"Frugality is driven by a pleasure of saving, as compared with tightwaddism, which is driven by a pain of paying."
That's one of the findings of a new study comparing people's spending habits. Here's how the differences between tightwads and spendthrifts break down, according to the survey of 13,327 people:
Here's a video (NSFW, language) that shows you how to modify a CB radio using parts from a toaster in order to hijack fast food drive thru frequencies. Now, we'd never suggest that you do this in the manner demonstrated by these fine gentlemen. Instead, why not improve the customer service of your local fast food establishment?
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This is science! Domino's has announced an online pizza tracking system that will allow you to keep an eye on your pizza as it's being delivered—and it's accurate to 40 seconds.
We are living in the future!
"We're filling that black box of uncertainty — 'Has my pizza been forgotten?' — with information and entertainment," says Chris McGlothlin, technology chief at Domino's.
The FDA's announcement today that cloned beef and dairy is safe was met with criticism by several consumer groups, which isn't surprising, and the US Department of Agriculture, which is—they say that food producers should continue to honor a "voluntary moratorium" for the indefinite future until consumers have time to learn to love cloned beef. [Washington Post]
For $1,000, a small California-based company called 23andMe (financed in part by Google) will decode your DNA and tell you whatever it can about your predispositions, health risks, and family traits—for example, whether or not you're in line for the same heart disease that affected your father and grandfather, which is what the author of the Wired article wondered. (Turns out he's not, but he's at a higher risk of developing glaucoma. When one door opens...)
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Wired talks to farmers who own cloned livestock and dairy cows—2nd and 3rd iterations of valuable original "models." The FDA hasn't officially approved cloned meat and milk for supermarkets yet, though, and lots of consumers still freak out. (Did you when you read that first sentence?) [Wired]
Neuromarketing is a new audience measurement approach that uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), along with other fancy brain reading machines formerly reserved for the medical industry, to observe and measure brain activity in people exposed to advertisements. The resulting data can be used to craft more effective ads and target them more accurately to the right consumer. Says the director of a neuromarketing consultancy, "Emotions cannot necessarily be accurately described. We can see the discrepancy between what you say and what your brain says, and reduce the margin of error."
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Good news if you hate the gym, bad news if you've invested your time, money, and faith in the body-shaping power of daily workouts: despite what most people think, there still isn't overwhelming evidence that exercise will reduce weight. Over the past several decades, research continues to show that exercise will definitely increase your body's energy needs but not always reduce fat, and that a sedentary lifestyle and obesity are linked but not in a proven cause-and-effect relationship. Meanwhile, the popular press has promoted and mythologized a sort of "faith-based" concept of exercise as a key requirement for weight loss.
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Latest by peggynature: And, for all you 'simple thermodynamics' buffs out there, where on earth did you read that the body functions like a bomb calorimeter? Because it does not. Nothing in biology is that simple. more »
"Brain Age" and its recently released sequel are hugely popular video games in Japan and the US. What's unusual about this is that the games are made for and marketed to "older people" (which in video game language means "anyone over 25") as a way to improve your mental acuity by keeping your cognitive skills at peak levels. Does any of it work, or is it just a self-help fad for the 21st century? Sharpbrains.com interviews Go Hirano, a Japanese entrepreneur (their description, not ours) who provides a general overview of the current state of "brain training" and its borderline-scientific underpinnings.
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Latest by Onouris:
These games look good. Everyone always says and has always thought that using your brain is better than not using it. Using your brain to work things out in a fun way? Go for it.
Talking of fun, I finally got more »
And now, an article for the men. Dang!—it turns out Viagra has a sneaky side effect of making you feel love and not just arousal whenever you take it. In lab studies, it increases the amount of oxytocin in rats, which is a hormone associated with "feelings of love," including nursing and childbirth as well as sexual pleasure. (This should not be confused with the drug OxyContin, which does something else entirely, and which tends to be widely abused by lab rats in the midwest.)
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Direct-to-consumer drug ads show pretty pictures of people laughing while running through fields of flowers and enjoying romantic dinners and such while a monotone voice speaks about side-effects like diarrhea, blot clots, and death. You're watching, but are you really listening?
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A ten-year study found that organic tomatoes contain twice as many antioxidants as conventionally grown tomatoes. The study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry claims that when compared to standard produce, organic strains contain higher levels of two high blood pressure-fighting flavonoids.
These findings also confirm recent European research, which showed that organic tomatoes, peaches and processed apples all have higher nutritional quality than non-organic
If your goal were to spend more time with your family, what would you buy? A set of lawn darts or a time-saving new appliance? If you voted lawn darts, you are a "promotion-focused" consumer. If the appliance, a "prevention-focused" consumer. According to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research by Mehdi Mourali, Ulf B
ckenholt, and Michel Laroche, your focus could help advertisers market to you.
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Everyone knows the 5 second rule. If you drop a piece of food on the floor, and then pick it up before you can count to five, you won't die of salmonella. Right? Eh, maybe. They took a look at this one on that show Mythbusters, and now some real scientists have given it a once over. The results are delicious. More »
Consumerist
The power of science (toys) confirms that Martha Stewart pillow cases do indeed have 360 threads per square inch. [
