ELEMENTS OF SURPRISE: Motorists in Jerusalem abandon their cars after a freak snowstorm. Hundreds were stranded on impassable roads.BAZ RATNER/Reuters
GOOD AND FROZEN
Fresh isn't always better than frozen when it comes to fruits and vegetables. As reported by SFGate.com, a new study shows that by the time most fruit and veggies travel from farm to store to fridge, and then to the table, they've already lost most of their nutritional advantage. Researchers recently compared the vitamin and mineral contents of fresh and frozen blueberries, strawberries, broccoli, green beans, corn, spinach, cauliflower and peas in three southern U.S. states. In most instances, the frozen produce was shown to contain the same level of nutrients as the freshly-picked samples – and in some cases even more. In each state, the frozen peas had more vitamins C, A and folate than the fresh ones.
MAKING CENTS
If you haven't taught your kids how to handle money properly by the time they reach Grade 2 you might as well forget it. By the time children reach 7, most are capable of realizing the value of money and understanding the concept of exchanging currency for goods or services, according to a study reported on Yahoo.com. Cambridge University researchers focused on a sizeable sampling of parents and children and found young kids comprehend complex functions such as planning ahead and delaying a decision, and understand that some financial decisions are irreversible. "The 'habits of mind' which influence the ways children approach complex problems and decisions are largely determined in the first few years of life," said study co-author David Whitebread.
DEADLY LAUGHTER
Apparently the old saying about laughter being the best medicine has an expiration date. The Daily Mail reports on a study that reveals the benefits of a good belly laugh have been exaggerated and that laughter has even proven deadly for some people. The study from Birmingham and Oxford Universities compiled data from 1946 to the present, finding that a quick intake of breath during a laughing fit has frequently triggered asthma attacks and that laughing has also caused heart ruptures, a torn gullet and epileptic seizures.
THOUGHT DU JOUR
True liberation comes through grace and not through free will
Nikolai Berdyaev, Russian philosopher (1874-1948)