Offbeat News

[Nat]

'Gaydar' may actually exist: study shows gay people to be more detail-oriented, discerning

link

"Gaydar," that innate ability gay people supposedly have to zero in on other gays even in a crowd, may really exist.

When Dutch scientists examined how heterosexual and homosexual people focus their attention, they discovered gays are much more detail-oriented.

For the research, 42 gay and straight volunteers were presented with photos of outlines of large squares and rectangles. Each shape was packed with smaller shapes. Generally, the human brain is programmed to take in the larger picture, so when people see a rectangle-filled square, they're likely to say it is filled with squares.

When the men and women were presented with similar questions about the pictures they had been shown, the straight volunteers answered faster but were less accurate. The gay men and women, on the other hand, were slower to answer but were right more of the time, especially when they were asked about the smaller shapes.

This suggests they are able to hone in on even very small details as well as the bigger picture, according to the research, which appeared in the journal Frontiers in Cognition. In gays' daily routine, researchers believe, this close attention to detail could help them to detect others' sexual preferences.

"This is the first time that scientific proof has been found for the existence of a gaydar mechanism amongst homosexuals," researcher Dr. Lorenza Colzato of Leiden University in the Netherlands told the Daily Mail. "This perceptual skill allows homosexuals to recognize other gay people faster and we think it's because they are much more analytic than heterosexuals."

People who are naturally more perceptive and detail-oriented may have a greater chance of picking up on subtle clues in other people that they may be homosexual, which makes it easier for them to search out gay friends and sexual partners, the study found.

[MsDemeanor]

Originally Posted by Nat

study shows gay people to be more detail-oriented, discerning

Oh crap, I'm straight. Now they tell me.

[Nat]

Originally Posted by MsDemeanor

Oh crap, I'm straight. Now they tell me.

haha by those standards so am i. at least way straighter than my straight best friend.

[Jet]

Tiny turtle causes taxiing plane to return to gate


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Tiny-t...92999.html?x=0

[Glenn]

Yuck.. Puke... I'll have nightmares tonight!

[Andrew, Jr.]

The turtle is 10 yo that Jet is referring too. All the turtles I have found, I released to the wild. I want one now. The problem is Dino, and the 3 cats. I don't think they could take on anything else right now.

[Nat]

Originally Posted by Andrew, Jr.

The turtle is 10 yo that Jet is referring too. All the turtles I have found, I released to the wild. I want one now. The problem is Dino, and the 3 cats. I don't think they could take on anything else right now.

My mom has a bunch of 3 toed box turtle babies. she's not planning on re-homing any, but she may be looking for homes in the future for any more who spring up.

[Cowboi]

I thought this was interesting....



Content provided by WENN.com
06/28/2010,

The four year old was Angelina Jolie's first biological child with her partner Brad Pitt, and in recent months has been seen sporting a cropped haircut in place of her long blonde locks, and wearing more masculine outfits.

Shiloh's new look won the couple praise from parenting coaches, who applauded them for allowing the youngster to express herself.

Jolie admits her daughter is completely obsessed with her boyish appearance, telling Vanity Fair magazine, "(Shiloh dresses) like a little dude. Shiloh, we feel, has Montenegro style. It's how people dress there. She likes tracksuits, she likes (regular) suits. She likes to dress like a boy. She wants to be a boy. So we had to cut her hair. She likes to wear boys' everything. She thinks she's one of the brothers."

But the actress isn't worried about the youngster, insisting she was much the same when she was Shiloh's age.

She adds, "(She's) goofy and verbal, the early signs of a performer... I used to get dressed up in costumes and jump around. But at some point, I got closed off, darker. I don't remember anything happening. I think you just get hit with the realities of certain things in life, think too much, start to realize the world isn't as you wished it would be, so you deepen. Then, as I had kids and got older -- being goofy, lighter -- it all came back."

