Dog Digs Up $85K Worth Of Heroin In His Backyard
Kenyon really is a good dog. The golden retriever loves digging in his Yamhill, Oregon backyard and one day, he hit the criminal jackpot: $85-thousand worth of black tar heroin.
His owners assumed it was a time capsule of some sort, but soon discovered the package was some sort of narcotic and called the cops. When authorities arrived, they declared Kenyon had dug up 15-ounces of black tar heroin.
For all his good work, Kenyon now has an official Yamhill County K9 citation ribbon and is an honorary narcotics K9 for life.
Source: KATU
Ghosting, Zombieing...Now "Stashing"
There are all kinds of dating terms for the crappy things people do to each other now that we have technology at our fingertips. First it was disappearing altogether. Then it was disappearing and coming back. What could possibly be next? Enter the next crazy dating thing people are doing – stashing.
Stashing is basically what happens when your partner is dating more than one person. Sounds crazy, right? We wish it was. But because it’s so easy to juggle multiple partners at once, some people will actually keep a few of them on the line. Maybe you’ve never met their friends, never seen them post on social media about you. There could be a multitude of hints that you’re a victim of stashing.
Watch out for the stashers, people!!
Source: The Sun
A Beer Buzz Can Boost Creativity: Study
Researchers at the University of Graz, in Austria, found that “mild alcohol intoxication” — as in, buzzed, not bombed — can actually boost cognition and creativity through “loosening” up and refocusing.
Led by Mathias Benedek, a senior scientist in the psychology department, the recent study in “Consciousness and Cognition” journal followed 89 people who either drank beer or a non-alcoholic beer that tasted the same.
Beer drinkers got slightly tipsy — .03% blood alcohol concentration. (U.S. states have set .08% BAC as the legal limit for driving under the influence.)
Participants were asked to do various tasks, such as determining the word that links the words Swiss, blue and cake. Beer drinkers were more likely to guess that the correct answer was “cheese.” Boozy test-takers were also better at coming up with creative uses for common objects — such as umbrellas, shoes and car tires.
Why did boozy subjects do better? “When initial solution attempts get on the wrong track, this can cause blocks to immediate problem solving, which is known as mental fixation,” Benedek notes.
Earlier studies have found that alcohol bumps up creativity. Like those, the Graz research isn’t a call to approach life like an open bar. “The findings,” Benedek writes, “should not be overgeneralized by assuming that creativity is generally supported by alcohol. Beneficial effects are likely restricted to very modest amounts of alcohol, whereas excessive alcohol consumption typically impairs creative productivity.”
Link: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/beer-buzz-boost-creativity-study-article-1.3414391
Study says using emoji in work emails displays lack of competence
A new study reveals that using smileys in work emails sends a poor message about you to your colleagues.
According to a study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the graphical attempts to keep things light can backfire. "Smileys do not increase perceptions of warmth and actually decrease perceptions of competence," noted Ella Glikson, a post-doctorate fellow at the university.
"In formal business e-mails, a smiley is not a smile."
"The study also found that when the participants were asked to respond to e-mails on formal matters, their answers were more detailed and they included more content-related information when the e-mail did not include a smiley," said Glikson.
"We found that the perceptions of low competence if a smiley is included in turn undermined information sharing."
The researchers' findings were published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
That Scale May Actually Help You Lose Weight
Ask any woman who’s trying to lose weight and they’ll tell you stepping on that dreaded scale can cause them to stress out. There are always people that will tell you not to obsess about the scale when you’re trying to shed a few pounds, but it turns out that scale can really go along way towards helping you succeed in your weight loss goals.
A new study out of University of Pennsylvania suggests getting on the scale every day can motivate a person to stay on their weight loss path. The study, which looked at 294 women of varying weights, suggests that even seeing small results on the scale each day can encourage people to stick to their diets, while slight increases in weight can push them to adopt lifestyle changes that may help the take off the pounds.
“Regularly weighing yourself can motivate you to engage in healthy eating and exercise behaviors,” Dr. Meghan Butryn, from Drexel University, explains. “It provides you with evidence that these behaviors are effective in helping you lose weight or prevent weight gain.” She adds. “Similarly, if you see weight gain on the scale, that information can motivate you to make a change.”
Source: The Daily Mail