Stupid Studies

People go online for no reason? Really?

2011-12-02T14:29:00.004-07:00

I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything here, but this really needs more attention...

The Pew Research Center has discovered that a majority of people surf the Web for no reason!

They even have a graph of this, just in case you wanted more details:

Who's brilliant idea was this?

I'd like to thank Pew, also, for this particular analytical piece of wisdom:

"These results come in the larger context that internet users of all ages are much more likely now than in the past to say they go online for no particular reason other than to pass the time or have fun."

Way to go, Captain Obvious.

A hacked heart?

2008-03-17T15:06:00.003-06:00

How's this for an unusual target for hackers: Artificial hearts and other implantable medical gadgets.

Computer scientists at the University of Washington, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Harvard Medical School have found that those devices, which use wireless technology so doctors can monitor them, can be taken over and reprogrammed by computer-savvy evil-doers.

While I don't imagine these gadgets are a high priority target for the typical scruffy-haired, free-the-Internet type hackers in the United States, there are certainly others who could no doubt use the knowledge for devious ends.

Is there a digital gleam in the CIA's eye?

The scientists point out there are ways to make these devices more secure, and overall the goal is just to let the industry know that this could be a problem.

According to an article on Science Daily:

"We hope our research is a wake-up call for the industry," said Tadayoshi Kohno, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington. "In the 1970s, the Bionic Woman was a dream, but modern technology is making it a reality. People will have sophisticated computers with wireless capabilities in their bodies. Our goal is to make sure those devices are secure, private, safe and effective."

Here's the full story link:

Implantable Medical Devices May Expose Patients to Security, Privacy Risks

Cheers,
-SueVo

Is using technology really cheating?

2008-03-07T10:52:00.003-07:00

OK, if this is really true, it is ridiculous.

Apparently a student at Ryerson University in Toronto is facing 147 accusations of academic misconduct because he organized a study group on Facebook, the social networking site.

The student said the group was designed as a normal study group - where students discuss problems and help each other in the learning process.

Granted, this is more stupid academia than a stupid study, but really - if universities don't adapt to changing technology, that really gives students a huge disadvantage when they go out into the real world.

According to a story on London's vunet.com:

Kim Neale, Ryerson Student Union advocacy co-ordinator, said that the move makes no sense.

"All these students are scared s***less about using Facebook to talk about schoolwork, when actually it's no different than any study group working together on homework in a library," he said.

"That's the worst part. It's creating a culture of fear. If I post a question about physics homework on my friend's [Facebook bulletin board] and ask if anyone has any ideas how to approach this, and my prof sees this, am I cheating?

"No one did post a full final solution. It was more the back-and-forth that you get in any study group."

The university has refused to comment while the case is ongoing.

The full story link is here:

Student faces explusion for Facebook study group

Blah,
-SueVo

Hexapus on parade

2008-03-06T12:40:00.008-07:00

Scientists at Britain's Blackpool Sea Life Centre have found a new octopus that falls a bit short in the octo category.

It only has six legs, making it a hexapus.

He may be the first documented hexapus, but he's not really a new species, the scientists' noted. He's more of a genetic mutant.

Do I hear creepy monster movie music in the background?

The critter was found off the coast of Wales a few weeks ago, but despite his apparent weirdness, the aquarium folks still think he's pretty darned cool, according to a story on National Geographic's Web site:

"He's a lovely little thing," an aquarium spokesperson told AFP.

Here's the story link:

Six-legged "Hexapus" Discovered

Cheers,
-SueVo

Here's a pic from National Geographic of our hexapus friend:

Up the food chain and licking frogs

2008-03-04T14:19:00.002-07:00

A scientist who just finished her master's degree from Cornell University is trying to figure out where, exactly, frogs get their poison from.

Her method? She licks them.

