In this issue:

IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME
SURVIVAL STORES
AIR WRITING

And much, much more...

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BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL
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BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL
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*Feeding hungry minds since 2004 

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Issue 70 - December 2010
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Brainmail is a free monthly
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> In Search of Lost Time
Ever wondered how much sleep you
get per night or what happens
when you close your eyes? Buy a
$400 Zeo sleep machine and find
out. The device, which looks a
bit like an alarm clock, comes
with a headband to monitor brain
activity and works out what's
going on deep inside your head.
Data can be sent to a website
that tracks your sleeping
patterns and suggests how to get
a better night's sleep.
Ref: Technology Review (US)

> Cosmetic Hand Surgery
This is hard to believe but
apparently cosmetic surgeons
think that the next big thing in
plastic surgery in the US will be
hand lifts. Personally I think
the next big thing might be a
plastic surgery crash, especially
if tough economic times continue.
Ref: The Times (UK)

> Remembrance of Things Past
Why do certain smells instantly
teleport us back to our
childhood? According to Yaara
Yeshurun at the Weizmann
Institute of Science in Israel,
it could be because the first
time we smell something the
memory is given privileged status
in the brain.
Ref: New Scientist (UK)

> Survival Stores
What do you get when you cross
pound (dollar) stores with
eco-worries and a desire to get
back to nature? One answer might
be the survival store. Rather
than just discounting the usual
product lines, the survival store
(an idea created by Simon Graj at
Graj + Gustafson, a retail
consultancy) is a place where you
can get all the low-cost things
you need in one place and save
the planet at the same time. For
example, alongside rainwater
barrels and solar panels you
might find a bike to substitute
for the car and financial advice
about downshifting or living
off-grid.
Ref: Time (US)

> Word Detective: Edupunk
The foregoing of traditional
education in classrooms in favour
of virtual lessons, distance
learning and low-cost
alternatives.
Ref: Wordspy.com

> Word Detective: Bare Branches
This phrase refers to the
forecast that China is set to
have as many unmarried men in its
population as the entire
population of young men in the
US.
Ref: Economist (UK)

> Idea of the Month: Marine
Zoning
This is the idea that all of the
oceans and seas should be zoned
for specific uses in order to
improve overall health and
sustainability. Large parts of
the earth's land surface have
been zoned for years, so why not
extend the principle to water?
For example, waters could be
designated for shipping, fishing,
drilling and so on.
Ref: Scientific American (US)

> Rubbish Idea
A report claims that kerbside
collection of recycled materials
could be doing more harm than
good due to the fact that
materials are mixed together.
Moreover, given that many
recycling plants are hundreds,
and sometimes thousands, of miles
away it would often be better to
burn certain materials to create
local energy rather than
transport them (using energy) to
far-flung factories and
facilities.
Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK)

> Air Writing
A neuroscientist called Michael
Linderman has worked out a way to
translate electric impulses in
hands and forearms into words on
screens. Special gloves pick up
electrical impulses and convert
these into text. As a result we
may one day see the total
disappearance of computer
keyboards and mice.
Ref: The Times (UK)

> Boomerang Kids
10% of adults under the age of 35
have recently moved in with their
parents. The percentage of
under-26-year-olds doing the same
is around 20%.
Ref: Atlantic (US)

> Maximum Disclosure
Given the transparency created by
the internet it's likely that we
will see more and more firms
'spilling the beans' on
everything from carbon footprints
and calories to water use, energy
consumption and ingredients. For
example, there are already calls
for restaurants to disclose the
amount of calories in each dish
on menus.
Ref: AFR Boss (Aus)

> Word Detective: Eco-bling
Conspicuous displays of
non-consumption or the use of
less. Links with conspicuous
non-consumption and brain-bling.
Ref: AFR Boss (Aus)

> Department of Unnecessary
Thinking
A UK government report, which
cost GBP 500,000 and took two
years to complete, concluded that
rail users are liable to have
negative feelings if trains are
delayed and nobody explains why.
Do you think?
Ref: The Week (UK)

> Idea for High-Flyers
Iceland Air's own playing cards.
Ref: FT (UK)

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: FAST FACTS

35% of US entrepreneurs are
dyslexic compared with only 1% of
corporate managers.
Ref: The Economist (UK)

The average American household
contains 26 different plug-in
devices.
Ref: Foreign Policy (US)

Only 4% of the energy used by an
incandescent light bulb creates
light.
Ref: Foreign Policy (US)

8.3% of the UK workforce called
in sick on the first workday of
2010.
Ref: The Sun (UK)

In Denmark, 60% of children
brought up in care go on to
further education. In the UK the
figure is 6%.
Ref: BBC Radio 4 (UK)

The 2,717 foot Burj Khalifa
building in Dubai uses one
million litres of water per day.
Ref: Daily Mail (UK)

Only 33% of Americans believe
that their children will have a
better quality of life than they
had.
Ref: GQ (US)

Putting a young person in prison
in the UK costs taxpayers GBP
100,000 per year.
Ref: New Economics Foundation
(UK)

In developing countries, children
aged 5-14 are more likely to die
from a road accident than from
malaria or HIV/AIDS.
Ref: The Times (UK)

Only 5% of music downloads are
legal.
Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK)

Ten times as many Americans have
died from AIDS as died in combat
in Vietnam.
Ref: New Republic Online (US)

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: BOOK OF THE MONTH

"Nutureshock: New Thinking about
Children"
  
by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

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: WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH

Death Switch
  
http://www.deathswitch.com/

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: QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"A desk is a dangerous place from
which to watch the world."
  
- John Le Carré

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: PREDICTION OF THE MONTH
  
Global energy consumption will
increase by 77% by the year 2030.
  
- US Department of Energy

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: STILL HUNGRY?

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What's Next trends report. So if
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leaving you a bit hungry, go to
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more substantial (and that's free
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: LOOKING FOR AN INSIGHTFUL AND
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If you are considering a futurist
speaker for your next event ask
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occasionally Corrina). Richard's
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Welsh Government Assembly and
Procter and Gamble.

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: SMALL PRINT

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