Are You In The Loop? Google Search Queries, The Last Presidential Debate, and Justin Bieber Fans.
Sunday (October 21st, 2012)
After so many years of paper publications, Newsweek has made the decision to nix its paper publications and go digital. The last edition to be printed will be the December 31st. [Source]
A study shows that “young blood” can combat diseases like Alzheimer’s. Since the composition of blood changes as a person ages, the change can cause deterioration of memory and other brain functions and filtering in “young blood” can help prevent that. [Source]
There was a shooting in Brookfield, WI at Azana Spa. Four people died including the shooter and four additional women were injured. [Source]
Google has been keeping tabs on the kinds of searches related to the upcoming election. Apparently, about 5,000 people each month inquire about Romney’s underwear (Mormons wear something called “temple garments” underneath their clothing) and “Paul Ryan shirtless” is searched 9 times more often than “Paul Ryan budget” (It’s also searched more often in traditionally more Democrat states!). [Source]
There’s a huge gender gap in the election polls and this year’s margins are some of the highest in history. There’s an average gap of 18 points between men and women in their choice for presidency. The highest gap in history was in 2000, with a 20 point gap between female voters for Gore and male voters for Bush. [Source]
Monday (October 22nd, 2012)
A football player at UNC-Chapel Hill is currently under investigation for two plagiarism incidents, one of which is from something written by a group of 11-year olds. I want to say something objective about this but I’m too busy giggling at this in a the quiet section of the library right now to gain enough composure to do so. [Source]
After a leg injury prevented it from being able to work on a farm, an ox and its partner, Bill and Lou, are going to be slaughtered and served to students at Green Mountain College. The pair of oxen are a well-known sight on campus and students are distraught over the news. Despite a petition with over 30,000 signatures, the school plans to forge ahead with their plan anyway. [Source]
The final presidential debate was tonight! If you want to completely relive it (or live it for the first time), you can watch it here or read a live blog version of it here. General consensus was that Obama won the debate though it probably won’t give him a boost in the polls this time around. Here’s a nice little article listing the countries mentioned most during the foreign policy debate. Also, here’s a really cute picture of Obama with Romney’s grandson Miles. It’s really nice to see the two political families put their differences aside and show respect to each other’s family members.
Tuesday (October 23rd, 2012)
Brazilians were shocked at Romney’s statements about cutting budgets for public broadcasting. China and South Korea were more preoccupied with their own upcoming political changes. German newspapers and other news outlets cover it just as heavily as some in the United States itself. Here’s a nice article about the perspective of other countries on the United States election. [Source]
Since October 1st, Rome has put in place a law that bans food and drink in any area that has “particular historic, artistic, architectural and cultural value.’’ [Source]
A 15-year old white whale may have been trying to make contact with researchers when it made noises very similar to that of a human’s. One researcher mistook the whale’s sounds as a warning to exit the tank showing that the whale is brushing up quite nicely on his human-speak skills. [Source]
Still in the vein of political news, most countries in the world prefer Obama to Romney. In fact, Pakistan is the only country in which Romney is the favorite of the two. [Source]
Wednesday (October 24th, 2012)
Genetically modified foods are safe and not a cause of concern, say scientists. They are even at times more environmentally friendly than those that are grown through traditional methods [Source]
Whether you believe in global warming or not, it is increasingly becoming a concern for many and some scientists have developed plans to combat its effects. Two of the more formidable options are literally sucking the carbon out of the atmosphere or building a sun shield to lessen the harsh rays. “You are repulsed?” says David Keith, an expert in geoengineering. “Good. No one should like it. It’s a terrible option.” [Source]
A Brazilian woman auctioned off her virginity and a Japanese man was the highest bidder with $780,000. The 20-year old girl, Catarina Migliorini, plans on donating at least 90% of it to charity. Juxtapose that with the male Brazilian who only got $3,000 for doing the same thing. [Source]
Thursday (October 25th, 2012)
It’s possible that the United States could overtake Saudi Arabia in leading the world’s oil production and data also show that imports are declining. However, the U.S. is still incredibly dependent on oil supply and it’ll be a long time before it is fully independent. [Source]
A study shows that those in academic fields typically lean to the left. Only about 11.9% identify as being right of moderate compared to 62.7% on the left. [Source]
Pull-ups not your forte in middle school gym class? It’s okay because a new study shows that being able to do a pull-up requires more than just upper-arm strength rather a combination of that, lower body fat, and shorter limbs. Being a woman also puts you at a disadvantage. [Source]
Lena Dunham, known for the HBO show Girls, is attracting controversy for her ad endorsing Obama. The video can be watched here and is full of innuendos, paralleling her first time voting to, well, her first time. Conservatives are not too happy about all the implications of sex. [Source]
Friday (October 26th, 2012)
In kind of a sad but hilarious news segment, trolls on the internet try to coax Beliebers into shaving their heads for Justin by circulating screenshots of various tweets for news outlets and whatnot saying that the Biebs has cancer. [Source]
Obama and Romney are both on track to hit the 1 billion mark in terms of raising money for their campaign. Romney outearned Obama this month of October, but Obama has the lead overall, seeing that he has already raised $1 billion for his campaign. [Source]
Young adults (ages 25-29) are migrating to larger urban centers, indicating that the economy is reviving. [Source]
An NYPD cop was arrested for conspiring with two other people in a plot to kill, cook, and eat as many as 100 women. A report was released and in it was a message conversation between the three people. Some, I guess, “memorable”, quotes include ones like, ”It’s really hard to dislocate a jaw. Also, how would we put her over the fire, spitting kills the girls. Have to put her into a kind of cage. What is your favorite cut of meat?” and “I was thinking of tying her body onto some kind of apparatus .. cook her over a low heat, keep her alive as long as possible.” [Source]
Saturday (October 27th, 2012)
Gangnam Style could be the first video to reach a billion views, as it is well on its way to reach that mark by December. The video currently has over 580 million views. [Source]
After reporting that China’s Premier Wen Jiabao’s family has hidden riches of over $2.3 billion, the New York Times is being sued by the family for the “false” report. The article was also blocked in China in both the English and the Chinese versions of the news website. [Source]
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