Who Makes the Call at the Mall, Men or Women?

"A longstanding marketing adage makes clear who holds most American households' purse strings: Women control 80% or more of spending...In addition to having murky origins, the number appears to be wrong.  Several recent surveys suggest that men have nearly equal say on spending..."

Who Makes the Call at the Mall, Men or Women?
bu Carl Bialik
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703521304576278964279316994.html

Question of the Day: Economists Political Leanings

Are mosts economists Republicans or Democrats?

Is Your Dentist Ripping You Off?

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/financiallyfit/is-your-dentist-ripping-you-off-2476643/

Ode to the Cuba Libre

Rum and Coke's Revolutionary Roots
by Jason Wilson
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/spirits-long-live-the-cuba-libre/2011/04/12/AFwGu9qE_story.html

Interstate Mullet Toss

"The Interstate Mullet Toss lures huge crowds to Flora-Bama bar in Pensacola, Florida, where patrons try to throw a dead mullet fish as far as they can, from Florida across the sandy state border into Alabama."

Gulf Tourism as Gauged by Flying Fish
by Dionne Searcey
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704613504576268901532674000.html

The Importance of Ice

With Ice, Size Matters
by Kimberly Chou
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703789104576273114034005624.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Food

On Deception and Survival

"Deception is a fundamental part of evolution, establishing who eats and who is eaten.  Gorillas and chimpanzees routinely lie to obtain food and attract mates.  Birds feign a broken wing to lure a raptor away from the nest.  Even a tasty species of butterfly deceives about its delectability by emulating another species with a bitter flavor."

Brain on Fire
by Joel Garreau
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/29/AR2006102900895.html

A Response to Intelligence Design

"Our inability to comprehend these phenomena that appear 'designed' merely reflects our own limitations as a species.  We only recently discovered fire and the wheel and remain a basically savage society.  Why not recognize our own limited capacity to understand complexity?"

-Richard W. Grant, MD in an op-ed; Boston, Feb. 7, 2005

Productivity Holiday

"Productivity drops for an entire month - from this week (Dec. 14) until about January 16, according to a holiday productivity report from Glance Networks.  The least work is done the day after Christmas, when productivity is off by 90 percent..."

Productivity Holiday
by Vickie Elmer
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-2796178.html

Boy Scout Merit Badges

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges.aspx

Singing & Survival

"Music can manipulate people's emotional states."

Caveman Crooners May Have Helped Early Humans Survive
by Sharon Begley
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114376459161112941.html

The Paradox of Our Time

Dr. Bob Moorehead (not George Carlin)
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/paradox.asp

Wounds Heal Better When Exposed to Air?

"Exposing a wound to the air so it can breathe is a terrible mistake, experts say, because it creates a dry environment that promotes cell death...it is best to keep a wound moist and covered for at least five days...another common mistake is applying antibiotic ointments...these ointments may keep the wound moist, but they can slo lead to swelling and an allergic reaction called contact dermatitis.  Plain and simple Vaseline, applied twice a day, works fine."

The Claim: Wounds Heal Better When Exposed to Air
by Anahad O'Connor
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/01/health/01real.html

Sleep Depreivation: The Great American Myth

"People who get only 6 or 7 hours a night have a lower death rate than those who get 8 hours of sleep."

Sleep Deprivation: The Great American Myth
by Robin Lloyd
http://www.livescience.com/667-sleep-deprivation-great-american-myth.html

Sleep Better Tonight

http://www.menshealth.com/health/sleep-better-tonight

How Are Humans Different Than Animals?

What Makes US Different?
by Michael Lemonick
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1541283,00.html

The Big Four Accounting Firms

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_(audit_firms)

What Predict's a Country's Beer Consumption?

http://wine-economics.org/workingpapers/AAWE_WP79.pdf

You Will Die Having Missed Almost Everything

The Sad, Beautiful Fact That We're All Going to Miss Almost Everything
by Linda Holmes
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/04/21/135508305/the-sad-beautiful-fact-that-were-all-going-to-miss-almost-everything

10 Charts About Sex

http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/10-charts-about-sex/

657 New Islands Discovered

657 New Islands Discovered
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110419/sc_livescience/657newislandsdiscoveredworldwide

"FOMA Disease"

"It’s known as FOMO, or 'fear of missing out,' and refers to the blend of anxiety, inadequacy and irritation that can flare up while skimming social media like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram."


