1. Facebook blamed for 1 in 5 divorces in the US
Facebook is cited in 1 out of every 5 divorces in the United States, according to the Loyola University Health System. Furthermore, 81 percent of the country’s top divorce attorneys say they have seen an increase in the number of cases using social networking evidence during the past five years, according to a recent survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). Last but not least, Facebook is the unrivaled leader for online divorce evidence with 66 percent citing it as the primary source, the AAML said.
2. The Physics of Breakfast Cereal
3. Public Toilets are Cleaner Than Shopping Carts
A new study showed that fecal bacteria could be found on a majority of shopping carts. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. The carts were sampled in four different states. According to this report, of the 85 carts examined, 72 percent turned out to have a marker for fecal bacteria.
4. USA Inc. 2010 Income Statement
5. The secret to a long life isn’t what you think
Prescription for a long life: Work hard. Don’t retire early.The idea that your job or your boss is leading you to an early grave is one of several myths debunked in an analysis of a 90-year study that followed 1,528 Americans. Among other myths: be optimistic, get married, go to church, eat broccoli and get a gym membership.
Researchers Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin report their conclusions in a new book, The Longevity Project. “Everybody has the ideas — don’t stress, don’t worry, don’t work so hard, retire and go play golf,” says Friedman, a psychology professor at University of California-Riverside. “We did not find these patterns to exist in people who thrived.”
6. Top 10 Dr. Seuss facts you may not know
7. The Global Village Construction Set
The GVCS is a collection of 40 machines needed to “create a small civilization with modern-day comforts . . . like a life-size Lego set.”
8. Wordcount for H.P. Lovecraft’s Favorite Words
9. Inside a Google Auto-Driving Car
10. Top 10 Great Historical Impostors
11. Full Bladder, Better Decisions? Controlling Your Bladder Decreases Impulsive Choices
What should you do when you really, REALLY have to “go”? Make important life decisions, maybe. Controlling your bladder makes you better at controlling yourself when making decisions about your future, too, according to a study to be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
12. Image of the Week: How Big Is a Blue Whale’s Heart?
The heart in the picture above is obviously a replica, but a real blue whale heart weighs roughly 1,300 pounds; its heartbeat can be detected from two miles away and a human can fit in its arteries.
13. Top 10 Little-Known Events in World War II
14. More Evidence That Alzheimer’s Disease May Be Inherited from Your Mother
Results from a new study contribute to growing evidence that if one of your parents has Alzheimer’s disease, the chances of inheriting it from your mother are higher than from your father. The study is published in the March 1, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
15. Infographic of the Week: The History of Computers
16. Human magnets are actually just really greasy
Every so often, people claim to be human magnets, able to attract and make metal objects stick to their bodies. It seems like a strange, physics-defying ability . . . but the perfectly simple explanation isn’t quite so flattering to these supposed human magnets.
17. How many other people have the same name as you ?
18. Playing 400 Drums In 60 Seconds
19. America’s Top 10 Cities for Food Lovers
20. Yoga isn’t as old as you think . . . or very Hindu either
No one denies that Hinduism’s most sacred and ancient texts, including the Bhagvad Gita, describe different kinds of yogic practices. But what does this ancient and sacred tradition of yoga have to do with what people all around the world do in yoga classes in gyms and fitness centres today?
21. 5 Famous Books Inspired By Dreams
22. HistoricalLOL of the Week
23. The Bacteria That Has Seven Sexes
Tetrahymena thermophila is a single cell covered with a coat of hairs called cilia. The cilia wave back and forth, powering it through the water.Its seven sexes are rather prosaically named I, II, III, IV, V, VI and VII. An individual of a given sex can mate with individuals of any except its own, so there are 21 possible orientations.
In most animals, what sex you are is straightforward. A human with two X chromosomes is female, while someone with an X and a Y is male. Other species use different systems, but they are all clear cut when it comes to sex determination and mating.
24. The Origins of 10 Common Words & Phrases
25. Epidemiology: Study of a lifetime
In 1946, scientists started tracking thousands of British children born during one cold March week. On their 65th birthday, the study members find themselves more scientifically valuable than ever before.
26. 10 Deadly Tricksters of the Animal World
27. Better Book Titles of the Week - Apollonius of Rhodes: Argonautica
28. How-To of the Week: Tell Which Loaf of Bread Is the Freshest in the Grocery Store
29. When Earth’s Human Population Was 18,500
Scientists have calculated that for a period lasting one million years and beginning 1.2 million years ago, at a time when our ancestors were spreading through Africa, Europe and Asia, there were probably between 18,500 to 26,000 individuals capable of breeding (and no more than 26,000). This made them an endangered species with a smaller population than today’s species such as gorillas which number 25,000 breeding individuals and chimpanzees (21,000).
31. The Most Expensive Town in America
The lowest-priced single-family home on the market in Aspen is listed for $559,000. It’s located in a trailer park.While most housing markets in the rest of the country continue to struggle with anemic demand and foreclosures—and sales at many other luxury ski resorts are still sluggish—Aspen has forged its own orbit. The average home price in this mountain town has increased over the past four years, to $6 million in 2010 from $5.4 million in 2006, according to multiple-listings data. The median price for single-family homes is now the highest in the country at $4.6 million, says San Francisco-based Altos Research, surpassing the Hamptons, Beverly Hills and Palm Beach
32. The 10 Oldest Churches in the World
33. An animation of Fritz Kahn’s iconic anatomy poster, Der Mensch als Industriepalast
Additional Sources: The Presurfer
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
