A firm handshake could be a sign of a longer life expectancy, according to British researchers. Scientists at the Medical Research Council found that elderly people who could still give a firm handshake and walk at a brisk pace were likely to outlive their slower peers. They found simple measures of physical capability like shaking [...]
July 17, 2010
Superstitions ascribe supernatural origins to things that humans don’t understand, and they occur across the world. Early humans had a lot that they didn’t understand, but modern people are much more enlightened. Superstitions about bad luck feel like the kind of things we tell gullible children, so why do I still see people knocking on [...]
July 16, 2010
Indonesia’s Muslims learned on Friday they have been praying in the wrong direction, after the country’s highest Islamic authority said its directive on the direction of Mecca actually had people facing Africa. Muslims are supposed to face the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia during prayer and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued an edict [...]
July 5, 2010
The Bulwer-Lytton award is given annually for the worst first sentence of a novel. Contestants craft deliberately bad opening lines. Molly Ringle took the 2010 prize with this gem: For the first month of Ricardo and Felicity’s affair, they greeted one another at every stolen rendezvous with a kiss — a lengthy, ravenous kiss, Ricardo lapping and [...]
July 4, 2010
Independence Day fireworks generally elicit compulsory “ooohs” and ahhhs.” After perusing this post, you should be able to refine your appreciative exclamations: “Oooh, a peony” and “ahhh, a kamuro.” The peony is one of the most common kinds of aerial pyrotechniceffects. It is named for a variety of plants with large, showy flowers. This firework has a starlike explosion that quickly [...]
May 29, 2010
Spending time outdoors has always offered health benefits for the body and the mind: fresh air, clean water, awe-inspiring vistas, peaceful quietude. Now, it turns out, even the dirt is good for you. Scientists at the Sage Colleges of Troy, N.Y., have discovered that exposure to certain kinds of soil bacteria can reduce anxiety and increase [...]
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September 13, 2010
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