August 25 (ANI): Olympic athletes eventually overcame the stress of strict discipline they faced during the two weeks of competition with a final burst of sexual release on the eve of the closing ceremonies in the Olympic Village.
"This sex fest . . . (happened) right here in Beijing," the New York Post quoted Matthew Syed, a past Olympian and table-tennis champion now working as a commentator, as writing in the Times of London.
"Olympic athletes have to display an unnatural - and, it has to be said, wholly unhealthy - level of self-discipline in the build-up to big competitions. How else is this going to manifest itself than with a volcanic release of pent-up hedonism?" he wrote.
He said that big winners were the principal objects of desire for many female athletes, included those "as geeky as Michael Phelps".
Even losers got their share, he said, adding that it was "a common sight to see recently knocked-out athletes gorging on Magnums and McDonald's, swilling alcohol and, of course, shagging like crazy."
The Beijing Government ensured the supply of free condoms so that the competitors would practice safe sex.
One Australian athlete said: "It is unbelievable in there; everyone is totally crazy once they are out of their competitions." (ANI)
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Panvi wins first prize in Independence Day song TV contest...for the second year in succession
My elder daughter Panvi has composed and sung a song on "freedom" called "Swades" which she submitted for a TV contest in "Dilli Aaj Tak" channel. The programme name is "Azadi Ke Sur" ("Tunes Of Freedom"). Panvi has won the contest - which carries a trophy and a cash award of Rs.25,000/-.
The programme will be telecast on August 13th, 14th and 15th at 7 pm on each day in "Dilli Aaj Tak" channel.
The August 15th programme is a 30 minute exclusive on Panvi, with her receiving the award from the celebrity judges and singing various songs on freedom and giving an interview.
Last year, also, Panvi had sung this song in a competition in "Headlines Today" TV Channel - and she had secured fourth position out of one thousand contestants.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Abhinav Bindra bags first Olympic gold for India at Beijing - and first ever Indian invdividual gold medal...
Great news for India - actually "historic" news is the right phrase. Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra has claimed the first ever individual gold for India after winning the men's 10m air rifle event at the Beijing Olympics.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Add a hint of sex to elite sport, and it's gold
Sex and sport. It's an irresistible mix and one that Olympians are no longer shy of using to fund their sporting careers, according to a recent Reuters report.
American Olympic swimming champion Amanda Beard posed naked in Playboy magazine last year and at Beijing stripped off for an advertising campaign to protest against fashion furs.
British athletes triple jumper Phillips Idowu, cyclist Rebecca Romero and swimmer Gregor Tait were photographed naked in sporting poses for a sports drinks advertising campaign.
Female beach volleyball players are first to admit that wearing bikinis has helped boost their popularity -- and envious male players have joked about following by playing bare-chested.
"In this competitive marketplace you have to separate yourself from other athletes and the taboo of posing for Playboy or modelling has started to wane," Richard Deitsch, associate editor at Sports Illustrated's website, said.
"People hardly batted an eyelid when Amanda Beard appeared in Playboy but 10 or 15 years ago this would have caused much more of an uproar in the (United) States."
With the Beijing Olympics underway featuring over 10,500 athletes in perfect shape, websites galore are carrying photo galleries and lists of the hottest Olympians.
Playboy spokeswoman Lauren Melone said they have published a special spread of Olympians who have appeared in the magazine over the years such as Athens gold medallist Beard, four-time Olympic high jumper Amy Acuff and figure skater Katarina Witt.
Swimmer Dara Torres, the oldest U.S. swimmer at 41, has appeared in a sexy photo shoot in Maxim magazine.
Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice was featured on the front cover of men's magazine FHM as well as posing for some underwear advertisements with her former boyfriend, fellow Aussie swimmer Eamon Sullivan.
Leryn Franco, 26, a javelin thrower from Paraguay, is competing in her second Olympics at Beijing, thanks to her second career, modelling.
"Modelling is a way for me to continue with my sport, the hours are flexible, and you can earn good money through photographic modelling and the catwalk," Franco told Reuters.
But Deitsch said for hard-core sports fans the appearance or sex appeal of an athlete might make them more interesting, but only if they were winning at their sport.
He said two good examples of sports stars who had used their looks to build a brand were English footballer David Beckham and Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova.
"Ultimately it does not get away from the fact that you have to be an athlete first and a beauty second," he said.
"But when you have someone who is fantastic at both, then you are looking at a global brand."
Friday, August 1, 2008
Academics unearth UK's oldest joke
A 1,000-year-old double-meaning wry observation is what British academics consider to be their country's oldest joke.
They found it in the Codex Exoniensis, a 10th century book of Anglo-Saxon poetry held at Exeter Cathedral. It reads: "What hangs at a man's thigh and wants to poke the hole that it's often poked before?' Answer: A key."
Going through ancient texts, researchers from Wolverhampton University found the jokes laid down in delicate manuscripts and carved into stone tablets.
Reacting to the discovery, Paul MacDonald, a comic novelist and lecturer in creative writing, said jokes ancient and modern shared "a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of rebellion."
"Modern puns, Essex girl jokes and toilet humour can all be traced back to the very earliest jokes identified in this research," he commented.
Lost civilisations laughed at farts, sex, and "stupid people" just as we do today, McDonald said.
For instance, here is an earliest example of Egyptian humour: "Man is even more eager to copulate than a donkey - his purse is what restrains him," reads an Egyptian hieroglyphic from a period that pre-dates Christ.
And here's the world's oldest surviving joke: The 3,000-year-old Sumerian proverb, from ancient Babylonia, reads: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap."
The three-month academic search for British jokes is part of an assignment for a television channel programme on humour.
They found it in the Codex Exoniensis, a 10th century book of Anglo-Saxon poetry held at Exeter Cathedral. It reads: "What hangs at a man's thigh and wants to poke the hole that it's often poked before?' Answer: A key."
Going through ancient texts, researchers from Wolverhampton University found the jokes laid down in delicate manuscripts and carved into stone tablets.
Reacting to the discovery, Paul MacDonald, a comic novelist and lecturer in creative writing, said jokes ancient and modern shared "a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of rebellion."
"Modern puns, Essex girl jokes and toilet humour can all be traced back to the very earliest jokes identified in this research," he commented.
Lost civilisations laughed at farts, sex, and "stupid people" just as we do today, McDonald said.
For instance, here is an earliest example of Egyptian humour: "Man is even more eager to copulate than a donkey - his purse is what restrains him," reads an Egyptian hieroglyphic from a period that pre-dates Christ.
And here's the world's oldest surviving joke: The 3,000-year-old Sumerian proverb, from ancient Babylonia, reads: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap."
The three-month academic search for British jokes is part of an assignment for a television channel programme on humour.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Wisdom...
Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talked about how feel-good, politically correct teachings have created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you chances as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Email-like names cause controversy in China
For ages, Chinese names have been the subject of interest and even jokes among some in the rest of the world. Now they are having the same effect in China.
A growing number of people in China are now using obscure Chinese characters and English words and numbers when naming their children. Names like Wang Com, Zhao C, Li U and others have sparked off a controversy among experts and local residents.
Unlike the African-American leader of the 1960s, Malcolm X, who dropped his surname to snap ties with his "white" slave masters, modern day Chinese names rarely make a political point. Rather, they have become the topic of discussion and often, ridicule among the people of China.
"These words sound more like e-mail IDs than names of people," says Zhou Huo, a Beijing government official.
Chinese parents have traditionally named their children after characters from epics, royal families or subjects of their favourite poets. More often than not, Chinese names have grand meanings. And at times they are also apt.
Some people regard giving children distinct names as social progress. Others, however, argue that English words and letters in Chinese names degrade Chinese culture and will cause trouble for children.
A growing number of people in China are now using obscure Chinese characters and English words and numbers when naming their children. Names like Wang Com, Zhao C, Li U and others have sparked off a controversy among experts and local residents.
Unlike the African-American leader of the 1960s, Malcolm X, who dropped his surname to snap ties with his "white" slave masters, modern day Chinese names rarely make a political point. Rather, they have become the topic of discussion and often, ridicule among the people of China.
"These words sound more like e-mail IDs than names of people," says Zhou Huo, a Beijing government official.
Chinese parents have traditionally named their children after characters from epics, royal families or subjects of their favourite poets. More often than not, Chinese names have grand meanings. And at times they are also apt.
Some people regard giving children distinct names as social progress. Others, however, argue that English words and letters in Chinese names degrade Chinese culture and will cause trouble for children.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Global food crisis to hit finances of India, Pak
The soaring global food prices will adversely impact government finances in countries like India and Pakistan and may result in bloating of their deficits by over five per cent of the GDP, according to a Standard & Poors (S&P) report.
India, Pakistan and Egypt would be hardest hit by the rise in food costs, with a general government deficits of 5.9 per cent, 6.5 per cent, and 6.9 per cent of GDP respectively, projected for 2008, says a S&P report.
India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, having revenue at less than 20 per cent of their GDP, have put these economies in precarious position of large deficits and narrow underlying revenue bases, the report added.
It said, even developed countries are vulnerable to food-price inflation and susceptible to increased political instability if there is a mismatch between higher revenues from food exports or domestic supply.
"Although global food price rise in itself is unlikely to be direct cause of adverse rating action, for many sovereigns it will significantly increase overall susceptibility to negative rating movements by exacerbating already weak external and fiscal positions, or through potential for political and social unrest," S&P Sovereigns and International Public Finance Ratings group's Agost Benard said.
The other main pressure points would be on fiscal balances, which would likely be from both the expenditure and the revenue side, it said.
Subsidies for staple foods are common in many nations in the lower and middle-income ranges, and in many cases governments derive significant revenues from sales taxes and import tariffs on food.
India, Pakistan and Egypt would be hardest hit by the rise in food costs, with a general government deficits of 5.9 per cent, 6.5 per cent, and 6.9 per cent of GDP respectively, projected for 2008, says a S&P report.
India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, having revenue at less than 20 per cent of their GDP, have put these economies in precarious position of large deficits and narrow underlying revenue bases, the report added.
It said, even developed countries are vulnerable to food-price inflation and susceptible to increased political instability if there is a mismatch between higher revenues from food exports or domestic supply.
"Although global food price rise in itself is unlikely to be direct cause of adverse rating action, for many sovereigns it will significantly increase overall susceptibility to negative rating movements by exacerbating already weak external and fiscal positions, or through potential for political and social unrest," S&P Sovereigns and International Public Finance Ratings group's Agost Benard said.
The other main pressure points would be on fiscal balances, which would likely be from both the expenditure and the revenue side, it said.
Subsidies for staple foods are common in many nations in the lower and middle-income ranges, and in many cases governments derive significant revenues from sales taxes and import tariffs on food.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
How to stay young...
Here are some brilliant thoughts on the subject of age...
You don't stop laughing because you grow old;
You grow old because you stop laughing.
-- Benjamin Franklin
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
We grow old because we stop playing.
-- George Bernard Shaw
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up
enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
-- Samuel Ullman
Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
-- Mark Twain
Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age.
-- Victor Hugo
Age is important only when one is choosing wine or cheese.
-- Anonymous
Growing old is a case of mind over matter.
If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
-- Jack Benny
If you're going to keep on living,
you better keep on growing.
-- Erik H. Erikson
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
-- Anais Nin
My age should not matter, but my maturity should.
-- Anonymous.
Age is only a number.
-- Lexi Starling
You don't stop laughing because you grow old;
You grow old because you stop laughing.
-- Benjamin Franklin
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
We grow old because we stop playing.
-- George Bernard Shaw
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up
enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
-- Samuel Ullman
Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
-- Mark Twain
Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age.
-- Victor Hugo
Age is important only when one is choosing wine or cheese.
-- Anonymous
Growing old is a case of mind over matter.
If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
-- Jack Benny
If you're going to keep on living,
you better keep on growing.
-- Erik H. Erikson
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
-- Anais Nin
My age should not matter, but my maturity should.
-- Anonymous.
Age is only a number.
-- Lexi Starling
Thursday, June 26, 2008
How To Make A Million Before You Turn 20
While their peers were out making trouble, these young achievers were making bank.
Forever in search of the secrets to entrepreneurial success, Forbes peeked into the inspirational lives of five whiz kids who built million-dollar enterprises before the age of 20.
They partnered with friends, siblings and mentors, or did the work on their own. Three are from the U.S. , two from the U.K. All started at age 15 or younger--and one before he broke double digits.
Their common thread: preternatural business sense and demon drive to turn ideas into reality.
While four of the five were making a mint on the Internet, Fraser Doherty was doing things the old-fashioned way. In 2002, at the age of 14, Doherty started making jams from his grandmother's recipes in his parents' kitchen in Edinburgh , Scotland . Neighbors and church friends loved them. As word spread, Doherty started receiving orders faster than he could produce them at home, so he rented time at a 200-person food-processing factory several days a month.
Go With The Flow
By age 16, Doherty left school (with his parents' blessing) to work on his jams full time. In early 2007, Waitrose, a high-end supermarket in the U.K. , approached Doherty, hoping to sell his Superjam products in their stores. Within months there were Superjam jars on the shelves of 184 Waitrose stores, hoisting Doherty and his business to new heights.
