KNIGHT WATCH

WOULD YOU EVER HAVE GUESSED?

December 30, 2011 won’t occur in Samoa. Samoa is 20 miles from the International Dateline – an imaginary longitude marking a date change when crossed. The dateline was created more than a century ago when it was decided Samoa would be 3 hours behind Los Angeles because being on a similar time zone to the Americas would benefit Samoan business. In 2011 Samoa does most of its business with neighboring Australia – a country 21 hours ahead of it. However, when Samoa skips December 30, it will be just 3 hours ahead of Sydney – exemplifying a new kind of “day care”.

Approximately 1 in 15 American adults intentionally commit fraud by lying about personal information. According to a 2011 report by ID Analytics – a data collection firm – 8 million Americans used 2 or more social security numbers, 16 million used multiple birth dates and 10 million co-mingled their personal information with their spouse’s. The fraud included professional ID theft; trying to get government benefits not entitled to; evading creditors’ background checks; and applying for cell phone service, auto loans and credit cards. When it comes to personal information, it seems 8% of Americans “lie in wait”.

Fingers wrinkle when they get wet in order to provide a near-perfect drainage system. According to a study published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Evolution, these wrinkles act like rain treads on tires. The wrinkles create channels that drain water from our fingers, giving them a better grip. This conclusion is substantiated by the fact that the wrinkles are controlled by the nervous system – they don’t occur if the nerves in fingers have been cut. Supposedly the wrinkles occur only after sustained water contact to prevent incidental wrinkling – like when we’re eating fruit. That response would cause wrinkles in foreheads.

Looking at pictures causing negative emotions helps in remembering new information. In a study published in Psychological Science, 40 college students were tested on 100 Swahili words and their English translations. When the students answered correctly, they were shown a negatively arousing image such as a dead cat, a neutral image such as shoelaces or a blank screen. If they answered incorrectly, they were shown a neutral image or a blank screen. Because the emotional centers of the brain are closely linked to its memory centers, recall was much better after seeing negative images. Maybe looking at a 10-year-old, personal photo would help our memories.

 

ARE SOME NATIONAL RANKINGS RANK?

 Lexington, Kentucky is the most sedentary city in the U.S. Men’s Health magazine based its 2011 ranking of 100 cities on how often residents exercised, the number of households that watched 15 hours of cable television weekly and bought more than 11 video games yearly, and the DVT rate –blood clots in veins associated with inactivity. Southern cities dominated the list – Tulsa; Oklahoma City; Birmingham; Laredo; Nashville; Little Rock; and Charleston, West Virginia. Seattle, San Francisco and Oakland were the most physically active cities – the least likely to “sit out” when it came to exercise.

Fresno, California is the city with the most car thefts. That’s according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s 2011 ranking, which calculated rates of car theft per capita among 366 metropolitan areas. Seven other areas in the top 10 were also in California – Modesto, 2^nd; Bakersfield-Delano, 3^rd; Vallejo-Fairfield, 5^th; Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, 6^th; Stockton, 7^th; Visalia-Porterville, 8^th; and San Francisco-Oakland-Freemont, 9^th. Completing the top 10 were Spokane, Washington, 4^th; and Yakima, Washington, 10^th. The city with the fewest car thefts was State College, Pennsylvania. That may be one reason why the State College area is referred to as “Happy Valley”.

Mississippi is the state where the highest percentage of dining-out dollars is spent on fast food. Fast food is defined as food served in restaurants without table service. Mississippi is also the state with the most overweight and obese adults. The Health Website based its 2011 ranking on the percentage of fast food restaurants and the percentage of dining-out dollars the average resident spent in them yearly. Alphabetically the other 9 states in the top 10 were Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Considering Americans spent $165 billion dollars on fast food in 2010, we should all slow down.

New Hampshire and South Dakota tied as the most “free” state in the U.S. George Mason University researchers ranked states on fiscal policy, regulatory policy, economic freedom and personal freedom. New York was the least free state partly because of having the highest taxes. In between the extremes Georgia was 15^th in overall freedom, 11^th in economic freedom and 31^st in personal freedom.  Maryland’s strict gun laws, automobile regulations and lack of status for same-sex partnerships contributed to its being 43^rd in overall freedom and 50^th in personal freedom. According to the 2010 census, people are moving to freer states. They are “freethinkers”.

