The total number of credit cards issued by commercial banks in China has climbed as of this month to 210 million.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has tightened the rules on the issuance and use of credit cards to limit misuse in business, as credit card usage explodes by 44% over last year.
Continue reading… “Credit Card Usage Explodes in China”
The famous “sex spelled out in ice cubes” gin ad.
Facebook has rolled out a new ad system where people’s updates get converted into “sponsored story” ads fed to their friends. But this is hardly the first time advertisers have tried to feed us ads stealth-style. (videos)
Continue reading… “How Advertisers Try to Control Your Mind”
The economy has added to the stress, not just because of financial pressures
on their parents but also because the students are worried
about their own college debt and job prospects.
The emotional health of college freshmen — who feel buffeted by the recession and stressed by the pressures of high school — has declined to the lowest level since an annual survey of incoming students started collecting data 25 years ago.
Continue reading… “Emotional Health of College Freshman Has Declined to Record Low”
The dairy industry is butting heads with the FDA over the agency’s plan to increase testing for antibiotics in milk. Food safety advocates are concerned about overuse of drugs in dairy cows (and increased antibiotic resistance in humans), while the industry says the new testing procedures would cause a lot of milk to be wasted because the results can take a full week to come back.
Certain farms are already caught regularly with milk containing illegal levels of drugs—and farmers also use drugs that are not regularly tested for.
Continue reading… “Dairy Industry Fights FDA’s Proposed New Drug Testing for Milk”
Drinking tea in front of a roaring fire may be enjoyable but it could be encouraging your body to pile on weight.
Sitting in your cosy home stops you from burning calories. It already adds unwanted pounds to your winter fuel bills.
Continue reading… “How Central Heating is Making You Fat”
UPS saved a lot of money by eliminating left turns from its delivery routes. Would this practice be effective on a larger scale? At Smithsonian, Sarah Zielinski writes:
UPS minimizes left turns for its delivery trucks to save on fuel. (And it works, as the Mythbusters demonstrated last year.) In the 1960s, the state of Michigan designed an intersection known as the “Michigan left” that prevents people driving on side streets from making left turns onto a multi-laned divided road; if they wish to go left, they’ll first have to go right and then make a U-turn…
LOOK! Up in the sky. It’s a bird? It’s a plane?
It’s my weed bags being flung over the border!
Marijuana smugglers apparently have a problem with the US border fence near Tucson, Arizona -and those pesky border patrols. So they’ve turned to ancient technology to deliver the goods -a catapult!
Continue reading… “Mexican Drug Smugglers Catapult Weed Over Border fence into US”
25% to 35% of wounded soldiers are addicted to drugs.
Medical officials estimate that 25% to 35% of about 10,000 ailing soldiers assigned to special wounded-care companies or battalions are addicted or dependent on drugs — particularly prescription narcotic pain relievers, according to an Army inspector general’s report made public Tuesday.
Continue reading… “Up to 35% of Wounded Soldiers in Warrior Units are Addicted to Drugs”
Less than 50% of U.S. students are proficient in science.
One national “report card” on test scores, released Tuesday morning, paints a dismal picture of how well the country’s students have mastered science. Just 34 percent of fourth-graders, 30 percent of eighth-graders, and 21 percent of 12th-graders are performing at or above “proficient” in the most recent snapshot from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which gives science scores from 2009.
Continue reading… “Most Students in U.S. Are Not Proficient in Science”
Jeff Wysaski of Pleated Jeans wrote “Whether it’s a fat population, high rate of STDs or excessive tax rate, it turns out that every state ranks dead last in at least one unsavory category.” So he compiled a most unusual “worst of” list, featuring your favorite home state (Oh, poor, poor North Dakotans!)
Continue reading… “The United States of Shame”
Questions such as how much fresh water we have left on Earth, where it is located, and how we can access it are all nearly impossible to answer. However, scientists working on understanding and revealing the planet’s surface structure are helping to hone in on an answer. University of British Columbia researchers have created a world’s-first with their new map that outlines how fluid flows through Earth’s various porous surfaces. Information gleaned from the map can help us discover more about water supplies worldwide.
Continue reading… “First-Ever Global Map to Delve Deep Into Earth Surface Helps Reveal Water Supply”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.