Doherty borrowed 5,000 pounds (about $9,000) from a bank to cover general expenses and more factory time to produce three flavors: Blueberry & Blackcurrant, Rhubarb & Ginger and Cranberry & Raspberry. Tesco (other-otc: TSCDY - news - people ) followed, adding Doherty's products to 300 stores across the U.K. In March, Superjam will launch at Tesco in Ireland .
Last year Superjam hit $750,000 in sales and is on track to double that in 2008 (about 50,000 jars a month). Based on a reasonable valuation multiple of one times revenue--jelly-maker J.M. Smucker (nyse: SJM - news - people ) trades at 1.2 times sales--Doherty's 100% stake is worth in the neighborhood of $1 million to $2 million.
Not bad for a 19-year-old. Doherty's recommendation to other young entrepreneurs: "Have an attitude of adventure, and enjoy the journey."
Double Down
Cameron Johnson truly took that perspective to heart, parlaying one hit into the next. Back in 1994, when he was just 9, Johnson launched his first business out of his home in Virginia , making invitations for his parents' holiday party. By the seasoned age of 11, Johnson had saved up several thousand dollars selling greeting cards. He called his company Cheers and Tears.
But the little guy didn't stop there. At age 12, Johnson offered his younger sister $100 for her collection of 30 Ty Beanie Babies, all the rage at that time. The young entrepreneur quickly earned 10 times that amount by selling the dolls on eBay. Smelling potential, he contacted Ty and began purchasing the dolls at wholesale with the aim of selling them on eBay and on his Cheers and Tears Web site.
In less than a year, Johnson banked $50,000--seed money for his next venture, My EZ Mail, a service that forwarded e-mails to a particular account without revealing the recipient's personal information. He hired a programmer to flesh out his idea, and within two years My EZ Mail was generating up to $3,000 per month in advertising revenue.
Be Fearless
Johnson still wasn't done. In 1997, he joined forces with two other teen entrepreneurs, Aaron Greenspan and Tom Kho, to create an online advertising company called Surfingprizes.com, which provided scrolling advertisements across the top of users' Web browsers. Those who downloaded the software received 20 cents per hour (a tiny fraction of the value to the advertiser) for the inconvenience of having ads splay across their computer screens.
The boys employed a classic pyramid strategy to spread the service. Users who managed to refer Surfingprizes.com to a new customer would nab 10% of that new person's hourly revenue.
But Johnson and company didn't just sell software--they wanted a piece of that juicy ad revenue too. Their solution: partnering with companies such as DoubleClick, L90 and Advertising.com that could sell the ads for them. Under the agreements, the middlemen would collect 30% of any ad revenue sold, while the three boys split the remaining 70%, out of which they paid those referral fees.
"I was 15 years old and receiving checks between $300,000 and $400,000 per month," says Johnson. At 19, he sold the company name and software (but not the customer database) to an undisclosed buyer. Says Johnson, "Before my high school graduation, my combined assets were worth more than $1 million."
Now just 23, and with other ventures under his belt, Johnson spends his time giving speeches and promoting a new book. "Put yourself out there," he advises. "Don't be afraid of rejection. Don't be afraid to ask anything."
Stick To A Vision
At 15, Catherine Cook and her brother Dave, 17, were flipping through their high school yearbook and came up with the idea to develop a free interactive version online. In 2005, the two convinced their older brother Geoff, a budding Web entrepreneur himself, to invest $250,000 and his time to help them launch MyYearbook.com, a social-networking site based in Skillman , N.J.
Soon after, the Cooks merged with Zenhex.com, an ad-supported site where users post a variety of homemade quizzes, more than doubling the number of eyeballs taking in their site. But when they tried to expand even further, they hit some snags. Potential investors wanted to move the company's headquarters to New York (the Cooks wanted to stay put). They also wanted to have ads appear on users' personal profile pages (the Cooks didn't).
Good thing the Cooks stuck to their vision. By 2006, MyYearbook had raised $4.1 million from the likes of U.S. Venture Partners and First Round Capital. Since then, the site has attracted such advertisers as Neutrogena, Disney (nyse: DIS - news - people ) and ABC; has grown to 3 million members worldwide; and rakes in annual sales in the "seven figures," says Catherine.
How to compete in an industry dominated by MySpace and Facebook? Mine a niche. "[Our site is] specifically for high school students, and we really listen to the suggestions of our members," says Catherine.
While the Cooks decline to discuss the value of their stake in the business, one MyYearbook investor (who agreed to speak only if unidentified) claims the Cooks' chunk is worth "well over $1 million."
Seven figures is real money to anyone, let alone a teenager. Yet despite their heady success, all of these young world-beaters seem to remain--refreshingly--kids at heart. "I'm not driving around in fancy cars," says Doherty. "I'm in it totally for the adventure."
Profits and perspective: Sounds like a recipe for even greater success in the decades to come.
Forever in search of the secrets to entrepreneurial success, Forbes peeked into the inspirational lives of five whiz kids who built million-dollar enterprises before the age of 20.
They partnered with friends, siblings and mentors, or did the work on their own. Three are from the U.S. , two from the U.K. All started at age 15 or younger--and one before he broke double digits.
Their common thread: preternatural business sense and demon drive to turn ideas into reality.
While four of the five were making a mint on the Internet, Fraser Doherty was doing things the old-fashioned way. In 2002, at the age of 14, Doherty started making jams from his grandmother's recipes in his parents' kitchen in Edinburgh , Scotland . Neighbors and church friends loved them. As word spread, Doherty started receiving orders faster than he could produce them at home, so he rented time at a 200-person food-processing factory several days a month.
Go With The Flow
By age 16, Doherty left school (with his parents' blessing) to work on his jams full time. In early 2007, Waitrose, a high-end supermarket in the U.K. , approached Doherty, hoping to sell his Superjam products in their stores. Within months there were Superjam jars on the shelves of 184 Waitrose stores, hoisting Doherty and his business to new heights.
Doherty borrowed 5,000 pounds (about $9,000) from a bank to cover general expenses and more factory time to produce three flavors: Blueberry & Blackcurrant, Rhubarb & Ginger and Cranberry & Raspberry. Tesco (other-otc: TSCDY - news - people ) followed, adding Doherty's products to 300 stores across the U.K. In March, Superjam will launch at Tesco in Ireland .
Last year Superjam hit $750,000 in sales and is on track to double that in 2008 (about 50,000 jars a month). Based on a reasonable valuation multiple of one times revenue--jelly-maker J.M. Smucker (nyse: SJM - news - people ) trades at 1.2 times sales--Doherty's 100% stake is worth in the neighborhood of $1 million to $2 million.
Not bad for a 19-year-old. Doherty's recommendation to other young entrepreneurs: "Have an attitude of adventure, and enjoy the journey."
Double Down
Cameron Johnson truly took that perspective to heart, parlaying one hit into the next. Back in 1994, when he was just 9, Johnson launched his first business out of his home in Virginia , making invitations for his parents' holiday party. By the seasoned age of 11, Johnson had saved up several thousand dollars selling greeting cards. He called his company Cheers and Tears.
But the little guy didn't stop there. At age 12, Johnson offered his younger sister $100 for her collection of 30 Ty Beanie Babies, all the rage at that time. The young entrepreneur quickly earned 10 times that amount by selling the dolls on eBay. Smelling potential, he contacted Ty and began purchasing the dolls at wholesale with the aim of selling them on eBay and on his Cheers and Tears Web site.
In less than a year, Johnson banked $50,000--seed money for his next venture, My EZ Mail, a service that forwarded e-mails to a particular account without revealing the recipient's personal information. He hired a programmer to flesh out his idea, and within two years My EZ Mail was generating up to $3,000 per month in advertising revenue.
Be Fearless
Johnson still wasn't done. In 1997, he joined forces with two other teen entrepreneurs, Aaron Greenspan and Tom Kho, to create an online advertising company called Surfingprizes.com, which provided scrolling advertisements across the top of users' Web browsers. Those who downloaded the software received 20 cents per hour (a tiny fraction of the value to the advertiser) for the inconvenience of having ads splay across their computer screens.
The boys employed a classic pyramid strategy to spread the service. Users who managed to refer Surfingprizes.com to a new customer would nab 10% of that new person's hourly revenue.
But Johnson and company didn't just sell software--they wanted a piece of that juicy ad revenue too. Their solution: partnering with companies such as DoubleClick, L90 and Advertising.com that could sell the ads for them. Under the agreements, the middlemen would collect 30% of any ad revenue sold, while the three boys split the remaining 70%, out of which they paid those referral fees.
"I was 15 years old and receiving checks between $300,000 and $400,000 per month," says Johnson. At 19, he sold the company name and software (but not the customer database) to an undisclosed buyer. Says Johnson, "Before my high school graduation, my combined assets were worth more than $1 million."
Now just 23, and with other ventures under his belt, Johnson spends his time giving speeches and promoting a new book. "Put yourself out there," he advises. "Don't be afraid of rejection. Don't be afraid to ask anything."
Stick To A Vision
At 15, Catherine Cook and her brother Dave, 17, were flipping through their high school yearbook and came up with the idea to develop a free interactive version online. In 2005, the two convinced their older brother Geoff, a budding Web entrepreneur himself, to invest $250,000 and his time to help them launch MyYearbook.com, a social-networking site based in Skillman , N.J.
Soon after, the Cooks merged with Zenhex.com, an ad-supported site where users post a variety of homemade quizzes, more than doubling the number of eyeballs taking in their site. But when they tried to expand even further, they hit some snags. Potential investors wanted to move the company's headquarters to New York (the Cooks wanted to stay put). They also wanted to have ads appear on users' personal profile pages (the Cooks didn't).
Good thing the Cooks stuck to their vision. By 2006, MyYearbook had raised $4.1 million from the likes of U.S. Venture Partners and First Round Capital. Since then, the site has attracted such advertisers as Neutrogena, Disney (nyse: DIS - news - people ) and ABC; has grown to 3 million members worldwide; and rakes in annual sales in the "seven figures," says Catherine.
How to compete in an industry dominated by MySpace and Facebook? Mine a niche. "[Our site is] specifically for high school students, and we really listen to the suggestions of our members," says Catherine.
While the Cooks decline to discuss the value of their stake in the business, one MyYearbook investor (who agreed to speak only if unidentified) claims the Cooks' chunk is worth "well over $1 million."
Seven figures is real money to anyone, let alone a teenager. Yet despite their heady success, all of these young world-beaters seem to remain--refreshingly--kids at heart. "I'm not driving around in fancy cars," says Doherty. "I'm in it totally for the adventure."
Profits and perspective: Sounds like a recipe for even greater success in the decades to come.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Bad boys = better sex life
Bad guys have a prolific sex life...
They're narcissist, impulsive, deceitful and live life on the edge but still bad guys get more sex, a new research shows.
According to New Scientist, two US researches have found that men with antisocial personality traits are more likely to have a prolific sex life.
One of the studies, a survey of 35,000 people in 57 countries, found a clear link between the so-called 'dark triad traits' and the reproductive success of males.
"It is universal across cultures for high dark triad scorers to be more active in short-term mating," News.com.au quoted David Schmitt, of Bradley University in the US , as saying.
"They are more likely to try and poach other people's partners for a brief affair," he added.
The second study found that males who scored higher in the dark triad personality traits had a greater number of partners and a desire for short relationships.
They're narcissist, impulsive, deceitful and live life on the edge but still bad guys get more sex, a new research shows.
According to New Scientist, two US researches have found that men with antisocial personality traits are more likely to have a prolific sex life.
One of the studies, a survey of 35,000 people in 57 countries, found a clear link between the so-called 'dark triad traits' and the reproductive success of males.
"It is universal across cultures for high dark triad scorers to be more active in short-term mating," News.com.au quoted David Schmitt, of Bradley University in the US , as saying.
"They are more likely to try and poach other people's partners for a brief affair," he added.
The second study found that males who scored higher in the dark triad personality traits had a greater number of partners and a desire for short relationships.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Blood Donor Day...
Today is Blood Donor Day.
On the occasion of Blood Donor Day I take the opportunity to once again place on record my heartfelt thanks to all those many wonderful people who donated blood and arranged for blood donors for my beloved wife Priti when she was hospitalised for five weeks with Septicemia earlier this year.
Your blood saved her life.
On the occasion of Blood Donor Day I take the opportunity to once again place on record my heartfelt thanks to all those many wonderful people who donated blood and arranged for blood donors for my beloved wife Priti when she was hospitalised for five weeks with Septicemia earlier this year.
Your blood saved her life.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Facebook and MySpace are the new bane of bosses' lives!
London, June 4 (ANI): Fag breaks are passe now, the latest banes giving bosses headaches are social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, says a new poll.
Four in ten managers say they now find that workers addicted to sites like Facebook and online shops are the biggest office time-wasters.
Employees who respond to non-work emails were named as the next worst slackers.
Only one in ten bosses identified people on cigarette breaks as a major problem.