Valerie Clark is trying to trace how frogs in tropical forests send signals to predators that say "don't eat me." The thought is that poisons move up the food chain before they get into the frogs - from plants that are eaten by ants that are eaten by frogs.

In an article on National Geographic's Web site, Clark notes:

"What would be really amazing is to see the frogs eating the ants, and the ants and other insects eating the plants, and then we get lucky and the [samples of all three] that we've collected and filmed all have the same toxins," she said.

Frog-licking isn't for the weak, but it does help scientists determine certain toxins without the need to ship frog samples to a lab. You do have to be careful, though, she said in the story:

"I don't recommend this," the biologist cautioned, "because if you lick the wrong frog it can be very bad."

Check out the full story here:

For Frog-Licking Scientist, the Tongue Says It All

Cheers,
-SueVo

Bacteria raining down from the heavens

2008-02-29T10:28:00.002-07:00

A group of scientists at Louisiana State University, Montana State University and in France have found that those ubiquitous microorganisms known as bacteria aren't limited to hanging around near Earth's surface.

They also sweep up into the sky and could play a major role in the production of rain and snow.

They found them widely distributed through the atmosphere, and it seems that when the bacteria are in clouds, water and ice clumps on them until they fall back down to the ground, replicate and blow up into the sky again.

According to a study on Science Daily:

"Dust and soot particles can serve as ice nuclei, but biological ice nuclei are capable of catalyzing freezing at much warmer temperatures. If present in clouds, biological ice nuclei may affect the processes that trigger precipitation."

The bacteria could help cloud-seeding technologies improve, they said, which could help prevent drought in many parts of the world.

Of course, when writing this I did come up with one major question of my own:

Do bacteria qualify as "critters?" I mean, they are alive, right?

Anyway, here's the full story:

Evidence of 'Rain Making' Bacteria Discovered in Atmosphere and Snow

Cheers,
-SueVo

Eeek! Snakes!

2008-02-28T16:13:00.002-07:00

Scientists at the University of Virginia have discovered that preschool children are scared of snakes and spiders.

Oh?

Yeah, yeah, this isn't exactly news, but their theories about it are kind of interesting from an evolutionary standpoint.

It seems humans developed an instinctual ability to pick snakes and spiders out of the scene a lot faster than they can with harmless objects.

That's a way to stay alive in areas where there's lots of poisonous critters roaming around.

The scientists tested the theory by showing a bunch of preschoolers and their parents pictures of snakes and non-threatening objects, and the subjects were able to pick the snakes out faster than a frightened Indiana Jones.

According to a story on Science Daily:

"Preschool children and their parents were shown nine color photographs on a computer screen and were asked to find either the single snake among eight flowers, frogs or caterpillars, or the single nonthreatening item among eight snakes. As the study surprisingly shows, parents and their children identified snakes more rapidly than they detected the other stimuli, despite the gap in age and experience."

Here's the full story:

Evolution of Aversion: Why Even Children Are Fearful Of Snakes

Cheers,
-SueVo

Things that are a bit too soon to worry about

2008-02-25T10:00:00.002-07:00

OK guys, I know you're all worried about when doomsday will come.

According to a new study from University of California at Santa Cruz, the Earth will be vaporized in 7.6 billion years unless we can find some creative way to alter our orbit.

But considering the world's reaction to global warming, I doubt anybody will seriously think about this until oh, 7.6 billion years from now - if there's an anybody left to think about it.

This isn't really a stupid study, it's actually pretty cool space science. Previously scientists thought the Earth would be battered but not vaporized when the sun burned out - but the study authors say that drag from the atmosphere from the dying sun will actually make the process much more nasty.

Here's what Robert Smith, Emeritus Reader in Astronomy, whatever that is, said in a story on Science Daily about the study:

"The tenuous outer atmosphere of the Sun extends a long way beyond its visible surface, and it turns out the Earth would actually be orbiting within these very low density outer layers," Smith said. "The drag caused by this low-density gas is enough to cause the Earth to drift inwards, and finally to be captured and vaporized by the Sun.”

