They say money can’t buy you love — but can it buy happiness? That’s up for debate, but a new study says that using your funds to purchase time — something we all wish we had more of — can lead to increased happiness. [More]
studies
Are There Industrial Chemicals In Your Mac & Cheese?
By 7.14.17
While the federal government banned phthalates — industrial chemicals used in anything from vinyl flooring to perfume — from baby products like teething rings and toys almost 10 years ago, a new study says these potentially harmful toxins could be showing up elsewhere in your kid’s life: Macaroni and cheese. [More]
Do Jazzier Descriptions Entice People To Eat More Vegetables?
By 6.12.17
As America struggles with its obesity epidemic, health advocates continue to seek new ways to convince people to eat more vegetables. But a recent study shows that instead of pushing the healthy aspect of such foods, it might be a better idea to describe veggies with a bit more flair. [More]
Study: 98% Of Us Will Sign Away Our Firstborn Because We Don’t Read The Terms Of Service
By 7.13.16
“Click here if you have read and agree to the Terms of Service.” How many times in your life — heck, how many times just this month, or this year — have you hovered over that little ticky box without bothering to click the TOS link first? Or scrolled straight to the bottom of a pop-up window with 17 pages of boring legalese in it, just to continue installation? If your answer is anything other than “all the times,” you are in a very, very small minority. [More]
Graduation Rates: The Telltale Sign Of Success Or Indicator Of Failure?
By 6.1.16
For millions of students, attending college is a means to a better life: more job prospects, and higher earnings over a lifetime. While students who enroll and graduate from an institution of higher learning often reach those goals — despite graduating with thousands of dollars in loan debt – millions of others never graduate and face mounting financial obstacles. [More]
$25M Government Study Finds Cell Phone Radiation Causes Cancer In Rats
By 5.27.16
A newly released study from the National Toxicology Program, a division of the National Institutes of Health, has found a link between the kind of radiation emitted by cell phones and cancer in rats. [More]
Study: Consumers Give Up Data In Exchange For Discounts Because They Figure It’s All Out There Anyway
By 6.8.15
You’re shopping at a store you’ve never been to before. They offer to sign you up for a loyalty card. You know it’s going to create endless postal and electronic spam for you if you accept, but they’ll give you 40% off of this order if you do. So you take the card. The store thinks they just bought your info with a discount. Are they right? [More]
Self-Driving Cars: Fewer Accidents, But More Motion Sickness
By 5.29.15
Cars increasingly drive themselves. If tech companies have their way, then entirely autonomous vehicles will be the future as soon as possible. But that future isn’t exactly primed to be glorious for everyone. For those of us at all prone to motion sickness, that future — despite being lower on accidents and higher on energy efficiency — is not going to be fun. [More]
Virginia’s Got The Fastest Broadband In The U.S., But South Korea’s Still The Speed Fiend’s Place To Be
By 3.31.15
It’s that time again! Internet company Akamai keeps a sharp eye on the state of broadband at home and abroad, and delivers a quarterly report lining up just how we’re doing. But despite a whole huge pile of brand new data, the story remains the same: the U.S. still has a lot of catching up to do if we want to consider ourselves among the global broadband elite. [More]
Do We Choose Which Products We Like Based On How Easy They Are To Pick Up?
By 2.13.15
How hard do you look at products before you grab them? While we’re usually not thinking, “oooh that looks nice and grabbable, I’m going to buy it,” one researchers says that how easy objects are to pick up and use might have some effect on us when it comes time to choose what we want. [More]
Study Shows The Obvious: Amazon Prime Members Spend More On Amazon
By 1.27.15
It should be obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of how shopping works that Amazon.com customers who have a subscription to the company’s Prime service probably spend a lot more with Amazon than people who don’t. The temptation to order all of our daily needs without reaching the magical $35 free-shipping total beckons to our inner very lazy or very efficient people. [More]
Tinder Gets Ad Money From Gillette Without Actually Displaying Ads
By 1.16.15
You might be hard pressed to find a dude with a clean-shave face these days, so it might come as no surprise that razor companies are interested in whether or not beards, stubble and other facial hair styles are a fad or have staying power. That’s why Gillette turned to cool kid on the block Tinder to find the answer, spending advertising bucks without ever placing an actual ad. [More]
Study: Over 17,000 Kids Have Been Hurt By Laundry Detergent Pods
By 11.10.14
Dissolving detergent pods, introduced in 2012, are convenient and popular. They’re also extremely dangerous to the young children to whom they look like delicious squishy treats. And a new study finds it’s even more children than previously thought, with an average of one child being hurt by a laundry pod every hour. [More]
Study: Most Corporate “Best-Of” Awards Pretty Much As Meaningless As You Thought
By 9.18.14
We’ve all been there: some company you really hate runs an ad singing praises about all the awards they’ve gotten claiming they’re “number one!” in something. You frown at the TV, thinking, “Who the heck named them best of anything?” Now, a new study has found that the instinct to call shenanigans on those corporate awards is exactly right. Far from being meaningful recognitions of performance, those “awards” show exactly one thing: how much a company is willing to spend on marketing. [More]
Parents Calling To Make Sure Their Kids Aren’t Driving While Distracted Are Distracting Their Teenage Drivers
By 8.8.14
Teens and driving are already a combination that makes many an adult quake in fear. Throw cell phones into the mix, and parents (and the rest of us who have to share the road) get downright desperate. Distracted driving is definitely dangerous. But the next time junior borrows the keys to the family station wagon, mom and dad may want to remember that calling him to remind him not to text his friends doesn’t actually cut down on distractions — it just means they are the distraction. [More]
Study: One Third Of Americans Have Debt In Collections
By 7.29.14
Sometimes debt isn’t so bad, and sometimes it is, but one thing is clear: 80% of Americans owe someone, somewhere, some money. It might be a mortgage or student loan, or a five-year-old fee that got forgotten about, but the vast majority of us have some outstanding debt. And worse: a third of the country may have debt collectors chasing after them for that cash. [More]
We Eat Too Much Now Because Food Is Super Cheap, Study Says
By 5.23.14
Collectively, as a nation, we eat a lot of food. A lot of high-fat, high-sugar bad-for-us, questionable food. Scientists of every stripe are always asking why we do this to ourselves. The answer? It might be as simple as: because we can afford to. [More]
Study: Painkiller Could Be Liver Killer
By 11.24.11
Over-the-counter painkillers seem harmless enough, but like any drug, they can cause plenty of pain of their own if overused. According to a study, popping too much acetaminophen over an extended period of time could cause liver failure and possibly lead to death. [More]