"In the past, cig breaks caused major headaches, but times have changed," The Sun quoted Rik Ferguson, of Trend Micro which carried out the survey, as saying.
Four in ten managers say they now find that workers addicted to sites like Facebook and online shops are the biggest office time-wasters.
Employees who respond to non-work emails were named as the next worst slackers.
Only one in ten bosses identified people on cigarette breaks as a major problem.
"In the past, cig breaks caused major headaches, but times have changed," The Sun quoted Rik Ferguson, of Trend Micro which carried out the survey, as saying.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Primitive Forms of Money
(The origins of money in its various forms, and of banking, are discussed in the book "A history of money from ancient times to the present day", by Glyn Davies, on which this article is based.)
Manillas were ornamental metallic objects worn as jewelry in west Africa and used as money as recently as 1949. They were an ostentatious form of ornamentation, their value in that role being a prime reason for their acceptability as money. Wampum's use as money in north America undoubtedly came about as an extension of its desirability for ornamentation. Precious metals have had ornamental uses throughout history and that could be one reason why they were adopted for use as money in many ancient societies and civilizations.
In Fijian society gifts of whales teeth were (and in certain cases still are) a significant feature of certain ceremonies. One of their uses was as bride-money, with a symbolic meaning similar to that of the engagement ring in Western society. Whales teeth were "tambua" (from which our word "taboo" comes) meaning that they had religious significance, as did the fei stones of Yap which were still being used as money as recently as the mid 1960s.
The potlatch ceremonies of Native Americans were a form of barter that had social and ceremonial functions that were at least as important as its economic functions. Consequently when the potlatch was outlawed in Canada (by an act that was later repealed) some of the most powerful work incentives were removed - to the detriment of the younger sections of the Indian communities. This form of barter was not unique to North America. Glyn Davies points out that the most celebrated example of competitive gift exchange was the encounter, around 950 BC, of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. "Extravagant ostentation, the attempt to outdo each other in the splendour of the exchanges, and above all, the obligations of reciprocity, were just as typical in this celebrated encounter, though at a fittingly princely level, as with the more mundane types of barter in other parts of the world." (page 13).
Cattle are described by the author as mankind's "first working capital asset" (page 41). The religious use of cattle for sacrifices probably preceded their adoption for more general monetary purposes. For sacrifice quality - "without spot or blemish" - was important but for monetary purposes quantity was of more significance since cattle, like coins, can be counted. Obviously there were very practical reasons for the association between cattle and wealth but anthropological evidence from Africa in very recent times shows that when cattle are regarded as a form of money, not only health cattle but also scrawny ones will be valued to the detriment of the environment supporting them and their owners.
Glyn Davies quotes linguistic evidence to show how ancient and widespread the association between cattle and money was. The English words "capital", "chattels" and "cattle" have a common root. Similarly "pecuniary" comes from the Latin word for cattle "pecus" while in Welsh (the author's mother tongue) the word "da" used as an adjective means "good" but used as a noun means both "cattle" and "goods".
Manillas were ornamental metallic objects worn as jewelry in west Africa and used as money as recently as 1949. They were an ostentatious form of ornamentation, their value in that role being a prime reason for their acceptability as money. Wampum's use as money in north America undoubtedly came about as an extension of its desirability for ornamentation. Precious metals have had ornamental uses throughout history and that could be one reason why they were adopted for use as money in many ancient societies and civilizations.
In Fijian society gifts of whales teeth were (and in certain cases still are) a significant feature of certain ceremonies. One of their uses was as bride-money, with a symbolic meaning similar to that of the engagement ring in Western society. Whales teeth were "tambua" (from which our word "taboo" comes) meaning that they had religious significance, as did the fei stones of Yap which were still being used as money as recently as the mid 1960s.
The potlatch ceremonies of Native Americans were a form of barter that had social and ceremonial functions that were at least as important as its economic functions. Consequently when the potlatch was outlawed in Canada (by an act that was later repealed) some of the most powerful work incentives were removed - to the detriment of the younger sections of the Indian communities. This form of barter was not unique to North America. Glyn Davies points out that the most celebrated example of competitive gift exchange was the encounter, around 950 BC, of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. "Extravagant ostentation, the attempt to outdo each other in the splendour of the exchanges, and above all, the obligations of reciprocity, were just as typical in this celebrated encounter, though at a fittingly princely level, as with the more mundane types of barter in other parts of the world." (page 13).
Cattle are described by the author as mankind's "first working capital asset" (page 41). The religious use of cattle for sacrifices probably preceded their adoption for more general monetary purposes. For sacrifice quality - "without spot or blemish" - was important but for monetary purposes quantity was of more significance since cattle, like coins, can be counted. Obviously there were very practical reasons for the association between cattle and wealth but anthropological evidence from Africa in very recent times shows that when cattle are regarded as a form of money, not only health cattle but also scrawny ones will be valued to the detriment of the environment supporting them and their owners.
Glyn Davies quotes linguistic evidence to show how ancient and widespread the association between cattle and money was. The English words "capital", "chattels" and "cattle" have a common root. Similarly "pecuniary" comes from the Latin word for cattle "pecus" while in Welsh (the author's mother tongue) the word "da" used as an adjective means "good" but used as a noun means both "cattle" and "goods".
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Moldovan women break 1000-yr-old Greek ban
Four Moldovan women accidentally violated a 1,000-year-old ban on women entering the all male monastic community of Mount Athos, when they were left on Greek shores by human traffickers.
Police said on May 26 that the women -- aged between 27 and 32 -- as well as a 41-year-old Moldovan man were smuggled from Turkey by boat to the Greek Orthodox community of 20 monasteries, long off limits to women. The reached land on May 25.
"They told police and the monks they were sorry but they couldn't have known this was a no-women area," said a police officer, who declined to be named. "They were forgiven."
Monks spotted the women late on May 25 and alerted police. Under Greek law, the violation of the ban on women on Mount Athos, considered Orthodox Christianity's spiritual home, is illegal and can be punished with up to two years in jail.
Police said on May 26 that the women -- aged between 27 and 32 -- as well as a 41-year-old Moldovan man were smuggled from Turkey by boat to the Greek Orthodox community of 20 monasteries, long off limits to women. The reached land on May 25.
"They told police and the monks they were sorry but they couldn't have known this was a no-women area," said a police officer, who declined to be named. "They were forgiven."
Monks spotted the women late on May 25 and alerted police. Under Greek law, the violation of the ban on women on Mount Athos, considered Orthodox Christianity's spiritual home, is illegal and can be punished with up to two years in jail.
Bit by bugs at work, woman sues landlord
A Fox News employee sued the landlord of her company's office building on May 29, claiming she got bedbug bites at work.
Jane Clark, a satellite feed coordinator, says in a lawsuit filed on May 29 in Manhattan's state Supreme Court that she picked up the bugs in the mid-Manhattan tower that houses the New York Post and the Fox News Channel.
Clark, 37, says the critter encounter last year left her unable to work and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She said an investigation revealed that another employee was bringing the bugs to work from his home, but that person no longer works at Fox.
The lawsuit asks unspecified damages from the building's owner, a management company and two maintenance companies. The Fox News Channel and its parent News Corp were not named as defendants.
Clark's lawyer, Alan Schnurman, said he has filed lawsuits over bedbug infestations in hotels, cruise ships, and apartment buildings, but said this was ``the first we know about in the work environment.''
Ashley McCown, spokeswoman for building owners and managers Beacon Capital Partners LLC, 1211 6th Avenue Property Owner LLC, and Cushman & Wakefield, said they learned bedbugs were in an area of the Fox newsroom.
``We have been informed that the bedbugs have been exterminated,'' McCown said. ``We have no indication they spread outside a limited area within the newsroom. Nonetheless, as a prudent step, we are bringing in outside, independent experts to review the situation.''
Defendants Triangle Maintenance Service Inc. and American Quality Cleaning Corp did not immediately return calls for comment.
Jane Clark, a satellite feed coordinator, says in a lawsuit filed on May 29 in Manhattan's state Supreme Court that she picked up the bugs in the mid-Manhattan tower that houses the New York Post and the Fox News Channel.
Clark, 37, says the critter encounter last year left her unable to work and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She said an investigation revealed that another employee was bringing the bugs to work from his home, but that person no longer works at Fox.
The lawsuit asks unspecified damages from the building's owner, a management company and two maintenance companies. The Fox News Channel and its parent News Corp were not named as defendants.
Clark's lawyer, Alan Schnurman, said he has filed lawsuits over bedbug infestations in hotels, cruise ships, and apartment buildings, but said this was ``the first we know about in the work environment.''
Ashley McCown, spokeswoman for building owners and managers Beacon Capital Partners LLC, 1211 6th Avenue Property Owner LLC, and Cushman & Wakefield, said they learned bedbugs were in an area of the Fox newsroom.
``We have been informed that the bedbugs have been exterminated,'' McCown said. ``We have no indication they spread outside a limited area within the newsroom. Nonetheless, as a prudent step, we are bringing in outside, independent experts to review the situation.''
Defendants Triangle Maintenance Service Inc. and American Quality Cleaning Corp did not immediately return calls for comment.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Will cards for inmates solve crimes?
Inmates in 58 county jails across New York are getting playing cards with the pictures of missing persons in hopes the photos will jog memories and help solve cold cases.
Under a state Senate pilot program, 7,200 decks of cards are being sent to the jails. They include telephone numbers of tip lines that offer rewards to anyone -- including prisoners -- who provide information about the crimes.
The cards were paid for with a $10,000 grant from Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno from funds he controls.
"This program seeks to go right to the source of crime, providing incarcerated criminals information via playing cards that, in turn, may have credible information or leads that help solve these crimes," Bruno said in a statement.
A spokesman for Bruno said a similar scheme in Florida prisons had resulted in leads that helped close old cases.
Under a state Senate pilot program, 7,200 decks of cards are being sent to the jails. They include telephone numbers of tip lines that offer rewards to anyone -- including prisoners -- who provide information about the crimes.
The cards were paid for with a $10,000 grant from Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno from funds he controls.
"This program seeks to go right to the source of crime, providing incarcerated criminals information via playing cards that, in turn, may have credible information or leads that help solve these crimes," Bruno said in a statement.
A spokesman for Bruno said a similar scheme in Florida prisons had resulted in leads that helped close old cases.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Most pointless gadget of all time
Electric nail files have been deemed the 'Most Pointless Gadget of All Time' in a new survey.
The files, which can be purchased for as much as 205 pounds, are supposed to give to give a perfect shape and smooth finish, reports the Sun of UK.
The survey, however, found that women are just as happy with a manual nail file costing just 2 pounds.
Laser guided scissors, which are supposed to help cut a perfect straight line, are the second most useless item listed in the top 20.
In the poll for review website reevoo.com, electric candles came third while sodastream stood fourth.
Rounding off the top five was foot spa.
The top 20 Most Pointless Gadget of All Time are:
1. Electric nail files 2. Laser guided scissors 3. Electric candles 4. Soda stream 5. Foot spas 6. Fondue set 7. Hair crimpers 8. Egg boiler 9. Electric fluff remover 10. Electric carving knife 11. Trouser press 12. Face steamers 13. Teas made 14. Mini disk player 15. Facial tanners 16. Egg slicer 17. Electric tin openers 18. Yoghurt makers 19. Towel warmer 20.Back scratcher.
The files, which can be purchased for as much as 205 pounds, are supposed to give to give a perfect shape and smooth finish, reports the Sun of UK.
The survey, however, found that women are just as happy with a manual nail file costing just 2 pounds.
Laser guided scissors, which are supposed to help cut a perfect straight line, are the second most useless item listed in the top 20.
In the poll for review website reevoo.com, electric candles came third while sodastream stood fourth.
Rounding off the top five was foot spa.
The top 20 Most Pointless Gadget of All Time are:
1. Electric nail files 2. Laser guided scissors 3. Electric candles 4. Soda stream 5. Foot spas 6. Fondue set 7. Hair crimpers 8. Egg boiler 9. Electric fluff remover 10. Electric carving knife 11. Trouser press 12. Face steamers 13. Teas made 14. Mini disk player 15. Facial tanners 16. Egg slicer 17. Electric tin openers 18. Yoghurt makers 19. Towel warmer 20.Back scratcher.
Inside The World's First Billion-Dollar Home
Courtesy:
While visiting New York in 2005, Nita Ambani was in the spa at the Mandarin Oriental New York, overlooking Central Park . The contemporary Asian interiors struck her just so, and prompted her to inquire about the designer.
Nita Ambani was no ordinary tourist. She is married to Mukesh Ambani, head of Mumbai-based petrochemical giant Reliance Industries, and the fifth richest man in the world. (Lakshmi Mittal, ranked fourth, is an Indian citizen, but a resident of the U.K.)
Forbes estimated Ambani's net worth at $43 billion in March. Reliance Industries was founded by Mukesh's father, Dhirubhai Ambani, in 1966, and is India 's most valuable firm by market capitalization. The couple, who have three children, currently live in a 22-story Mumbai tower that the family has spent years remodeling to meet its needs.
