ever win the big lottery
*Who is writing a secret blog or book or writing under a pen name
*Who has a second or third job
*Who is about to leave their job
*Who is cash poor, house rich, and vice versa
*Who is driving a used car or leased car or company car
*Who do I look most like in the world
*Will the world be better in 20, 30, 40, 50 years
*Will I have a positive impact on the world
*Who really runs the world
*What is the president up to now
*Which way or organizations/corporations really biased; how about people
*Who is Democrat vs. Republican vs. Libertarian vs. etc...
*Who really believes in God vs. science
*Who knows as little as I do about many things
*Who owns what buildings/cars/boats/planes/art work
*What really makes the markets move
*What is the true meaning of life
*How happy (or sad) are other people
*What pain are other people feeling
*What places have people traveled to; have they traveled to the same spots I've been
*Are people's experiences more or less intense than mine (or equal)
*What are people's commutes like every day
*Who telecommutes
*Who is living off government money, or trust funds, or other family money
*Who is a sex addict; he has a sex tape; who has done porn; who is an escort/prostitute
*What business idea is staring us in the face
*Who do we know that is nearbye
*Which products/advice are useless/counterproductive
*Who used to like/love me
*Is recycling really being recycled
*What animals live in our house without us knowing
*How dirty or unsanitary is the stuff around us
*Is the restaurant staff (or medical staff) washing their hands appropriately

20 Secrets Your Waiter Will Never Tell You

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/20-secrets-your-waiter-will-never-tell-you-550722/

Chart: Relative Prices of Different Liquids

http://12.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kubtk8AF9q1qzxzwwo1_500.jpg

Why Does Pakistan Hate the US?

"It hates it because it is dependent on it and is still being bought by it. It is a dislike that is also a form of self-hatred of the sort that often develops between client states and their paymasters."

Why Does Pakistan Hate the United States?
by Christopher Hitchens
http://www.slate.com/id/2239339/

The Champagne Bubble Bursts

"According to the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, a trade association, exports to the United States and the United Kingdom, Champagne's two biggest foreign markets, fell by 38 percent and 30 percent, respectively, through the first nine months of this year. There are reportedly more than 1 billion unsold bottles now clogging up warehouses and cellars in France's Champagne region."

Feeling Bubbly?
by Mike Steinberger
http://www.slate.com/id/2239008/

Carbon Footprint: Pets Worse Than SUVs

"Man's best friend could be one of the environment's worst enemies, according to a new study which says the carbon pawprint of a pet dog is more than double that of a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle."

Polluting Pets: The Devastating Impact of Man's Best Friend
by Isabelle Toussaint and Jurgen Hecker
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091220/sc_afp/lifestyleclimatewarminganimalsfood

To Rip Off a Band-Aid Slow or Fast?

For the study, published today in the Medical Journal of Australia, each student had two plasters applied to their upper arm, hand and ankle. The plasters were then removed using both fast and slow methods, with a randomisation process used to decide which was used first on each student. Subjects were asked to rate the pain on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the "worst pain imaginable". Fast removal achieved an average pain score of 0.92, while slow removal was significantly more painful at 1.58.

http://bakadesuyo.com/the-perennial-debate-rip-the-band-aid-off-slo

Does Time Fly When We're Having Fun?

"As we all know, time flies when you’re having fun. But according to a study in the journal Psychological Science, the reverse is just as true: we enjoy ourselves more when we think time passes quickly."

If Time Flew, You Had Fun
by Karen Hopkin
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=if-time-flew-you-had-fun-09-12-15

Largest US City Without a Bookstore?

I wonder what the largest city in the world without a bookstore is...

Laredo Could be Largest US City Without Bookstore
by Paul Weber
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091216/ap_on_bi_ge/us_last_bookstore_2

Which Books do People Steal at Bookstores?

Steal These Books
by Margo Rabb
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/books/review/Rabb-t.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

The Best Food Books of the Decade?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2009/dec/23/best-food-books-decade?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Which are the "Safest" Cuisines

Looks like it may be Korean...