 

WHAT UNITES THE UNITED STATES?

Customer service complaints unite the United States. According to the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index, airlines - with their small seats and late departures – tied with newspapers - whose slowness to innovate isn’t news – as the industries with the worst customer service. Second were subscription television services. Third were “can you hear me now” wireless telephone services, followed by movies, fixed-line phone services and cellular telephones. Hospitals with $5 aspirins and $40,000 surgery overcharges were 7^th, with network cable news, computer software and limited-service restaurants completing the top 10 list of customer-service-challenged industries. It seems much of customer service is self-service.

Cell phone users in the U.S. are talking less. When averaged, respondents to a 2011 survey by J.D. Power and Associates said they’d made or received 21 calls or voice mails in the past 48 hours. In comparison, they’d sent and received 55 texts during the same 48 hours. That’s about 2.5 times the number of voiced-based interactions. According to CTIA, a wireless-industry trade group, the number of monthly text messages has gone from about 10 billion in 2005 to nearly 188 billion in 2010. “Let your fingers do the walking” was a Yellow Pages slogan. Now fingers do the talking too.

People in the U.S. are eating worse. In a 2011 Gallop poll of 1,000 adults, 62.2% reported eating healthfully the previous day – down from 68.2% in 2010. Although 55.9% reported having 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables at least 4 days a week, that was down from 57.8% - an equivalent of 4.5 million adults. Regarding exercise, the percentage of respondents reporting they exercised at least 30 minutes 3 times the previous week fell from 53.6% to 52.9%. Some attribute these changes to increased gas prices, but no gas in needed for a drive for better health.

Finally, approximately 640 people in the U.S. are treated daily in emergency rooms for bathroom injuries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 234,000 people age 15 and older were treated for bathroom-related accidents in 2008. More than 80% of the accidents were caused by falls. Bathing and showering were the most dangerous activities, accounting for 65.8% of injuries. Toilets accounted for 22.5% and sinks accounted for 1.2%. Women had more injuries than men and the highest number of injuries were among people older than 65. After reading this, excuses for bathroom carelessness won’t “wash”.

 

IS AN APPLE A DAY ENOUGH?

An apple a day may be too much. According to the Environmental Working Group’s 2011 report, apples topped the list of produce most contaminated by pesticides  - and that was after washing and peeling. Rounding out the top 5 most contaminated were celery, strawberries, peaches and spinach. Onions topped the list of lowest in pesticide residue, followed by sweet corn, pineapples, avocados and asparagus. By choosing 5 servings of fruits and vegetables from the clean list, most people can reduce the amount of pesticides consumed daily by 92%. However, even some organic produce tested positive for pesticides – which will leave consumers “bugged”.

Fish is good for the heart. However, how the fish is cooked is important. A study published in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure followed the eating habits and health of about 85,000 postmenopausal women for an average of 10 years. Those who had 5 or more servings of fish weekly had a 30% lower risk of heart failure than women who rarely ate fish – but only if the fish was baked or broiled. Eating 1 serving of fried fish weekly was linked to a 48% higher risk of heart failure. Obviously, we shouldn’t get “hooked on” fried fish.

Alcohol, milk, tea and coffee all reduce diabetes risk. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed a link between moderate alcohol consumption and lower diabetes risk. In a 12-year study of more than 41,000 men, Harvard scientists found 1 serving of dairy a day decreased type 2 diabetes risk 9%. Chinese researchers found polysaccharides, a carbohydrate in tea, helped control blood glucose levels. A Swedish study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine determined insulin sensitivity improved in direct proportion to coffee consumption – each daily cup decreasing the risk of insulin resistance 16%. So … drink to your health!

Finally, coffee may lower men’s risk of prostate cancer. A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute followed approximately 48,000 men for 22 years, with the men reporting every 4 years about how much coffee they drank. Men drinking 6 or more cups daily – caffeinated or decaffeinated – had a 20% lower risk of prostate cancer than men who didn’t drink coffee and a 60% lower risk of lethal prostate cancer. The fact that coffee is also linked to lower risks of Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes and liver cancer may put more “bucks” in Starbucks.

