In this issue: CONSPICUOUS AUSTERITY CONSUMER TRENDS FOR 2009 SERIAL STUPIDITY TABLE FOR ONE NO LOGO And much, much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _ _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 45 - November 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail is a free snack-sized newsletter dedicated to trends, innovations and other miscellany. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the world's best online cache of curiosities go to http://brainmail.nowandnext.com Tell the whole world about brainmail forward this to zillions of friends. ------------------------------------------------------------ > Word detective: Conspicuous austerity Conspicuous austerity is the spending of vast amounts of money on unnecessary products and services in order to give the impression that one is a person of modest means and simple tastes. Ref: Wordspy.com > Unusual Economic Indicators #7 What goes up must come down and vice versa. It is reasonably well known that in times of economic difficulty skirt lengths get longer, whereas during boom times they get shorter. But what else sells during a recession? The answer, it appears, includes tobacco, carbonated drinks, eggs, pasta sauce, chocolate and laxatives. Ref: New York Times (US) > Music trends An analysis of #1 songs in the US billboard chart between 1955-2003 shows that in periods of anxiety and uncertainty songs tend to be slower, longer and have more meaningful lyrics. Ref: Psychology of Music (US) > Consumer trends for 2009 What else can we expect to see in 2009? According to BRW magazine, the list includes; rising demand for beer, booming business insolvency and restructuring advice, growth in vegetable seed sales, rising demand for pizza delivery, increasing demand for home-based leisure experiences (e.g. cable TV subscriptions) and domestic tourism. Ref: BRW (Aus) > Inevitable surprises This is a list of real possibilities for what might happen in China next year. 1) China announces that 50% of cars made in China will be electric by the year 2020. 2) China will lease part of Mexico to build factories to supply the US market. 3) A large office block will collapse in Beijing's business district. 4) A Chinese company will attempt to buy an iconic US tech firm. 5) The UK Premier League will buy the Chinese Super League. 6) A Chinese bank will merge with a Taiwanese bank. Ref: McKinsey Quarterly (US) > Take lots of guesses Psychologists have found that if an individual makes a large number of guesses, the combined average of all guesses is usually more accurate than any one single guess. Ref: Scientific American Mind (US) > Eco-travel trends A report called Shades of Green commissioned by Contiki travel reports that 54% of travellers aged 18-34 say they believe in carbon offsetting. However, only 9% of them actually offset their airmiles. Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (Aus) >Serial stupidity German scientists claim to have discovered a gene that makes people stupid. The gene, a mutation of something called the A1 Gene, prevents individuals from learning from previous behaviour. Ref: The Times (UK) > Architecture trends According to Bernard Salt, a demographer and a partner at KPMG, economic conditions influence architecture. For example, in the mid-1930s consumers embraced modernism because it represented a clean break from 1929-1932. Similarly, the early 1990s saw a minimalist aesthetic emerge as a reaction to the 1980s. So can we expect another minimalist period shortly as a reaction to recent excesses? Ref: The Australian (Aus) > Brain shocks A scientist at Virginia Commonwealth University's radiation oncology department says that cold showers could be a cure for depression. Cold water provides a sharp, sensory shock to the brain's 'blue-spot' (locus-ceruleus) thereby alleviating dismal moods. The treatment is thought to have a similarly positive effect on chronic fatigue syndrome. Ref: The Times (UK) > Table for one Hot on the heels of small plate dining comes another interesting food related trend. Novotel Hotels in the UK are testing a dining pod aimed at the single traveller. The pods are reminiscent of business class seating on airplanes and feature a small table and a flat screen TV built into a screen. Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (Aus) > No logo McDonalds has opened a series of Quarter Pounder stores in Toyko. The menu features just two items and there is no visible McDonald's branding. Ref: Inventorspot.com (US) > Social signals A study by scientists at the University of Indiana says that men are almost myopic when it comes to the advances of women. It appears that body language is regularly missed, as are other obvious social signals or cues. Ref: Psychological Science (US) > Word detective: Nanoshells Nanoshells are minuscule capsules that can be used to deliver drugs to specific parts of the brain or to diagnose disease in other parts of the body. Ref: The Times (UK) > Word detective: Personal Genomics Personal geonomics is part of the brave new world of personalised medicine. Specifically the term refers to finding out a person's individual molecular makeup and then using this information to