Fact O' The Day

[Krandall]

"The average income in medieval England was much greater than the average income in today's poorest countries."


University of Warwick researchers determined that the average annual income in England in the late Middle Ages was around $1,000 (expressed in 1990 international dollars), substantially more than the previously assumed figure of around $400. Most of the population of Britain could afford occasional luxuries, including meat and ale. Conversely, in many of the world's poorest countries, the population subsists on annual incomes that allow for only the barest necessities (Zaire: $249, Burundi: $479, Afghanistan: $869, in 1990 international dollars).

[Krandall]

"Men are more likely to fall in love at first sight than women."


Fifty-four percent of men said they'd experienced love at first sight, while only 44% of women said the same, according to a Match.com study designed by Binghamton University's Institute for Evolutionary Studies. The study, which polled 5,200 singles, also found that among singles under 18, more men than women wanted to have children (24% to 15%). On the other side of the coin, 35% of men and women said they'd fallen in love with someone they hadn't initially been attracted to.

[Hefe]

moral of the story...

women can be worn down... keep creepin' fellas!

[russ-russ]

Fact:  Just like Elvis, Hefe is everywhere.  Fact.

[Krandall]

"High-fat diets may not have any adverse effects on heart health."


A Johns Hopkins study separated 46 obese men and women into two groups, both of which exercised throughout the study. One group ate a low-carb, high-fat diet, while the other ate a low-fat, high-carb diet (both diets also reduced participants' normal caloric intake). Both groups lost weight, but more importantly, the high-fat group tested just as well in endothelial function and arterial stiffness -- two indicators of vascular health -- as the low-fat group.

[Krandall]

"It's not possible to cry in space."


In late May, astronauts Andrew Feustel and Mike Fincke were running power cables outside the International Space Station when Feustel got something in his eye. It was around the five-hour-mark of the pair's spacewalk, and the third spacewalk of shuttle Endeavour's final voyage. But Feustel couldn't dislodge whatever was in his eye, because he was unable to shed tears: "They don't fall off of your eye," explained the astronauts, "they kind of stay there." Feustel was finally able to rub his eye against a strap inside his helmet and continue the spacewalk.

[Krandall]

"Attractive men don't make the best husbands."

Guys who are rated as the most masculine -- a billboard for a man's good genes -- tend to have more testosterone, and men with higher testosterone levels are 43% more likely to get divorced than men with normal levels, 31% more likely to split because of marital problems and 38% more likely to cheat, according to a study led by psychologist James Roney at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

you're all set shawna.

[Krandall]

"Money only buys happiness if you become richer than your peers."


The simple fact of making more money isn't enough to make people happier. According to researchers at the University of Warwick and Cardiff University, for money to influence their happiness, they have to perceive themselves as having improved in social rank. Their study is titled "Money and Happiness: Rank of Income, Not Income, Affects Life Satisfaction," and its finding that status trumps actual dollar earnings partially explains why people haven't grown significantly happier over the past few decades despite consistent increases in overall prosperity.

[Krandall]

"Self-control is more important than money or intelligence in determining future success."


Discipline and perseverance were predictors of adulthood success; children who lack self-control are three times more likely to have difficulties (such as criminal or financial problems) in young adulthood, according to a study that tracked 1,000 participants from childhood in the early 1970s onward. The study was conducted in New Zealand and was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[Krandall]

"Attractive people are also likely to have above-average intelligence."


Intelligence and attractiveness are positively correlated, to the effect that men who are viewed as attractive have IQs 13.6 points above average, while attractive women have IQs 11.4 points above average, according to a London School of Economics study. The explanation, according to Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa, is partially that women tend to prefer smart men (since these men are likely have a desirable income and status) and successful men tend to prefer attractive women, resulting in these characteristics converging over time. Evolutionary psychologists also suggest that both may be correlated simply because of underlying genetic fitness.

whew.. you're safe shawna..

[Krandall]

"Pacemakers can be hacked."


Researchers demonstrated as far back as 2008 that many pacemakers -- the ones that contain radios to allow for reprogramming -- could be hacked to deliver a shock to the owner's heart, although the process would require a specialized kit and close proximity. The data contained in the devices is also unencrypted. In response, MIT researchers have developed a wearable jamming transmitter the size of a watch to handle encryption for the devices, protecting existing implants from attacks.

[Colorado700R]

OMFG....I got $50 Troy will be the first of us to happen......This could be fun

[Peelz]

you and me wont be far behind old man 

[Colorado700R]

hey, just 1 day of fukking with troy like that would be worth our eternety in hell

[Krandall]

"It is unclear when the Declaration of Independence was actually signed."


Though Independence Day has been celebrated on the 4th of July since 1777, the date of the signing of the Declaration has been a matter of dispute. Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and John Adams all wrote that the declaration was signed on the 4th, but not all delegates were present then, and records indicate the signing ceremony was officially held on August 2nd. Furthermore, the date Congress actually voted for independence was July 2nd, not July 4th. "The Second Day of July 1776," wrote John Adams, "will be the most memorable Epoch, in the History of America."


I say we celebrate both days.