Exercise Will Change Your Life

In surveys, a consistent 30 to 35 percent of people report moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity. But in the past few years, researchers have begun to outfit study participants with devices that record movement, and the truth has come out: Fewer than 5 percent of adults are doing the recommended level of activity.

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The moral of the story is, you can choose to get old before your time.

Jesus Popcicles

"Each piece is a personal interpretation of some aspect of American life, be it celebratory, critical or simply observational. The exhibition intends to question what the American life is, whether real or perceived," according to a news release from the gallery.

His frozen cocktails stand as a symbol, he said, an invitation to "drink the Kool-Aid" that he feels so many religious zealots are stirring up. He hopes the Popsicles will remind the gallery's visitors to take their religions - whatever they may be - a little less seriously.

The Way We Live: Drowning in Stuff

What the researchers gleaned was an unflinching view of the American family, with all its stresses and joys on display. They’ve organized their findings into a book, scheduled to be available next week, called “Life at Home in the 21st Century.” It’s full of intriguing data points about the number of possessions the families owned (literally, thousands), much of it children’s toys. Women’s stress-hormone levels spiked when confronted with family clutter; the men’s, not so much. Finally, there was a direct relationship between the amount of magnets on refrigerators and the amount of stuff in a household.

I have 32 magnets on my fridge, I also own a lot of craft supplies, books, and too many clothes. I'd be interested in seeing a large scale study on that point alone.

Vainest Cities in the US

We added up each city's rates for cosmetic procedures (American Society of Plastic Surgeons), Botox users, folks who go for dye jobs, and people who will spend anything to look younger (Experian Marketing Services). We also tallied sales of at-home hair dyes, teeth whiteners, and shapewear (SimplyMap), as well as per-capita rates of cosmetic dentists, plastic surgeons, and tanning salons (American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, AMA, and SimplyMap). Finally, Foursquare told us where people check into those salons most often.

Most vain:

1. Tampa, FL
2. Plano, TX
3. Atlanta, GA
4. Las Vegas, NV
5. Dallas, TX
6. Pittsburgh, PA
7. Houston, TX
8. Miami, FL
9. San Francisco, CA
10. Providence, RI

Seriously....every other block is a plastic surgery center in west Plano.

ISS Star Trails

Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit relayed some information about photographic techniques used to achieve the images: “My star trail images are made by taking a time exposure of about 10 to 15 minutes. However, with modern digital cameras, 30 seconds is about the longest exposure possible, due to electronic detector noise effectively snowing out the image. To achieve the longer exposures I do what many amateur astronomers do. I take multiple 30-second exposures, then ‘stack’ them using imaging software, thus producing the longer exposure.”

Because, really, how many people have the opportunity to take long exposure pictures from space?

IVF

Indeed, the woman's mouth had been essentially inseminated.

This really seems like the ultimate revenge by the squid for getting eaten.

Google Hiking

At a demo event last week, Google showed off the Street View Trekker, a backpack-mounted camera that the company is using to get detailed footage of trails where cars can’t tread.

I'm not really so sure how I feel about this. It seems great for looking at places I have no intention of visiting, but totally would kill the experience of seeing somewhere for the first time.

Running False Claims and Pointless Litigation

THE CLAIM: Running is cheaper than therapy.

THE RULING: Not necessarily, said an Illinois appellate court judge in February's landmark "American Psychological Association v. Cafe Press" decision. This claim rests on a number of dubious assumptions, the judge ruled, including a given runner's mental health insurance coverage and/or co-pay; the number and location of races that runner may enter in a typical year; and that runner's penchant for buying shoes and jackets and GPS watches beyond what he or she really needs. As a result, retailers peddling shirts, hoodies, or stickers emblazoned with this quote are on very thin ice.