In this issue: NORMALISING BAD BEHAVIOUR TRAPPING TERRORISTS HEALTHY BEER GET ME OUTTA HERE I-POD TO GO And much much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _, _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Keeping brains healthy since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 007 - August 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail is a free monthly newsletter about new ideas, innovations and trends. If you'd like to receive regular copies simply click on subscribe. If you'd like to be removed from future mailings just click on remove. Subscribe: mailto:subscribe-brainmail@nowandnext.com Remove: mailto:unsubscribe-brainmail@nowandnext.com Tell the world about brainmail - forward this to a friend. ------------------------------------------------------------ > Tall tales If you are born as a small male, chances are your future income will be small too according to a recent study from Southampton University (UK). Moreover, small men are more likely to end up with unskilled jobs regardless of social class. Ref: The Times (UK) > Global business trends What are the top five trends for global business between now and 2010? According to McKinsey they are: Increasing affluence in emerging economies, faster pace of technological innovation, growth of low cost manufacturing, the ageing population and economic liberalisation. Ref: McKinsey Quarterly (US) > Normalising bad behaviour Here is interesting story about human behaviour. A childcare centre in Israel was having problems with parents that were picking their children up late. As a result they introduced a fine for lateness. The result was that lateness increased. Why? Because the fine normalised the behaviour. Meanwhile, parents that take their children on holiday during term time in the UK are being fined up to GB £200. Ref: Prospect (UK) > Always at work to pay for never being at home In the UK schools are being turned into community centres to address the needs of "hard working families". This means opening early to offer breakfast and staying open late for "evening care". Apparently this allows parents to spend more time at work Ð presumably to pay for such services. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Too much information A survey by IBM says that the average worker spends one hour a day answering emails and admits, "things have clearly got out of hand". In a similar vein Telecom New Zealand has introduced no mail Fridays to keep the volume of emails under control. Ref: Australian Financial Review (Aus) > Smart chair Wide-awake researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (US) have developed a chair that monitors the health of elderly people. Vital signs and sleep patterns are monitored via sensors and the chair adjusts itself if the user has stayed in the same position for too long. The chair can also be programmed to wake people up if they have slept for too long. Ref: The Australian (Aus) > Healthy beer A brewer in Germany has launched a healthy beer containing vitamins. The beer, named Karla, is expected to gain distribution through some of Germany's 21,000 pharmacies. Ref: Sense Bulletin (UK) > The privatisation of space A company in the US called Aera is offering luxury space travel to any person that's fit enough and rich enough. Meanwhile, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space ship has signed up 21,000 hopeful passengers. Ref: Sunday Times (UK) > Trapping terrorists Substituting the word 'banana' for the word 'bomb' is one way to stop intelligence agencies intercepting email or mobile phone conversations. But not any longer. Hewlett-Packard has created code-breaking software that looks for nouns, verbs and adjectives that are used out of context. Ref: New Scientist (UK) > Assault on the senses Doses of peppermint or cinnamon can reduce road rage according to a scientist at Raudenbush University in West Virginia (US). Apparently such scents reduce anxiety and frustration. Perhaps we can expect to see scented offices and prisons in the future? Ref: The Times (UK) > Unknown value items Half of the people who leave a supermarket have little or no idea what they paid for anything. Ref: The Economist (UK) > Searching for meaning One of the unforeseen consequences of eBay's ubiquity is its ability to track search words, which in turn provides a picture of socio-economic change. For example, in 2002 BMW and Prada were all among the top ten search terms. However, by 2003 these words had been replaced by words such as Chevy, Ford and salvage. Ref: eBay (US) > Blog use 56% of people in the US do not know what a blog is and only 3% actually read one on a daily basis. However, amongst 18-29 year olds the readership figure jumps to 44%. Ref: The Economist (UK). > Sensory branding NTT, the Japanese Phone Company, is developing a smell generator, which will allow customers to smell products on the Internet before they buy them. Ref: New Scientist (UK) > Das keyboard Uber geeks in Texas have designed an all black computer keyboard, that doesn't have any numbers or letters on it. The idea is that only super geeks will know how to use it. Check it out at daskeyboard.com. Meanwhile, another uber geek called Artemy Lebedev has designed a keyboard where each key is in effect a small screen. This allows users to change the keys depending on what they're doing. Ref: New York Times (US). > Mega media This year, the combined advertising revenues of Yahoo! and Google will equal the combined advertising revenues of ABC Television, CBS Television and NBC Television. Ref: The Economist (UK) > Music parties In an attempt to compete with free and paid for music downloading sites, some music labels in America are organising Tupperware-type parties to sell albums. The idea is to persuade loyalists to hold listening parties to preview new album releases and then take orders. Guests at the parties are also able to purchase T-shirts and tickets to concerts. Ref: Sense Bulletin (UK) > Zoom zoom A group of Japanese inventors has designed an eight wheeled, 800 bhp electric