In this issue: NOVEL IDEA POPPING PILLS FASTER AUTOPSIES And much, much more... --------------------------------- BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 --------------------------------- Issue 84 --------------------------------- Brainmail is a free monthly (usually) newsletter dedicated to current and future trends, statistics and other nuggets of information. To subscribe, or unsubscribe, to the world's best cerebral snackfood visit http://brainmail.nowandnext.com/ Tell the whole world about brainmail - forward this to zillions of friends. --------------------------------- : INSIGHTS & IDEAS > Novel idea A Brazilian bookshop called 24x7 Cultural has boosted sales of hard-copy books by selling them via vending machines on subway stations and asking people to pay whatever they like. The vending machines only accept notes and most customers use the lowest value note available, nevertheless book sales have doubled. Ref: CNBC Business (Eu) > Popping pills Researchers in Taiwan have discovered that people who regularly take vitamin supplements become more complacent about their health and tend to make poorer food choices as a result. Ref: The Week (UK) > Faster autopsies Cutting up dead bodies is not the nicest thing to do and it can also be painfully slow. That's why a new idea of slicing up bodies with scanners rather than scalpels may soon transform post-mortem autopsies. Digital autopsies aren't perfect and to date have been poor at recognising heart disease, a major killer, but they do appear to be good at quickly identifying which bodies need physical investigation. Ref: Economist Technology Quarterly (UK) > Less ethical? A study by the University of Essex in the UK says that people in Britain are becoming less principled. In 2000, 70% of people said that having an affair could never be justified, but only 50% of people believe this now. Over the same time period those agreeing that money found in the street should not be kept fell from 40% to 20%. The study also found that women are more principled than men. Ref: The Independent (UK) > Time not distance A study by Kevin C. Boeh (Pacific Lutheran University School of Business, US) and Paul W. Beamish (University of Western Ontario School of Business, Canada) says that the longer it takes to travel between a company subsidiary and its headquarters, the less likely the subsidiary is to be profitable. Apparently, the key factor is time rather than distance so the best performing subsidiaries are those that can be reached via direct flights rather than via connections. Ref: Harvard Business Review (US) --------------------------------- : SOME NUMBERS In 2010, only 20% of the UK labour market consisted of white, non-disabled men under 45 years of age. Ref: Recruitment 2020 Whitepaper (UK) 60% of the book reviews on Amazon are 5 stars and 20% are 4 stars. Ref: New York Times (US) It is estimated that around 1/3 of all consumer reviews on Amazon.com are fake. Ref: New York Times (US) Over the next 10 years, the number of people aged 65+ will increase by 49% in the UK. The number of those aged 75+ will increase by 63% over the same period. Ref: Future of Employment Working Group (UK) In the UK, people seeking emergency care at weekends are almost 10% more likely to die in hospital than those admitted during the week. Ref: The Independent (UK) Amazon is responsible for around 90% of e-book sales in the UK. Ref: The Economist (UK) In 1972, 19.3% of deaths in the US received an autopsy. In 2007, the figure had fallen to 8.5%. Ref: Centre for Disease Control & Prevention (US) 95% of women put on fresh underwear every day. Only 78% of men do the same. Ref: Mintel (UK) The volume of train travel in Britain has almost doubled since 1993. Ref: The Economist (UK) In 1881, 1.25 million people worked in domestic service in Britain. Ref: The Economist (UK) --------------------------------- : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "We don't do focus groups. It's unfair to ask people who don't have a sense of the opportunities of tomorrow from the context of today to design." - Jonathan Ive (Apple) --------------------------------- : BOOK OF THE MONTH "21st Century Dodos: A Collection of Endangered Objects (and other stuff)" by Steve Stack --------------------------------- : WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH Something for anyone with kids aged between four and fourteen - a website where kids can upload words and pictures about what the world might be like when they grow up: www.thefutureforkids.com --------------------------------- : 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 considering a future focused speaker for your next conference, workshop, or other event ask your speaker agency about Richard Watson or contact him direct via nowandnext.com. Richard is the creator of brainmail (along with Matt and Phil). --------------------------------- : 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.