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/12/which-are-the-safest-cuisines.html

Entrenchment Clauses

Can Congress make a law that says that the new law cannot be changed in future Congresses? Is entrenchment the same thing?

http://volokh.com/2009/12/22/entrenchment-provisions-in-the-health-care-bill/

Vid: How to Peel a Banana Like a Monkey

http://video.yahoo.com/network/100000089?v=5541397&l=6936086

Does Your Stomach Shrink When You Eat Less?

"Reducing food intake does seem to reduce stomach capacity."

The Claim: Your Stomach Shrinks When You Eat Less
by Anahad O'Connor
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/health/22real.html?_r=1&nl=health&emc=healthupdateemb5

Sunshine States are the Happiest

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091217/ap_on_sc/us_sci_who_s_happy_out_there

Car-Care Myths

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/1138/reality-check-on-car-care-myths/

How to Serve Caviar

How to Serve Caviar (Forget the Capers and Silver Spoons!)
by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704398304574598520660924550.html#mod=todays_us_opinion

Photos of Dubai in Decline

Is this Detroit or Dubai?!

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/showcase-85/

Map: Can You Afford to Live in NYC?

http://envisioningdevelopment.net/map

The Seven Psychological Principles Con Artists Exploit

http://www.lonegunman.co.uk/2009/12/02/seven-psychological-principles-con-artists-exploit/

Career Advice From Charlie Hoehn

"And therein lies the best career advice I could possibly dispense: just DO things. Chase after the things that interest you and make you happy. Stop acting like you have a set path, because you don’t. No one does. You shouldn’t be trying to check off the boxes of life; they aren’t real and they were created by other people, not you. There is no explicit path I’m following, and I’m not walking in anyone else’s footsteps. I’m making it up as I go. It’s harder, for sure, and kind of scary sometimes. But it will allow you to look at yourself in the mirror and know you’re playing by your own rules."

http://charliehoehn.com/2009/08/29/thoughts-on-tour/

Top Global Thinkers Recommend Books

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/11/28/global_thinkers_books_club

Video: The Making of an Eames Fiberglass Chair

http://kottke.org/09/12/the-making-of-an-eames-fiberglass-chair

Though of the Day: The Big Picture

How can we get people to make sure to not forget about the big picture in all of the world's major debates? When one looks at the big picture, things are often either much worse or mess better than they appear.

Afraid to Lose Wealth: The World's Biggest Problem?

It seems that today's largest problems stem from the fact that people are afraid to lose wealth. How can this be changed? Should it be changed? Is there a way around it? Take a few examples.

1) In the climate change debate, a host of industries are refusing to support legislation because it will cost them money.

2) The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and [largely unnecessary] troops stationed overseas in Europe and Asia remain because the defense industry and government-related defense agencies don't want to slash budgets.

3) Overhual of the Chesapeake Bay cleanup is stalled because the American Farm Bureau and the National Assocation of Home Builders think overhaul is too costly.

4) The US housing bubble formed in part because banks/lenders wanted in on the action and didn't want to be left out of making money, even when their lending practices were outrageous.

5) Things like drug reimportation cannot be solved because the drug industry would lose too much money.

If everyone agrees to take a 20% (or whatever percent) cut, would things be easier to accomplish?

Number of Books in Home Correlated to Intelligence

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001474/147465e.pdf

*NEA Study
http://www.nea.gov/research/ToRead.PDF

World's Longest Sea Bridge

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/15/worlds-longest-sea-bridge

Top 10 Most Outrageous Holiday Gifts for Foodies

http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2008/12/15/the-top-10-most-outrageous-holiday-gifts-for-foodies/

How Dangerous is Hail?

"Do giant hailstones ever kill anyone? Yes, but it's very rare. Hailstorms have caused only a handful of deaths in the United States over the last 100 years or so; most of those killed were children."

