In this issue: SEE-THROUGH FROGS FUTURE WEATHER FORECAST RETAIL RISKS CHURCH CHURN BEER-LIKE BEVERAGES And much, much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _ _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 41 - July 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail is a free snack-sized newsletter dedicated to current and future trends. To subscribe or unsubscribe go to http://brainmail.nowandnext.com Tell the whole world about brainmail forward this to zillions of friends. ------------------------------------------------------------ > Wearable Computers Each year Microsoft runs the Next Generation PC design competition. One of the best/worst/weirdest ideas last year was a PC in a necklace that records the best/worst/weirdest moments of your life. The PC features a heart monitor that is linked to a camera, thus recording whatever gets your heart pumping. See it for yourself at www.tinyurl.com/3d8fh3 Ref: New Scientist (UK) > Future Weather Forecast Every eleven years or thereabouts the sun goes a little bit mental. It breaks out in sunspots the size of small planets and chucks clouds of electrons, protons and ions towards the earth. The next cycle may have already started, so what can we expect? The answer could be disruption to GPS signals, radio blackouts and massive auroras in the northern hemisphere. Ref: Wired (US) > 2017 is 1984 The UK Government plans to fingerprint and photograph every individual living in Britain for a National Identity scheme due for launch in 2017. The plan includes accessing 49 pieces of personal data for inclusion on a national database. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Sunroof Amphibian Japanese Scientists have created a mutant frog with transparent skin. Why? So that scientists can see what's going on inside without cutting it open. Ref: National Geographic (US) > Retail Risk Factors What are the 100 largest retailers in the US worrying about? According to a survey by BDO Seidman the answer is: Foreign suppliers (79%), labor force issues (62%), gasoline prices (57%) and technology implementation (54%). Ref: Businessweek (US) > Is Your Boss a Psychopath? Scientists at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem claim to have discovered a genetic link to ruthlessness, which may explain the behavior of both selfish tyrants and greedy workplace bullies. Ref: Nature (US) > D.4.S. According to a survey commissioned by a law firm, excessive texting among adults is often the prelude to a nasty divorce. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Flight Fright Fuel has toppled people to become is the #1 operating cost for the global airline industry. Ref: Popular Science (US) > What's Hot in Food? The latest foodie fads to hit restaurants, bars and travel agents include; Gastro-tourism, Korean cuisine, Tequila, Speed eating (e.g. ordering pizza by text) and Handcrafted Beer. Ref: USA Today (US) > Green for Go A Swedish company called Brighthandle has invented a door handle that glows different colours according to what's happening on the other side of the door. For example, it might glow green or red according to whether a bathroom door is open or locked. Ref: Scandinavian Design.com > Retro Toys It has been going on for a while now, but retro toys are really taking off in the UK as cash-strapped parents look around for toys that are built to last. Best sellers include traditional favorites such as teddy bears and wooden castles (Probable translation: teddy bears = comfort and castles = security). Ref: Financial Times (UK) > B an A Student Researchers in the US have found that students whose names start with the letter 'A' or 'B' receive better grades than students whose names start with the letters 'C' or 'D'. Ref: Harper's (US) > Beer-Like Beverages In 2007 sales of beer in Japan fell by 0.3% (value). However, fizzy hop drinks aimed at non-beer drinkers are taking off. Examples include Sparkling Hop from Kirin, Style Free from Asahi, Zero Nama from Suntory and Beer Fine from Sapporo. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > Church Churn A study of 35,000 Americans by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has found that Americans are displaying less and less brand loyalty when it comes to God. More than 25% of Americans have switched faith (e.g. from Protestant to Catholic). Why the churn? One reason is that 37% of people have a spouse with a different religion. Another reason is the number of different religious 'products' on offer in the US. Ref: The Economist (UK) > Kiwibot Scientists in New Zealand have invented a robot that can sort and grade Kiwifruit. Ref: Harper's (US) > Mood Monitor Scientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine have created a blood test that can measure mood. The test is aimed at people suffering from bi-polar disorder. Previously there was no method other than observation to test or measure mood. Ref: New Scientist (UK) > The Dangerous Club for Boys. In the UK the Boy Scouts are enjoying a surge of popularity, with the result that there is now a waiting list of 32,000 to join a scout troop. Reasons? The introduction of various new activities may have something to do with it, although the real reason may be the zeitgeist - kids are getting fed up with growing up in a society that is increasingly virtual, risk averse and sanitized. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Science watch Turkish scientists have created a cat that glows under UV black lights. Meanwhile other researchers have confirmed what many people have suspected all along - that men are more likely to behave stupidly in the presence of blonde women. Ref: Harper's (US) > Flat pack House Ikea, the world's largest supplier of infuriating instructions, is rolling out flat-pack, self-assembly housing. Ref: Saab magazine (Sweden) > Shrunken Giant New figures from the IMF and the World Bank show that China's GDP is 40% smaller than previously thought. Has someone been massaging the figures? No. It's just that the formula used to compare the size of national economies has been changed. Overall Chinese growth rates remain unchanged. Ref: The Economist (UK) > Word Detective: Karoshi In Japan death by overwork is known as Karoshi. This form of death has been officially recognized in Japan since the 1980s and families of men (it is usually men) killed by overwork can receive annual payments from the government or lump sums for the employer. Ref: The Economist (UK) > Optimism versus Pessimism What can you do when the economy starts to tank? The answer, it appears, is buy a T-shirt. In America people are buying T-shirts that, rather ironically, say, "Life is good". On the other side of the Atlantic people are doing the same; only the slogan du jour is: "Keep Calm and Carry On". Ref: Various ------------------------------------------------------------ : FAST FACTS 91% of men that have walked on the moon were once Boy Scouts. Ref: Prospect (UK) 85% of primary school teachers in the UK are female and 39% of boys aged 8-11 have no male teachers whatsoever. Ref: Sunday Telegraph (UK) Fewer than 5% of Americans take public transport to work. Ref: New York Times (US) In 1970, 80% of British children walked to school. By 2007 the figure had fallen to 9%. Ref: The Times (UK) 86% of the world's population will live in emerging markets by the year 2050 Ref: IBM (US) In 2007, only 6% of American men wore a tie to work every day. In 2002 the figure was 10%. Ref: Iconowatch (US) Oil majors control less than 10 percent of world resources of gas and oil, against 70 percent in the 1970s. Ref: AFP There are 26 million businesses in the US and 20 million of these have no employees. Ref: New York Times (US) 35% of US small-business owners are dyslexics. Ref: Harper's (US) In 1964, 130,000 Japanese traveled abroad. In the 1990s the figure hit 10 million and now stands at around 17.8 million annually. Ref: UN World Tourism Statistics In 1992 girls aged 14 drank 3.8 units (roughly 2/3 of a bottle) of wine a week. By 2004 the figure had risen to 9.7 units per week. Ref: The Guardian (UK) Briton's spend 20% of their annual income on leisure, up from 9% in 1957 Ref: Office for National Statistics (UK) To make a cotton T-Shirt requires 27,000 litres of water Ref: The Guardian (UK) 42% of the world's population now lives under double-digit inflation (2008) Ref: Morgan Stanley/FT 42.5% of the Cambodian population is aged under fifteen (2001). Ref: UN/Global Virtual University 51% of Briton's are "not confident" about the economic future. The lowest levels of optimism are recorded amongst the poorest segments of the population. Ref: The Guardian (UK) 2.7 million Anglicans went to Church in Britain on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day in 2007. In contrast 4.4 million people shopped online on Christmas Day. Ref: Daily Mail (UK) There were 8,987 new cases of MRSA in the US in 2005, resulting in 1,598 deaths. The total number of deaths since 2005 stands at 18,650, which compares to 17,011 deaths from AIDS. Ref: Journal of the American Medical Association (US) 59% of Republicans say that free trade is bad for the US economy Ref: Harper's (US) Cement production accounts for 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Ref: The Week (UK) Corporations, government and households spend 9 billion hours every year in the US filling out paperwork Ref: White House Office of Management & Budget (US) ------------------------------------------------------------ : BOOK OF THE MONTH Txting: The Gr8 Db8 by David Crystal - Professor of Linguistics at Bangor University. ------------------------------------------------------------ : WEBSITE OF THE MONTH http://indexed.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "If it's so great to me smart, why have most animals remained dumb?" - Tadeusz Kawecki (evolutionary biologist) ------------------------------------------------------------ : 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.