Jack Webb, sex god?
“Men with monotone voices are more attractive to women, a study has suggested,” The Daily Telegraph reports. “Monotonous voices are associated with strength, power and confidence, researchers said. The study, at universities in California and Pennsylvania, found that men with a steady tone of voice had a significantly higher number of sexual partners than their more expressive counterparts. Researchers measured the voices of male volunteers in various situations, including a simulated dating game, and analyzed the results. The amount their vocal pitch changed – known as fundamental frequency variation – was found to be directly linked to the number of sexual partners the men had in the past year. Experts believe that the monotone has evolved as an indication of authority and independence. They cited George Clooney and Clint Eastwood as examples of men who have monotone voices but are considered sexy.”
Which business are you in?
“The fast-food industry has long been under fire for selling high-fat, high-calorie meals that have been linked to weight gain and diabetes,” Health.com reports, “but the financial health of the industry continues to attract investors – including some of the leading insurance companies in the United States, a new study reports. According to Harvard Medical School researchers, 11 large companies that offer life, disability, or health insurance owned about $1.9-billion [U.S.] in stock in the five largest fast-food companies as of June, 2009. … The researchers say insurance companies should sell their fast-food stock or use their influence as shareholders to make fast food healthier, by pressuring big restaurant chains to cut portion sizes or improve nutrition, for instance.”
Is your password here?
“Imperva, a data security company based in Redwood Shores, Calif., analyzed 32 million user passwords that were posted online as the result of a December security breach at RockYou, which makes apps for social networking websites,” Mark Pothier writes for The Boston Globe. “A flaw in RockYou’s system allowed a hacker to gain access to the passwords.” The most common passwords, in order of popularity, were:
1. 123456;
2. 12345;
3. 123456789;
4. Password;
5. iloveyou;
6. princess;
7. rockyou;
8. 1234567;
9. 12345678;
10. abc123.
Hog highway
“The outer road along Interstate 44 near Six Flags St. Louis is freshly paved – with asphalt made from recycled swine manure,” Associated Press reports. “It is believed to be the first time asphalt has been created from swine manure. Two St. Louis County companies, road contractor Pace Construction Co. and the engineering firm Innoventor, joined together on the project. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Innoventor perfected the process of converting the animal waste into a bio-oil used in asphalt binder.”
A sewing café
“Amid cups of coffee and slices of cake, frivolity and industry are the order of the day at the Sweat Shop, Paris’s only sewing café,” Lizzy Davies reports for The Guardian. The shop opened last month “in a quiet street near the trendy bars and boutiques of the Canal Saint Martin.” Martena Duss and Sissi Holleis, a Swiss makeup artist and an Austrian fashion designer, came to the world fashion capital expecting to be wowed by Gallic savoir faire. “Instead, they found a city in which the relationship between ordinary people and the hallowed workshops of the great couturiers had broken down to the extent that … their French friends were asking to borrow their sewing machines.” They opened a friendly workshop, along the lines of an Internet café, where budding seamstresses and enthusiastic amateurs could practise their art while sipping an espresso or eating Finnish cake.
Water wonders
The May issue of Discover magazine reports:
– “Good gardeners know not to water plants during the day. Droplets clinging to the leaves can act as little magnifying glasses, focusing sunlight and causing the plants to burn. Hair on your skin can hold water droplets, too. A hairy leg may get sunburned more quickly than a shaved one.”
– “Ice is a lattice of tetrahedrally bonded molecules that contain a lot of empty space. That’s why it floats. Even after ice melts, some of those tetrahedrons almost always remain, like tiny ice cubes 100 molecules wide. So every glass of water, no matter what its temperature, comes on the rocks.”
– “Scientists at Oregon State University have identified vast reservoirs of water beneath the ocean floor. In fact, there may be more water under the oceans than in them.”
Catch and release
In North East, Md., police found a burglary suspect dangling from the ventilation system of a convenience store, Associated Press reports. “Deputies said the man removed a ventilation cover and crawled through the vent before getting stuck and setting off a fire extinguisher that sprayed powder all over the store. The man told deputies he was playing hide-and-seek on the roof with other adults … He said the other players couldn’t figure out where he was and stopped looking for him.”
Thought du jour
“Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.”
– Paul Tillich