Like many families with the means to do so, the Ambanis wanted to build a custom home. They consulted with architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates, the designers behind the Mandarin Oriental, based in Dallas and Los Angeles , respectively. Plans were then drawn up for what will be the world's largest and most expensive home: a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai with a cost nearing $2 billion. The architects and designers are creating as they go, altering floor plans, design elements and concepts as the building is constructed.
The only remotely comparable high-rise property currently on the market is the $70 million triplex penthouse at the Pierre Hotel in New York , designed to resemble a French chateau, and climbing 525 feet in the air. When the Ambani residence is finished in January, completing a four-year process, it will be 550 feet high with 400,000 square feet of interior space.
The home will cost more than a hotel or high-rise of similar size because of its custom measurements and fittings: A hotel or condominium has a common layout, replicated on every floor, and uses the same materials throughout the building (such as door handles, floors, lamps and window treatments).
The Ambani home, called Antilla, differs in that no two floors are alike in either plans or materials used. At the request of Nita Ambani, say the designers, if a metal, wood or crystal is part of the ninth-floor design, it shouldn't be used on the eleventh floor, for example. The idea is to blend styles and architectural elements so spaces give the feel of consistency, but without repetition.
Antilla's shape is based on Vaastu, an Indian tradition much like Feng Shui that is said to move energy beneficially through the building by strategically placing materials, rooms and objects.
Pricey Pad Atop six stories of parking lots, Antilla's living quarters begin at a lobby with nine elevators, as well as several storage rooms and lounges. Down dual stairways with silver-covered railings is a large ballroom with 80% of its ceiling covered in crystal chandeliers. It features a retractable showcase for pieces of art, a mount of LCD monitors and embedded speakers, as well as stages for entertainment. The hall opens to an indoor/outdoor bar, green rooms, powder rooms and allows access to a nearby "entourage room" for security guards and assistants to relax.
Ambani plans to occasionally use the residence for corporate entertainment, and the family wants the look and feel of the home's interior to be distinctly Indian; 85% of the materials and labor will come from outside the U.S. , most of it from India .
What do you think of Ambami's home? Weigh in. Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.
Where possible, the designers say, whether it's for the silver railings, crystal chandeliers, woven area rugs or steel support beams, the Ambanis are using Indian companies, contractors, craftsmen and materials firms. Elements of Indian culture juxtapose newer designs. For example, the sinks in a lounge extending off the entertainment level, which features a movie theater and wine room, are shaped like ginkgo leaves (native to India) with the stem extending to the faucet to guide the water into the basin.
On the health level, local plants decorate the outdoor patio near the swimming pool and yoga studio. The floor also features an ice room where residents and guests can escape the Mumbai heat to a small, cooled chamber dusted by man-made snow flurries.
For more temperate days, the family will enjoy a four-story open garden. In profile, the rebar-enforced beams form a "W" shape that supports the upper two-thirds of the building while creating an open-air atrium of gardens, flowers and lawns. Gardens, whether hanging hydroponic plants, or fixed trees, are a critical part of the building's exterior adornment but also serve a purpose: The plants act as an energy-saving device by absorbing sunlight, thus deflecting it from the living spaces and making it easier to keep the interior cool in summer and warm in winter. An internal core space on the garden level contains entertaining rooms and balconies that clear the tree line and offer views of downtown Mumbai.
The top floors of entertaining space, where Ambani plans to host business guests (or just relax) offer panoramic views of the Arabian Sea
While visiting New York in 2005, Nita Ambani was in the spa at the Mandarin Oriental New York, overlooking Central Park . The contemporary Asian interiors struck her just so, and prompted her to inquire about the designer.
Nita Ambani was no ordinary tourist. She is married to Mukesh Ambani, head of Mumbai-based petrochemical giant Reliance Industries, and the fifth richest man in the world. (Lakshmi Mittal, ranked fourth, is an Indian citizen, but a resident of the U.K.)
Forbes estimated Ambani's net worth at $43 billion in March. Reliance Industries was founded by Mukesh's father, Dhirubhai Ambani, in 1966, and is India 's most valuable firm by market capitalization. The couple, who have three children, currently live in a 22-story Mumbai tower that the family has spent years remodeling to meet its needs.
Like many families with the means to do so, the Ambanis wanted to build a custom home. They consulted with architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates, the designers behind the Mandarin Oriental, based in Dallas and Los Angeles , respectively. Plans were then drawn up for what will be the world's largest and most expensive home: a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai with a cost nearing $2 billion. The architects and designers are creating as they go, altering floor plans, design elements and concepts as the building is constructed.
The only remotely comparable high-rise property currently on the market is the $70 million triplex penthouse at the Pierre Hotel in New York , designed to resemble a French chateau, and climbing 525 feet in the air. When the Ambani residence is finished in January, completing a four-year process, it will be 550 feet high with 400,000 square feet of interior space.
The home will cost more than a hotel or high-rise of similar size because of its custom measurements and fittings: A hotel or condominium has a common layout, replicated on every floor, and uses the same materials throughout the building (such as door handles, floors, lamps and window treatments).
The Ambani home, called Antilla, differs in that no two floors are alike in either plans or materials used. At the request of Nita Ambani, say the designers, if a metal, wood or crystal is part of the ninth-floor design, it shouldn't be used on the eleventh floor, for example. The idea is to blend styles and architectural elements so spaces give the feel of consistency, but without repetition.
Antilla's shape is based on Vaastu, an Indian tradition much like Feng Shui that is said to move energy beneficially through the building by strategically placing materials, rooms and objects.
Pricey Pad Atop six stories of parking lots, Antilla's living quarters begin at a lobby with nine elevators, as well as several storage rooms and lounges. Down dual stairways with silver-covered railings is a large ballroom with 80% of its ceiling covered in crystal chandeliers. It features a retractable showcase for pieces of art, a mount of LCD monitors and embedded speakers, as well as stages for entertainment. The hall opens to an indoor/outdoor bar, green rooms, powder rooms and allows access to a nearby "entourage room" for security guards and assistants to relax.
Ambani plans to occasionally use the residence for corporate entertainment, and the family wants the look and feel of the home's interior to be distinctly Indian; 85% of the materials and labor will come from outside the U.S. , most of it from India .
What do you think of Ambami's home? Weigh in. Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.
Where possible, the designers say, whether it's for the silver railings, crystal chandeliers, woven area rugs or steel support beams, the Ambanis are using Indian companies, contractors, craftsmen and materials firms. Elements of Indian culture juxtapose newer designs. For example, the sinks in a lounge extending off the entertainment level, which features a movie theater and wine room, are shaped like ginkgo leaves (native to India) with the stem extending to the faucet to guide the water into the basin.
On the health level, local plants decorate the outdoor patio near the swimming pool and yoga studio. The floor also features an ice room where residents and guests can escape the Mumbai heat to a small, cooled chamber dusted by man-made snow flurries.
For more temperate days, the family will enjoy a four-story open garden. In profile, the rebar-enforced beams form a "W" shape that supports the upper two-thirds of the building while creating an open-air atrium of gardens, flowers and lawns. Gardens, whether hanging hydroponic plants, or fixed trees, are a critical part of the building's exterior adornment but also serve a purpose: The plants act as an energy-saving device by absorbing sunlight, thus deflecting it from the living spaces and making it easier to keep the interior cool in summer and warm in winter. An internal core space on the garden level contains entertaining rooms and balconies that clear the tree line and offer views of downtown Mumbai.
The top floors of entertaining space, where Ambani plans to host business guests (or just relax) offer panoramic views of the Arabian Sea
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Chasing Happiness
Source:
"Taking all things together on a scale of one to 10, how happy would you say you are?" With that question and a global survey, the folks at the World Database of Happiness have ranked 95 nations on a happiness scale.
Switzerland's citizens closely trail the Danish, each reporting an average happiness level of 8.1 (out of 10), followed by Iceland (7.8), Finland (7.7), Australia (7.7) and Sweden (7.7), all the way down to grim Moldova (3.5).
While the Netherlands ranks only 15th on the list of the world's happiest countries, its industrial capital, Rotterdam , is home to the database, housed at Erasmus University . Its director, Ruut Veenhoven, has made his life's work researching which nations are home to the happiest citizens.
Veenhoven's research shows that Scandinavian nations come out on top, making up five of the 13 happiest nations. Denmark tops the list as a whole--its citizens rank their average happiness as 8.2 on a 10-point scale.
Inspired by Veenhoven's rankings, former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio (and self-proclaimed grouch) Eric Weiner embarked on a quest to visit the happiest places on earth. In his book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World, Weiner immerses himself in the cultural fabric of the world's happiest countries to pinpoint exactly why residents of some countries, like Iceland and Switzerland, are so downright satisfied with their lives.
The Swiss, Weiner discovered, are efficient and punctual, comparatively wealthy and face hardly any unemployment. Their streets, air and tap water are squeaky clean and chocolate is a national obsession. But Weiner saw no joy in their faces, and reasoned that perhaps it's better to live in this middle range than to vacillate between gleeful moments of elation and gut-wrenching spates of despair. Swiss happiness, he writes, is "more than mere contentment, but less than full-on joy."
Because the country is dark and cold, Weiner was initially skeptical about Iceland 's ranking as the fourth-happiest nation in the world. He learned the small nation is quite literally a family; curiously, geneticists have found that all Icelandic citizens are related.
Certain phrases in the Icelandic language, Weiner writes, are even more telling. When people greet each other, the phrase they use roughly translates to "come happy," and when people part, they utter the equivalent of "go happy." The country is a favorite stamping ground of artists and cultivates a creative spirit; the government supports writers with generous subsidies.
To provide a stark contrast to Iceland and Switzerland , Weiner visited Moldova . The citizens of this former Soviet republic, according to database figures, rate their happiness at 3.5. The nation, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine , had been relatively prosperous, but since the fall of the Berlin wall, per-capita income has fallen to only $880 per year.
But it's not just about money. Nigeria and Bangladesh are poorer and happier, Weiner points out, but Moldova compares itself to Italy and Germany . The country also lacks a distinct culture and any semblance of national pride. Government officials even speak Russian--the language of their oppressors for much of the last century.
So just how does the United States fit into this picture? "Happiness is there for the taking in America ," Weiner writes. "You just need the willpower to find it, and enough cash." The surprising fact, though, is that America is not as happy--scoring 7.3 and ranking 17th in the database--as it is wealthy. U.S. residents are three times richer than they were in 1950, but the happiness ratings haven't shifted in the past decade. After Sept. 11, researchers found no significant decrease in measured levels of happiness.
"Americans work longer hours and commute greater distances than virtually any other people in the world," Weiner writes, but "they remain profoundly optimistic." Two-thirds of Americans say they are hopeful about the future.
Can we predict happiness based on a country's collective "personality"? Not quite. So far, the data reveal national happiness doesn't predictably track average income, type of government--democracy versus dictatorship--or even warm climate.
So with Moldova at the bottom of the happiness ratings are former Soviet republics Belarus , Ukraine and Uzbekistan , alongside such troubled African nations as Tanzania , Rwanda and Zimbabwe . Thus, while wealth doesn't seem to generate happiness, extreme poverty is more likely to produce the opposite.
It's comforting, though, that most people in the world report being satisfied with their lives. "Virtually every country in the world scores somewhere between five and eight on a 10-point scale," Weiner writes. "There are a few exceptions." So while, admittedly, those Scandinavians have it pretty good, the rest of us aren't too far behind. And that's something to be happy about.
"Taking all things together on a scale of one to 10, how happy would you say you are?" With that question and a global survey, the folks at the World Database of Happiness have ranked 95 nations on a happiness scale.
Switzerland's citizens closely trail the Danish, each reporting an average happiness level of 8.1 (out of 10), followed by Iceland (7.8), Finland (7.7), Australia (7.7) and Sweden (7.7), all the way down to grim Moldova (3.5).
While the Netherlands ranks only 15th on the list of the world's happiest countries, its industrial capital, Rotterdam , is home to the database, housed at Erasmus University . Its director, Ruut Veenhoven, has made his life's work researching which nations are home to the happiest citizens.
Veenhoven's research shows that Scandinavian nations come out on top, making up five of the 13 happiest nations. Denmark tops the list as a whole--its citizens rank their average happiness as 8.2 on a 10-point scale.
Inspired by Veenhoven's rankings, former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio (and self-proclaimed grouch) Eric Weiner embarked on a quest to visit the happiest places on earth. In his book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World, Weiner immerses himself in the cultural fabric of the world's happiest countries to pinpoint exactly why residents of some countries, like Iceland and Switzerland, are so downright satisfied with their lives.
The Swiss, Weiner discovered, are efficient and punctual, comparatively wealthy and face hardly any unemployment. Their streets, air and tap water are squeaky clean and chocolate is a national obsession. But Weiner saw no joy in their faces, and reasoned that perhaps it's better to live in this middle range than to vacillate between gleeful moments of elation and gut-wrenching spates of despair. Swiss happiness, he writes, is "more than mere contentment, but less than full-on joy."