His solutions, in the story are also pretty interesting:

Can anything be done to prevent this fate? Professor Smith points to a remarkable scheme proposed by a team at Santa Cruz University, who suggest harnessing the gravitational effects of a close passage by a large asteroid to "nudge" the Earth's orbit gradually outwards away from the encroaching Sun. A suitable passage every 6000 years or so would be enough to keep the Earth out of trouble and allow life to survive for at least 5 billion years, and possibly even to survive the Sun's red giant phase.

“This sounds like science fiction,” says Professor Smith. “But it seems that the energy requirements are just about possible and the technology could be developed over the next few centuries.” However, it is a high-risk strategy - a slight miscalculation, and the asteroid could actually hit the Earth, with catastrophic consequences. “A safer solution may be to build a fleet of interplanetary 'life rafts' that could manoeuvre themselves always out of reach of the Sun, but close enough to use its energy,” he adds.

Here's the full link:

Sun Will Vaporize Earth Unless We Can Change Our Orbit

Cheers,
-SueVo

For the love of zigzagging

2008-02-20T15:59:00.003-07:00

Here's a study for people with nothing better to do...

Scientists have found that while a straight line is the most direct route between two points, when it comes to creating paths, the zigzag is a better model to get people up hills.

Um, duh?

American and British researchers have apparently created a mathematical model to prove this.

According to a story on RedOrbit:

“I think zigzagging is something people do intuitively,” said Marcos Llobera, a University of Washington assistant professor of anthropology who is a landscape archaeologist. “People recognize that zigzagging, or switchbacks, help but they don’t realize why they came about.”

But wait - there's more:

“You get a different pattern if people are going up or down and this may lead to the emergence of shortcuts," he said in the story. "Walking downhill generally takes less energy except for braking. We would expect to see different paths going up and down, but what we end up with is a compromise and shortcuts aren’t as apparent.”

Thank god we finally have the truth.

Next time I drink too much, I'm going to use this as an excuse when I'm zigzagging down the street. :P

Here's the full story:

Straight Line Not Always the Best Route

Cheers,
-SueVo

Lets all go to the 'shark cafe'

2008-02-20T15:49:00.003-07:00

A recent study found that sharks like to spend their winter breaks at two hip hangout spots, one off the Hawaiian coast and another at a point in the middle of the ocean, halfway between California and Hawaii.

They go there despite ample supplies of food - seals and sea lions - on the central California coast, where they live most of the year.

Scientists have dubbed the spots 'White Shark Cafes.'

According to the researcher:

"We started calling it the café because that is where you might go to have a snack or maybe just to 'see and be seen.' We are not sure which," researcher Salvador Jorgensen of Stanford University in California said in a statement.

The research is important, if a little weird, because it can help us humans preserve shark habitat.

And hey, maybe they like the area because the surfing is good.

Here's the full story on National Geographic's Web site:

Sharks Travel "Superhighways," Visit "Cafes"

Hang 10 dudes,
-SueVo

Something for the know-it-alls

2008-02-19T10:27:00.003-07:00

Just a quick Web link here for those of us who think they know everything but are always on the lookout for more useless factoids.

Discover Magazine has this funky series "20 Things You Didn't Know About..."

Here's a couple choice tidbits, according to articles at the site:

"Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson’s space-tourism company, reportedly considered barring women with breast implants due to fears that they might blow up."

"According to Guinness World Records, the largest snowflake ever recorded was a 15-incher that besieged Fort Keogh, Montana, in 1887."

"Soap gets its name from the mythological Mount Sapo. Fat and wood ash from animal sacrifices there washed into the Tiber River, creating a rudimentary cleaning agent that aided women doing their washing."

"Meteorite impacts have been blamed for hundreds of injuries, but only one has been verified by scientists. In 1954, Annie Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama, was struck by an eight-pound meteorite that crashed though her roof and bounced off a radio into her hip while she was napping."