 

ARE YOU A BODY OF EVIDENCE?

Brain patterns may predict the success of new songs. A study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found a correlation between brain responses and songs that would sell more than 20,000 units. About 33% of the songs that sold more than that caused strong activity in the orbitofrontal cortex and the ventral striatum, areas of the brain that activate when people are anticipating something they like which is purchasable. Weak responses were even more accurate predictors. They were associated with about 90% of songs selling less than 20,000 units. This study may make music companies “sing a different tune”.

The color red provides an energy boost. In a study published in Emotion, 30 fourth through tenth graders pinched and held open a metal clasp after reading their participant number in red or gray crayon. In a second experiment 46 undergraduates squeezed a hand grip with their dominant hand as hard as possible while reading the word “squeeze” on a computer screen with a red, blue or gray background. Seeing red made muscles move more forcefully because it’s a danger cue. Unfortunately, the perception of threat also causes worry, distraction and self-preoccupation. – facts not to be “colorblind” to.

Too much coffee can cause auditory hallucinations. In a study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, 92 volunteers listened to white noise through computer headphones for 3 minutes. Every time they heard even a snippet of Bing Crosby’s White Christmas the volunteers pressed a hand-held tally counter. Although the song was never played, the volunteers who said they were very stressed and who drank 5 or more cups of coffee a day were more likely to imagine they had heard the song. They were more likely to hear things that weren’t there. Obviously, hearing isn’t believing.

Quitting smoking makes smokers fat. That’s a fact, but it was discovered by accident. In a study published in the journal Science, Yale research scientists were trying to find new drugs to treat depression when they noticed the test animals weren’t eating as much. At that time the scientists were testing nicotine. The scientists discovered when nicotine enters the brain, it activates specific nicotine receptors located on specific neurons known to decrease feeding and increase energy expenditure. When people stop smoking, there’s no nicotine activity and thus weight gain occurs. Nevertheless, weight can be lost. Good health doesn’t have to “go up in smoke”.

 

IS IT JUST US OR HUMAN NATURE?

Occasionally not hearing what someone says sounds like human nature; but according to research published in the journal Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, it could be “inattentional deafness”. This occurs when your focus is on a visual task. For example, you could be reading a mystery and not hear what your spouse is saying. Sound perception depends not only on your sense of hearing, but also on your ability to pay attention. Scientists expect the part of the brain responsible for interpreting sound registers a weaker signal because all its attention is involved in another task. However, inattentional deafness isn’t “hearsay”.

Gossip may be human nature, but negative gossip changes how we see people. In a study published in the journal Science, volunteers looked at faces paired with gossip – some positive and some negative. To see how the volunteers’ brains responded, their left and right eyes were shown different images – perhaps a face and a house. Because the brain can handle only one image at a time, it lingers on the one it thinks more important. The volunteers’ brains were most likely to linger on faces associated with negative gossip. Because negative gossip influences how we see people, maybe seeing isn’t always believing.

Stress seems to be part of human nature and stress can’t be avoided on vacation. According to a 2011 survey of 1,000 consumers that was commissioned by Marriott, 26% said they disagreed how much to spend, 22% disagreed about what to do and 9% disagreed about where to eat. Nevertheless, we take vacations for specific reasons. Seventy-five percent of those surveyed said a vacation was necessary for mental health, 44% answered de-stressing, 37% hoped it would lift their spirits and 8% wanted to get their relationship back on track. For many a vacation seems to be a trip with “mental baggage”.

Finally, 59% of parents provide financial support to their adult children. That’s according to a 2011 Harris survey of 1,074 U.S. adults (non-students ages 18-39) and their parents. Fifty percent of those parents helped with housing, 48% with living expenses, 41% with transportation, 35% with insurance, 29% with spending money and 28% with medical bills. However, this support often required sacrifice. Thirty-six percent of the parents took on additional debt, 13% canceled plans for a new home or vacation and 7% delayed retirement. Parents may be asking themselves if this support is human nature or parental nurture.

 

HOW DO WE GET OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER?

