by David Wescott
Tuesday 5th April 2011, 11:34 BST
As the results of the 2010 American census slowly but surely filter in, American politicians and voters are digesting trends that were largely anticipated (see data here). The nation as a whole grew by 9.7% during 2000-2010, down from 13.2% growth during the 90s. States in the South and West grew the most, resulting in additional political seat in traditionally Republican areas (Texas, Arizona, Georgia). In 2010 83.7% of Americans lived in ...
Continue Reading
by Catherine Mousdale
Wednesday 30th March 2011, 14:44 BST
The kiss of near-death
A 92 year old woman from Florida has been arrested for shooting at her neighbour’s house because he denied her a kiss. Helen Staudinger made her almost fatal attraction clear to 53 year old Dwight Bettner when he moved in six months ago. He reports that she interpreted his neighbourly gestures such as taking her rubbish out as romantic, as well as threatening to shoot him when he started to date a girlfriend. Perhaps d...
Continue Reading
by Richard Boyd
Saturday 26th March 2011, 09:41 BST
There is a well-understood ageing process that many Cambridge students will move through after they leave college. To examine this process, let us consider a hypothetical graduate, the androgynous Hilary.
Hilary graduates and heads off into a graduate training scheme in London, (assuming no recession and no extended period of graduate unemployment, obviously) and moves into a shared flat in Zone 2. Young, unencumbered by dependents or mortgage...
Continue Reading
by Catherine Mousdale
Tuesday 22nd March 2011, 14:21 BST
Snake goes bust
A snake has died from silicone poisoning after biting the cosmetically enhanced breast of an Israeli glamour model. Orit Fox, a B-list model, was posing with the boa constrictor wrapped around her body. As part of the photo shoot, Fox licked the face of the reptile, which provoked an angry reaction and caused the snake to sink its teeth into her breast. Fox was rushed to hospital in Tel Aviv and given a tetanus shot but the sna...
Continue Reading
by Catherine Mousdale
Wednesday 16th March 2011, 12:17 BST
Packed like sardines
The famous saying became a sad and strange reality last week when at least a million dead sardines covered the surface of a harbour in Redondo Beach, Los Angeles. The pile of fish on the bottom of the marina was 18 inches deep in some places and resulted in boats being unable to get out. Scientists believe that the deaths occurred naturally rather than being attributable to pollution. It is thought that the sardines sought...
Continue Reading
by Louisa Loveluck
Sunday 13th March 2011, 20:30 BST
After another bloody day in Yemen, questions need to be asked about the relationships that facilitate and constrain the governmentʼs actions. Iʼm reading a number of reports that suggest the weapons used against protesters in Sanaʼa came from US-military shipments, and this comes as no surprise. To my mind, the most damaging thing to happen to Yemen over the past decade has not simply been the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Instead,...
Continue Reading
by BlueSci
Wednesday 9th March 2011, 17:22 BST
Organic foods are often portrayed as more nutritious. But whilst they are a good environmental option, they don’t contain any more vitamins than their non-organic counterparts.
The organic food business is vast and growing fast, with UK sales totalling approximately £1.2 billion per year. For a food to be classified as organic it must meet EU guidelines. Broadly, these guidelines promote use of crop rotation, encourage good animal husbandry...
Continue Reading
by Catherine Mousdale
Tuesday 8th March 2011, 12:33 BST
Just a paper tiger
Tokyo Zoo has staged a ‘fake tiger drill’. In order to test how staff would deal with an escaped animal, 26 year old zookeeper Shuhei Yamaguchi dressed up in a tiger costume and ran amuck, doing his best to seem fierce. The drill was a roaring success, with staff cornering the clamorous cat, wielding tranquiliser guns at it and poking it with sticks before finally binding it up in a net and throwing it into the back of a...
Continue Reading
by David Wescott
Tuesday 8th March 2011, 00:24 BST
Sexual education has risen to the forefront of American media this past week, largely due to (1) a conservative-driven proposal to cut Planned Parenthood funding, and (2) a Northwestern University professor’s decision to allow live sex acts in the classroom.
Currently Planned Parenthood receives about $300 million from the federal government – none of which goes towards providing abortions (a service the organization does provide). Feder...
Continue Reading
by Catherine Mousdale
Tuesday 1st March 2011, 12:09 BST
Raspberry nipple
The Icecreamists parlour, Covent Garden, launched breast milk ice cream on Friday. Made from the milk of London mother Victoria Hiley, the novel desert immediately sold out. Hiley received £15 for every 10 ounces given and once expressed on site, the milk was churned with vanilla pods and lemon zest. Icecreamists founder Matt O’Connor told reporters, ‘No-one’s done anything interesting with ice cream for the last hu...
Continue Reading