"A 2002 study by Oxford University researchers concluded, brilliantly, that the traditional practice of counting sheep is an ineffective cure for insomnia. The mental activity is so boring that other problems and concerns inevitably surface."

Enjoy,
-SueVo

Dino-eating frog from hell - I love it!

2008-02-19T10:16:00.003-07:00

Scientists from University College London and Stony Brook University New York have discovered a 70-million year old giant frog dubbed Beelzebufo, for "the frog from hell," in Madagascar.

This big fat monstrosity, which weighed about 10 pounds, might well have munched on baby dinosaurs as part of its daily diet.

The critter was very similar to modern horned frogs, the researchers think, although it was about twice their size.

According to a Science Daily article:

"This frog, a relative of today's Horned toads, would have been the size of a slightly squashed beach-ball, with short legs and a big mouth," said Professor Susan Evans of the UCL Department of Cell & Developmental Biology. "If it shared the aggressive temperament and 'sit-and-wait' ambush tactics of living Horned toads, it would have been a formidable predator on small animals. Its diet would most likely have consisted of insects and small vertebrates like lizards, but it's not impossible that Beelzebufo might even have munched on hatchling or juvenile dinosaurs."

Here's the full link:

Giant Frog Jumps Continents, May Have Eaten Baby Dinosaurs

Cheers,
-SueVo

Sometimes you find critters in the strangest places

2008-02-18T14:05:00.004-07:00

A group of scientists from NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Center are hunting for life in the harshest spots on Earth -- partially, one would assume, so they can use the critters as part of an effort to terraform, or make more Earth-like, other planets in the solar system like Mars.

Finding creatures that live off methane and other strange chemicals also would indicate that there are a lot more living things in this universe, and even this solar system, than you might think.

So they're off to Antarctica to look at this extremely alkaline lake, that is chemically very much like a big pool of bleach, to see if there's anything crawling around there.

And they may just find some. Already they've already found new species of microbes in the ice and permafrost of Alaska, Siberia, Patagonia and Antarctica.

It's this quote, from a story on Science Daily, though, that got me giggling about some of the past spots they've found these critters, known as extremophiles:

"I found one extremophile in penguin guano," recalls expedition leader Richard Hoover. "When I stooped to pick it up, Jim Lovell, my research partner then, said, 'What the heck are you doing now, Richard?' But it paid off."

Here's the full story:

Extremophile Hunt Begins In Strange Antarctic Lake

Cheers,
-SueVo

Self-cleaning clothing? Sign me up!

2008-02-15T09:49:00.004-07:00

Man I wish I had this every time I spill coffee on myself - which is pretty much a daily occurrence.

Researchers in Australia and China led by some guy named Walid Daoud have created a nanotechnology that can be used to self-clean clothing.

They spilled red wine on protein-based clothing - wool and silk - and found clothing treated with these feisty little nanoparticles removed the stain in sunlight.

According to the release on Science Daily:

"After 20 hours of exposure to simulated sunlight, the coated fabric showed almost no signs of the red stain, whereas the untreated fabric remained deeply stained, the researchers say. The coating, which is non-toxic, can be permanently bonded to the fiber and does not alter its texture and feel, they note."

Spilled red wine and coffee? Have they been trying to simulate my life?

Here's the story link:

Nanotechnology Lends a Hand With 'Self-cleaning' Wool and Silk Fabrics

Cheers,
-SueVo

Barnacle sex, oh my

2008-02-08T14:09:00.001-07:00

The University of Alberta has the answers to all the questions you've ever avoided asking about barnacle sex.

It determined the males have the longest *ahem* sex organ of any animal its size - up to eight times the critter's normal body length, which helps it find and fertilize nearby female barnacles.

The male can also change the size and shape of its sex organ on demand.