One way to live longer and healthier is to let go of stress – to keep moving forward after life’s setbacks. According to gerontologist and commentator Mark Lachs, longevity often has a genetic basis; but it’s also affected by what geriatricians call “adaptive competence” – the ability to recover from biological and psychological stress – medical issues, bereavement, age discrimination, etc. A study about the longevity of people in their 50’s done by a professor of epidemiology and psychology at the Yale School of Public Health found optimists died on average 7.5 years later than pessimists – with their glasses still half full.

Another way to live longer is to shop frequently. A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health focused on 1,850 Taiwanese senior citizens. Forty-eight percent shopped less than once a week, 13% shopped weekly, 22% shopped 2-4 times a week and 17% shopped every day. The researchers found that shopping every day was linked to a reduced mortality rate of up to 28% for men and 23% for women. This is attributed to shopping being a marker for a healthier lifestyle – more food available, more walking, more socializing, etc. Nevertheless, it seems we can “buy” time.

Love helps us live longer. According to Dr. Howard Friedman, co-author of The Longevity Project, that’s a myth. However, involvement with other people does promote longevity. Another myth is married people live longer. Married men tend to live longer. Only vigorous exercise leads to longer life – myth. Staying physically active through middle age and beyond is more important. Worriers die younger – myth. Worriers tend to take better care of themselves and also tend to handle life’s challenges better. Early retirement means late death – myth. Productive people live longer than their layabout counterparts. It seems the subject of longevity is prone to “mythstakes”.

Finally, longer life expectancy is one explanation why church attendance is down in the U.S. and other developed countries. According to a study published in the International Journal of Social Economics, because we are living longer, we’re postponing our religiosity. However, a study published in the journal Demography found that people who attend church at least once a week live approximately 7 years longer than non-attendees. This is attributed to churchgoers being less likely to smoke or drink heavily and more likely to have strong emotional and practical support during health challenges. It seems non-churchgoers could live to regret it.

 

WHO PUT THE CITY IN SPECIFICITY?

The fastest growing U.S. city is Austin, Texas. Forbes Magazine ranked cities and metropolitan areas with populations over 500,000 by population growth, unemployment, projected employment growth and projected economic growth. Austin had 37% population growth, 6.8% unemployment, 3% projected employment growth and 6.6% projected economic growth. Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina was second with 42% population growth, 7.9% unemployment, 3% projected employment growth and 4.4% projected economic growth. Third was Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona with 29% population growth, 8.7% unemployment, 2.7% projected employment growth and 4.3% projected economic growth. It seems that the fastest growing cities grow businesses fast.

Falls Church, Virginia is the richest U.S. county. That’s according to Forbes’ census estimates from 2005-2009. Falls Church is a healthy economic suburb of Washington and has a median annual household income of $113,313. In fact, the 3 richest counties are all in Virginia suburbs of Washington. The technology center of Loudon County is second - $112,021 and Fairfax County, home of companies with strong government connections, is third - $104,259. Hunterdon County, a rural New York City suburb, is the richest county outside Virginia - $102,500. Maybe Horace Greeley should have said “Stay East, young man. Stay East”.

The city with the most billionaires isn’t in the U.S. anymore. Moscow’s 79 billionaires included 21 added between 2009 and 2010. This is according to Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List based on primary residences. The collective net worth of Moscow’s billionaires toped $375 billion – more than any other city. New York City was now second with 59 billionaires and London was third with 41. Rankings 4-10 of the cities with the most billionaires were Hong Kong – 40; Istanbul – 36; Mumbai and Sao Paulo – 21; Taipei, Los Angeles and Beijing - 19; San Francisco and Dallas – 17; Shanghai – 16; and Seoul – 15. This is the Forbes “Rich-ter scale”.

Forbes also compiled a 2011 list of the best U.S. cities for active retirement. Cities with populations of 100,000 and above were ranked by bicycling, volunteerism, violent crime and doctors. Madison, Wisconsin was first - #1 in volunteering, # 7 in bicycling and #6 in doctors. Boulder, Colorado was second - #2 in volunteering and #6 in bicycling. Rounding out the top 5 were Portland, Oregon - #5 in volunteering and # 2 in bicycling; Seattle, Washington – strong in all 4 categories; and Billings, Montana - with an extremely low crime rate. These cities take the tired out of retired.

