KNIGHT WATCH

ARE WE REALLY CREATED EQUAL?

Women feel more pain than men. In a study published in the Journal of Pain, researchers reviewed 160,000 pain reports from over 72,000 patients. The patients had reported pain on a 0 to 10 scale – 0 meaning “none” and 10 meaning “the most imaginable”. In many cases the difference was almost a full point. The explanation may be that women report pain more readily, whereas men might be reluctant to admit pain to female nurses. The explanation might also be hormonal. Nevertheless, when it comes to a “pain in the neck”, I suspect both sexes had similarly low pain thresholds.

Workingmen spend more on coffee and lunch than workingwomen. Based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. workers done by Accounting Principals, half the workforce buys coffee during the week and two-thirds buy lunch. That’s an average of $1,000 a year for coffee and $2,000 for lunch. However, men averaged $27.50 weekly on coffee and women averaged $15. Regarding lunch, men were only slightly more likely to go out; but they spent a lot more. Men averaged $46.30 weekly and women averaged $26.50. Perhaps that is the reason the list of dishes available in a restaurant is called a “men-u”.

Women are better at parking cars than men. A study conducted by UK’s National Car Parks looked at footage of 453 drivers parking across the country and did further research with 2,000 drivers. According to the findings, men parked faster – 16 seconds compared to the women’s 21; but women were better at finding a space, positioning the car centrally and choosing to reverse into the space. Rated on technique, accuracy and time taken, women got an overall score of 13.4 out of 20 compared to the men’s 12.3. However, there is 1 disclaimer. These scores do not apply when “parking” on lover’s lanes.

Narcissistic men have higher levels of stress hormone than narcissistic women. In a study published in the journal Public Library of Science ONE, 106 college students took cortisol tests and answered questions about themselves – questions used to assess narcissism. The men with higher levels of narcissism had higher levels of cortisol – about 2.5 times higher than in the women. Narcissistic people overestimate their intellectual abilities, attractiveness and positive personality traits. Cortisol is the “fight or flight” hormone. Consistently high cortisol levels can cause blood sugar imbalances, weight gain and heart problems – not a “pretty picture” for narcissistic men.

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THESE THOUGHTS?

The Department of Agriculture is requiring healthier meals in schools. The 2012 new nutrition standards for school meals specify less salt and fat and more whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy. Although pizza will still be allowed to count as a vegetable, the new standards require 2 servings of vegetables per meal. Chocolate milk will still be allowed, but it will be made with skim milk. French fries – although a little less salty – will still be allowed too because of the potato lobby’s friends in Congress. It’s Congressional meddling like this that emphasizes the “con” in congress.

FlightStats is an Internet service that provides global flight information. It also monitors the on-time performance of airlines. It has been doing that since 2004 and presently tracks more than 150,000 flights daily. “On time” is defined by planes arriving at their gates within 15 minutes of their scheduled time. In 2011 Alaska Airlines was #1 among North American airlines with 87.79% on-time arrivals. Among regional North American airlines Hawaiian Airlines was #1 with 91.96%. Finally, among major international airlines All Nippon Airways was #1 with 90.18% of its arrivals being on time. It seems this report proves “Time will tell”.

Irwin Stovroff is a WWII hero. In 2007 at age 85 he found out the federal government had no program to match injured soldiers with service dogs. That’s when Stovroff started his own program, “The Gift of Life”. Since then he’s raised $3 million to supply vets with seeing-eye and therapy dogs – dogs that can provide mobility, independence and companionship. Because training a therapy animal can cost up to $70,000 Stovroff continues to lobby for federal funding. In the meantime, he has helped more than 80 soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan – soldiers whose therapy animals now wear the dog tags.

Richard and David Conrad gave their cows waterbeds. Beds for the 240 cows at Conrad’s Dairy Farm in Pittsfield, Ohio cost $55,000 – plus $15,000 for concrete bases. However, the beds are expected to pay for themselves in 3 years due to the annual $6,000 sawdust savings and a better milk price. In 10 months the somatic cell count decreased from 150,000-200,000 cells per milliliter to 100,000. Somatic cells are white blood cells that increase bacteria response. Fewer cells mean better milk. Because happier cows give better milk, the Conrads are going “to milk” the beds for all they’re worth.