According to the Science Daily story unfortunately titled "Barnacles Go to Great Lengths to Mate":

"Graduate student Christopher Neufeld and Dr. Richard Palmer from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta have shown that barnacles appear to have acquired the capacity to change the size and shape of their penises to closely match local wave conditions."

"When wave action is light, a longer (thinner) penis can reach more mates, but at times of higher wave action, a shorter (stouter) penis is more maneuverable in flow and therefore can reach more mates."

Thanks, Canada, for staying on top of this one.

-SueVo

Men like video games? Really.

2008-02-08T11:05:00.001-07:00

Using an MRI and a ball-destroying, terratory-grabbing video game, scientists have now determined that men like agressive games more than women do.

Uh... Duh...

I suppose our good friends at Stanford University School of Medicine were trying to find connections in the brain to addiction, but this test on 22 young adults (11 men and 11 women) is a bit small to make huge conclusions.

Still, most gamers could tell you the idea is pretty accurate. Generally men like shooters, women like building or society forming type games.

In a story on Science Daily, the writer notes that:

"This research also suggests that males have neural circuitry that makes them more liable than women to feel rewarded by a computer game with a territorial component and then more motivated to continue game-playing behavior. Based on this, he said, it makes sense that males are more prone to getting hooked on video games than females."

I'm not sure that's the case. They need to test women on games like The Sims 2 or World of Warcraft before jumping to conclusions.

But hey, at least somebody's paying attention to the addled minds of us gamers.

Here's the full story:

Video Games Activate Reward Regions of Brain in Men More than Women

Cheers,
-SueVo

Pygmy dinosaurs! I want one!!

2008-02-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

Nothing stupid about this one - but since I'm a dinosaur nut I thought I share this study.

A group in England found that a group of pygmy dinosaurs evolved on a subtropical island near Bristol.

The Bristol Dinosaur, Thecodontosaurus, grew to only about 7 feet tall, as opposed to it's 33-foot-tall cousins on the mainland.

The island or islands they lived on caught fire a lot, so it seems the poor little guys might have died in a wildfire.

Too bad, I'd love to have one as a backyard pet.

The group has a release here if you want to learn more:

Pygmy Dinosaur Inhabited Tropical Islands in Britain's Prehistoric Past

Cheers, or should I say Raaaaaaaaaaaah!
-SueVo

Dude I forgot to brush my teeth!

2008-02-07T15:03:00.002-07:00

OK, maybe there's more to it than that, but this study on marijuana and tooth decay still falls in the stupid study category.

A study by a New Zealand scientist in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that marijuana is just as bad for your teeth as cigarettes are.

"Cannabis smoking may be a risk factor for periodontaldisease that is independent of the use of tobacco," it concludes.

Not that anybody ever said sucking a bunch of smoke across your teeth each day would be good for them.

I'm surprised the rate of nasty teeth in pot smokers isn't higher - because of the "dude I can't brush, I'm too zoned out" factor.

But now we know.

Here's the full study:

Cannabis Smoking and Periodontal Disease Among Young Adults

Cheers,
-SueVo

Stay fat - save money

2008-02-07T12:23:00.002-07:00

Here's an interesting notion from the Public Library of Science. Turns out, being an overweight smoker isn't such a bad thing for society.

While the common wisdom has been that health care costs for the overweight are much more than they are for healthy people - which could further bankrupt our already bankrupt health care system - it turns out that the throngs of jogging, rock climbing, snowboarders pose their own drain on society:

They live too long.

A recent study found that the costs of being unhealthy were the same or less than the costs associated with the longer lifespans of healthy people.

According to the study:

"Although effective obesity prevention leads to a decrease in costs of obesity-related diseases, this decrease is offset by cost increases due to diseases unrelated to obesity in life-years gained. Obesity prevention may be an important and cost-effective way of improving public health, but it is not a cure for increasing health expenditures."