How Dangerous is Hail?
by Daniel Engber
http://www.slate.com/id/2238190/

Questions Never Answered in 2009

Based on the list, the questions I would most like to see answered are:

*Can sex offenders have children?

*Why have I never seen a female gas station attendant?

*Which global leaders speaks the worst English?

*Are there really special agents like Jack Bauer working for the U.S. government? Just total badass muthas who can basically do anything? Or are Navy Seals and Army Rangers the toughest we've got?

*Why do all people (it seems) cross their legs so much?

The Questions We Never Answered in 2009
by Daniel Engber
http://www.slate.com/id/2238241/

Global Problems Globally Shared

Exactly! Nowadays, practically everything effects everyone...We are bombarded with news alerts from around the world. Perhaps that is why 2009 felt like such a painful year...

"From climate change, swine flu and economic meltdowns to terrorism and nuclear menace, the shocks, threats and surprises that befell humanity in 2009 were, more than ever, an experience globally shared."

In a Weird World, News Good and Bad Touched All
by Marcus Eliason
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=104&sid=1841202

The End of the Banana Food Fight?

"The European Union ended one of the world's longest-running trade battles Tuesday as it agreed to cut import tariffs on bananas from Latin America grown by U.S. corporations like Dole Food Co., Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. and Chiquita Brands International Inc. The settlement, which national lawmakers are expected to ratify within four months, trade officials say, means less-expensive bananas for Europeans, more profit for U.S. fruit companies and lower revenue for some former EU colonies. It ends a 16-year-old trade dispute over access to the EU's $6.7 billion banana market, the world's largest. Since 1993, when it set up its tariff-free zone, the EU has offered the best import rates to 12 former colonies, places like Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Belize."

EU Ends 16-Year Banana Trade Battle
by John Miller
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126089161812692163.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond

How to Avoid Being Fooled by a Menu

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/12/how-to-avoid-being-fooled-by-a-menu.html

Why do Airstrikes in Afghanistan Seem to Kill 30 People?

http://www.alternet.org/world/144509/why_do_airstrikes_in_afghanistan_keep_killing_exactly_30_people

Does Fresh Air Keep You Well?

"People living near a green space had lower rates of 15 out of 24 diseases, including asthma, diabetes, intestinal complaints, and back and neck problems. The links were stronger for depression and anxiety."

http://www.parade.com/health/2009/12/13-does-fresh-air-keep-you-well.html

Are Your Feces Healthy?

A guide to feces...

*http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/are-your-feces-healthy/

*http://www.puristat.com/constipation/bowelcolor.aspx

*Bristol Stool Scale
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Stool_Scale

How Clean is Your Cities Drinking Water?

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccr/

*That Tap Water is Legal but May be Unhealthy
by Charles Duhigg
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/us/17water.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

DNA BarCodes for Food

DNA 'Barcodes' Surface Fishy Imposters on Menu
by Robert Lee Hotz
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125988474375175571.html

Cool Pic of the Day: Wall of Knowledge

http://blog.longnow.org/2009/12/08/wall-of-knowledge/

Strange Sex

The Discovery Channel does it again...

"Sexomnia: A woman's boyfriend suspects that she may have unknowingly had sex with her ex-husband. Stunned, she learns that she suffers from sexomnia - a condition in which she has sex while sleeping, and wakes up with no recollection of her actions."

http://www.examiner.com/x-4819-Cable-TV-Examiner~y2009m11d4-Strange-Sex-special-on-Discovery-Health-Channel

Why is DC so Stuffy?

"People often come here representing somewhere else - another country, a particular region, maybe a political belief - and people use dress codes so that people of all backgrounds can feel comfortable together."

Don't Wait for That Engraved Invitation to Look Sharp
by Sally Quinn
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/09/AR2009120903160.html

Quote of the Week: Persistence

"You can achieve your goal if you persistently pursue it."

-Cha Sa-Soon, a 68-year-old South Korean woman who passed her country's written driver's-licene exam on her 950th try

Do Feds Get Paid Too Much?

