Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Survey of teens of Drunk driving vs texting which is more risky
More teens think drunk driving can lead to a fatal crash than texting while behind the wheel, according to a survey done by Harris Interactive for State Farm.
"Fewer teens view texting while driving as leading to fatal consequences as compared to drinking while driving," State Farm said in a news release. "Of 14- to 17-year-olds who intend to have or already have a driver’s license, the survey found that 36 percent strongly agree that if they regularly text and drive they could be killed one day. In contrast, the majority of teens (55 percent) strongly agree that drinking while driving could be fatal."
Among the 697 teens surveyed, 63 percent said they "strongly agree" they could get into an accident if they text and drive, vs. 78 percent who "strongly agree" an accident could happen if they drink and drive, State Farm said.
"The awareness gap becomes more pronounced among teens who admit to texting while driving versus teens who refrain from the practice. Among teens that have never texted while driving, 73 percent strongly agree they will get into an accident if they text and drive. Yet among teens that admit to texting while driving, only 52 percent strongly agree they will get into an accident as a result of the practice," the agency said.
"Aspiring" and current teen drivers also seem to think the time they need to react to "narrowly avoid an accident are better texting while driving versus drinking while driving. With texting while driving, 55 percent of these teens agree they will have some situations when they almost get into an accident but will recover just in time. This compares to 36 percent of these teens who agree they can recover just in time in situations where they are drinking and driving."
Distracted driving remains in the U.S. "an epidemic," federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Bloomberg News, but traffic deaths tied to sending or reading text messages, talking on the phone, or even eating while driving decreased 6 percent last year from the previous year.
In an e-mail to Bloomberg, LaHood said that traffic deaths tied to distracted driving decreased 6 percent last year from the previous year, but said the numbers still show that "distracted driving remains an epidemic in America, and they are just the tip of the iceberg."
• A third of teens say they’ve texted while driving
• Pew: Half of cell users text and drive
Bloomberg reported that "Crashes linked to drivers being distracted behind the wheel caused 5,474 deaths last year, down from 5,838 a year earlier and accounting for 16 percent of all road fatalities in 2009, unchanged from the previous year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."
Distracted driving isn't just a teen problem, of course, adults are also guilty of the dangerous habit as well. In Portland last week, a 40-year-old city bus driver was caught on video by a passenger, reading a Kindle while driving Interstate 5. The drive was "immediately pulled off of his route after TriMet received several complaints, according to TriMet spokeswoman Bekki Witt. He was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation."
"Fewer teens view texting while driving as leading to fatal consequences as compared to drinking while driving," State Farm said in a news release. "Of 14- to 17-year-olds who intend to have or already have a driver’s license, the survey found that 36 percent strongly agree that if they regularly text and drive they could be killed one day. In contrast, the majority of teens (55 percent) strongly agree that drinking while driving could be fatal."
Among the 697 teens surveyed, 63 percent said they "strongly agree" they could get into an accident if they text and drive, vs. 78 percent who "strongly agree" an accident could happen if they drink and drive, State Farm said.
"The awareness gap becomes more pronounced among teens who admit to texting while driving versus teens who refrain from the practice. Among teens that have never texted while driving, 73 percent strongly agree they will get into an accident if they text and drive. Yet among teens that admit to texting while driving, only 52 percent strongly agree they will get into an accident as a result of the practice," the agency said.
"Aspiring" and current teen drivers also seem to think the time they need to react to "narrowly avoid an accident are better texting while driving versus drinking while driving. With texting while driving, 55 percent of these teens agree they will have some situations when they almost get into an accident but will recover just in time. This compares to 36 percent of these teens who agree they can recover just in time in situations where they are drinking and driving."
Distracted driving remains in the U.S. "an epidemic," federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Bloomberg News, but traffic deaths tied to sending or reading text messages, talking on the phone, or even eating while driving decreased 6 percent last year from the previous year.
In an e-mail to Bloomberg, LaHood said that traffic deaths tied to distracted driving decreased 6 percent last year from the previous year, but said the numbers still show that "distracted driving remains an epidemic in America, and they are just the tip of the iceberg."
• A third of teens say they’ve texted while driving
• Pew: Half of cell users text and drive
Bloomberg reported that "Crashes linked to drivers being distracted behind the wheel caused 5,474 deaths last year, down from 5,838 a year earlier and accounting for 16 percent of all road fatalities in 2009, unchanged from the previous year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."