car that is capable of 370km/h. Meanwhile, China has ordered a fleet of electric taxis for the Beijing Olympics. Ref: Asia Inc > Thinking machines 'Conscious' machines, including aircraft and cars that are 'afraid' of crashing are a possibility within the next 45 years according to Ian Pearson, head of British Telecom's futurology department. Ref: The Observer (UK) > The power of many Fundable is a peer-to-peer website that allows groups of like-minded people to raise money for group actions. Actions could include anything from saving part of the rain forest to getting a great deal on twenty five lap top computers. Ref: Springwise.com (Neth) > RoboNurse A robotic 'nurse' in San Francisco has been banned from a hospital after the 'intelligent' device forced its way into a clinic and refused to leave. Go technology! Ref: San Francisco Chronicle (US) > Smart cars Scientists in the UK are working on technology that will scan the hands of car drivers to work out bone strength, especially in the chest area. The information is then used to adjust seat belts and air bags to minimalise injury. Ref: The Times (UK) > Work is good Researchers in the US claim that people who are still working after the age of 65 are more likely to be alive than people that aren't (if you know what we mean). Ref: Wall Street Journal (US) > Amps for vamps A Japanese company has invented a fuel cell that works from the glucose in human blood. Uses could include powering implanted devices like pacemakers. Ref: The Times (UK) > Wine and cheese In Switzerland cheese eaters can now rent a cow online. An annual lease plan costs CHF 380 (about US $300) and provides enough milk to make 60-120 kilograms of cheese. Meanwhile, Crushpad in San Francisco offers aspiring winemakers the chance to make their own wine Ð all necessary ingredients and expertise are provided. Ref: Springwise.com (Neth) > When the virtual meets the real One of the problems with conventional business cards is they don't tell you very much. Equally, emails and other online encounters can easily be forgotten or mislaid. Enter the Pleasure card, a cross between a business card and a website. For around GB £20 you'll receive a pack of 100 cards, each linked to your own web profile. Ref: Pleasurecards.com (UK) > Get me outta here One of the newest niches in insurance is what has been dubbed 'get me outta here' cover. This is essentially medical cover for people who travel abroad or, increasingly, choose to retire abroad but like to get home (fast) when something goes wrong. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Unethical behaviour According to a survey produced by the Health Partners Research Foundation, 33% of scientists in the US have done something unethical over the past three years. Ref: Nature (US) > Downsized banks In 1995 there were 6,655 bank branches in Australia. By 2005 the number had fallen to 4,888 while the number of bank tellers had fallen by 50% over the same period. Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (Aus) > Don't believe it 45% of American's say they believe little or nothing that they read in newspapers. Ref: Pew Research Centre (US) > Hot chocolate In case you haven't noticed, chocolate is getting hot. Recent innovations include winter and summer collections, catalogues and temperature controlled chocolate vaults in shops. Ref: Financial Times (UK) > i-pod to go Recently spotted at Atlanta airport Ð an i-Pod vending machine (selling Minis and Shuffles). We have also heard of a hotel in the US with an iPod 'fridge' in guestrooms. Meanwhile, a restaurant in Tokyo has installed SoundDock speakers on each table to allow customers to listen to their i-Pods whilst eating. Ref: Flikr.com (US), Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > Sweet idea 4 U Paradise Kidz mobile Fones are chocolate biscuits that are shaped like mobile phones. Gr8. What is next, chocolate i-pods? Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (Aus) > Anti-depressant device In the future people who suffer from depression may be able to have a brain pacemaker implanted in their heads. A prototype of the device has recently been tested on volunteers in the US. Ref: The Guardian (UK) ------------------------------------------------------------ : PREVIEW OF NEXT ISSUE A report by the Toyota Motor Corp says that in Japan the company's product development program will need to change to address the needs of the country's ageing population. ------------------------------------------------------------ : STATSHOTS Over 90% of kebab sales in the UK are made after 11pm. Ref: BBC (UK) 89% of people in the UK now live in towns or cities. Ref: New Statesman (UK) 44% of teenage pregnancies in the UK end as abortions Ref: Joseph Rowntree Foundation (UK) In 1950 46% of men in the US workforce were aged over 65. In 2004 the figure was 19% Ref: Harpers (US) In 1970 the size of the average American new home was 140 square metres. The size is now 214 Square meters. Ref: Time (US) China uses 55% of the world's cement Ref: Williams Inference (US) In China there are more households that own a DVD player than have running hot water. Ref: The Guardian (UK). 41% of full-time workers in the UK work over forty hours per week. In France the figure is 16% while in Sweden it's 9%. Ref: Eurostat (UK) In 2004, companies spent US $ 200 million to put real ads into video games. Ref: Technology review (US). In 1892 there were 14 evening newspapers in London. Now there is just one. Ref: Prospect (UK) ------------------------------------------------------------ : SUBSCRIBE TO BRAINMAIL Subscribe: mailto:subscribe-brainmail@nowandnext.com Remove: mailto:unsubscribe-brainmail@nowandnext.com ------------------------------------------------------------ : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority" T.H.Huxley. ------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright © 2005 What's Next. All rights reserved. Neither this newsletter nor any part of it may be reproduced or used for commercial purposes without the prior written permission of the publisher.