 

WHAT DOES YOUR CITY SAY ABOUT YOU?

Washington was the most literate U.S. city in 2011. That was according to Central Connecticut State University’s annual study. The nation’s largest communities were ranked based on 6 indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment and internet resources. The top 4 cities – including Seattle, Minneapolis and Atlanta – were the same as in 2010. Atlanta was followed by Boston, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, San Francisco and Denver. Frankly, I was surprised Washington was ranked #1. It doesn’t seem like the politicians living there can read approval polls.

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater was the most stressful U.S. metropolitan area in 2012. Sperling’s Best Places ranked the 50 largest metropolitan areas by divorce rate, commute times, unemployment, violent crime, property crime, suicides, alcohol consumption, mental health, sleep problems and annual number of cloudy days. The Tampa Bay area was in the 97^th percentile for suicides. The Las Vegas-Paradise area – ranked 2^nd – was in the 100^th percentile for divorces and the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall area – ranked 3^rd – was in the 97^th percentile for property crime and the 95^th percentile for violent crime. It seems warm areas aren’t “cool” for stress.

Barrow, Alaska is the coldest U.S. city. In 2012 researchers at The Weather Channel crunched the latest 30-year average annual temperatures for the coldest city in each state. To qualify cities supposedly had to have at least 5,000 residents. Barrow didn’t have 5,000 residents, but it did have the coldest average annual temperature  - 11.7 degrees. International Falls, Minnesota was second with an average annual temperature of 37.8 degrees. Gunnison, Colorado - where it freezes almost every day - was third followed by Jackson, Wyoming. Last was Caribou, Maine with an average annual temperature of 39.7 degrees. Obviously, to live in one of those places you can’t have “cold feet”.

Portland, Oregon was one of the 3 healthiest U.S. cities to visit in 2012. According to Food & Wine magazine, Portland has extensive bike paths, a variety of parks, an abundance of wildlife and kayaking on the Columbia River. Jackson Hole, Wyoming is a serious winter-sport destination with deluxe spas. It’s also less than a mile from Grand Teton National Park. Honolulu offers lagoons, waterfalls and beaches, as well as surfing and a climb up Diamond Head volcano. That these cities were chosen by Food & Wine magazine also “says a mouthful” about the deliciously healthy foods they offer.

 

WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT WHEN EXPECTING?

Home births are increasing in the U.S. According to the National Center for Heath Statistics, the number has increased 29% from 2004 to 2009. The biggest increase was among non-Hispanic white women over age 35 who’d already had at least 1 child. About 1 in 90 births in that group was a home birth. The increase is attributed to home births being one-third less expensive than hospital births, dissatisfaction with hospital care and new mothers wanting more control. Because only 1% of births nationally are home births, 99% of women are still happy to be the “i” in hospital.

Whether parents have college degrees is a better predictor of children’s socioeconomic success than a strong work ethic and ambition. That’s according to researchers from the Russell Sage Foundation and the Pew Economic Mobility Project. In fact, the relationship between parents’ education levels and children’s future success is higher in the U.S. than in Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Canada. Although pre-kindergarten and other opportunities to help children get ahead are popular in the U.S., parents’ education makes a difference from birth in children’s future socioeconomic success. It seem parents’ college degrees are the ultimate “head start” program.

Working mothers spend more time multitasking than working fathers and find it more stressful. A study published in American Sociological Review used data from a sample of 369 mothers and 241 fathers in dual-earning families. The findings showed working mothers spent 48 hours weekly multitasking compared to 39 hours for fathers. Mothers felt more stressed because their multitasking tended to be more labor-intensive, involving housework or children. Father’s multitasking tended to be less burdensome – like carrying on a 3-way conversation or participating in self-care. Maybe working moms should point out to working dads that multi contains both an “i” and a “u”.