Check out the full study here:

Lifetime Medical Costs of Obesity: Prevention No Cure for Increasing Health Expenditure

So hey, I'm going to go have another doughnut. Woot!

Cheers,
-SueVo

Everybody hates athiests

2007-11-06T13:48:00.001-07:00

Nobody loves an athiest. Well, at least according to a University of Minnesota study.

The study found that Americans: "rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, homosexuals and other groups as 'sharing their vision of American society.' Americans are also least willing to let their children marry atheists," according to a story in the Minnesota Daily.

I suppose the purpose of this study is to inform you that if you were thinking of choosing atheism as a career path, you might want to think again. Perhaps you could pretend to be some other religion, or homosexual, so that you get more feel good vibes from the rest of the population.

It's just un-American to not believe in some sort of God, the article continues:

"Americans traditionally have been a religious people and associate faith with being a good citizen. The survey results indicate that this belief hasn't changed.

...

Those surveyed tended to view people who don't believe in a god as the 'ultimate self-interested actor who doesn't care about anyone but themselves,' said Penny Edgell," author of the study.

So much for separation of church and state, eh?

Cheers,
-SueVo

Oh the evils of "Power Rangers"

2007-11-05T11:43:00.001-07:00

I pity the researchers in this University of Washington study, who must have had to watch endless hours of horrid children's television programs.

The results? "Arthur" and "Barney" good, "Rugrats" and "Power Rangers" bad.

Good thing somebody is looking into this. Of course, there's also this more novel thing called "going outside to play."

Here's some tidbits from the Associated Press story:

"Every hour per day that kids under 3 watched violent child-oriented entertainment their risk doubled for attention problems five years later, the study found. Even nonviolent kids' shows like 'Rugrats' and 'The Flintstones' carried a still substantial risk for attention problems, though slightly lower.

On the other hand, educational shows, including 'Arthur,' 'Barney' and 'Sesame Street' had no association with future attention problems.

Interestingly, the risks only occurred in children younger than age 3, perhaps because that is a particularly crucial period of brain development.

...

The researchers called a show violent if it involved fighting, hitting people, threats or other violence that were central to the plot or a main character. Shows listed included 'Power Rangers,' 'Lion King' and 'Scooby Doo.' "

Damn that violent Scooby!!!

Cheers,
-SueVo

Look! It's a tree!

2007-11-05T10:50:00.001-07:00

OK, this may fall in the not quite so stupid study category, but it's interesting.

Apparently kids would prefer to hang out online or play video games than go outside, hike or camp.

I admit, I resemble that remark, but I do like the occasional hiking or camping trip.

According to a Scripps Howard News Service story:

"National polls indicate that children and teenagers play outdoors less than young people did in the past. Between 1997 and 2003, the proportion of children ages 9 to 12 who spent time hiking, walking, fishing, playing on the beach or gardening declined 50 percent, according to a University of Maryland study.

The lack of outdoor activity is more pronounced in minority and lower-income communities. Latino parents, for example, were twice as likely as white parents to say their child never participated in an outdoor nature activity and three times more likely to say their child did not go to a park, playground or beach this past summer, according to the Public Policy Institute poll.

...

Children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an average of nearly seven hours a day with electronic media, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The trend starts early. A 2002 study found that 8-year-olds could identify 25 percent more Pokemon characters than wildlife species."

All you really need is to pull out one of those hunting games and it's almost like being there in real life. Almost, but not quite, exactly unlike it, in fact.

Cheers,
-SueVo

Texas study finds Texas produces too many studies

2007-10-31T11:17:00.002-06:00

Oh yes... this one is just perfect.

A new 668-page report by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission found that the state of Texas produces too many reports.

In the past, the state produced about 400 reports as mandated by the Legislature. But the commission found more than 1,600 of them in it's 18-month study of the studies.

According to an Associated Press story:

"State Records Administrator Michael Heskett's initial findings indicate more than 400 report requirements are obsolete, duplicative or not needed as frequently as now required."