[Jet]

Arlington opens graves, finds 2 misplaced bodies

AP
WASHINGTON – Two people were buried in the wrong graves at Arlington National Cemetery, the Army said Wednesday, as it followed up an investigation into bookkeeping problems and burial mix-ups at one of the nation's most hallowed sites...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_arlington_cemetery

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Jet

Arlington opens graves, finds 2 misplaced bodies

AP
WASHINGTON – Two people were buried in the wrong graves at Arlington National Cemetery, the Army said Wednesday, as it followed up an investigation into bookkeeping problems and burial mix-ups at one of the nation's most hallowed sites...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_arlington_cemetery

Oy vey.

[Jet]

Facelift Planned for US Currency

The American dollar is in bad need of a makeover. Thanks to the Dollar ReDe$ign Project, we may now have some options. More from the Huffington Post

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/721294

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Jet

Facelift Planned for US Currency

The American dollar is in bad need of a makeover. Thanks to the Dollar ReDe$ign Project, we may now have some options. More from the Huffington Post

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/721294

Of all the cockamamie things to waste money on.

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by Gemme

Of all the cockamamie things to waste money on.

the idea that a "redesign and rebranding" of the US dollar will help the economy is simply ludicrous.

OH so that's why the economy is fucked! Unattractive money! *headdesk*

[Jet]

Bed Bug infestation at Nike et. al. forces closures across America

ABC News....
http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749...etown-21990658

[Greyson]

The Canadian who invented basketball

By Sian Griffiths
BBC News, Ottawa

When Dr James Naismith invented basketball in 1891, he couldn't have dreamed that the game would become the world's second most popular sport, played in more than 200 countries, and a multi-billion dollar industry. Now his Canadian hometown is set to honour him with a statue.

The monument in the city where James Naismith invented basketball, in Springfield, Massachusetts, is the 40,000 sq ft Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Continue reading the main story “Start QuoteIn Canada, we seem to be understated as a nation in terms of our heroes”

End Quote Allen Rae Dr James Naismith Basketball Foundation
The museum in his hometown of Almonte, Ontario, is, well, rather more compact.

A large boulder - the "Rock" - stands like an altar at the heart of the museum.

It's a tribute to the inspiration for James Naismith's invention - "Duck on a Rock" - a game he played growing up.

Nine-year-old Warner Giles demonstrates the game by lobbing a rock in a familiar overhand arcing motion - knocking a stone, or "duck", off the boulder.

This was the type of throw that brought the world basketball.

Born in 1861, Dr Naismith's early life was marked by tragedy. His farmer parents died of typhoid, and he and his siblings were raised by an uncle who instilled in them the values of hard work, self reliance and determination.

Athletic prowess

A high school drop-out who worked as a lumberjack, Dr Naismith later embraced education with enthusiasm. He obtained a degree in physical education from Montreal's McGill University, a diploma in theology and - after moving to the US - qualified as a medical doctor.

He demonstrated great athletic prowess as a star football player and gymnast while at McGill, rising to became the university's first director of athletics. He was even credited later, by some, with having invented the forerunner of the football helmet.

The first basketball team made their bow in 1891
A deeply religious man, Dr Naismith believed that sport "could be used to lead young men to a good end".

In the winter of 1891 after moving to Springfield, Dr Naismith was faced with a challenging class of "incorrigibles". This antagonistic group had to be kept fit indoors through a harsh New England winter.

After failing to occupy the men with popular indoor sports of the day, he turned to "duck on the rock" for inspiration.

Instead of a rock, the players would throw a soccer ball at two peach baskets nailed high up at each end of the gymnasium. The janitor later punched holes in the bottom of the baskets after he became tired of climbing up to retrieve balls.

The first game - comprising two teams of nine - took place on 21 December 1891. The final score was 1-0.

As Dr Naismith later recalled: "It was the start of the first basketball game and the finish of trouble with that class."

Olympic moment

From there, the game grew. There were suggestions that the new game be called "Naismith ball" - but the modest inventor settled on "basketball" instead.

Dr Naismith lived just long enough to see basketball introduced as a new sport at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. He died in 1939.

Dr James Naismith's hometown recognises his genius
But basketball aficionados might accuse Almonte of hiding its light under a bushel.

"We should be shouting it from the rooftops," says Stephanie Kolsters, curator of the Naismith Museum.

