To delay aging, spend more time standing up. That’s the surprising conclusion of a new study by Swedish scientists, reports The Daily Telegraph (U.K.). Researchers at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm took blood samples from a group of sedentary, overweight men and women, all 68 years old, and measured the length of their telomeres—caps on the ends of DNA that […]
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American men are weighing in at an average of 196 pounds—16 pounds more than in 1990, a new Gallup survey has found.The average weight for women jumped 14 pounds—to 156 pounds— over the same period. Gallup estimates 62 percent of Americans are either overweight or obese.
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52: Number of unprovoked shark attacks in the U.S. last year (compared with 20 elsewhere in the world). None were fatal. 28: Number of attacks in Florida, the most of any state. Runners-up were Hawaii (seven), South Carolina (five), California (four) and North Carolina (four). 65%: Percentage of attacks involving surfers (or people doing other board sports); 32% involved swimmers. The rest involved […]
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Some addicts hooked on opioids such as OxyContin and Percocet turn to heroin when they lose access to prescription pills. Heroin, far cheaper than pills, is available through networks that source it from Mexico and Colombia.
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Students at a Bolivar,Tenn., high school last week elected a classmate with Down syndrome to be homecoming queen. Kara Marcum, 19, easily beat three other candidates in a victory one teacher chalked up to her considerable personal charm. Kara also has a life-threatening heart defect, but both her family and classmates say she doesn’t let her disabilities get in the […]
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The Dutch city of Utrecht will give unconditional monthly payments of about $1,000 to select citizens starting in January 2016 to see whether “basic income” can work as a means of welfare. Various other governments have resorted to unusual handouts to achieve certain ends: DUBAI City officials tried to boost public transport in November by raffling off prizes, including 8.8-lb. […]
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An Icelandic public broadcast station aired 24 hours of live sheep birthing, part of its “slow TV” campaign, which also featured chess, knitting, and wood-burning.
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Special deliveries, after a Florida postal worker exposed potentially lethal security flaws in Washington by flying his gyrocopter over the city and landing on the Capitol lawn. “At no point did I feel it was not a good idea,” said Doug Hughes, 61.
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“In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.” – Margaret Thatcher
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A British accent is the most attractive in the world, according to a poll of 11,000 people in 24 cities around the world. An American accent came in second, followed by Irish and Australian. French, once considered the language of love, finished in fifth place.
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