Way to go! A report saying there's too many reports.

Cheers,
-SueVo

Employers look for people with skills... Really?

2007-10-31T11:03:00.001-06:00

Here's one from the no duh department...

This study, from OfficeTeam, notes that employers are looking for people with skills. Who woulda thought?

Here's a gem of a quote from their press release:

“A competitive hiring environment has led to increased demand for administrative professionals with advanced skills and experience,” said Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam. “Companies are offering higher compensation and other benefits to attract highly skilled candidates - especially those who possess strong industry knowledge and are a good fit with the organization.”

The study, part of the group's 2008 salary guide, also found that employees with more skills made more money.

Oh really?

Thanks for the info, guys.

Cheers,
-SueVo

Help! Alien bacteria are attacking!

2007-10-29T23:12:00.002-06:00

Here's a little gem of science fun from my buddy Amedeo. The bacteria, it seems, are trying to turn us all into pod people.

I'm sure there's value in this somewhere, but on my scale of preferred things to think about - well this is down pretty damn low.

From the Wired story "People are Human-Bacteria Hybrid" we get this:

"More than 500 different species of bacteria exist in our bodies, making up more than 100 trillion cells. Because our bodies are made of only some several trillion human cells, we are somewhat outnumbered by the aliens. It follows that most of the genes in our bodies are from bacteria, too."

If they were made of metal, at least then we could call ourselves cyborgs. What does this mean we are? Bactoborgs?

Cheers,
-SueVo

America's reaction to non-existant technology

2007-10-26T15:01:00.000-06:00

If you're eager to get a brain implant that will let you access the Internet, you're not entirely alone - about 11 percent of poll responders want one too.

Not that it matters, though, because such technology doesn't exist yet.

But when it does - I guess the market potential has already been laid out.

Cheers to the folks at Zogby International/463 Communications for bringing us this data, and more:

-SueVo

Go Cyborgs: In the survey, men were much more eager than women to get an Internet-surfing brain implant. 17 percent of men said they were up for it, compared with only 7 percent of women.

My virtual man: 24 percent of Americans in the poll said the Internet could serve as a replacement for a significant other. The percentage was highest among singles, of which 31 percent said it could be a substitute.

What about a behavior control chip: About 20 percent of the respondants were willing to insert a chip into a child 13 or younger to help track them if they are lost, abducted, or just tend not to be where they are supposed to be. Nearly one in five Americans said they would do so to track a child’s whereabouts. Interestingly, there was no difference in opinion among parents who had younger children and those who did not.

God in the machine: Ten percent said the Internet made them closer to God, while 6 percent said it made them more distant. Those who call themselves “Born Again” were the most likely to feel it affected them spiritually. Twenty percent of Born Agains said it made them closer while 11 percent said it made them more distant from God.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-26T13:23:00.001-06:00

So I actually found some of the information from this Associated Press/Ipsos study about superstition interesting - but once it gets into the minutia it goes way downhill.

Check out this bit of information from the Associated Press story:

"Democrats were more superstitious than Republicans over opening umbrellas indoors, while liberals were more superstitious than conservatives over four-leaf clovers, grooms seeing brides and umbrellas."

Then, of course, there's the urban-rural superstition divide among singles:

"Twenty-six percent of urban residents - twice the rate of those from rural areas - said they are superstitious, while single men were more superstitious than unmarried women, 31 percent to 17 percent."

Poor single guys, maybe they should get more of the single women to protect them.

And keep an eye out for those four-leaf clovers:

"The most admitted-to superstition, by 17 percent, was finding a four-leaf clover. Thirteen percent dread walking under a ladder or the groom seeing his bride before their wedding, while slightly smaller numbers named black cats, breaking mirrors, opening umbrellas indoors, Friday the 13th or the number 13."

They pay somebody for this?

Cheers,
-SueVo