Because the country is dark and cold, Weiner was initially skeptical about Iceland 's ranking as the fourth-happiest nation in the world. He learned the small nation is quite literally a family; curiously, geneticists have found that all Icelandic citizens are related.
Certain phrases in the Icelandic language, Weiner writes, are even more telling. When people greet each other, the phrase they use roughly translates to "come happy," and when people part, they utter the equivalent of "go happy." The country is a favorite stamping ground of artists and cultivates a creative spirit; the government supports writers with generous subsidies.
To provide a stark contrast to Iceland and Switzerland , Weiner visited Moldova . The citizens of this former Soviet republic, according to database figures, rate their happiness at 3.5. The nation, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine , had been relatively prosperous, but since the fall of the Berlin wall, per-capita income has fallen to only $880 per year.
But it's not just about money. Nigeria and Bangladesh are poorer and happier, Weiner points out, but Moldova compares itself to Italy and Germany . The country also lacks a distinct culture and any semblance of national pride. Government officials even speak Russian--the language of their oppressors for much of the last century.
So just how does the United States fit into this picture? "Happiness is there for the taking in America ," Weiner writes. "You just need the willpower to find it, and enough cash." The surprising fact, though, is that America is not as happy--scoring 7.3 and ranking 17th in the database--as it is wealthy. U.S. residents are three times richer than they were in 1950, but the happiness ratings haven't shifted in the past decade. After Sept. 11, researchers found no significant decrease in measured levels of happiness.
"Americans work longer hours and commute greater distances than virtually any other people in the world," Weiner writes, but "they remain profoundly optimistic." Two-thirds of Americans say they are hopeful about the future.
Can we predict happiness based on a country's collective "personality"? Not quite. So far, the data reveal national happiness doesn't predictably track average income, type of government--democracy versus dictatorship--or even warm climate.
So with Moldova at the bottom of the happiness ratings are former Soviet republics Belarus , Ukraine and Uzbekistan , alongside such troubled African nations as Tanzania , Rwanda and Zimbabwe . Thus, while wealth doesn't seem to generate happiness, extreme poverty is more likely to produce the opposite.
It's comforting, though, that most people in the world report being satisfied with their lives. "Virtually every country in the world scores somewhere between five and eight on a 10-point scale," Weiner writes. "There are a few exceptions." So while, admittedly, those Scandinavians have it pretty good, the rest of us aren't too far behind. And that's something to be happy about.
A dozen Asians among Britain 's best young entrepreneurs
A dozen young Asians, most of them ethnic Indians, are in the Daily Telegraph's Made It By 40 list of Britain's best young entrepreneurs, using a yardstick the paper said they all understand - wealth.
Heading the list - among several run by the paper this week - at number nine is Baljinder Kaur Boparan, who along with her husband Ranjit owns the chicken processing company Boparan Holdings. The family is said to be worth 130 million pounds ($250 million).
The others, with fortunes ranging from 56 to 106 million pounds, are:
* Mehan and Raj Sehgal of the fashion company Visage Holdings;
* Sanjay Vadera of the Fragrance Shop retail chain;
* Mayank Patel, who owns Currency Direct, a foreign exchange specialist;
* Sanjay Kumar of the textiles company Rajan Group;
* Arif and Munaf Patel, whose Faisaltex group of companies supplies socks, underwear and other children's clothing to discount stores;
* Shafqat Rasul, who runs E-Net Computers, claimed to be the biggest buyer of DVD and CD-media in the world;
* Sandeep Chadha, whose Supreme Imports Group is one of the largest sellers of batteries in Britain ;
* Raj Chatha, heads of the Halifax-based European Food Brokers, a major wine and beer company;
* Ajaz Ahmed, founder of Websign and interactive marketing agency AKQA, which employs over 650 people in New York , Washington DC, Amsterdam , Singapore , London and San Francisco .
All are 40 years or under, but their success does not surprise another former award-winning entrepreneur.
'These people are entrepreneurs, not businessmen. They love owning their businesses and hate being told what to do,' said Ab Banerjee, chairperson of Immediance, a global online trading platform for institutional investors and company shareholders.
'Their story is part of the way Indian immigration has taken place,' said Banerjee, a former Financial Times director whose Raw Communications was named by The Times newspaper as the fastest growing British private technology company in 2001, when he was only 36.
'The first generation came here, found jobs and put their children through the best education. The second generation has now come into their own,' he said.
However, the Daily Telegraph's list shows that many of the Asian entrepreneurs are still engaged in traditional Asian businesses: textiles, fashion, food processing and wholesaling.
Analysts predict the next generation of NRIs will dominate the world of finance. With a large number of them graduating from top universities to enter the banking and financial services sector, it's only a matter of time before they start out on their own.
'They have their entrepreneurial drive already. They will be money managers,' said Banerjee.
The drive and determination are evident in the Daily Telegraph list.
Chadha came to Britain with his parents at the age of two, but fled back to India at 15 in order to escape racist bullying at boarding school. He was the only Asian at school, and wore a turban.
Returning after a year, he cut his hair and began helping out with his father's business, selling fancy goods - imported clocks, watches, radios and toys - from the back of a van.
Today he is 40 and owns Supreme Imports, which sells 180 million batteries a year - roughly 20 percent of the British market - with a turnover of over 200 million pounds.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
It's just not cricket...Cheerleaders shake India
ReutersCheerleaders are taking Indian cricket by storm, but some are wondering if this conservative South Asian nation is ready for dancers with bulging breasts and gyrating bellies parading in packed stadia.
Many foreign cheerleaders have been imported to India with this month's inauguration of the India Premier League (IPL), a shortened form of traditional cricket that transforms the game into a more glitzy U.S.-style sponsored sport event.
But some outraged politicians say it is an affront to Indian culture while a few of the cheerleaders themselves complain lewd comment and insults from spectators is making their job a misery.
"It's been horrendous," Tabitha, a cheerleader from Uzbekistan , told the Hindustan Times newspaper."
"Wherever we go we do expect people to pass lewd, snide remarks but I'm shocked by the nature and magnitude of the comments people pass here."
The IPL has caught the imagination of India , a nation of 1.1 billion and the world's biggest cricket audience. TV rights sold for more than $900 million and players for eight teams, many imported from abroad, were auctioned for millions.
In contrast to the cliched cricket image of genteel spectators sipping tea while politely applauding their team, now scantily-clad dancers gyrate to Bollywood or Western-style dance music blaring out from loudspeakers in stadia.
Even well-known cheerleaders from the Washington Redskins flew to India to perform for the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Photos of the dancers graced the front pages of most newspapers.
MORE VULGAR
"What the cheerleaders are doing during cricket matches is ten times more vulgar than what used to happen in dance bars of Mumbai," Nitin Gadkari, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, home to the Mumbai Indians.
The BJP is India's main opposition party, which was part of a coalition which banned popular bars in Mumbai where girls would dance on stage to Bollywood tunes.
"If we could ban dance bars, how can we allow such vulgar dance in a cricket field. I am getting huge complaints and cheerleaders must be banned immediately from entering a cricket field," Gadkari said.
In the IT hub of Bangalore , Parvathi, a housewife, said U.S. cheerleaders were an affront to India .
"What is the purpose of this display? It is embarrassing," said Parvathi.
But Charu Sharma, chief executive of Bangalore Royal Challengers defended the cheerleaders.
"Let us not play this high handed moral belief game. It is only small maverick groups that are making a noise," Sharma told Reuters.
He told the Hindustan Times that security would be tightened for the dancers.
"We are aware of the concerns and can take nothing for granted. A security ring will be provided to them and everything that can be done will be done," Sharma said.
Some Indians said critics were hypocritical in a nation well known for its sensual Bollywood musicals.
"Our stars wear skimpy dresses in movies but nobody seems to protest. Why this double standards?" said Mohan, a marketing executive from Bangalore.
Coriander is Britain's best-selling herb
Britons' love for spicy aromatic Asian dishes has got them hooked to green leafy coriander, which according to a new survey, has now become the undisputed king of the kitchen as the best-selling herb in the country.
The herb, which is scattered on curries, baked in breads and simmered in soups, accounts for a quarter of all fresh herb sales, despite having only been grown commercially in Britain since the 1970s.
Basil comes in second with 19 per cent. This is followed by old favourite parsley, both flat-leaved and curly varieties.
The country's top ten herb chart was compiled by Fresh Herbs, an organisation representing British herb growers.
Parsley accounts for only 10 per cent of sales and basil 19 per cent.
"The popularity of coriander is being driven by our love of curry and Asian food," the Telegraph quoted a spokesman for Fresh Herbs, as saying.
"People have developed a taste for spicy aromatic dishes and are experimenting now more than ever with different fresh herbs varieties," the rep added.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
How To Make Money In The Middle East
Courtesy: Forbes.com
You don't need a kingdom to invest like a sheikh.
The Arabian Peninsula may be known for its arid deserts, but it's also home to a fertile oasis of economic growth. The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries-- Bahrain , Kuwait , Oman , Qatar , Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)--channel their oil wealth into homeland economies and mammoth infrastructure projects. Grabbing a piece of regional trends in banking, construction and telecommunications could give your portfolio a boost.
In the last five years, gross domestic product in GCC countries has risen an average of 7%, according to Koon Chow, senior emerging markets strategist at Barclays Capital in London . In 2008, GCC countries should post 6% growth--a modest slowdown but much better than estimated global growth rates of 3.7%, as measured by purchasing power parity.
Including GCC interests in your portfolio adds a protective layer of diversification. Economists say Middle Eastern economies are decoupling from the U.S. because so much of their growth is focused internally. That means they're protected from America 's economic slowdown, since domestically focused industries won't be damaged by softness in U.S. demand. Meanwhile, oil revenues reinvested into local economies should help keep out Western credit-crisis woes.
Citigroup Middle East and Africa equity strategist Andrew Howell pegs the region's correlation to world markets at about 40%, which means the GCC is unlikely to follow U.S. equities' downward trend. Other emerging markets have a 90% correlation, making GCC investments a better bet.
Poorer but still fast-growing countries in the Middle East, like Egypt , are a valuable part of any region-wide investment strategy. T. Rowe Price's Africa and Middle East fund has 27.7% invested in the United Arab Emirates , 20% in Egypt , 17.1% in Qatar and 12.6% in Oman . Smaller holdings include equities from South Africa , Bahrain , Jordan , Lebanon and Nigeria .
The fund is up 3.29% in the year-to-date, much better than its S&P-linked equity Index 500, which is down 7.28%. You can buy into the actively managed equity fund with just $2,500 to get sizable exposure to the region.
Construction, real estate, telecommunications, banking and finance are some of the fastest-growing industries in the region. Local investors support these industries by directing oil wealth into domestic share markets, which desensitizes them to negative global trends. This makes GCC equities more appealing and likely to deliver above-average returns, says Barclay's Koon Chow.
But outside of certain free zones, accessing Middle Eastern equities is no easy task. Markets like the UAE and Qatar limit foreign ownership of local companies to 49%, and Saudi Arabia 's equities remain closed to foreign ownership. HSBC global emerging market equities analyst Alex Tarver warns that U.S. investors may find these new markets less transparent and efficient than what they're used to, and would do well to employ expert analysis before they put their money on the line.
These stumbling blocks have led to the creation of Middle East North Africa funds, many of which add risk and subtract reward. MENA funds tend to be heavily weighted toward North African equities, which are easier to access than Middle East stocks but boast less promising economic performance. To avoid disappointment, Morgan Stanley Chief Investment Strategist David Darst suggests checking country allocations to ensure balanced exposure to both regions before adding a fund to your shopping list.
"You'd want to know it is 'X' amount Morocco and 'X' amount Egypt , which are not the same as Abu Dhabi and Saudi and Dubai ," says Darst.
If you really want to invest like a local, you may want to explore the world of Islamic finance through Sharia-compliant funds. These mutual funds pick their investments in accordance with the religious rules that make up Sharia law, eschewing investments in industries deemed unethical, including gambling, alcohol and pornography. They also stay out of much of the financial sector, which is considered too close to gambling--a quirk that has kept them protected from the West's recent subprime lending crisis. (See "Managed By God.")
The region has also embraced sukuks, or Sharia-compliant bonds. Since interest is forbidden under Sharia law, companies enter sale-and-leaseback arrangements with trusts that issue certificates called sukuks. Convertible sukuks take the Islamic principle of shared risk to heart by converting into shares if the company goes public, and buyers of convertible sukuks may find themselves first in line for a company's initial public offering. The instruments may seem opaque, but many sukuk issues are now listed on the London Stock Exchange, making access and acceptance easier.
If you're looking for low risk and solid returns, steer clear of local currencies like the Saudi riyal or the Dubai durham . Many of the region's currencies are pegged to the dollar, an arrangement blamed for overheating local economies and importing inflation, which is as high as 11% in the UAE and 14% in Qatar . Analysts argue that revaluation is in order, a stance that received a boost last May when Kuwait de-pegged its dinar from the dollar, shifting to a floating basket exchange system. The move has been a boon for Kuwait 's economy, says HSBC's Tarver, and the dinar has appreciated 3.5% against the dollar.
