Doctor Cautions About Fidget Spinner Claims-The debate is on as to whether the latest “toy” is beneficial or just annoying.
An Ohio doctor says some people believe fidget spinners may improve a child's ability to focus, but there's no science to back up the claim. Doctor Joe Austerman with Cleveland Clinic Children's says some folks advocate for fidget spinners as an effective tool for children with conditions like ADHD. But again, the doctor says there's no evidence to support their use.
He says there are other studies that show getting up and moving in the classroom is good for a child's ability to learn, but adds that applying that concept to micro-movements of the hand is a bit of a stretch. One of the benefits of taking breaks is long-term memory retention. Source: MetroSource
Start Up Company Is Making Flying Cars More Of A Reality-There could be propellers in our vehicles’ future.
Testing is underway on a new propeller-driven prototype of a "flying car." The test model is being developed by the Japanese company Cartivator in partnership with Toyota. The test model took off several times, hovering at eye level for a few seconds before making a hard landing.
Basketballs attached to the bottom served as cushioning. The project leader said he took inspiration from the DeLorean flying car in "Back to the Future." Toyota is reminding everyone that the project is on the early stages. Source: USA Today
Today is World Environment Day and National Gingerbread Day
Young Men Seek Barbecue Dad for Father's Day Weekend
A group of men in their 20s in Washington state has posted a Craigslist ad seeking a generic dad to grill burgers and hotdogs for a gathering set for the Saturday of Father's Day weekend in mid-June.
Qualifications include a minimum of 18 years of experience as a dad and 10 years of grilling experience. The successful dad must bring his own grill, but burgers and hotdogs will be provided.
Dane Anderson tells KHQ-TV that the young men in Spokane don't live with their fathers and, the ad says, none are prepared to fill the role of barbecue dad.
Additional requirements include talking about dad things like lawnmowers, building your own deck and musician Jimmy Buffet. Payment is food and beer.
Anderson says several potential barbecue dads have responded.
Link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/young-men-seek-barbecue-dad-fathers-day-weekend-155404668.html
Disgruntled Man Unleashes Bed Bugs In City Building
Most of us have experienced the headache of dealing with local government. One man in Augusta, Maine took his frustrations out in a creative, but very disgusting, way. When the unidentified man was told he didn't qualify for government assistance, he took a cup containing more than 100 bed bugs out of his pocket and slammed it on the counter.
The bugs started spreading and City Hall had to be shut down while pest control came in and got rid of the bugs. City Manager William Bridgeo, who'seworked in various communities since 1976, said he’s “never had anything as yucky as this” happen on his watch.
Police are investigating and it hasn't been determined if the disgruntled resident will face criminal charges.
Source: Central Maine
New App Stops You from Spending Money When You’re Drunk
If you’re the kind of person who goes online to buy all kinds of weird things in the early hours of the morning, after an alcohol-fueled night out, you may be interested in a new smartphone app that blocks your credit cards for 12 hours if it thinks you’re too drunk to shop.
DrnkPay is a smartphone app that stops users from making purchases while drunk, which is apparently something people end up regretting. It was developed by UK financial consultancy company iBe TSE, after research found that half of British alcohol drinkers admitted that they regret a purchase made when drunk. The survey that inspired Drnkpay also revealed a few bizarre examples of things bought while intoxicated, like flying lessons, a rowing club lifetime membership for someone who doesn’t row, 30 pairs of flip flops, and even a live chicken.
But how does a smartphone app know when you’re drunk, right? Well, that’s what the companion breathalyzer is for. It connects to your smartphone and sends data to the DrnkPay app whenever you blow in it. Once it decides you’ve had too much to drink, it locks your credit cards for 12 hours, which iBe TSE believes is plenty of time to sober up. Some people might have a problem with needing to blow into a breathalyzer in public, so the app also comes with a less conspicuous alternative – a bracelet-like biosensor, which constantly analyses the alcohol content in the user’s bloodstream.
For DrnkPay to work, users obviously have to link their credit/debit cards to the app. They can then set a limit of drinks they wish to have (like three pints of beer), and the app will only block the cards if they go over it.
Link: http://www.odditycentral.com/news/new-app-stops-you-from-spending-money-when-youre-drunk.html
If There Was A Computer That Told You How Long You Have To Live Would You Use It?
An artificial-intelligence computer can predict your lifespan, new research from the University of Adelaide in Australia found. The researchers took CT scans of 48 patients’ chests, which included tissue images of the aorta, heart, lungs, fat located around the heart, body fat, muscle, and bone. Then, they “taught” an artificial intelligence program to analyze the data. The results? The computer was able to predict which patients would die within 5 years with 69 percent accuracy—a rate that’s comparable to “manual” predictions made by doctors, the researchers say in a press release. The predictions were most accurate for patients with severe chronic diseases, like congestive heart failure or emphysema.
- At what age would you want to know how much longer you had to live?
Link: http://www.menshealth.com/health/computer-predicts-death
Antisocial Woman Pretends to Be Blind for 28 Years So She Wouldn’t Have to Greet People
Almost 30-years-ago Carmen Jiménez, from Madrid, Spain, became completely blind due to a serious eye injury. At least that’s what she told everyone, including her own family, because she was tired of having to say “hello” to people she didn’t actually want to greet.
The 57-year-old woman recently revealed that she had always been able to see perfectly, which left her family in shock, even though they had always suspected that something was of about her condition. Her husband told reporters that she would put on her makeup perfectly, and sometimes they would see her trying to look at the TV from the corner of her eyes. But she never admitted to faking her blindness, until recently
But what on Earth would poses anyone to fake blindness for nearly three decades? Carmen apparently did it to avoid having to greet and talk to people she didn’t actually like. “I was tired of meeting people on the street and stopping to say hello, I’ve never been very social person, and by pretending to be blind I was able to avoid many social responsibilities,” she said, according to Hay Noticia.
Apart from having to explain to her family why she lied to them for so many years, and meeting the very people she was trying so hard to avoid, Jiménez is also facing legal problems, because having registered as a blind person, she has received special financial aid.