KNIGHT WATCH

WHERE IN THE WORLD DID THAT IDEA COME FROM?

United Against Waste is a campaign to help the U.S. food-service industry cut waste. It’s sponsored by Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch conglomerate supplying thousands of food-service companies in 74 countries. According to the 2009 U.N. Environment Program, more than half the food produced is lost, wasted or discarded. Much of the waste happens at farms, but a U.S. restaurant can produce 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of waste yearly. In a 2011 survey 80% of U.S. diners were concerned about restaurant waste and 50% of them were willing to pay more for meals at restaurants known for limiting waste - and maybe limiting “waists”.

The Global Soap Project, a non-profit based in Atlanta, collects partially used hotel soap to give to needy countries. A process of sanitizing, melting and remolding has resulted in soap being sent to 20 countries on 4 continents since 2009. UNICEF estimates washing hands with soap can reduce incidences of diarrhea among children under 5 by 50% and respiratory infections by 25%. Considering it’s also estimated U.S. hotels throw away 1 million bars of partially used soap daily, it seems appropriate Hilton Worldwide – with 3,750 properties – has partnered with the Global Soap Project – “one hand washing the other”.

Qmilch is the award-winning textile designed by a 28-year-old German. Q stands for quality and milch is the German word for milk – which is what this textile is made of. Anka Domaske developed a way to take casein from sour, organic milk; heat it; mix it with things like beeswax; and spin it into threads. Supposedly milk byproducts have been used to make textiles since the 1930’s, but this process eliminates chemicals. Qmilch is environmentally friendly and has a silky texture especially good for people with skin allergies. However, at $28 per kilogram it’s not made of the “milk of human kindness”.

Japan was the first to invent a vending machine that recognizes its customers. In 2010 the East Japan Railway Company put this vending machine on a Tokyo train station platform. It has a 47-inch touch screen panel and is equipped with a face-recognition sensor that gauges information about the customer’s gender and age and another sensor that measures outside temperature. With this information – depending on time of day and season – the vending machine recommends a particular beverage to the customer. Of course, if the machine told the customer the age it sensed, it might have to be “sensored”.

 

IS THIS CONSIDERED TRIVIAL PURSUIT?

Have you ever forgotten why you went into another room? It’s the doorway’s fault. When you go from room to room, your brain identifies each room as a new event and sets a new memory trace to capture that event. Thus it’s difficult for the brain to retrieve older memories because they’ve already been filed away. The author of the study, a psychology professor at Notre Dame, suggests carrying a reminder of your intent. If you’re going to get scissors, put your middle and index fingers in a scissors position. These reminders are like giving our brain “forget-me-nots”.

Is there still 6 degrees of separation between us? In 1967 a social psychologist had 296 volunteers send a message by postcard through friends and friends of friends to a specific person in Boston. It took, on average, 6 steps to reach him. In the early 90’s Kevin Bacon said he’d worked with just about everyone in Hollywood, which inspired the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” trivia game. Now that’s changed. According to Facebook and researchers at Milan University, the average degree of separation between 2 unacquainted Facebook users is 4.74 steps. That’s 4.74 steps for man and one giant leap for mankind.

If you’re a redhead, are you afraid to go to the dentist? In a study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, 67 redheads and 77 “darkheads” answered survey questions about fears and anxieties related to dental visits. Their blood was also tested. Those with the MC1R gene were more than twice as likely to avoid dental appointments. Of the 85 people with the gene, 65 were redheads. It seems those with MC1R tend to be resistant to certain pain medications. Of course, the only pain for artificial redheads is the pain of keeping their roots red.

Do you still long for chocolate milk in spite of all its sugary calories – the calories that caused it to be banned from school cafeterias? Athletes are using chocolate milk as a recovery drink. It boosts endurance after intense workouts and speeds up muscle recovery. Researchers at Penn State are studying how cocoa interacts with a specific digestive enzyme to block it from breaking down fat, thus helping the body to fend off fat. Finally, chocolate skim can be made without high fructose corn syrup and have only 30 calories more than 1% milk. That’s the “milk of human kindness”.

 

HOW ARE YOU FEELING - EMOTIONALLY?