If another Middle East country were to revalue or float its currency, assets denominated in that currency would automatically appreciate against the dollar. Market speculation is that Qatar and Saudi Arabia might be likely to make the move. But Barclay's Chow warns that even though the economic case for revaluation may be strong, investors shouldn't expect it to happen soon.
You don't need a kingdom to invest like a sheikh.
The Arabian Peninsula may be known for its arid deserts, but it's also home to a fertile oasis of economic growth. The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries-- Bahrain , Kuwait , Oman , Qatar , Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)--channel their oil wealth into homeland economies and mammoth infrastructure projects. Grabbing a piece of regional trends in banking, construction and telecommunications could give your portfolio a boost.
In the last five years, gross domestic product in GCC countries has risen an average of 7%, according to Koon Chow, senior emerging markets strategist at Barclays Capital in London . In 2008, GCC countries should post 6% growth--a modest slowdown but much better than estimated global growth rates of 3.7%, as measured by purchasing power parity.
Including GCC interests in your portfolio adds a protective layer of diversification. Economists say Middle Eastern economies are decoupling from the U.S. because so much of their growth is focused internally. That means they're protected from America 's economic slowdown, since domestically focused industries won't be damaged by softness in U.S. demand. Meanwhile, oil revenues reinvested into local economies should help keep out Western credit-crisis woes.
Citigroup Middle East and Africa equity strategist Andrew Howell pegs the region's correlation to world markets at about 40%, which means the GCC is unlikely to follow U.S. equities' downward trend. Other emerging markets have a 90% correlation, making GCC investments a better bet.
Poorer but still fast-growing countries in the Middle East, like Egypt , are a valuable part of any region-wide investment strategy. T. Rowe Price's Africa and Middle East fund has 27.7% invested in the United Arab Emirates , 20% in Egypt , 17.1% in Qatar and 12.6% in Oman . Smaller holdings include equities from South Africa , Bahrain , Jordan , Lebanon and Nigeria .
The fund is up 3.29% in the year-to-date, much better than its S&P-linked equity Index 500, which is down 7.28%. You can buy into the actively managed equity fund with just $2,500 to get sizable exposure to the region.
Construction, real estate, telecommunications, banking and finance are some of the fastest-growing industries in the region. Local investors support these industries by directing oil wealth into domestic share markets, which desensitizes them to negative global trends. This makes GCC equities more appealing and likely to deliver above-average returns, says Barclay's Koon Chow.
But outside of certain free zones, accessing Middle Eastern equities is no easy task. Markets like the UAE and Qatar limit foreign ownership of local companies to 49%, and Saudi Arabia 's equities remain closed to foreign ownership. HSBC global emerging market equities analyst Alex Tarver warns that U.S. investors may find these new markets less transparent and efficient than what they're used to, and would do well to employ expert analysis before they put their money on the line.
These stumbling blocks have led to the creation of Middle East North Africa funds, many of which add risk and subtract reward. MENA funds tend to be heavily weighted toward North African equities, which are easier to access than Middle East stocks but boast less promising economic performance. To avoid disappointment, Morgan Stanley Chief Investment Strategist David Darst suggests checking country allocations to ensure balanced exposure to both regions before adding a fund to your shopping list.
"You'd want to know it is 'X' amount Morocco and 'X' amount Egypt , which are not the same as Abu Dhabi and Saudi and Dubai ," says Darst.
If you really want to invest like a local, you may want to explore the world of Islamic finance through Sharia-compliant funds. These mutual funds pick their investments in accordance with the religious rules that make up Sharia law, eschewing investments in industries deemed unethical, including gambling, alcohol and pornography. They also stay out of much of the financial sector, which is considered too close to gambling--a quirk that has kept them protected from the West's recent subprime lending crisis. (See "Managed By God.")
The region has also embraced sukuks, or Sharia-compliant bonds. Since interest is forbidden under Sharia law, companies enter sale-and-leaseback arrangements with trusts that issue certificates called sukuks. Convertible sukuks take the Islamic principle of shared risk to heart by converting into shares if the company goes public, and buyers of convertible sukuks may find themselves first in line for a company's initial public offering. The instruments may seem opaque, but many sukuk issues are now listed on the London Stock Exchange, making access and acceptance easier.
If you're looking for low risk and solid returns, steer clear of local currencies like the Saudi riyal or the Dubai durham . Many of the region's currencies are pegged to the dollar, an arrangement blamed for overheating local economies and importing inflation, which is as high as 11% in the UAE and 14% in Qatar . Analysts argue that revaluation is in order, a stance that received a boost last May when Kuwait de-pegged its dinar from the dollar, shifting to a floating basket exchange system. The move has been a boon for Kuwait 's economy, says HSBC's Tarver, and the dinar has appreciated 3.5% against the dollar.
If another Middle East country were to revalue or float its currency, assets denominated in that currency would automatically appreciate against the dollar. Market speculation is that Qatar and Saudi Arabia might be likely to make the move. But Barclay's Chow warns that even though the economic case for revaluation may be strong, investors shouldn't expect it to happen soon.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Porn star's campaign weapon is her bottom
She had no desire to be just another smiling face in Italian politics. So when porn star Milly D'Abbraccio designed her campaign posters, it was obvious she was going to show off her bottom.
Targeting her male fan base, the veteran of Italy's adult entertainment industry has plastered images of her derriere all around the Eternal City in a bid to win a seat in Rome's city hall. If elected, D'Abbraccio wants to create a red light area with strip clubs, erotic discos and sex shops called "Love City" just kilometers away from the Vatican. "It would be something cute, clean -- nothing to do with prostitution," said the actress whose films include The Kiss of the Cobra and Paolina Borghese , Imperial Nymphomaniac .
D'Abbraccio, in her 40s, isn't the first adult entertainer to dip her painted toenails into Italian politics. Ilona Staller, known as "Cicciolina," sat in parliament in the 1980s and was famous for her impromptu stripteases.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
World's Ultimate Unplugged Vacations
Courtesy: Forbes.com
It's getting harder to escape the blinking light of one's BlackBerry while on vacation. The handheld device is now supported in 135 countries and available from over 350 carriers and channels.
Travelers might also be surprised to hear cellphones ring in the Yosemite Valley, Galapagos Islands and even on Mount Everest. Not only are these remote destinations now rigged for basic cellphone service, wireless Internet is available at local hotels and resorts.
That's not so good for those seeking a reprieve from the daily grind.
Just 10 years ago, finding an area untouched by widespread digital technology was easy. But growing demand for cellphone coverage and wireless Internet access in even the most far-flung locales has changed that. Now those seeking a vacation from work and technology are left with two choices: travel far out of range or practice self-restraint.
Leaving The Wired World
Dropping out of the world's many cellphone networks requires finding a very remote vacation spot. Eighty percent of the world's population currently has cellular coverage of some type. By 2010, that number will jump to 90%, according to Wireless Intelligence, a data research service provided by the GSM Association, a trade organization of mobile operators.
As Internet, cellular and data coverage has expanded, the expectations of business executives to stay connected while on vacation have kept apace.
"If you take on a CEO job," says Adam Weissenberg, Deloitte's vice chairman and U.S. tourism, hospitality and leisure leader, "there's an expectation that you'll be available."
Deloitte's research has shown that demand for amenities like wireless Internet, particularly among business travelers, has prompted some previously unwired hotels and resorts to install it for a competitive advantage.
A Deloitte survey of 2,000 business travelers conducted last year also showed that one-third of respondents checked and replied to work e-mails and voice mails while on vacation.
Lisa Lindblad, who runs Manhattan-based Lisa Lindblad Travel Design, says that she never fields requests for so-called unplugged vacations. Instead, her clients want guaranteed access to the outside world.
How To Unplug
Those that don't should head to the Gobi Desert and Alaskan wilderness, two destinations where coverage is still minimal. While cellphone companies service parts of Mongolia, the country is mostly without a signal, including at the Three Camel Lodge in the Gurvansaikhan National Park. The lodge serves as a base camp from which to explore the foothills of the Gobi-Altai Mountains and nearby sand dunes. Guests, who are also without wireless Internet, stay in traditional, furnished felt tents used by nomadic herders.
The Ultima Thule Lodge is located in the Alaskan Wrangell Mountains, which is also out of cellphone range. Guests, who stay in rustic cabins, spend their time discovering glaciers, admiring the Northern Lights and viewing the wilderness by small plane. Travelers can also try Morocco where guests of the spa hotel Ksar Massa relax uninterrupted by technology on an isolated beach in the Souss-Massa national park.
At the Smith Fork Ranch on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains , guests have wireless Internet, but no cellphone service. Andy Adams, the ranch's general manager, says that executives are often so distracted by fishing, hiking and enjoying three-hour dinners, that there's "no time for them to sit there and start typing e-mails."
Visitors may attend to small details, like asking the staff to fax an important paper, but most, says Adams , try to avoid spending their week-long vacation--which can cost up to $21,000 when renting a riverside cabin--on work.
Destinations like these, which offer either Internet or cellphone service, can actually aid executives in setting boundaries on vacation while remaining reachable. But they are increasingly harder to find, particularly as demand for cellphone and Internet service grows in places like China, India and Africa. Even once-isolated areas like Antarctica and the Australian outback now have cellphone or high-speed data service.
Weissenberg says the key to unplugging is moderation and delegation. He recommends leaving a list of 10 people who can handle different tasks, hiring a savvy assistant who knows what merits interrupting your vacation and setting a limit on the number of times you check e-mail each day.
"If you let technology run your vacation," he says, "you can easily run into that trap of being [online] the whole time."
It's getting harder to escape the blinking light of one's BlackBerry while on vacation. The handheld device is now supported in 135 countries and available from over 350 carriers and channels.
Travelers might also be surprised to hear cellphones ring in the Yosemite Valley, Galapagos Islands and even on Mount Everest. Not only are these remote destinations now rigged for basic cellphone service, wireless Internet is available at local hotels and resorts.
That's not so good for those seeking a reprieve from the daily grind.
Just 10 years ago, finding an area untouched by widespread digital technology was easy. But growing demand for cellphone coverage and wireless Internet access in even the most far-flung locales has changed that. Now those seeking a vacation from work and technology are left with two choices: travel far out of range or practice self-restraint.
Leaving The Wired World
Dropping out of the world's many cellphone networks requires finding a very remote vacation spot. Eighty percent of the world's population currently has cellular coverage of some type. By 2010, that number will jump to 90%, according to Wireless Intelligence, a data research service provided by the GSM Association, a trade organization of mobile operators.
As Internet, cellular and data coverage has expanded, the expectations of business executives to stay connected while on vacation have kept apace.
"If you take on a CEO job," says Adam Weissenberg, Deloitte's vice chairman and U.S. tourism, hospitality and leisure leader, "there's an expectation that you'll be available."
Deloitte's research has shown that demand for amenities like wireless Internet, particularly among business travelers, has prompted some previously unwired hotels and resorts to install it for a competitive advantage.
A Deloitte survey of 2,000 business travelers conducted last year also showed that one-third of respondents checked and replied to work e-mails and voice mails while on vacation.
Lisa Lindblad, who runs Manhattan-based Lisa Lindblad Travel Design, says that she never fields requests for so-called unplugged vacations. Instead, her clients want guaranteed access to the outside world.
How To Unplug
Those that don't should head to the Gobi Desert and Alaskan wilderness, two destinations where coverage is still minimal. While cellphone companies service parts of Mongolia, the country is mostly without a signal, including at the Three Camel Lodge in the Gurvansaikhan National Park. The lodge serves as a base camp from which to explore the foothills of the Gobi-Altai Mountains and nearby sand dunes. Guests, who are also without wireless Internet, stay in traditional, furnished felt tents used by nomadic herders.
The Ultima Thule Lodge is located in the Alaskan Wrangell Mountains, which is also out of cellphone range. Guests, who stay in rustic cabins, spend their time discovering glaciers, admiring the Northern Lights and viewing the wilderness by small plane. Travelers can also try Morocco where guests of the spa hotel Ksar Massa relax uninterrupted by technology on an isolated beach in the Souss-Massa national park.
At the Smith Fork Ranch on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains , guests have wireless Internet, but no cellphone service. Andy Adams, the ranch's general manager, says that executives are often so distracted by fishing, hiking and enjoying three-hour dinners, that there's "no time for them to sit there and start typing e-mails."
Visitors may attend to small details, like asking the staff to fax an important paper, but most, says Adams , try to avoid spending their week-long vacation--which can cost up to $21,000 when renting a riverside cabin--on work.
Destinations like these, which offer either Internet or cellphone service, can actually aid executives in setting boundaries on vacation while remaining reachable. But they are increasingly harder to find, particularly as demand for cellphone and Internet service grows in places like China, India and Africa. Even once-isolated areas like Antarctica and the Australian outback now have cellphone or high-speed data service.
Weissenberg says the key to unplugging is moderation and delegation. He recommends leaving a list of 10 people who can handle different tasks, hiring a savvy assistant who knows what merits interrupting your vacation and setting a limit on the number of times you check e-mail each day.
