Alcohol Improves Joke Telling
Portion of college students who believe alcohol improves their ability to tell jokes: 3/4
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A bad year for bees
Colony collapse disorder, the mysterious scourge that has been killing off honeybees since 2005, has suddenly become a lot more deadly. This past winter, as many as half of all hives succumbed to the disorder—up from one third annually in recent years, and between 5 and 10 percent when hives were healthy. “It is a catastrophe in progress,” beekeeper Steve […]
Read moreProtecting The World
25%: Share of the world’s population that the U.S. is legally bound to defend thanks to pacts and treaties signed with over 60 countries, according to a report from the Harvard Belfer Center.
Read moreHOW HAPPY ARE YOU?
Gallup ranked 143 countries by how great a share of respondents said they had recently had positive experiences such as laughter or enjoyment. A sampling, from greatest to least: 1 – Paraguay 8 – Costa Rica 15 – U.S. 134 – Afghanistan 143 – Sudan
Read moreAdvertising Revenue
From 2000 to 2013, advertising revenue for America’s newspapers fell $40 billion—from $63.5 billion to $23 billion, according to a new report by the Brookings Foundation. At the same time, Google’s ad revenue has soared to $57.9 billion.
Read moreFrom the mouths of babes
A Florida man has been arrested and convicted of running a prostitution ring, thanks to the honesty of his 7-year-old son. Robert Burton, 34, was pulled over during a traffic stop while driving with his son and two unnamed women. When police asked who the women were, the boy replied, “Those are my daddy’s hos.” Burton last week was sentenced […]
Read moreShooting His Computer
A Colorado man was given a ticket by police this week for shooting his balky computer eight times and “killing” it. Police say Lucas Hinch, 37, had become “fed up with fighting his computer for the last several months,” so he took it outside and repeatedly blasted it with a handgun. Hinch said he didn’t realize he was breaking the […]
Read moreForced Labor
Estimated number of people held in forced labor worldwide: 21,000,000 Portion who are 18 or younger: 1/4
Read moreOut Of Breath
Delhi’s air now contains twice as much toxic matter as that of notoriously smoggy Beijing. The health impact has been disastrous, with children in Delhi now three times as likely as others in India to develop severe lung disorders.
Read moreCORAL-REEF DECLINE
Heat and acidity are also bad for coral reefs, which have declined by 40% in some areas since the 1970s. Coral organisms reproduce just once a year, making it hard for reefs to bounce back.
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