Jul 11, 2014

Smiles Work

NYU students smiled, on average a little over once a minute when they were with a smiling confederate and averaged only a third of a smile per minute when they were with a confederate who did not smile.

We judge people and objects to be more pleasant when we are smiling in comparison to when we are frowning, so if you want your interviewer to think positively about you, try smiling.

Benjamin Franklin Pseudonyms

Franklin was prolific, regardless of which name he used.

Richard Saunders - He used this name for his Poor Richard’s Almanac, which ran annually from 1732 to 1758. The Richard character brought humor to what was otherwise a serious resource in the almanac. During the years of publication the unnecessary character gradually disappeared.

Silence Dogood - When Benjamin was 16-years-old, he wanted to write for his brother James’ newspaper, The New England Courant, but James would not allow it. Ben contributed to the paper as a middle-aged widow named Silence Dogood whose witty and satirical letters covered a range of topics from courtship to education. Fifteen Dogood letters were published, resulting in the amusement of Courant readers and several marriage proposals for the pretend widow, Mrs. Dogood.

Anthony Afterwit - Mr. Afterwit, a gentleman, wrote humorous letters about married life that appeared in Franklin’s own Pennsylvania Gazette.

Polly Baker - Polly Baker was a pseudonym Franklin used to examine colonial society’s unequal treatment of women. She was pretend punished by society for having children out of wedlock while the fathers of the children went unpunished.

Alice Addertongue - Alice is another middle-aged widow who wrote a gossip column for Franklin’s Gazette in the form of scandalous stories about prominent members of society.

Caelia Shortface and Martha Careful - These pseudonyms were used by Franklin to settle a personal dispute. They wrote letters mocking Franklin’s former employer, Samuel Keimer, who had stolen some of Franklin’s publishing ideas. Shortface and Careful’s letters were published in The American Weekly Mercury, a publication by a Keimer rival.

Busy Body - Also published in The American Weekly Mercury, Miss Body’s letters were gossip stories about local businessmen.

Benevolous. Benevolous - He wrote letters to British newspapers while Franklin was in London. The primary focus of the letters was to correct negative statements made about Americans in the British press.

Negotiating Technique

From a recent study, people who sat in hard chairs were more likely to maintain a hard line in negotiations and were less receptive to their partner's way of thinking.

In a series of studies, scientists found that they could easily manipulate people's feelings and perceptions based on nothing more than what the subjects were touching. Holding heavier objects, for instance, made men think more seriously about things, which in turn made them more likely to donate money to charity if asked. Men holding lighter objects were less likely to donate to charitable causes. People handling rough objects were more likely to see neutral social situations in a bad light, saying that other people were obviously in a bad mood.

Fifteen Detroit Facts

Detroit, Michigan might not be the city it once was, but it does have a prestigious history and a few firsts attributed to it.
    The very first news broadcast came out of Detroit on WWJ.
    Detroit was the first city to assign individual phone numbers, in 1879.
    It is potato chip capital of the world… per consumption. (Love those Better Made chips)
    Ice cream soda was invented in Detroit.
    Pizza deliveryman Richard Davis invented the bulletproof vest, after being attacked by three armed robbers during a delivery. (DuPont chemist Stephanie Kwolek, who passed away last month, discovered Kevlar in 1965).
    Detroit has more registered bowlers than any other city.
    The salt mines beneath Detroit could keep food flavored for over seventy thousand years.
    Elijay J. McCoy invented the best lubrication system for locomotives and other machinery in 1872. Manufacturers wanted the best, “the real McCoy.” (That’s where the saying came from).
    The first four-way traffic light was in Detroit, at the intersection of Woodward and Fort St.
    A one-mile stretch of Detroit road was paved with concrete in 1908, making it the world's first concrete-paved road.
    Vernor's Ginger Ale was invented there.
    The first air-conditioned car was manufactured in 1939 by Detroit's Packard Motor Car Company.
    The J.W. Westcott II, Detroit, is the world's only floating post office, as it delivers mail to ships as they pass under the Ambassador Bridge (I once rode on it).
    The first tunnel connecting two countries in the world is the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
    Belle Isle, in Detroit is the largest island park in the US.

Prescription Discounts

We all like a deal and this site has some good deals for prescriptions. LINK Type in the drug and dosage, then zip code and look for deals or coupons. There was nothing to sign up for, no email necessary, and no credit card needed  for the few I tested. Seems like a good deal to me.

What Makes Super Glue Work

Super glue works like a two-part adhesive, the glue in the tube and the hardener is water. Most dry surfaces have microscopic droplets of water adhering to them. When super glue comes in contact with these droplets they create the chemical reaction that causes the super glue to harden.

You can wipe both surfaces with a very slightly damp cloth or breathe on it, like breathing on a mirror to speed the adhesive's setting. It sticks to skin because skin is full of large, medium, small and microscopic grooves and pores that provide the perfect type of roughness for glue to grab. Second, the skin tissues are saturated with water so the super glue can soak in and find water to cause the hardening reaction.

The super glue that doctors use is different than the type available in hardware stores. Surgical super glue contains types of alcohols that are less toxic to human tissue. The type sold in stores uses ethyl of methyl alcohols that can kill cells.

Pain and Coughing

Next time you feel some pain, such as a shot from the doctor, or paper cut, or a prick from a plant thorn, force a rough cough or a few coughs. Coughing  has been shown to moderate the feeling of pain.

Five Attributes Happiness and Sex Share

Here is another way to ease pain. A 2004 study asked 900 American women how various daily activities made them feel and found that "intimate relations" topped the charts for happiness. Both reduce anxiety, reduce stress, boost your immune system, ease pain, and both reduce neuroticism, a trait marked by mood swings and frequent worry. Not sure who paid for the study to show the obvious.

Kindness Multiplies

Here is a site that has 35 uplifting acts of kindness. LINK Too good not to share.

Free Friday Thought


Jul 4, 2014

Friday Thoughts

Happiness has two faces, tears and smiles.

Sometimes my smile gets so big it makes my eyes leak, especially while having a Happy Friday!

Happy Canada Day

On July 1, 1867, the nation was officially born when the Constitution Act joined three provinces into one country: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Canada province, which then split into Ontario and Quebec. However, Canada was not completely independent of England until 1982.