In this issue: FAST CARS MEN HAVE NO IDEA HAPPY WAKE UP And much, much more... --------------------------------- BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 --------------------------------- Issue 52 - June 2009 --------------------------------- 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. --------------------------------- > Mr and Mrs Average The typical European works 40 hours per week and earns 31,000 Euros per annum. He/she drives an eight-year-old car 40,000 km per year and takes two vacations annually. He/she is aged 28, is married, and is slightly overweight. He/she has one child aged 8 that will be divorced by age 40. He/she spends 2 hours per day watching TV and almost 2 hours per day online. He/she dies aged 74/82 from cancer. Ref: Intelligent Life (UK) > Word Detective: Screening A term coined by (or at least popularised by) Dan Bloom to describe reading on screen. The context here is that reading on screen is fundamentally different from reading on paper. Interesting implications for the publishing industry and education and also for press advertising. BTW, screenagers anyone? Ref: Dan Bloom (Korea) > Fast cars A study carried out by Queensland University in Australia has found that people with quiet cars tend to drive them too fast. However, the study also proposes an ingenious and cost-effective solution to this problem, namely opening a window. Ref: Perception (Aus) > What's new in retail is second-hand According to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry, sales of second-hand goods sold via retail stores grew by 60% between 2002-2007. For example, For You Co is a national chain of second-hand stores set up in conjunction with a series of condominium management companies. Another example is supermarkets and department stores taking trade-ins on new products. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > Ballard of a lost bag British Airports Authority (BAA) has hired the writer and philosopher Alain de Botton as a writer-in-residence at Heathrow airport for a week. His weeklong stay at Terminal 5 is expected to result in a 20,000-word novella. Ref: FT (UK) > Word Detective: Frequency illusion Frequency Illusion is a term invented by linguist Arnold Zwicky. The term refers to the way that once someone has seen something one imagines that it's everywhere. Try it yourself with the word "outlier". Ref: The Boston Globe (US) > Allergic reactions A series of recent medical studies, notably a study by Ohio State University, appear to indicate that psychological stress can both heighten and prolong allergic reactions. Ref: New York Times (US) > An idea that fits Following an experiment in the Levi's store in Bangalore, US jeans maker Levi's is offering Indian consumers the chance to buy a pair of US$33 jeans on a three-instalment payment plan. Ref: FT (UK) > Men have no idea A US survey claims that women that work for a female boss suffer from the most stress at work. Male bosses are easier to work for, according to the survey, because men are less aware of what's going on. Ref: The Times (UK) > Green jobs run out of puff The UK government appears to be sold on the idea that wind farms (especially offshore wind farms) will generate local jobs. But, according to the Economist magazine, the Germans, Danes and Spaniards have already cornered what is one of Europe's fastest growing industries. Ref: The Economist (UK) > Road noise A report entitled Traffic Noise in Rural Areas, published by the Noise Association (!) and the Council for the Protection of Rural England, says that the number of people regularly disturbed by traffic noise has increased by 500,000 in the last 10 years. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Too much information In 2007 the amount of digital content created, captured or copied exceeded the available amount of digital storage space. Ref: Williams Inference (US) > Happy wake up Two scientists from Helsinki University are developing an alarm clock that monitors sleep patterns and chooses the best time to wake people up. Bringggg it on. Ref: The Times (UK) > Flagship retail in New York What are the best flagship stores in the Big Apple? According to one report they are: Burton Snowboards (106 Spring St), FAO Schwartz (767 Fifth Ave), Gant (645 Fifth Ave), Lord & Taylor (Fifth & 39th), Macys (West 34th St), Mrs Fields (Fulton & Broadway), Nokia (5th & East 57th), Palm Retail Stores (30 Rockefeller Center), Paul Smith (142 Greene St), Prada (575 Broadway), Saks Fifth Ave (611 Fifth Ave), Steuben Glass (667 Madison), Tiffany's (Fifth & 57th), Uniqlo (546 Broadway), Victoria's Secret (58th & Lex), and Wholefoods (Time Warner Center). Ref: Retailabout.com (US) > Green nationalism What happens when you mix environmentalism and idealism with economics and national security? One answer is green nationalism. A good example of this is a little known rare earth ore called neodymium. Neodymium is used to make lightweight permanent magnets that, amongst other things, power wind turbines and Toyota Prius motors. Most neodymium comes from China but the Chinese government has started to limit exports of neodymium as it is now seen as a strategic resource. Ref: Atlantic (US) > Flavour of the month The latest food fad to hit Britain is... famous chefs opening fish and chip shops. Ref: The Australian (Aus) --------------------------------- : FAST FACTS Only 1% of Google searches proceed beyond the first page of results. Ref: The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein Sales of newspapers increased by 1.3% worldwide in 2008. Between 2005-2009 sales increased by 8.8% worldwide. Ref: AFP/Prospect (UK) The use of libraries has doubled in the US over the past decade. Ref: NPR.org (US) 50% of China's 500 largest cities lack drinkable water or sewage. Ref: A Brief History of the Future by Jacques Attali 50% of people in the UK think that the world is getting worse as a place to live (suggestions for alternatives please). In Greece the figure is 74%. Ref: Wall Street Journal (US) 49% of residents of New Jersey in the US say they'd like to move. Ref: Harper's (US) The US Post Office handles 43% of the world's mail. Ref: Didyouknow.org (US) More personal phone calls are made on Mother's Day in the US than on any other day. Ref: Didyouknow.org (US) There are roughly 700 million cars in existence worldwide. According to the IMF, this figure will rise to 3 billion by 2050. Ref: Economist. (UK) Most reverse charge phone calls in the US are made on Father's day. Ref: Didyouknow.org (US) By 2050 there will be almost as many cars in China as there are currently in the entire world. Ref: Economist (UK) 50% of West German forest reserves vanished between 1990-2000. Ref: A Brief History of the Future by Jacques Attali More than 50% of women aged 18-34 will not cycle to work because they are worried about their appearance after they arrive. 58% are concerned about sweat and 27% are worried about 'helmet hair.' Ref: The Independent (UK) Almost 40% of Britons that emigrate eventually return home. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) 19% of American children live in poverty. Ref: US Government census (US) 28% of science teachers in the UK think that God had a role in the creation of the universe. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) In the US, real estate was responsible for 60% of financial gains of households over the last two decades. Ref: A Brief History of the Future by Jacques Attali There are 228 million internet users in China versus 217 million in the US. In penetration terms China has 16% penetration versus 69% in the US. Ref: William's Inference (US) In 1970, the average woman had 4.5 children. By 2000, this figure had fallen to 2.7. Ref: The Next 100 Years by George Friedman In 1800, average life expectancy in Europe and the US was about 40. By 2000 it was roughly 80. Ref: The Next 100 Years by George Friedman There are 67,000 people employed as lobbyists in Washington DC. That's 125 for every elected member of Congress. Ref: 50 Facts that Should Change the World by Jessica Williams Taking into account inflation, the movie Gone with the Wind grossed 50% more in box office receipts than the movie Titanic. Ref: Iconowatch (US) --------------------------------- : BOOK OF THE MONTH "Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs" by Ellen Dunham-Jones and June Williamson. --------------------------------- : WEB SIGHT(S) OF THE MONTH Two great data visualisation sites this month: http://www.gapminder.org/ http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/ --------------------------------- : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "Humans have fought for oil and grain, and the final source (of conflict) in the 21st Century will be water." - Akio Shibata, Director, Marubeni Research Institute (Japan). --------------------------------- : 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.