In this issue: SEOUL MATES GOSSIP IS GOOD MEANING NOT MONEY And much, much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _ _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 92 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail is a free monthly (usually) newsletter dedicated to intellectual miscellany and ephemera. A file of hand picked curiosities, cerebral snacks and fortuitous facts. To subscribe or unsubscribe (or to search the whole ten year brainmail archive) visit: http://brainmail.nowandnext.com/ Like it? - then surely share it on Twitter and Facebook. ------------------------------------------------------------ : INSIGHTS & IDEAS > Misappropriation of risk In the US the chance of dying from a shark attack is roughly 1 in 250 million. The chance of dying from a vending machine is roughly 1 in 112 million. Between 1977 and 1996, 13 people were killed by shark attacks in the US. Over the same period, 37 people were killed by falling vending machines. Ref: Consumer Product Safety Commission/Buzzfeed/ Freakonomics > Seoul mates A computer simulation has shown that South Koreans will be extinct by the year 2750 if the country's fertility rate of 1.19 children per woman does not increase. 38 percent of South Koreans are forecast to reach retirement age by 2050. In Japan this figure is 39 percent of the population and the Japanese population is set to be extinct by the year 3011. Ref: Chosun Ilbo (South Korea) > Gossip is good According to researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, gossiping about other people improves self-reflection and evaluation. Negative gossip is especially useful as it allows individuals to positively compare themselves with others. However, hearing negative gossip can also be harmful because individuals may become anxious about falling victim to the same fate. Ref: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (US) > Walk the talk A 100-foot-long length of pavement in Chongqing, China, has been dedicated to mobile phone users who text whilst walking. Signs at the start of the lane and markings on the sidewalk show pedestrians where to walk and warn of the risk of talking and texting simultaneously. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Water without the bottle This really needs a picture and is so mad it's beautiful. Ooho is an edible water bottle designed by Imperial College London, although the 'bottle' is more like a jellyfish skin than a bottle. Makes you wonder whether someone someday might turn water into a snack (99p for a pack of twenty perhaps). Ref: Independent (UK) > Grey crime In the UK, the number of pensioners convicted of crimes rose between 2011-2014, while the number of juveniles charged fell over the same period. Convictions for people aged 90+ increased by 14 per cent, while convictions for those aged 10-18 fell by 33 per cent. The figures partly reflect societal ageing, but may also be linked to economic conditions. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Meaning not money Graduates appear to be favouring meaning over money. The millennial generation (aged 18-33) also appears to be drawn to technology companies and start-ups over careers in the financial services and consulting sectors. For example, the percentage of MBA graduates at the London Business School leaving to pursue careers in financial services fell from 46 per cent in 2007 to 28 per cent in 2013. Ref: Financial Times (UK) > Dropped calls Between 1993 and 2009, the average length of a cell-phone call in the US dropped from 2.38 minutes to 1.81 minutes. Ref: New York Times (US) > Death of conversation A recent cartoon in the New Yorker magazine featured the caption: "I used to call people, then I got into e-mailing, then texting, and now I just ignore everyone." Ref: Washington Post (US) > Emerging middle class If current trends continue, the aggregate purchasing power of the 'E7' emerging economies - Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey - will overtake that of the G7 by 2030. By 2015, Asia-Pacific will also have a larger middle class than Europe and North America combined. Ref: PWC (UK) > Air-chaeological study Drone Adventures in Switzerland (a non-profit organisation) is using drones to search for ancient treasures in Aphrodite in Turkey. Ref: New Scientist (UK) > Bio-marking pill Google is said to be working on a smart pill that can detect major diseases such as cancer. The pill works by releasing nanoparticles that search out biomarkers. Ref: Wall Street Journal (US) ------------------------------------------------------------ : THE NUMBERS The average home in London costs 20 times the average salary in Britain. Ref: New York Times (US) 74% of US smartphone owners check their phones immediately after waking up. Ref: Harper's (US) 87% of horticulturalists are happy with their job. This compares with 54% of people in HR, 44% of bankers and 41% of IT workers. Ref: City and Guilds/Daily Mail (UK) 25 per cent of people living in the UK aged over 50 have adult children living at home. Nearly 50 per cent of these children make no financial contribution. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) The number of eleven-year-old children in the UK living with both of their parents has fallen from around 90% in 1960 to 61% today. Ref: The Times (UK) 1 in 8 adults in the UK are either vegetarian or vegan. Among people aged 16-24 the figure rises to 1 in 5. Ref: The Week (UK) 1 in 8 mortgages in the UK are for buy to let properties. This equates to 12.7% of the total mortgage market. Back in 2002, it was 2.4%. OMG, here we go again. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) 4 out of 5 UK homebuyers no longer bother with a survey. Ref: Business Life (UK) 10 years ago Nokia contributed 25 per cent of Finland's GDP. Today Nokia is part of US-based Microsoft, having been sold in 2013. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK). In 1800, 2% of the world's population lived in cities. Now it's 50%. Ref: PWC (UK) 30% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are 6 feet 2 inches or taller. This compares with 3.9% of the American population as a whole. Malcolm Gladwell (Blink) ------------------------------------------------------------ : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "The road to happiness and prosperity lies in the organised diminution of work." - Bertrand Russell (Harper's magazine, October 1932) ------------------------------------------------------------ : BOOK OF THE MONTH Mind Change by Susan Greenfield ------------------------------------------------------------ : WORD DETECTIVE Procaffinating: Postponing or delaying something until one has had a cup of coffee (or another cup of coffee...and another). Ref: Wordspy. ------------------------------------------------------------ : WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH 10-Minute Mail. Disposable email. Does exactly what it says it does: http://10minutemail.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ : FEATURED CHARITY OF THE MONTH Gardening Leave uses gardening to extend a little peace to troubled ex-servicemen and women. Please send them some money. http://www.gardeningleave.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------ : STILL HUNGRY? Not a lot of people know this, but brainmail is put together using some of the leftover bits from the What's Next trends report. So if this snack-sized newsletter is leaving you a bit hungry, go to nowandnext.com for something more substantial (and that's free too). ------------------------------------------------------------ : BRAINMAIL LIVE If you are looking for an interesting speaker for your next conference, workshop, or event ask your speaker agency about Richard Watson or contact him direct via nowandnext.com. Richard, who is based in London, is the creator of brainmail (along with Matt Doyle and Phil Beresford, both of whom had the good sense to stay in Australia). ------------------------------------------------------------ : SMALL PRINT The material appearing in brainmail is sourced from a variety of usually reliable publications worldwide. However, we cannot guarantee the truthfulness of stories and a degree of commonsense should be applied before quoting or using any material in a commercial context. If something appears to be too good to be true it probably is.