Feel Like a Wallflower?  Maybe It's Your Facebook Wall
by Jenna Wortham
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/business/10ping.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha26

Are Allergies and Depression Related?

"Severe seasonal allergies may be a risk factor for depression."

Allergies Can Increase the Risk of Depression?
by Anahad O'Connor
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/health/12really.html?_r=1&nl=health&emc=healthupdateemb4

Interactive Map: Damage From the Japanese Earthquake

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/flash/newsgraphics/2011/0311-japan-earthquake-map/index.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=thab1

Underground Food Markets

"The underground market seeks to encourage food entrepreneurship by helping young vendors avoid roughly $1,000 a year in fees — including those for health permits and liability insurance — required by legitimate farmers markets. Here, where the food rave — call it a crave — was born, the market organizers sidestep city health inspections by operating as a private club, requiring that participants become 'members' (free) and sign a disclaimer noting that food might not be prepared in a space that has been inspected."

They Gather Secretly at Night, and Then They (Shhh!) Eat
by Patricia Leigh Brown
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/us/15rave.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23

Betting on Fear

"It's impossible to invest in the VIX directly, because it's a synthetic metric, not an actual basket of assets...For investors who want to bet on volatility, there are futures and options based on the VIX that can be traded..."

Some Investors, Looking for Safety, Bet on Fear
by Jia Lynn Yang
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/with-vix-or-market-volatility-index-investors-looking-for-safety-bet-on-fear/2011/04/01/AFfEE1kC_story.html

Dictators and Rainfall

"When it comes to the distribution of democracy across the globe, it's mostly about the rainfall, a study suggests...The authors argue that moderate rainfall and arable land create economies in which small farms produce grain and legumes above the subsistence level. In turn, the trading of crops helps a broad swatch of the population to build up financial and educational capital, an important foundation of democracy."

The Rains of Dictators http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704013604576246971301217878.html

Buzkashi

"Over the past several years, the ancient sport of buzkashi - Dari for 'goat grabbing' - has turned into a big business in northern Afghanistan."

In Afghanistan's National Pastime, It's Better to Be a Hero Than a Goat
by Maria Abi-Habib http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703841904576256632384932122.html

10 Outrageously Expensive Dishes

http://www.zagat.com/buzz/10-outrageously-expensive-dishes?zagatbuzzid=apr11week2&utm_source=buzz&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=buzz20110413

Why Clutter & Mess is Good for Business

"Apparently when stuff is piled up and thrown all over stores, shoppers tend to buy more stuff."

Why a Messy, Cluttered Store is Good for Business
by Brad Tuttle
http://money.blogs.time.com/2011/04/08/why-a-messy-cluttered-store-is-good-for-business/

Personality Tests: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

Take a personality test. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Multiphasic_Personality_Inventory

Can You Get Sunburned Through a Car Window?

"In an enclosed vehicle, sunburn is unlikely, but deeply penetrating UVA rays can cause potentially harmful skin damage."

The Claim: You Can Get Sunburned Through a Car Window
by Anahad O'Connor
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/05/health/05really.html?_r=1&nl=health&emc=healthupdateemb4

Can Dental Cavities Be Contagious?

Yes.

The Claim: Dental Cavities Can Be Contagious
by Anahad O'Connor
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/health/29really.html?_r=1&nl=health&emc=healthupdateemb4

Crowdsourcing Genhis Khan

"Through a Webs ite called Field Expedition Mongolia, which Lin and his colleagues developed jointly with National Geographic, volunteers are helping sift through 85,000 high-resolution satellite images of Mongolia."

The Cyber-Hunt for Genghis Khan
by Sinday Bhanoo
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/science/citizen-scientists-help-search-for-tomb-of-genghis-khan-via-photos-of-mongolia/2011/03/09/AFmhmKcC_story.html