"If you let technology run your vacation," he says, "you can easily run into that trap of being [online] the whole time."
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Olympic torch run ends in Delhi minus violence
Guarded by as many as 17,000 security personnel, the Beijing Olympic torch was taken through a 2.3 km stretch in the Indian national capital today (Thursday, April 17th) with Tibetans protesting in various places in the country.
For over five hours, the majestic Rajpath was turned into a security fortress with the Prime Minister's office and Ministries of Defence, External Affairs and Finance lining the torch route from Rashtrapati Bhavan shut down.
The truncated run that lasted for about 40 minutes was smooth and incident free.
With a three-layered security ring akin to Republic Day arrangements in place, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit handed over the Olympic flame to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Suresh Kalmadi after it was lit by Vice-Chairman of Beijing Olympics Organising Committee Jiang Yu with the imposing Rashtrapati Bhavan forming the backdrop.
'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh, one of India's greatest athletes, had the honour to lead the relay before the torch changed hands with nearly 70 celebrites including sportsmen, film stars and politicians taking short runs culminating at the India gate.
Sportsmen Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati, Aslam Sher Khan, Dhanraj Pillay, Zafar Iqbal, Wilson Cherian, Khazan Singh, K Malleswari, K Kunjurani, Bishen Singh Bedi were among others who took part in the event. The Indian film industry was represented by popular actors Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan.
Around 60 Tibetans were detained as they attempted to block roads and entered into minor clashes with police in various parts of the city.
The public was kept out and all the access roads to the historic stretch was cut off for several hours to ensure a smooth passage of the torch relay which was earlier plagued by disruptions in London, San Francisco and Paris.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Smoking encourages infection
Smoking is a health hazard known to all. But if you're still not able to kick the habit, here's another reason why you should - smoking encourages infection, says a new study.
According to a new study, nicotine affects neutrophils, the short-lived white blood cells that defend against infection, by reducing their ability to seek and destroy bacteria.
Neutrophils are generated by our bone marrow, which they leave as terminally differentiated cells.
Although nicotine is known to affect neutrophils, there has been no study until now of the mechanisms at work when nicotine is present during neutrophil differentiation.
David Scott from the Oral Health and Systemic Disease Research Group at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry, Kentucky, USA, along with a team of international colleagues decided to investigate how nicotine influenced the differentiation process.
The authors suggest the processes they observed as contributing to impaired neutrophil function partially explain chronic tobacco users' increased susceptibility to bacterial infection and inflammatory diseases.
In the study, the research team modeled the neutrophil differentiation process beginning with promyelocytic HL-60 cells, which differentiated into neutrophils following dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) treatment both with and without nicotine.
The researchers found that nicotine increased the percentage of cells in late differentiation phases (metamyelocytes, banded neutrophils and segmented neutrophils) compared to DMSO alone, but did not affect other neutrophil differentiation markers that they examined.
However, the nicotine treated neutrophils were less able to seek and destroy bacteria than nicotine-free neutrophils. The nicotine suppressed the oxidative burst in HL-60 cells, a function that helps kill invading bacteria. Nicotine also increased MMP-9 release, a factor involved in tissue degradation.
"It must be acknowledged that our study model, DMSO-differentiated HL-60 cells, are not entirely similar to normal neutrophils. However, this leukemic human cell line does permit the reproducible study of differentiation while retaining many of the key effector functions of primary neutrophils," said Scott.
The study is published in the open access journal BMC Cell Biology.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
US man sells domain name for $2.6 mn
When Chris Clark bought the domain name pizza.com in 1994, he never thought in his wildest dreams that it would fetch him 2.6 million dollars after 14 years.
Forty-three-year-old Clark maintained the site for just 20 dollars a year and has finally sold it for a whopping 2.6m dollars, after accepting an offer from an anonymous bidder after a week-long online auction.
The North Potomac, Maryland, native sounded ecstatic over his new fortune.
In an interview to the Baltimore Sun newspaper, he said: "It's crazy, it's just crazy. It will make a significant difference in my life, for sure."
Clark bought pizza.com when the world wide web started, hoping that it would help to get a contract with a pizza firm for his consulting company. Though he sold his business in 2000, he kept paying the 20 dollars annual fees for maintaining the domain, which he also used to sell advertisements.
However, the decision to sell it came in January when he heard that another domain - Vodka.com - was sold for three million dollars in 2006.
"I thought, 'Why don't I just try to see what the level of interest is?' If someone's willing to pay that much for Vodka.com, maybe there's more interest in pizza.com," he said.
On Mar 27 the online auction was launched and the first bid was 100 dollars, which skyrocketed to 2.6m dollars just a week later.
He accepted the latter offer and now Clark is expecting to get the cash in his hand after the transaction gets completed.
He said he repents not buying more domain names in the 1990s.
Forty-three-year-old Clark maintained the site for just 20 dollars a year and has finally sold it for a whopping 2.6m dollars, after accepting an offer from an anonymous bidder after a week-long online auction.
The North Potomac, Maryland, native sounded ecstatic over his new fortune.
In an interview to the Baltimore Sun newspaper, he said: "It's crazy, it's just crazy. It will make a significant difference in my life, for sure."
Clark bought pizza.com when the world wide web started, hoping that it would help to get a contract with a pizza firm for his consulting company. Though he sold his business in 2000, he kept paying the 20 dollars annual fees for maintaining the domain, which he also used to sell advertisements.
However, the decision to sell it came in January when he heard that another domain - Vodka.com - was sold for three million dollars in 2006.
"I thought, 'Why don't I just try to see what the level of interest is?' If someone's willing to pay that much for Vodka.com, maybe there's more interest in pizza.com," he said.
On Mar 27 the online auction was launched and the first bid was 100 dollars, which skyrocketed to 2.6m dollars just a week later.
He accepted the latter offer and now Clark is expecting to get the cash in his hand after the transaction gets completed.
He said he repents not buying more domain names in the 1990s.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Life's little mysteries: Why do women wear high heels and why did the kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
This article was extracted from "The Economic Naturalist" by Robert H Frank (£7.99), published by Virgin Books on April 3.
Why do women wear high heels? Why are soft drinks in round containers while milk cartons are rectangular? And why did kamikaze pilots bother with helmets? Here, ROBERT H FRANK uses economics to explain the weird and wonderful situations we encounter in everyday life.
Why do women endure the discomfort of high heels?
High heels are uncomfortable and make walking more difficult. Prolonged use can injure the feet, knees and back. So why do women keep wearing them?
The short answer seems to be that women in heels are more likely to attract favourable notice.
In Sense And Sensibility, Jane Austen describes the character Elinor Dashwood as having a "delicate complexion, regular features, and... remarkably pretty figure".
But Austen describes Elinor's sister, Marianne, as "still handsomer. Her form, though not so correct as her sister's, in having the advantage of height, was more striking".
In addition to making women taller, high heels force the back to arch, pushing the bosom forward and the buttocks rearward, thus accentuating the female form.
"Men like an exaggerated female figure," writes fashion historian Caroline Cox. The problem is that if all women wear high heels, such advantages tend to cancel out.
Height, after all, is a relative phenomenon. It may be advantageous to be taller than others, or at least not to be several inches shorter. But when all wear shoes that make them several inches taller, the relative height distribution is unaffected, so no one appears taller than if all had worn flat heels.
If women could decide collectively what shoes to wear, all might agree to forgo high heels. But because any individual can gain advantage by wearing them, such an agreement might be hard to maintain.
Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
On the heels of significant military setbacks in 1944, the Japanese military launched a campaign of kamikaze attacks, in which pilots attempted to crash their planes into American warships. Their aeroplanes were heavily laden with explosives, so a crash meant almost certain death for the pilot. Why, then, did these pilots wear helmets?
One reason is that in at least some instances, kamikaze pilots survived their missions. Another is that planes commonly experienced severe turbulence before reaching their targets, and in these cases Japanese military commanders had clear reasons for wanting their pilots to be adequately protected.
Perhaps even more important, the aviator's helmet had become emblematic of what it meant to be a pilot. Kamikaze pilots were pilots, and all pilots wear helmets.
But the most compelling explanation for why kamikaze pilots wore helmets is that it was not the express intention that these pilots commit suicide. Their charge was to destroy their targets by any means necessary. But the hope was that the pilots would return safely, even though the expectation was that most would not.
Why do women's clothes button from the left, while men's button from the right?
It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers might adhere to uniform standards for the various features of garments bought by any given group.
What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is precisely the opposite of the one for men. If the standard were completely arbitrary, that would be one thing. But the men's standard would appear to make more sense for women as well.
Around 90 per cent of the world's population is right-handed, and it is easier for right-handers to button shirts from the right. So why do women's garments button from the left?
This is an example in which history seems to matter. When buttons first appeared in the 17th century, they were seen only on garments of the wealthy. At that time it was the custom for rich men to dress themselves and for women to be dressed by servants.
Having women's shirts button from the left thus made things easier for the mostly right-handed servants who dressed them. Having men's shirts button from the right made sense not only because most men dressed themselves, but also because a sword drawn from the left hip with the right hand would be less likely to become caught in the shirt. Today, virtually no women are dressed by servants, so why is buttoning from the left still the norm for women?
In economics, a norm, once established, resists change. At a time when all women's shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women's shirts that buttoned from the right.
After all, women had grown accustomed to shirts that buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch.
Beyond that practical difficulty, some women might also have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since anyone who noticed would assume they were wearing men's shirts.
Why are petrol caps on the driver's side of some cars but the passenger's side of others?
One OF the most frustrating experiences of driving a hire car is to pull up at a fuel pump as you would when driving your own car, only to discover that the fuel tank is located on the other side. Car manufacturers could eliminate this difficulty simply by putting petrol caps always on the same side of the car. Why don't they?
In countries in which motorists drive on the right side of the road, such as the U.S., it is easier to turn right than to turn left across oncoming traffic. A majority of drivers will thus buy fuel at stations they can enter by turning right.
Suppose fuel tanks were always on the driver's side of the car. Drivers would then have to park on the right side of an open pump in order to fill their tanks.
During busy times, all spots on the right sides of pumps would be filled even while most spots on the left sides of pumps remained empty.
Putting petrol caps on different sides of different cars means that some cars can access pumps from the left. And this makes it less likely that drivers will have to queue for fuel.
Why do women wear high heels? Why are soft drinks in round containers while milk cartons are rectangular? And why did kamikaze pilots bother with helmets? Here, ROBERT H FRANK uses economics to explain the weird and wonderful situations we encounter in everyday life.
Why do women endure the discomfort of high heels?
High heels are uncomfortable and make walking more difficult. Prolonged use can injure the feet, knees and back. So why do women keep wearing them?
The short answer seems to be that women in heels are more likely to attract favourable notice.
In Sense And Sensibility, Jane Austen describes the character Elinor Dashwood as having a "delicate complexion, regular features, and... remarkably pretty figure".
But Austen describes Elinor's sister, Marianne, as "still handsomer. Her form, though not so correct as her sister's, in having the advantage of height, was more striking".
In addition to making women taller, high heels force the back to arch, pushing the bosom forward and the buttocks rearward, thus accentuating the female form.
"Men like an exaggerated female figure," writes fashion historian Caroline Cox. The problem is that if all women wear high heels, such advantages tend to cancel out.
Height, after all, is a relative phenomenon. It may be advantageous to be taller than others, or at least not to be several inches shorter. But when all wear shoes that make them several inches taller, the relative height distribution is unaffected, so no one appears taller than if all had worn flat heels.
If women could decide collectively what shoes to wear, all might agree to forgo high heels. But because any individual can gain advantage by wearing them, such an agreement might be hard to maintain.
Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
On the heels of significant military setbacks in 1944, the Japanese military launched a campaign of kamikaze attacks, in which pilots attempted to crash their planes into American warships. Their aeroplanes were heavily laden with explosives, so a crash meant almost certain death for the pilot. Why, then, did these pilots wear helmets?
One reason is that in at least some instances, kamikaze pilots survived their missions. Another is that planes commonly experienced severe turbulence before reaching their targets, and in these cases Japanese military commanders had clear reasons for wanting their pilots to be adequately protected.
Perhaps even more important, the aviator's helmet had become emblematic of what it meant to be a pilot. Kamikaze pilots were pilots, and all pilots wear helmets.
But the most compelling explanation for why kamikaze pilots wore helmets is that it was not the express intention that these pilots commit suicide. Their charge was to destroy their targets by any means necessary. But the hope was that the pilots would return safely, even though the expectation was that most would not.
Why do women's clothes button from the left, while men's button from the right?
It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers might adhere to uniform standards for the various features of garments bought by any given group.
What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is precisely the opposite of the one for men. If the standard were completely arbitrary, that would be one thing. But the men's standard would appear to make more sense for women as well.
Around 90 per cent of the world's population is right-handed, and it is easier for right-handers to button shirts from the right. So why do women's garments button from the left?
This is an example in which history seems to matter. When buttons first appeared in the 17th century, they were seen only on garments of the wealthy. At that time it was the custom for rich men to dress themselves and for women to be dressed by servants.