The museum is funded by the Dr James Naismith Basketball Foundation. President Allen Rae, a referee during several Olympic basketball games, thinks the low-key remembrance might be characteristically Canadian.

"In Canada, we seem to be understated as a nation in terms of our heroes," says Mr Rae.

Even now Almonte is honouring Naismith "big in a small way", according to Al Lunney, the mayor of Mississippi Mills, which today includes Almonte.

"It's long overdue," admits the mayor.

A larger-than-life bronze statue depicting Naismith with a ball and a peach basket will soon be dedicated in the town square.

Special VIP

Kansas Sculptor Eldon Teft produced three identical versions from the same mould - one for Almonte, one for Springfield and one for Kansas, where Dr Naismith coached the University of Kansas basketball team.

While organisers planto invite Dr Naismith's descendants, as well as the Canadian prime minister, to the dedication, Mr Rae has his eyes on a special VIP.

"We could invite President Obama, too," he says of the basketball-loving US leader.

Mayor Lunney doubts that Almonte will become the new epicentre of basketball heritage. A large themed shrine is just not Almonte's style.

He wants to "keep Almonte the way is: a nice quiet town where Naismith grew up".

"It won't be like Springfield," says a doubtful Mayor Lunney.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11348053?print=true

[Jet]

Millionaires collect unemployment

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work...rklife_balance

[Jet]

McDonald’s Happy Meal resists decomposition for six months


Story and more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot...for-six-months

[Greyson]

Israeli Rabbi Blesses Honeytrap Sex For Female Spies
Mossad Agents Can Trade Sex for National Security

By RICHARD ESPOSITO

Oct. 11, 2010

An Israeli rabbi has blessed the use of
female spies in "honeytrap" or "honeypot"
stings against terrorists, according to a study
called "Illicit Sex for the Sake of National
Security."

The ruling by Rabbi Ari Schvat, contained in
a study published by the Zomet Institute,
was first reported by the news agency DPA
and published by Haaretz.com.

Israeli officials confirmed the rabbinical
ruling and the gist of the study for ABC
News.

The Zomet Institute studies the intersection
of religion and modernity. It examined
whether it was acceptable for female agents
of Israel's foreign secret service, Mossad, to
have sex with the enemy in so-called
"honeypot" or "honeytrap" sting missions.

Israeli intelligence has made repeated use of
honeytraps. In 1966, a female Israeli spy
convinced an Iraqi pilot to defect to Israel
with his MIG. Twenty years later, a female M
ossad agent lured Mordechai Vanunu, a
nuclear technician who had revealed details
of Israel's nuclear program, from England to
Italy, where he was abducted and brought
back to Israel.

But according to Haaretz.com, Rabbi Schvat
wrote that honeypot missions are "not just a
thing of modern-day espionage."

In fact, honeypot missions are rooted in
Biblical lore, according to the report. "Queen
Esther, who was Jewish, slept with the
Persian king [Ahasuerus] around 500 BC to
save her people," Schvat noted.

And, the report noted, Yael, wife of Hever,
slept with the enemy chief of staff Sisra to
tire him and cut off his head.

However there is a catch for married
honeypots. "If it is necessary to use a
married woman, it would be best [for] her
husband to divorce her. ... After the [sex]
act, he would be entitled to bring her back,"
Schvat wrote.

"Naturally, a job of that sort could be given
advertisement Israeli Rabbi Blesses Honeytrap Sex For Female Spies
Mossad Agents Can Trade Sex for National Security
to a woman who in any event is licentious in
her ways."

Rules for male Mossad agents were not
mentioned in the writings.

Schvat's study was praised by Zomet's
director, Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, according to
Haaretz, though Rosen conceded that
"women employees of the Mossad are
probably not going to come consult with a
rabbi" before their missions.



http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/israel...1834845&page=1

[Jet]

ATM Skimmers; Please Read

One in 5 people hit....

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home...y-kids_parents

[Jet]

Solid Gold Monopoly Set

Video..

http://news.yahoo.com/video/odd-1574...-gold-22465763