Notice, however, that you can be wrong sometimes without any ill effect. An example might be seeing animals in clouds. If it doesnt actually make any difference to your survival, then this predilection wont get weeded out. It may even be attached to...
Youve heard the stories: somebody in Texas is about to take a bite out of his burrito when he realizes that the face of Elvis is looking up at him from the wrinkly surface of the dough. This actually happens a lot. From religious figures to Princess...
But youre still smacking your foot directly on the ground, without any padding. Wouldnt this lead to more foot injuries? Possibly. And, of course, it takes time to develop calluses on your feet thick enough to make barefoot running comfortable. And I...
Running shoes are carefully designed to cushion your feet and provide arch support and padding and all that stuff. Run without shoes and youll tear up your foot on rocks and pebbles. But studies have shown that running shoes can do more harm than goo...
Snoring can be pretty disturbing to people who sleep in the company of snorers, as well as to the snorer himself, though she may not realize it. For instance, some snorers have a condition called obstructive sleep apnea. Their airways become obstruct...
Every so often, however, that regular motion is interrupted. Think of what happens when you stir that bubbling soup. It takes a few minutes for things to settle down and the regular pattern of bubbling to resume. Thats probably what happens inside ea...
Ever heard of a man named Buckminster Fuller, or Bucky, as his friends called him? R. Buckminster Fuller was a twentieth century scientist, philosopher, inventor, and was also named a great architect. Part of what made Bucky so special was his concer...
Youre a polar explorer and youve just reached the north pole. The huskies are yapping, the cameras are ready and youre just about to unfurl the flag when, all of a sudden, the north pole becomes the south pole. Imagine your chagrin. Okay, so it doesn...
By calculating how old the rocks are where we find these ancient compasses, we can figure out how long ago the magnetized parts were locked in. That tells us which direction was magnetic north tens of thousands of years ago. Surprisingly, its not alw...
If you have kids, youve probably read the children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar at least five thousand times. If you havent had the pleasure, heres a brief plot summary. A caterpillar hatches from a small, white egg. Extremely hungry, the cater...
One study found that people who smoke pipes or cigars are more likely than non smokers to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. People with the disease have trouble breathing. Finally, if youre not already convinced, pipes and cigars can be jus...
Its hardly clear that there is a causal relationship between optimism and health; it could be that they are related to the same underlying gene complex or set of mechanisms. Still, it sure is tempting to surmise that its partly a positive attitude th...
We all know that smoking cigarettes is bad. But what about smoking a pipe or cigars? Since you dont inhale, is it better for your health? Or at least less bad? Good question. So first, its true that cigarettes are in a league of their own when it com...
Research shows that whether a person is an optimist or a pessimist is related to their quality of life, including their physical health. The subjects involved first personality tests in the 1960s and then thirty years later they completed a follow-up...
If the uncooked meat is refrozen these new bacteria are put into suspended animation along with their living ancestors. This means that when the meat is rethawed there are not only the parents and their offspring, but the grandkids, great-grandkids,...