Having women's shirts button from the left thus made things easier for the mostly right-handed servants who dressed them. Having men's shirts button from the right made sense not only because most men dressed themselves, but also because a sword drawn from the left hip with the right hand would be less likely to become caught in the shirt. Today, virtually no women are dressed by servants, so why is buttoning from the left still the norm for women?
In economics, a norm, once established, resists change. At a time when all women's shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women's shirts that buttoned from the right.
After all, women had grown accustomed to shirts that buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch.
Beyond that practical difficulty, some women might also have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since anyone who noticed would assume they were wearing men's shirts.
Why are petrol caps on the driver's side of some cars but the passenger's side of others?
One OF the most frustrating experiences of driving a hire car is to pull up at a fuel pump as you would when driving your own car, only to discover that the fuel tank is located on the other side. Car manufacturers could eliminate this difficulty simply by putting petrol caps always on the same side of the car. Why don't they?
In countries in which motorists drive on the right side of the road, such as the U.S., it is easier to turn right than to turn left across oncoming traffic. A majority of drivers will thus buy fuel at stations they can enter by turning right.
Suppose fuel tanks were always on the driver's side of the car. Drivers would then have to park on the right side of an open pump in order to fill their tanks.
During busy times, all spots on the right sides of pumps would be filled even while most spots on the left sides of pumps remained empty.
Putting petrol caps on different sides of different cars means that some cars can access pumps from the left. And this makes it less likely that drivers will have to queue for fuel.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Top Ten April Fool's Day Hoaxes...
(As judged by notoriety, absurdity, and number of people duped)
#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest:
In 1957 the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied that they should "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
#2: Sidd Finch:
In its April 1985 edition, Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. But in reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.
#3: Instant Color TV:
In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
#4: The Taco Liberty Bell:
In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
#5: San Serriffe:
In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean consisting of several semi-colon-shaped islands. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades
#6: Nixon for President:
In 1992 National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little
#7: Alabama Changes the Value of Pi:
The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Before long the article had made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly made its way around the world, forwarded by people in their email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by a physicist named Mark Boslough.
#8: The Left-Handed Whopper:
In 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."
#9: Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers:
In its April 1995 issue Discover Magazine announced that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had discovered a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.
#10: Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity:
In 1976 the British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.
#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest:
In 1957 the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied that they should "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
#2: Sidd Finch:
In its April 1985 edition, Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. But in reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.
#3: Instant Color TV:
In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
#4: The Taco Liberty Bell:
In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
#5: San Serriffe:
In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean consisting of several semi-colon-shaped islands. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades
#6: Nixon for President:
In 1992 National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little
#7: Alabama Changes the Value of Pi:
The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Before long the article had made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly made its way around the world, forwarded by people in their email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by a physicist named Mark Boslough.
#8: The Left-Handed Whopper:
In 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."
#9: Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers:
In its April 1995 issue Discover Magazine announced that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had discovered a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.
#10: Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity:
In 1976 the British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.
The origin of April Fool's Day
The origin of April Fool's Day remains clouded in obscurity. Basically no one knows exactly where, when, or why the celebration began. What we do know is that references to 'All Fool's Day' (what April Fool's Day was first called) began to appear in Europe during the late Middle Ages. All Fool's Day was a folk celebration and elite participation in it was minimal (which is why it's so difficult to trace the exact origin of the day, because the people celebrating it back then weren't the kind of people who kept records of what they did). But what is clear is that the tradition of a day devoted to foolery has ancient roots. As we look back in time we find many ancient predecessors of April Fool's Day.
Throughout antiquity numerous festivals included celebrations of foolery and trickery. The Saturnalia, a Roman winter festival observed at the end of December, was the most important of these. It involved dancing, drinking, and general merrymaking. People exchanged gifts, slaves were allowed to pretend that they ruled their masters, and a mock king, the Saturnalicius princeps (or Lord of Misrule), reigned for the day. By the fourth century AD the Saturnalia had transformed into a January 1 New Year's Day celebration, and many of its traditions were incorporated into the observance of Christmas.
In late March the Romans honored the resurrection of Attis, son of the Great Mother Cybele, with the Hilaria celebration. This involved rejoicing and the donning of disguises.
Further afield in India there was Holi, known as the festival of color, during which street celebrants threw tinted powders at each other, until everyone was covered in garish colors from head to toe. This holiday was held on the full-moon day of the Hindu month of Phalguna (usually the end of February or the beginning of March).
Northern Europeans observed an ancient festival to honor Lud, a Celtic god of humor. And there were also popular Northern European customs that made sport of the hierarchy of the Druids.
All of these celebrations could have served as precedents for April Fool's Day.
During the middle ages, a number of celebrations developed which served as direct predecessors to April Fool's Day. The most important of these was the Festus Fatuorum (the Feast of Fools) which evolved out of the Saturnalia. On this day (mostly observed in France) celebrants elected a mock pope and parodied church rituals. The church, of course, did its best to discourage this holiday, but it lingered on until the sixteenth century. Following the suppression of the Feast of Fools, merrymakers focused their attention on Mardi Gras and Carnival.
There was also the medieval figure of the Fool, the symbolic patron saint of the day. Fools became prominent in late medieval Europe, practicing their craft in a variety of settings such as town squares and royal courts. Their distinctive dress remains well known today: multicolored robe, horned hat, and sceptre and bauble.
There have been quite a few attempts to provide mythological explanations for the rise of April Fool's Day.
For instance, it was once popular to attempt to christianize the celebration by locating its origin somewhere in Biblical traditions. In one such version, the day's origin is attributed to Noah's mistake of sending a dove out from the ark before the flood waters had subsided (thereby sending the dove on a fool's errand). A second story tells that the day commemorates the time when Jesus was sent from Pilate to Herod and back again. The phrase "Sending a man from Pilate to Herod" (an old term for sending someone on a fool's errand) was often pointed to as proof of this origin theory.
But there are rival mythological explanations linking the celebration to pagan roots. For instance, April Fool's Day was often traced back to Roman mythology, particularly the myth of Ceres and Proserpina. In Roman mythology Pluto, the God of the Dead, abducted Proserpina and brought her to live with him in the underworld. Proserpina called out to her mother Ceres (the Goddess of grain and the harvest) for help, but Ceres, who could only hear the echo of her daughter's voice, searched in vain for Proserpina. The fruitless search of Ceres for her daughter (commemmorated during the Roman festival of Cerealia) was believed by some to have been the mythological antecedent of the fool's errands popular on April 1st.
British folklore links April Fool's Day to the town of Gotham, the legendary town of fools located in Nottinghamshire. According to the legend, it was traditional in the 13th century for any road that the King placed his foot upon to become public property. So when the citizens of Gotham heard that King John planned to travel through their town, they refused him entry, not wishing to lose their main road. When the King heard this, he sent soldiers to the town. But when the soldiers arrived in Gotham, they found the town full of lunatics engaged in foolish activities such as drowning fish or attempting to cage birds in roofless fences. Their foolery was all an act, but the King fell for the ruse and declared the town too foolish to warrant punishment. And ever since then, April Fool's Day has supposedly commemmorated their trickery.
The most widespread theory about the origin of April Fool's Day involves the Gregorian calendar reform of the late sixteenth century.
The theory goes like this: In 1582 France became the first country to switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar established by the Council of Trent (1563). This switch meant, among other things, that the beginning of the year was moved from the end of March to January 1. Those who failed to keep up with the change, who stubbornly clung to the old calendar system and continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell between March 25th (known in England as Lady Day) and April 1st, had various jokes played on them. For instance, pranksters would surreptitiously stick paper fish to their backs. The victims of this prank were given the epithet Poisson d'Avril, or April Fish. Thus, April Fool's Day was born.
The calendar change hypothesis might provide a reason for why April 1st specifically became the date of the modern holiday. But it is clear that the idea of a springtime festival honoring misrule and mayhem had far more ancient roots. In addition, the process by which the observance of the day spread from France to protestant countries such as Germany, Scotland, and England is left unexplained by this theory. These nations only adopted the calendar change during the eighteenth century, at a time when the tradition of April Foolery had already been well established throughout Europe. Finally, it is not clear what evidence, besides conjecture, supports the theory. For which reason, while there's certainly a possibility that the calendar-change hypothesis contains a germ of truth, it should not be regarded as fact.
Throughout antiquity numerous festivals included celebrations of foolery and trickery. The Saturnalia, a Roman winter festival observed at the end of December, was the most important of these. It involved dancing, drinking, and general merrymaking. People exchanged gifts, slaves were allowed to pretend that they ruled their masters, and a mock king, the Saturnalicius princeps (or Lord of Misrule), reigned for the day. By the fourth century AD the Saturnalia had transformed into a January 1 New Year's Day celebration, and many of its traditions were incorporated into the observance of Christmas.
In late March the Romans honored the resurrection of Attis, son of the Great Mother Cybele, with the Hilaria celebration. This involved rejoicing and the donning of disguises.
Further afield in India there was Holi, known as the festival of color, during which street celebrants threw tinted powders at each other, until everyone was covered in garish colors from head to toe. This holiday was held on the full-moon day of the Hindu month of Phalguna (usually the end of February or the beginning of March).
Northern Europeans observed an ancient festival to honor Lud, a Celtic god of humor. And there were also popular Northern European customs that made sport of the hierarchy of the Druids.
All of these celebrations could have served as precedents for April Fool's Day.
During the middle ages, a number of celebrations developed which served as direct predecessors to April Fool's Day. The most important of these was the Festus Fatuorum (the Feast of Fools) which evolved out of the Saturnalia. On this day (mostly observed in France) celebrants elected a mock pope and parodied church rituals. The church, of course, did its best to discourage this holiday, but it lingered on until the sixteenth century. Following the suppression of the Feast of Fools, merrymakers focused their attention on Mardi Gras and Carnival.
There was also the medieval figure of the Fool, the symbolic patron saint of the day. Fools became prominent in late medieval Europe, practicing their craft in a variety of settings such as town squares and royal courts. Their distinctive dress remains well known today: multicolored robe, horned hat, and sceptre and bauble.
There have been quite a few attempts to provide mythological explanations for the rise of April Fool's Day.
For instance, it was once popular to attempt to christianize the celebration by locating its origin somewhere in Biblical traditions. In one such version, the day's origin is attributed to Noah's mistake of sending a dove out from the ark before the flood waters had subsided (thereby sending the dove on a fool's errand). A second story tells that the day commemorates the time when Jesus was sent from Pilate to Herod and back again. The phrase "Sending a man from Pilate to Herod" (an old term for sending someone on a fool's errand) was often pointed to as proof of this origin theory.
But there are rival mythological explanations linking the celebration to pagan roots. For instance, April Fool's Day was often traced back to Roman mythology, particularly the myth of Ceres and Proserpina. In Roman mythology Pluto, the God of the Dead, abducted Proserpina and brought her to live with him in the underworld. Proserpina called out to her mother Ceres (the Goddess of grain and the harvest) for help, but Ceres, who could only hear the echo of her daughter's voice, searched in vain for Proserpina. The fruitless search of Ceres for her daughter (commemmorated during the Roman festival of Cerealia) was believed by some to have been the mythological antecedent of the fool's errands popular on April 1st.
British folklore links April Fool's Day to the town of Gotham, the legendary town of fools located in Nottinghamshire. According to the legend, it was traditional in the 13th century for any road that the King placed his foot upon to become public property. So when the citizens of Gotham heard that King John planned to travel through their town, they refused him entry, not wishing to lose their main road. When the King heard this, he sent soldiers to the town. But when the soldiers arrived in Gotham, they found the town full of lunatics engaged in foolish activities such as drowning fish or attempting to cage birds in roofless fences. Their foolery was all an act, but the King fell for the ruse and declared the town too foolish to warrant punishment. And ever since then, April Fool's Day has supposedly commemmorated their trickery.
The most widespread theory about the origin of April Fool's Day involves the Gregorian calendar reform of the late sixteenth century.
The theory goes like this: In 1582 France became the first country to switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar established by the Council of Trent (1563). This switch meant, among other things, that the beginning of the year was moved from the end of March to January 1. Those who failed to keep up with the change, who stubbornly clung to the old calendar system and continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell between March 25th (known in England as Lady Day) and April 1st, had various jokes played on them. For instance, pranksters would surreptitiously stick paper fish to their backs. The victims of this prank were given the epithet Poisson d'Avril, or April Fish. Thus, April Fool's Day was born.
The calendar change hypothesis might provide a reason for why April 1st specifically became the date of the modern holiday. But it is clear that the idea of a springtime festival honoring misrule and mayhem had far more ancient roots. In addition, the process by which the observance of the day spread from France to protestant countries such as Germany, Scotland, and England is left unexplained by this theory. These nations only adopted the calendar change during the eighteenth century, at a time when the tradition of April Foolery had already been well established throughout Europe. Finally, it is not clear what evidence, besides conjecture, supports the theory. For which reason, while there's certainly a possibility that the calendar-change hypothesis contains a germ of truth, it should not be regarded as fact.
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