"The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal worker's pay to $71,206, compared with $40,331 in the private sector."

For Feds, More Get 6-Figure Salary
by Dennis Cauchon
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20091211/1afedpay11_st.art.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Best Wikipedia Entry of the Day: Food Porn

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_porn

Gross vs. Net Income

http://homepages.cambrianc.on.ca/tutorial/thetutorialcentre/mathscience/math/gross%20versus%20net.htm

Global One One-Child Policy?

Also don't forget a no-child policy...

"If only one child per female was born as of now, the world's population would drop from its current 6.5 billion to 5.5 billion by 2050, according to a study done for scientific academy Vienna Institute of Demography."

The Real Inconvenient Truth
by Diane Francies
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2314438

Food Quote of the Year: Cooking vs. Eating

"Fools make feast and wise men eat them."

-Benjamin Franklin

Food Quote of the Week: Pretty vs. Tasty

Tries too hard to make the food pretty. I prefer ‘tasty.’

http://www.zagat.com/Blog/Detail.aspx?SNP=NWDC&SCID=41&BLGID=25337&zagatbuzzid=dec09week2&utm_source=buzz&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=buzz20091209

Infographic: A Day in the Internet

http://www.onlineeducation.net/internet/

A Day in the Life of a Climate Change Delegate

"Talk, interpret, spin, schmooze; repeat."

A Day in the Life of a Climate Change Delegate
by Juliet Lapidos
http://www.slate.com/id/2237795/

Vid: How to Fold a Shirt

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4776825453418327083#

Radiological Survey of Washington, DC

"In mid-January 2009, in advance of the inauguration of President Obama, a radiological survey of downtown Washington, DC was conducted at the request of the Secret Service. No statistically significant man-made radiological activity was detected in the survey. Typical variations in natural background radiation were found, along with slightly elevated readings at the National World War II Memorial and elsewhere "caused by the building materials containing naturally occurring radioisotopes."

http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/dc-rad.pdf

Interactive Map: Food Stamp Usage in the US

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/28/us/20091128-foodstamps.html?ex=1275195600&en=e0a4dd4c450838e4&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-1202-L21

How to Party Correctly

"Should couples be seated together at dinner? My answer is emphatically no. Here's why: The whole point of going out to dinner is to meet people, make new friends, see old friends, learn something, make connections and share something of yourself with others, not to mention having fun. It's very hard to do this if you are sitting next to your spouse."

Up the Intrigue: Let a Stranger Divide a Couple
by Sally Quinn
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/01/AR2009120104533.html

How to Name Your Kid

"If you had to choose between naming your son Maxwell or Michael, which would you pick? If you want to keep the kid out of prison, go with Michael. That's the conclusion of a study in Social Science Quarterly showing that people with unpopular names have a higher risk of criminality than people with popular ones."

-Time Magazine; December 7, 2009

Does Being More Physically Active Lead to Better Sleep?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/health/01really.html?_r=1&nl=health&emc=healthupdateemb3

Banana Dispute

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSGEE5B30Y220091204?type=swissMktRpt

Study Reveals the Angriest Americans

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20091203/sc_livescience/studyrevealstheangriestamericans

PowerPoint: War Strategy Map for Afghanistan

Do YOU think this war will succeed? (Scroll down a bit on the link.)

From the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/Afghanistan_Dynamic_Planning.pdf

Americans Don't Have the Biggest Homes

Now Australians do...

http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/108274/study-australians-have-the-worlds-biggest-homes

Strange Maps

Strange maps from Slate...

http://www.slate.com/id/2236256/

How Should You Break a Car Window?

Should Tiger's Wife Have Smashed in His Car Window With a Golf Club?
by Briam Palmer
http://www.slate.com/id/2236963/

Yahoo's 2009 Year in Review

See what the top searches of 2009 were...

http://yearinreview.yahoo.com/2009/overview