 

HAS IT COME TO THIS?

In 2011, with the economy still trying to recover from a recession, Kohler introduced the Numi toilet. It has a built-in music system, ambient lighting, touchscreen remote, motion-activated lid and seat, retracting bidet, air dryer, air deodorizer, heated seat and floor vents that keep your feet warm. All this for just $6,400. Then there’s the Segway i2 Ferrari Edition. It doesn’t look any different from the stock model except it’s red, has a Ferrari logo, a leather handlebar bag and a price of $10,200. Oh well, if the economy is "going down the toilet", it may as well go in style.

In 2011 the Republican primary for Conroy Township supervisor ended in a tie between incumbent Gina Mariani and George Rhoads. However, the winner isn’t going to be decided by a runoff vote. Although the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania election officials said it was unusual, Mariani and Rhoads are going to pick a numbered ball from a basket. The person picking the ball with the lower number will be the Republican primary winner. Although both candidates said it wouldn’t have come to picking balls if they’d campaigned a little harder, it seems both forgot to “keep your eye on the ball”.

In April 2011 Shane Boor, a 35-year-old Coloradoan, was driving to work. When he saw a Colorado State Patrol trooper pull over a car, he extended his middle finger in the trooper’s direction. Later Boor was himself pulled over and given a summons ordering him to appear in court to answer the criminal charge of harassment, which carries a possible 6-month jail term. However, the State Patrol requested the case be dropped. It seems the American Civil Liberties Union had argued that although the gesture was rude, it still was protected speech. How ironic that someone named Boor acted “Boorish”.

In May 2011 fourteen pairs of Bernard Lawrence Madoff’s underwear were auctioned off in Miami Beach, Florida. Yes, underwear belonging to the admitted operator of what’s been called the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. Some bidders wanted to resell items for profit on eBay. Others wanted a piece of history. One of them paid $200 for the underwear. The auction of mostly household goods brought in more than $400,000, which will go toward compensating victims of his $65 billion swindle. Considering Madoff is serving 150 years, I’m not sure what he’s wearing for underwear – but I know they’re not “briefs”.

 

WHEN ARE WE OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER?

Nineteen percent of 24- to 32-year olds have high blood pressure. In a study published in the journal Epidemiology, researchers analyzed data from more than 14,000 participants. Being overweight is a well-known risk factor for high blood pressure. In 1995 the participants were ages 12-19 and 11% were obese. In 2000 it was 22%. In 2008 it was 37%. Another 30% of the participants were overweight. Males were likelier to have high blood pressure, as were those without college educations. That the majority of these young adults didn’t know they had high blood pressure should raise society’s blood pressure.

Among 25- to 29-year olds melanoma is the most common cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, melanoma is the most dangerous skin cancer and is ranked eighth among the most common cancers with more than 68,000 people diagnosed yearly. The incidence of melanoma is up from 15.1 cases per 100,000 people in 1999 to 18.7 in 2007. Skin cancers account for almost 50% of cancers in the U.S. Although they’re treated successfully more than 99% of the time if caught early, we all should observe. “No Fry Day” – appropriately observed the “Friday” before Memorial Day.

In middle-aged women facial lines may be linked to bone density. A study presented at an Endocrine Society meeting studied 114 women in their late 40’s and early 50’s. All had had their last menstrual period within the past 3 years, weren’t having hormone therapy and hadn’t had cosmetic skin procedures. All were scored on the number of wrinkle sites and depth of wrinkles. Skin firmness on the forehead and cheeks were measured, as was bone density. The women with worse wrinkles had lower bone density regardless of age, body fat and other factors influencing bone density. It seems laugh lines may need to be renamed.

Hips get wider as we get older. A study published in the Journal of Orthopedic Research used CT scans to measure the width and height of the vertebral body, the width of the pelvis and the distance between, as well as the diameter of, the hip joints in 246 people. The last 3 measurements all increased with age. The pelvis width of people ages 70-79 averaged 1 inch larger than those of people ages 20-29. That’s about a 3-inch increase in waist size between age 20 and 79. So … we’re not necessarily getting fatter. We’re just getting “hipper”.