 Smoking during pregnancy may damage children’s blood vessels. A study published in the journal Pediatrics measured body dimensions and lung functions of 250 babies 4 weeks old. Five years later the children’s carotid arteries (large blood vessels in the neck supplying blood to the brain) were measured. At both times parents were questioned about smoking. According to the findings, the carotid artery walls of children whose mothers smoked throughout pregnancy were 19 microns thicker and 15% stiffer. If both parents smoked throughout pregnancy, the artery walls were 28 microns thicker and 21% stiffer. Obviously, babies don’t do well in “smoked-filled wombs”.

 

WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?

 
On the street outside a New York City school building it said “SHCOOL X-NG”. The spelling mistake happened when a Con Edison contractor ripped up the street for utility work and replaced the existing markings with the “H” and “C” reversed. Because the lettering was made with industrial textured tape that permanently sticks to asphalt, utility workers had to use heavy machinery to grind up the misplaced letters. Although the spelling was fixed on January 24^th, 2012 – the day after it was reported in the New York Post, the mistake was made in July 2010. That’s 18 months without anyone being “streetwise”.

Then there was John Robin Whittle, a 52-year-old man from the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Very shortly after ordering a beer at the Hay Loft Bar in Port Richey, Whittle told the bartender he would be right back and left the bar. After about 30 minutes he returned to the bar to finish his beer. According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, that’s where Whittle was arrested 10 minutes later. It seems the beer-drinking customer had spent the 30 minutes robbing a nearby Wells-Fargo branch bank. I’m guessing Whittle’s beer of choice wasn’t “Bud-wiser”.

A bar was also involved in another unusual incident. Sean Faulkner, a 38-year-old Pennsylvania man, walked into a Pittsburgh bar, ordered a Reuben sandwich and ran out the door without paying for it. Earlier in the day Faulkner had seen a forklift with the keys left in it at a construction site and took it because he was tired of walking. He was still trying to make his getaway from the bar in the forklift when the police arrived. It seems Faulkner didn’t know how to put it in reverse. Nevertheless, the police weren’t willing to “reverse the charges”.

The last incident occurred at a Wal-Mart in North Carolina. Michael Fuller, a 53-year-old man from Lexington, tried to buy a vacuum cleaner, a microwave oven and a few other items. No, he didn’t run out the door without paying for the $476-worth of merchandise. Wal-Mart wouldn’t accept his money – a million dollar bill. It seems Fuller didn’t know that the government stopped making bills of up to $10,000 in 1969 and that the largest bill in circulation is $100. Fuller was charged with attempting to obtain property by false pretense and circulating forged money. Thankfully for him, thinking big isn’t a crime too.

 

 

CAN PARENTS AFFORD FREE ADVICE?

Acupuncture is safe for children. So said the American Academy of Pediatrics. A study published in the journal Pediatrics looked at the side effects from 37 studies of acupuncture on children from birth to age 17. Of the 279 adverse side effects found, 253 were mild, 1 was moderate and 25 were serious. However, the serious side effects were related to substandard conditions – not the acupuncture technique itself. About 150,000 U.S. children have acupuncture a year. It can be used to treat headaches, migraines, back and joint pain, cramps and chemotherapy-induced nausea. Unfortunately, acupuncture can’t treat children’s fear of needles.

School lunches aren’t making children fat. That’s according to a study published in the journal Sociology of Education. The study followed approximately 20,000 students from kindergarten through eighth grade in 1,000 public and private schools. In the eighth grade 35.5% of the children in schools serving junk food were overweight compared to 34.8% in schools not serving junk food. That’s a statistically insignificant difference. It’s not that middle schoolers aren’t eating junk food. It’s that most of the junk food they eat doesn’t come from school. “Home sweet home” may be too sweet, as well as too fatty.

Test children ages 9-11 for high cholesterol. That advice from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics to prevent heart disease later in life. Cholesterol levels dip during puberty and screening at age 20 may be too late. Fat builds up in the heart arteries during the first 20 years. After that the arteries start hardening. By fourth grade 10%-13% of U.S. children have high cholesterol, but less than 1% need mediation. In most children high cholesterol can be controlled by diet and exercise – and parents who have a “controlling interest”.

