Email More Honest Than Phone Calls?
April Fool's Day isn't the only time to catch lies. A Cornell University study has found that people are twice as likely to tell lies in phone conversations as they are in e-mails. Participants were asked to keep track of their social communications for seven days, noting when they lied, and how the lie was transmitted. The study found that participants lied 1.6 times per day. 37% of these lies we... posted on Apr 27 2006, 2,265 reads

Soul For Sale
A few weeks ago, a 23 year old atheist posted an unusual item for sale on eBay: a chance to save his soul. Mr. Hemant Mehta is a DePaul University graduate student who promised the winner that for each $10 of the final bid, he would attend an hour of church services. Evangelists bid, eager to save a sinner. Atheists bid, hoping to keep Mr. Mehta in their fold. When the auction stopped on Feb. 3 af... posted on Mar 29 2006, 3,733 reads

Simple Church
Some Evangelicals are abandoning megachurches for minichurches -- based in their own living rooms! Since the 1990s, many Churches have gathered thousands for Sunday services; they were made possible by hundreds of smaller "cell groups" that meet off-nights and provide a humanly scaled framework for scriptural exploration, spiritual mentoring and emotional support. Now, however, those cell groups ... posted on Mar 13 2006, 2,057 reads

iPod Decibels
Millions of Walkmans and iPods are sold around the world. Latest research, though, shows that it is only safe to listen to an hour a day at about 60% of the volume. If it's not healthy, why give listeners the option to pump it up to 120 decibels? Pure pleasure, apparently. Using earphones for hours at high volumes basically causes "shock and awe" to delicate hair-like cells deep within the inn... posted on Mar 12 2006, 1,821 reads

The Tenth Planet
Astronomers in the United States have announced the discovery of the "10th planet" to orbit our Sun. The largest object found in our Solar System since Neptune in 1846, it was first seen in 2003 - but important details have only now been confirmed.... posted on Feb 06 2006, 1,710 reads

Was Columbus First?
We've all read the history books -- Columbus found the New World in 1492; Dias discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1488; and Magellan set off to circumnavigate the world in 1519. However, it may not be true! Recent evidence show that it is more likely that the world and all its continents were discovered by a Chinese admiral named Zheng He, whose fleets roamed the oceans between 1405 and 1435.... posted on Feb 03 2006, 2,160 reads

Paradox of Choice
A radio producer in Washington, D.C., got a promotion a few years ago on the grounds that he was a "good decision-maker." Self-deprecating to a fault, he reminded his bosses that many of the decisions he'd made since joining the station hadn't exactly worked out. They didn’t care. "Being a good decision-maker means you’re good at making decisions," one executive cheerily told him. "It doesn’... posted on Jan 29 2006, 1,730 reads

Since Sliced Bread
What's your best idea since sliced bread, in 176 words or less? That's the question that SEIU asked to everyday folks. Winner gets $100,000 and two finalists get $50,000 each. Of the 22,000 folks that responded, 21 ideas were selected as finalists ... ranging from creating a Civil Work Corps to starting tax-free savings accounts at work for first-time homebuyers to providing free or low-cost w... posted on Jan 25 2006, 1,470 reads

Smiling Not Allowed
When the government is taking your photo, they won't say smile. "The subject's expression should be neutral (non-smiling) with both eyes open, and mouth closed. A smile with a closed jaw is allowed but is not preferred," according to the guidelines. "The most neutral face is the most desirable standard for any type of identification," said Angela Aggeler, spokeswoman for the U.S. State Departmen... posted on Jan 20 2006, 2,359 reads

Cooperation
Is cooperation human nature? Political science professor Robert Axelford explored this idea and found that the relationship between competitors that are placed in a recurring long-term competitive environment nearly always evolves into cooperation. In one famous example he cites from the trench warfare of World War I, troops of one side would shell the other side with mortars, but would often do ... posted on Jan 17 2006, 1,730 reads