Happy people live longer. A study published in the Proceedings of the Academy of National Sciences asked 3,853 people ages 52-79 to record levels of happiness, anxiety and other emotions at 4 specific times during 1 day. Then the participants were divided into 3 groups depending on happiness levels. Five years later 7% in the unhappiest group had died compared to 4% in the happiest group and 5% in the middle group. When age, depression, disease, health behaviors and socioeconomic factors were controlled, the happiest and medium-happy participants were 35% and 25% less likely to have died. Hmmm, remember the “i” in happiness.

Lonely people sleep more restlessly. A study published in the journal Sleep asked 95 people how often they felt lack of companionship, left out or isolated and rated them on a loneliness scale. Then for 1 week the participants wore a wrist device to bed to record body movement and sleep disruption. Each one-point increase in the loneliness scale was associated with an 8% increase in restlessness and sleep disruption even when age, sex, body mass index, sleep apnea and negative emotion factors were controlled. Although loneliness didn’t influence sleep quality or daytime sleepiness, loneliness puts the bed in “bed-evil”.

People with high blood pressure have more difficulty recognizing emotions – happiness, sadness, fear, anger, etc. It’s a phenomenon called “emotional dampening”. In a study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, 106 participants – average age 53 – were asked to evaluate emotional expressions in faces and sentences. After controlling for medications, BMI and mental state, those with high blood pressure scored lowest in the ability to recognize emotions. Scientists suspect emotional dampening is related to subtle changes in brain function. However, medication to lower blood pressure can correct the problem in time. The emotional dampening can be “dried up”.

People who are physically weighed down by heavy loads like shopping bags think more seriously. It seems the brain goes from physical weight to psychological weight. In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Behavior, 100 volunteers were divided into 2 groups. One group carried bags containing about 10 pounds of water bottles. The other carried bags containing empty water bottles. Later both groups were asked questions about the importance of expressing opinions publically, reading nutrition labels and being socially connected. The volunteers carrying the heavy bags thought those subjects were much more important. Obviously, they were “heavy thinkers”.

 

DO WE EACH HAVE A BODY OF EVIDENCE?

There really is such a thing as “broken heart syndrome”. It occurs when sudden or prolonged stress – good or bad – triggers a rush of adrenalin and other stress hormones, causing the heart’s main pumping chamber to suddenly balloon. There are also dramatic changes in heart rhythm and blood substances typical of heart attacks. Fortunately, most victims recover within weeks; but women are 7 to 9 times likelier to experience broken heart syndrome than men. Perhaps this is because of hormones or because men have more adrenalin receptors on cells in their hearts – or perhaps women just take shocks “more to heart”.

Fifteen percent of people with type 2 diabetes aren’t fat. So says the National Institutes of Health. They have a condition called “TOFI” – thin outside, fat inside. Fat that usually builds up under the skin attaches to abdominal organs instead. Visceral fat is more dangerous because it can cause inflammatory substances to affect the liver and pancreas and lower insulin sensitivity, which increase type 2 diabetes risk. Regular workouts are the only way to lose visceral fat. Even moderate exercise causes muscles to absorb glucose at 20 times the normal rate. Hmmm, TOFI could also stand for “the other fat individuals”.

Earworm is the nickname for what psychologists call “involuntary musical imagery”. It’s the random snippet of a song or melody that pops into our minds and repeats over and over. Studies suggest 90% of people get earworms at least once a week. A study published in the journal Psychology of Music collected data from 604 people and was able to identify 4 main triggers for earworms: music exposure (the most common), memory triggers, emotional state of mind and low attention states. Unfortunately, a way to get rid of earworms wasn’t identified. Maybe scientists need a “worm’s-eye view” of the phenomenon.

Right-handers and left-handers tend to like more popular, familiar types of music, while mixed-handers (those who use their non-dominant hand for at least 2 activities) have broader musical tastes. That was the result of another study published in the journal Psychology of Music. Ninety-two college students completed hand-preference surveys and then rated how often they listened to 21 types of music and their enjoyment of them. The broader range of music enjoyed by mix-handers was attributed to their being more in touch with the right hemisphere of their brain, which updates thoughts and beliefs. Mixed-handers were more “hands-on”.