Distracted driving isn't just a teen problem, of course, adults are also guilty of the dangerous habit as well. In Portland last week, a 40-year-old city bus driver was caught on video by a passenger, reading a Kindle while driving Interstate 5. The drive was "immediately pulled off of his route after TriMet received several complaints, according to TriMet spokeswoman Bekki Witt. He was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation."
Monday, September 27, 2010
Want to improve your mood try vitamin C
NaturalNews) The known benefits of taking vitamin C now include mood improvement, according to a new study by researchers from Montreal's Jewish General Hospital (JGH). In a double-blind clinical trial, patients at the hospital experienced a significant and rapid improvement in their moods shortly after taking vitamin C.
Published in the journal Nutrition, the study adds to the growing body of evidence about the vital role vitamin C plays in regulating hormone levels, particularly those like Serotonin that affect mental and emotional well-being. And according to researchers, most people have dismally inadequate intake of the vital nutrient.
"Earlier studies, both in our hospital and in other centres, demonstrated that the majority of acutely hospitalized patients have subnormal levels of vitamins C and D in their blood," explained Dr. L. John Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., an investigator at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI), which is affiliated with JGH. "About one in five acute-care patients in our hospital have vitamin C levels so low as to be compatible with scurvy."
Hoffer also explained that doctors are largely unaware of these massive vitamin deficiencies, resulting in patients not getting the vitamin supplementation they need to regain their health.
"[P]atients are rarely given vitamin supplements," he said. "Most physicians are simply unaware of the problem. Subclinical deficiencies of vitamin C and D have each been linked to psychological abnormalities."
The JGH study is hardly the first to identify a connection between vitamin C deficiency and poor health. Numerous studies have shown that vitamin C is necessary to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system and to protect the body from oxidative damage, but it is now clear that the brain relies on vitamin C as well.
"Low levels of vitamin C in the brain can result in depression and hysteria," explain Michael T. Murray, N.D., and Joseph E. Pizzorno, N.D., in their book Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Revised Second Edition.
Published in the journal Nutrition, the study adds to the growing body of evidence about the vital role vitamin C plays in regulating hormone levels, particularly those like Serotonin that affect mental and emotional well-being. And according to researchers, most people have dismally inadequate intake of the vital nutrient.
"Earlier studies, both in our hospital and in other centres, demonstrated that the majority of acutely hospitalized patients have subnormal levels of vitamins C and D in their blood," explained Dr. L. John Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., an investigator at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI), which is affiliated with JGH. "About one in five acute-care patients in our hospital have vitamin C levels so low as to be compatible with scurvy."
Hoffer also explained that doctors are largely unaware of these massive vitamin deficiencies, resulting in patients not getting the vitamin supplementation they need to regain their health.
"[P]atients are rarely given vitamin supplements," he said. "Most physicians are simply unaware of the problem. Subclinical deficiencies of vitamin C and D have each been linked to psychological abnormalities."
The JGH study is hardly the first to identify a connection between vitamin C deficiency and poor health. Numerous studies have shown that vitamin C is necessary to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system and to protect the body from oxidative damage, but it is now clear that the brain relies on vitamin C as well.
"Low levels of vitamin C in the brain can result in depression and hysteria," explain Michael T. Murray, N.D., and Joseph E. Pizzorno, N.D., in their book Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Revised Second Edition.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
interesting facts
1. If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on your right side. If you are left handed, you will tend to chew your food on your left side.
2. If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. For when a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.
3. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
4. Your tongue is germ free only if it is pink. If it is white there is a thin film of bacteria on it.
5. The Mercedes-Benz motto is “Das Beste oder Nichts” meaning “the best or nothing”.
6. The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal.
7. The pupil of the eye expands as much as 45 percent when a person looks at something pleasing.
8. The average person who stops smoking requires one hour less sleep a night.
9. Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
10. The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
11. Dalmatians are born without spots.
12. Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
13. The ‘v’ in the name of a court case does not stand for ‘versus’, but for ‘and’ (in civil proceedings) or ‘against’ (in criminal proceedings).
14. Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right, but women’s shirts have the buttons on the left.
