In this issue: INSECT INDUSTRY PHONE BREATH BIG DEBT BLING THING SPLOGS And much much more ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _, _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Keeping brains healthy since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 18 - August 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail is a free monthly newsletter about new ideas, innovations and trends. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit the website at http://brainmail.nowandnext.com Tell the world about brainmail - forward this to a friend. ------------------------------------------------------------ > Smaller social circles Research by sociologists at the University of Arizona and Duke University North Carolina (US) has found that Americans have fewer friends than they used to. Back in 1985 the average American had three people to talk to about their problems. Now the figure is just two. Reasons include longer working hours, the Internet and mobile phones, all of which reduce face-to-face contact. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Golly that's a clever brolly Don't know whether to take your umbrella with you? Then perhaps you need an Ambient Forecasting Umbrella. The brolly comes complete with a data receiver that picks up weather forecasts and turns this information into an L.E.D. display. Ref: Wired (US) > Insect industry An entomologist at Cornell University (US) has worked out that the annual value of insect services in the US is around US$57 billion. Insect services include crop pollination and land cleaning. Ref: New Scientist (UK) > Longer working hours? Think you've got it tough? In 1870 the average worker in Britain spent 50% of their life working. Now it's around 25%. Moreover, in 1870 most people left education aged 12. Now it's 21. Finally in 1870 most people worked until they died. Now people can expect to live for almost 20 years after retirement. Ref: Prospect (UK) > Phone breath A phone company in South Korea has created a mobile (cell) phone with a built-in breathalyser. Ref: Iconoculture (US) > Small talk Sony has created a computer mouse that's also a foldable phone handset. The device is intended to be used for Skype or other VoIP phone calls. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > At last We've had personalised ring-tones for mobile phones for ages so why not on landline phones? The Magic Ringtone MP3 home phone ringer does just that. Ref: Red Herring (US) > Where are you? According to a study by an Australian bank there is only a 45% chance that an employee will be sitting at their desk. 30% will be in the building but away from their desk and 25% will be out of the building completely. Ref: AFR Boss (Aus) > Oh Mandy (Oh no) A council in the Sydney suburb of Rockdale is planning to play Barry Manilow songs in car parks late at night to deter gangs of youths from drinking, smoking and racing cars. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Big debt In 1989 a signboard was erected in Times Square (New York) to display the size of the US national debt. In 2007 the signboard is expected to run out of digits. Ref: Harpers (US) > Bling thing The world's most expensive drink is believed to be a £4,000 cocktail from the Piano Bar at the Sheraton Park Tower in London. Ingredients include Remy Martin Louis X111 brandy, champagne and a small diamond. Ref: Sunday Life (Aus). > Word detective: Splogs A splog is what you get when you cross spam with a blog. They can look like real blogs but are actually fake postings and general gibberish intended to make Google and other search engines link to them - which in turns allows the splogs to display real ads. Ref: Iconoculture (US) > Send in the clowns Italian research claims that children that are waiting for surgery are much less nervous if there are clowns in the operating theatre. Meanwhile, researchers at Ohio State University (US) have found that when people are anxious or in pain holding hands has a soothing effect on the brain. Not only that, if the person holding your hand is your partner the effect is greater than with a stranger. Ref: The Times (UK)/ Psychological Science (US) > Big fat lies? Yet another study. This time psychologists claim that looking at skinny models in magazines makes women feel better about their bodies whereas looking at images of moderately plump models makes them feel fat. Go figure. Ref: Journal of Consumer Research (US) > Robodog A robotic guard dog that's also a videophone and a table lamp? We must be in Japan. Roborior, as the robot is known, has got wheels, a camera, a microphone and a 'human presence detector'. It can even stream video to your mobile phone. So what is it for? I have absolutely no idea. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > Is patriotism genetic? A study, this time by the London School of Economics (UK), says that the closer your genetic links are to someone the more you will care about them - even if they are complete strangers. Well that explains wars then. Ref: The Times (UK) ------------------------------------------------------------ : STATSHOTS Wal-Mart hires 600,000 new employees every year. Staff turnover is 44%. Ref: PBS (US) 50% of products returned by customers are in full working order. It's just that customers can't figure out how to use them because they're too complicated. Ref: New Scientist (UK) Over a quarter of English adults bought at least one English flag in June of 2005. Ref: The Guardian (UK) Almost 80% of 16-18 year olds in the US cannot name the 4 largest TV networks in the US (NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox). Ref: CNN (US) Two decades ago there were 225 TV programmes in the UK that were watched by more than 15m people. 2 years ago there were only 10. Ref: Prospect (UK) There will be a 33% increase in the number of Germans aged 75+ between 2005 and 2015. Ref: McKinsey Quarterly (US) 67% of people aged 16-25 claim that they would be 'lost' without a computer versus 46% that would be 'lost' without a television. Ref: Red Herring (US) According to the Office of National Statistics (UK) people spend 142 minutes per day on housework. This represents a 20% decrease over the last five years. Ref: Sense Bulletin (UK) There was a 307% increase in the number of music CDs sold in Starbucks stores during 2005. Ref: Harpers (US) Around 33% of Spaniards think that General Franco was correct to overthrow the Republican government in the 1930s. Ref: El Mundo (Spain) ------------------------------------------------------------ : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible" Arthur C.Clarke. ------------------------------------------------------------ : LOVE IT? THEN SHARE IT Do you know someone whose brain is not being fully exercised? Someone that is snacking on media that isn't terribly satisfying. Floss their brain and brighten up their day with a copy of brainmail in their inbox - forward this to a friend. ------------------------------------------------------------ : SUBSCRIBE TO BRAINMAIL Brainmail is a free monthly newsletter about new ideas, innovations and trends. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit the website at http://brainmail.nowandnext.com ------------------------------------------------------------