And children who get more exercise do better in school. A report published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine reviewed 14 studies comparing children’s physical activity with their grades and scores on math, language, general thinking and memory tests. Whether exercise came from recess, physical education or getting to and from school, children benefitted. Exercise enables children to concentrate better. It also improves blood flow to the brain and boosts mood. The American Heart Association recommends 2-5 hours of physical education a week and 20 minutes of recess a day. School officials could also benefit from more exercise – of common sense.

 

DO WE THINK ABOUT WHAT WE DO?

Walking while using headphones is dangerous to our health. According to a report published in Injury Prevention, between 2004 and 2005 there were 16 incidents of serious injury or death to U.S. pedestrians. However, the number tripled in the past 7 years - with 66% resulting in death. The median age of victims was 21 and 68% were males. Half of victims were struck by trains and half by cars, buses, trucks, trailer tractors or bicycles. Using headphones causes inattentional blindness (distraction) and sensory deprivation. Pedestrians can’t hear warning sounds. The report’s message is “Hear” today or gone tomorrow.

Synchronized movement makes us think alike. It connects us to others and makes us want to think the way they do. In a study published in the journal Social Influence, 70 college students were asked to walk behind a leader. They could walk in sync or at whatever pace they felt comfortable. Then the students used a 7-point scale to rate how close they felt to the leader, how similar to and how much they liked the leader. Those walking in sync saw themselves as more similar and felt closer to the leader. However, it’s not always good to “follow in someone’s footsteps”.

Cohabitating couples are happier than married couples. A study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family followed 2,737 single men and women over six years, during which time approximately 900 of them married or started cohabitating. Participants rated their happiness, health, self-esteem, depression and strength of ties to families and friends. Both marriage and cohabitation increased couples’ general well being and both reduced their contact with family and friends. However, married couples had better overall health and couples who cohabitated were happier and had greater self-esteem. This is information people should keep in mind before they “ring someone in”.

Gossip can be good for us. In a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53 participants were hooked up to heart rate monitors when they were told someone else in the study had behaved in a selfish, exploitive way. They were also told that person would interact with others in the room. This information elevated the participants’ heart rates. However, once a person passed on a note warning others not to trust that person, the participant’s heart rate normalized. According to this study – which was corroborated by 2 other studies – gossip can be “heartfelt”.

 

DOES INFORMATION MAKE US WORLDLIER?

Vienna – for the 3^rd year in a row – is the best city in the world to live in. That’s according to Mercer’s 2011 Quality of Living Index. The ranking of 221 cities was based on criteria such as political and economic stability, personal safety, health and sanitation, culture, quality of schools, public services and housing. Zurich was ranked 2^nd followed by Auckland, Munich, Dusseldorf, Vancouver, Frankfort, Geneva, Bern and Copenhagen. Last on the list was Baghdad. Are you wondering what U.S. city ranked highest? Honolulu was 29^th. Our 50^th state made the best quality of living “state-ment”.

Baghdad was also ranked the world’s most dangerous city by Mercer’s 2011 Quality of Living Index. Cities on the list suffered from both political instability and high rates of crime for profit. Both perpetuate depressed socioeconomic conditions. Baghdad’s adult literacy was 74.1% and its adult mortality per 1,000 was 291. For N’Djamena, Chad – ranked 2nd – adult literacy was 12.2%, adult mortality per 1,000 was 447 and population living on less than $1/day was 58.7%. Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire was 3^rd. Its adult literacy was 48.7%, adult mortality per 1,000 was 390 and population living on less than $1/day was 20.4%. It’s no wonder the word dangerous contains “anger”.

Sweden was the first country to ban physical punishment of children. That was in 1979. Since then 30 more countries have banned corporal punishment at home. However, no country in North America bans physical punishment by parents. It’s legal in all 50 states for parents to hit their children in spite of the fine line between punishment and abuse. It’s also legal in 19 states for schools to physically punish children. In fact, the U.S. and Somalia are the only countries that haven’t ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These are facts that “hit home”.

World governments are saying no to some babies’ names. In New Zealand the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages has a list of prohibited names such as “Yeah Detroit” and “Sex Fruit”. In Germany names must clearly identify gender. “Matti” is unacceptable for a boy. In Iceland if a name isn’t already on the National Register of Persons, parents must submit an application. In the U.S. parents who named their children “Adolf Hitler” and “Aryan Nation” were charged with child abuse. The goal is to prevent psychological and social damage to children. Some children’s names are “name-calling”.