15. The owl is the only bird to drop its upper eyelid to wink. All other birds raise their lower eyelids.
16. The reason honey is so easy to digest is that it’s already been digested by a bee.
17. Roosters cannot crow if they cannot extend their necks.
18. The color blue has a calming effect. It causes the brain to release calming hormones.
19. Every time you sneeze some of your brain cells die.
20. Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart.
21. The verb “cleave” is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.
22. When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.
23. When hippos are upset, their sweat turns red.
24. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor.
25. The lion that roars in the MGM logo is named Volney.
26. Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros.
27. Switching letters is called spoonerism. For example, saying jag of Flapan, instead of flag of Japan.
28. It cost 7 million dollars to build the Titanic and 200 million to make a film about it.
29. The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples.
30. There are 1,792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
31. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.
32. Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.
33. It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.
34. The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
35. Most soccer players run 7 miles in a game.
36. The only part of the body that has no blood supply is the cornea in the eye. It takes in oxygen directly from the air.
37. Every day 200 million couples make love, 400,000 babies are born, and 140,000 people die.
38. In most watch advertisements the time displayed on the watch is 10:10 because then the arms frame the brand of the watch (and make it look like it
is smiling).
39. Colgate faced big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries. Colgate translates into the command “go hang yourself.”
40. The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.
41. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
42. The average person laughs 13 times a day.
43. Do you know the names of the three wise monkeys? They are:Mizaru(See no evil), Mikazaru(Hear no evil), and Mazaru(Speak no evil)
44. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
45. German Shepherds bite humans more than any other breed of dog.
46. Large kangaroos cover more than 30 feet with each jump.
47. Whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound.
48. Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn. Suddenly the pigs, all two thousand of them, escaped through a broken fence and stampeded, trampling the two hapless protesters to death.
49. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural cause.
50. The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30
2. If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. For when a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.
3. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
4. Your tongue is germ free only if it is pink. If it is white there is a thin film of bacteria on it.
5. The Mercedes-Benz motto is “Das Beste oder Nichts” meaning “the best or nothing”.
6. The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal.
7. The pupil of the eye expands as much as 45 percent when a person looks at something pleasing.
8. The average person who stops smoking requires one hour less sleep a night.
9. Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
10. The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
11. Dalmatians are born without spots.
12. Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
13. The ‘v’ in the name of a court case does not stand for ‘versus’, but for ‘and’ (in civil proceedings) or ‘against’ (in criminal proceedings).
14. Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right, but women’s shirts have the buttons on the left.
15. The owl is the only bird to drop its upper eyelid to wink. All other birds raise their lower eyelids.
16. The reason honey is so easy to digest is that it’s already been digested by a bee.
17. Roosters cannot crow if they cannot extend their necks.
18. The color blue has a calming effect. It causes the brain to release calming hormones.
19. Every time you sneeze some of your brain cells die.
20. Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart.
21. The verb “cleave” is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.
22. When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.
23. When hippos are upset, their sweat turns red.
24. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor.
25. The lion that roars in the MGM logo is named Volney.
26. Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros.
27. Switching letters is called spoonerism. For example, saying jag of Flapan, instead of flag of Japan.
28. It cost 7 million dollars to build the Titanic and 200 million to make a film about it.
29. The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples.
30. There are 1,792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
31. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.
32. Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.
33. It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.
34. The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
35. Most soccer players run 7 miles in a game.
36. The only part of the body that has no blood supply is the cornea in the eye. It takes in oxygen directly from the air.
37. Every day 200 million couples make love, 400,000 babies are born, and 140,000 people die.
38. In most watch advertisements the time displayed on the watch is 10:10 because then the arms frame the brand of the watch (and make it look like it
is smiling).
39. Colgate faced big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries. Colgate translates into the command “go hang yourself.”
40. The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.
41. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
42. The average person laughs 13 times a day.
43. Do you know the names of the three wise monkeys? They are:Mizaru(See no evil), Mikazaru(Hear no evil), and Mazaru(Speak no evil)
44. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
45. German Shepherds bite humans more than any other breed of dog.
46. Large kangaroos cover more than 30 feet with each jump.
47. Whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound.
48. Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn. Suddenly the pigs, all two thousand of them, escaped through a broken fence and stampeded, trampling the two hapless protesters to death.
49. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural cause.
50. The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30
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