Women With Low IQ and Rich Men...

This post is based on an article that I discovered in my morning crawl through cyber space. It was published in Cleo Australia in the June 2010 edition and can be found online.

The gist of the article is that researchers from Michigan University have found that women with a lower IQ are more likely to pursue rich men in comparison to women with a higher intellect. As I read through the Cleo article I found my self shaking my head and wondering whether the story was just a beat-up or was the study real.

So, I did a Google search and found an article in the Daily Mail from the UK that reported the same study. Then I just continued to shake my head chuckling at the thought that universities provided funding for research of this kind.

According to the lead researcher, Dr Christine Stanik, it makes sense that women with limited education and career opportunities to seek out rich men to provide them financial security that they would otherwise never achieve.

I always figured it to be a stereotype without substance, but research is research, right?

No offense intended to any of those individuals in the picture with Hugh Hefner. It was the picture that accompanied the story, although I found the picture here.

Laptops Not For The Male Lap...

Gents, is your laptop cooking your testicles?

Legitimate question in light of some recent studies.

The simple rationale here is that the hotter your testicles the lesser the quality of the sperm available. This research was recently published in the Journal of Fertility and Sterility. The study involved 29 men volunteering their scrotums so that the researchers could affix a thermometer.

It is probably not rocket science to understand that using a laptop on your lap will result in the temperature increasing in those regions where it sits. If your wondering, the research suggests that it only takes 10 to 15 minutes for the scrotum to overheat to a level that is unsafe. Although, according to the article that I read, the research is hardly definitive in the sense of how large the impact is on fertility.

I always new there was a reason why I used my laptop on a table.

Maurice Gibb Watching TV From Beyond The Grave...The Bee Gees Live!

It pays to do your research, particularly if you do not want to look really foolish (in this case some might argue, stoopid). So, let's face it, there is not a whole lot one can do to cover up asking a twin about his dead brother, particularly when the dead twin has been dead for 7 years or so.

The interview by Stephen Dixon with Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees fame was covering some ground about an [alleged] affair that Maurice Gibb had with British actress Barbara Windsor of EastEnders fame.

The news of the alleged affair has only recently broken as a result of an interview given by Windsor recently. So, Dixon thinking he might get a scoop on the competition decided that it was worth quizzing Robin about whether his brother would be watching the story unfold on the TV.

Robin was a particularly good sport and, without breaking step, informed the poorly informed host that Maurice had in fact passed in 2003. Dixon in full cover up mode tried to pass this off as an honest mistake created by confusion as to just how many Gibb brothers there were. Ah, not that hard, there were four Gibb brothers and three of them were in the Bee Gees.

The beauty or treachery of live TV.

The Power of the Human Mind

I bet you can read the following without too much trouble. It might even surprise some of you with just how easy this is to read. The human mind is an incredible thing and should never be wasted.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch atCmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in awrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteerbe in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitllraed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos notraed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh?yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihsforwrad it.

Max Planck Research -- An Advertisement for Sex

This is too funny not to be true!

You would think that an eminent scientific journal when using a language or script other than their standard would go to particular lengths to ensure that the language they were using could not be misconstrued as being controversial or plain silly. The Max Planck Research Journal has been caught out with its most recent cover advertising a Hong Kong strip joint that offers the services of hot, young housewives.

The calligraphy or text had apparently been looked at by a Sinologist before publication was approved. If this is the case then the Sinologist employed needs to do some refresher courses in the language or look for a different job.

Nevertheless, the Journal is suggesting that the Chinese characters used were non-controversial, at least to the non-native speaker, despite being open to some interpretation. In any event, if you are trying to establish yourself in China with a focus issue of your journal on China, then this is probably not the way to go. However, the cover has been replaced and an apology issued. In essence, the cover says something to the effect of:

"With high salary, we have sincerely employed [lots of strippers/girls] to stay in our daytime show. Jiamei as the director, she will personally lead young girls who are as pretty as jade. [We have] beauties from the north who appear in all their glory with thousands of deportments. [We have] young housewives who have hot body that will stir up your [sexual] fire. They are sexy, horny and enchanting. The performance will begin in few days!"

At least according to a blog entry on the University of Pennsylvania's Language Log.

May this be a lesson to all and sundry regarding the editorial process. The picture is of the before and after covers.