Statistics And Other Lies
Fat Is Contageous?
Having a friend, sibling or spouse who is overweight raises a person's risk of being obese too, US researchers say.
They said data on more than 12,000 people suggested the risk was increased by 57% if a friend was obese, by 40% if a sibling was and 37% if a spouse was.
They argued this showed social factors, such as the body sizes of other people, were important in developing obesity.
41 Weird Money Facts You've Never Heard About
Do you think you know a lot about money? Maybe you do. Maybe you don't. But let's see if any of the following facts are in any way surprising to you:
Price of machetes drops after elections
ABUJA (Reuters) - The price of machetes has halved in parts of Nigeria since the end of general elections in April because demand from thugs sponsored by politicians has subsided, the state-owned News Agency of Nigeria reported.
NAN surveyed prices in the northeastern state of Gombe and found that a good quality machete was now selling for 400 naira ($3) compared with 800 naira before the elections, which were marred by politically motivated violence in many states.
Cave home auctioned for £100,000
A cave home in Worcestershire complete with a front door, fireplace and pantry, has been sold for £100,000.
Rock Cottage in Wolverley, which is hewn out of a sandstone cliff and has three adjoining caves, was last occupied in the late 1940s.
It was auctioned by Halls estate agency for four times its £25,000 guide price.
How Greed Can Make You Money
Let's face it - women get love rich men. No, I am not trying to generalize, but it's true at least with a sizable chunk of them. And men - men love beautiful women. This is exactly why Global Personals, LLC started a new niche dating site called Wealthy Men.
Two Year Old British Toddler Becomes A Mensa Member
A two-year-old girl from Hampshire has become the youngest ever female member of British Mensa.
Georgia Brown, from Aldershot, Hampshire, astounded experts by scoring 152 in an IQ test - putting her in the top 2% of the population for her age.
Psychologist Joan Freeman, who tested Georgia, said she thought the toddler could have scored even higher but needed a nap after 45 minutes of work.
Teen Sits In All 5,200 Seats At Baseball Stadium
YORK, Pa. -- A high school student warmed all 5,200 seats in a new minor league baseball stadium before its inaugural game.
It took Todd McCormick about three hours to sit in each seat of Sovereign Bank Stadium, the new home of the York Revolution, on Friday. That's about 29 seats per minute. McCormick, 17, of Springfield Township, started at 11:50 a.m. in Row N in right field. He finished around 3 p.m., two hours before gates opened for the game against the Newark Bears.
Napoleon's Sword Sold For $6.4 Million
FONTAINEBLEAU, France - A gold-encrusted sword Napoleon wore into battle in Italy 200 years ago was sold Sunday for more than $6.4 million, an auction house said.
The last of Napoleon's swords in private hands, it has an estimated value of far less — about $1.6 million, according to the Osenat auction house managing the sale.
Despite Common Belief, Intertnet Actually Hurts Pornography Industry
The Internet was supposed to be a tremendous boon for the pornography industry, creating a global market of images and videos accessible from the privacy of a home computer. For a time it worked, with wider distribution and social acceptance driving a steady increase in sales.
But now the established pornography business is in decline — and the Internet is being held responsible.
The Length Of Your Fingers Can Predict SAT Performance, Scientists Say
A quick look at the lengths of children's index and ring fingers can be used to predict how well students will perform on SATs, new research claims.
Kids with longer ring fingers compared to index fingers are likely to have higher math scores than literacy or verbal scores on the college entrance exam, while children with the reverse finger-length ratio are likely to have higher reading and writing, or verbal, scores versus math scores.