 

ARE WOMEN AND MEN REALLY THAT DIFFERENT?

Beer has been linked to increased risk of psoriasis in women. A study published in Archives of Dermatology tracked 82,500 women for 14 years. Those who drank at least 5 non-light beers weekly were almost twice as likely to develop psoriasis compared to nondrinkers. It’s thought the gluten in the grains used to make beer is responsible. Because less grain is used in light beer, there’s not enough gluten to be problematic. Some liquors are also made with grains, but the liquor is separated during distillation. Why hasn’t this study been done with men? I suspect a “mental block”.

When women are scarce, men save less and spend more. A study published by the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management asked men to read news articles suggesting their local population had more men or had more women. Then the men were asked to estimate how much they’d save monthly and how much they’d charge with credit cards. Among those who read articles suggesting there were more men, the savings rate decreased 42% and credit card charges increased 84%. Just as with lower forms of animals, men are more competitive when females are scarce. Women might consider this phenomenon part of “animal husbandry”.

Women and men have different personalities. In a study published in the journal PLoS ONE, researchers analyzed personality tests from more than 10,000 Americans ages 15-92. The tests measured 15 personality traits including warmth, emotional stability, dominance, liveliness, social boldness, sensitivity and openness to change. According to the findings, men tend to be more dominant (forceful and aggressive) and emotionally stable. Women tend to be more sensitive, warm (attentive to others) and apprehensive. Maybe the good news is 18% of both sexes share similar personalities. However, judging from the divorce rate, they aren’t married to each other.

Women and men even experience acid reflux differently. A study published in the Archives of Surgery found women complained of more frequent and severe symptoms. They had more difficulty swallowing solid foods. They were also likelier to take medication to treat acid reflux. However, when patients came for surgery, men had more physical manifestations of the disease. They were likelier to have weak valves connecting the esophagus and stomach. They were also likelier to have esophagitis and Barrett’s esophagus. All these conditions are caused by chronic acid exposure. When seeking medical help, it seems men put the “pro” in procrastinate.

 

ARE YOU BIG ON LITTLE KNOWN FACTS?

“Occupy” was 2011’s word of the year. That was the decision of the American Dialect Society. Occupy won a runoff vote, beating “FOMO” (an acronym for Fear Of Missing Out, describing anxiety about being overwhelmed by information on social media) and “the 99%” (those thought to be at financial or political disadvantage). Occupy took on new meaning in 2011 due to the Occupy Wall Street movement that spread worldwide as a call to action against unequal distribution of wealth and other issues. Previous year’s winners have been “app”, “tweet” and “bailout” – each one becoming a “word of honor”.

There are fewer children in the U.S. Thirty-six states reported declines in young residents. According to the Census Bureau, there were 73.9 million people under age 18 on July 1, 2011. That’s 260,000 less than in 2010. The last drop in child population was in the 1970’s, when most of the 77 million Baby Boomers reached adulthood. The drop before that was during the Great Depression. The present decrease in children is attributed to the poor economy and to less immigration. That the overall population is growing at its slowest rate since the mid 1940’s is attributed to “growing pains”.

Powerful people think they’re taller than they actually are. In a study published in Psychological Science, researchers measured the height of 68 volunteers. One-third recalled a time they had power over someone; one-third recalled a time someone had power over them; and one-third recalled what happened the day before. Then all the volunteers were asked to estimate their height in relation to a pole set 20 inches higher than each of their actual heights. Those who’d recalled being powerful tended to think they were taller than the poll. It seems power affects how people see themselves physically. It’s the “height of power”.

Bodies can be too big to donate to science. Bodies taller than 6-feet-4 or heavier than 300 pounds don’t fit on the trays stacked in coolers. Also, big bodies are hard to handle. Donated bodies are primarily used by first-year anatomy students and too much body fat prevents students from learning how a body is supposed to look. According to a 2004 study by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, about 50% of adults were willing to consider donating their body to science. However, in a country where in 2012 one-third of adults are obese, the availability of bodies could “dead-end”.