create personalised treatments. Examples of companies offering personal-geonomics testing include 23andMe, Navigenics and deCODEme. Ref: Harper's (US) > Quick death According to researchers at the University of Lausanne, brainy fruit flies die 15% sooner than dumb ones. The explanation could be that larger brains require more energy, so intelligence is a trade off with longevity. Ref: New Scientist (UK) > Word Detective: Nanocosmetics The next big thing is a small thing. Nanocosmetics are cosmetics built using nanoparticles - atoms and molecules 80,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Nanoparticules are already widely used in products such as sunscreens made by L'Oreal, Unilever, Bodyshop and Avon. Ref: BBC Online (UK) > Drinking trends in Britain Teenagers in the UK are drinking more alcohol than ever but the number of teenagers claiming never to have drunk a drop is increasing. Alcohol consumption amongst 11-13 year-olds has risen by 300% since 1992. Ironically, one reason for this could be that pubs have become more hostile to underage drinking. Previously teenagers had to behave themselves when drinking in a bar and older drinkers informally supervised their behaviour. Now most under-age consumption is unsupervised. Ref: The Economist (UK) ------------------------------------------------------------ : STAT SHOTS 70% of parents in Britain won't allow their children to play outside unsupervised. Ref: Daily Mail (UK) 26% of UK men won't date a woman that owns 2 or more cats. Ref: The Guardian (UK) By the year 2020, more than 50% of millionaires in the UK will be women. Ref: The Economist (UK) 10% of the world's population is employed in tourism Ref: travelcollege.ca (US) Mumbai is responsible for 1/6th of Indian GDP. Ref: Stewart Brand (GBN) The Russian government is set to invest £4.1 billion in nanotechnology by 2014. Ref: The Design Council (UK) In 2002 there were 1,500,000,000 text messages sent in Britain. By the end of 2008 this figure is expected to reach 6,500,000,000. Ref: The Design Council (UK) 30% of the world's airports are located in the US. Ref: Scientific American Mind (US) According to Ian Pearson, formerly a Futurist at British Telecom (BT), the market price for a barrel of oil could be as low as $30 by the year 2030. Ref: Futurizon.net There are 3,240 television stations in China. Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (Aus) Only 30 countries have had one or more female heads of state since 1900. Ref: Harper's (US) 10% of people in the US say that they would be happy to have an internet access device planted directly inside their brain. Ref: Harper's (US) 27% of Britains have no idea where (according to the Bible story) Jesus was born. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) According to an Australian survey, 63% of people feel that they are overloaded with information and 40% have difficulty remembering more than 3 phone numbers. Ref: Daily Telegraph (Aus) Tesco, the UK supermarket, has access to a database containing the shopping records of more than 60 million people worldwide. Ref: The Times (UK) Developers are expected to open 49 million square feet of new retail space in Russia between the second half of 2007 and the end of 2008. Ref: International Herald Tribune (US) Between 1929-1932 Industrial stocks in the US lost 80 percent of their value and 10,000 banks failed, which was 40 percent of the 1929 total. GNP fell 31 percent between 1929-1932 and world GDP dropped 50% over a similar period. Furthermore, over 13 million Americans lost their jobs between 1929 and 1932 and in 1933 unemployment rose to 24.9 percent. Ref: Hyperhistory.com ------------------------------------------------------------ : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "For fast relief, try slowing down" - Lily Tomlin ------------------------------------------------------------ : BOOK OF THE MONTH What Next? Surviving the Twenty-first Century by Chris Patten (Penguin Books) ------------------------------------------------------------ : WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH Proof, if you need it, that anxiety surrounding change is nothing new.... circa 1972. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ghzomm15yE ------------------------------------------------------------ : STILL HUNGRY? If this snack-sized newsletter still leaves you feeling hungry feed your brain with something a little more substantial at www.nowandnext.com (and yes, that's free too). ---------------------------------------------------- : LOOKING FOR AN INSIGHTFUL AND ENTERTAINING SPEAKER? If you are looking for an inspiring speaker for your next event ask your speaker agency about Richard Watson or contact him direct via http://nowandnext.com Recent speaker clients have included IBM, McDonald's, Virgin, Commonwealth Bank and Disney. ----------------------------------------------------- : SMALL PRINT The stories, statistics and 'facts' appearing in brainmail are sourced from a variety of reliable publications worldwide. However, brainmail cannot guarantee the truthfulness of stories and a degree of commonsense should be applied before quoting or using any of this material in a commercial context.