A Dutch science teacher accidentally discovered what may be a new, astrological phenomenon. While Hanny van Artel was helping the Web site Galaxy Zoo identify galaxies, she spotted a greenish, gaseous object with a hole in it. Because it doesn't have stars and thus can't be a galaxy, astronomers think it is light from a no-longer-visible quasar; and the light, as it continues to travel through...
Bratz, the 10-inch, clothes-conscious dolls, are big business. In 2007 they outsold Barbie, which more than upset Barbie's manufacturing mama, Mattel. Not only did the Bratz feature film, games and music albums make Barbie look like just another dumb blond, but the designer who conceived Bratz dolls for MGA Entertainment didn't play nice. He was on Mattel's payroll at the time. Mattel accused...
Every woman has waited in line to use a toilet and every man has waited for a woman who is waiting in line. Because the designers of a new arena at St. Louis University knew that, they installed more ceramic commodes for women, unintentionally breaking the law. Missouri is one of the states that requires an equal number of porcelain facilities for both men and women. Nevertheless, because it...
For those people who say they're too busy to have a relationship, speed-dating may be the answer. Speed-dating is matchmaking by the clock. Singles come to a designated location - usually a bar - pay a fee and have 3 to 8 minutes to talk one-on-one with possible matches. Participants rate each date on a form; and if matches are made, contact information is sent by the event organizers to both...
According to a poll co-conducted by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, 50% of workers in this economy go to work sick. This is attributed to not having paid sick leave and employer pressure to be on the job. Although federal legislation has been proposed, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. are already requiring more employers to provide paid sick leave....
How did the iconic Rice-A-Roni become "The San Francisco Treat"? In 1946 a Canadian woman married an Italian immigrant, who worked in his father's, San Francisco, pasta factory. Because housing was scarce after WWII, the couple rented a room from an Armenian woman, who taught the Canadian woman how to make Armenian pilaf. When the couple had their own home, the Canadian woman made the pilaf for...
As of July 2008 California banned the use of hand-held phones while driving. Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Washington, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have a similar law; and I was fine with that until I heard about new research from Japan. According to the research, drivers think they are safer when they are using hands-free phone options; and because of that, they are...
In 1845 Congress decided Tuesday would be the most convenient day of the week for Americans to vote and it hasn't changed. Of course, in 1845 we were an agrarian society that traveled by horse and buggy. Farmers needed a day to get to the county seat, a day to vote and a day to get home - without interfering with Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which were days of worship. As Wednesday was market...
It's not easy to be left-handed in a right-handed world. Things like shaking hands or being helped to put on a coat can be awkward. To make their lives easier lefthanders deserve innovations like notepads that tear from the right, doors that open from the right and toilets that flush on the right. They deserve August 13th to be celebrated as Lefthanders Day. We need to give lefties a hug -...
Although Pythagoras and other early mathematicians believed in numerology, it's now considered an occult art in which numbers supposedly reflect personal characteristics. Only numbers 1-9, plus 11 and 22 are used. All numbers are reduced to those numbers by adding their components. For example, 24 would be 2+4 or 6. The numbers in my birth date reduce to 8, which makes 8 my life path. According...
