Disappearing eyebrows
"Contrary to popular wisdom, your eyebrows may actually be the first thing to go," says The Huffington Post. "Long before the hair on your head turns grey, you may notice that your eyebrows have, well, disappeared. It's a process that starts in your late 30s, and generally by the ripe old age of 42, it may become enough of a problem that you at least consider seeking help, said Dr. Jeffrey Epstein, a pioneer and specialist in eyebrow transplants – a plastic-surgery trend that's on the uptick."
Nostalgia's golden rule
"[I] seems time to pronounce a rule about American popular culture: the Golden Forty-Year Rule," writes Adam Gopnik in The New Yorker. "The prime site of nostalgia is always whatever happened, or is thought to have happened, in the decade between 40 and 50 years past. … Though pop culture is most often performed by the young, the directors and programmers and gatekeepers – the suits who control and create its conditions, who make the calls and choose the players – are, and always have been, largely forty-somethings, and the four-decade interval brings us to a period just before the forty-something was born."
Dinosaurs crowded out?
"In a new explanation for mammals' evolutionary victory over dinosaurs, researchers said a mathematical model has shown that infant size was the clincher," The Daily Telegraph reports. "Given physical limitations to egg size, dinosaurs had comparatively small young. Some came out of the egg weighing as little as two to 10 kilograms, yet had to bulk up to a hefty 30 or 50 tonnes. Growing up, the youngsters had to compete in several size categories with adults of other animal groups for food, University of Zurich scientist Marcus Clauss told [Agence France-Presse] This meant that all the small and medium animal size categories supported by the natural environment were 'occupied,' leaving no room for smaller dinosaur species in which to thrive, according to the findings published in Biology Letters, a journal of Britain's Royal Society."
Football player looks ahead
"More than a thousand former NFL players have initiated lawsuits against the NFL" in recent months, "claiming the league didn't do enough to protect them from the concussion-related ailments" they have suffered since they left the game, The Detroit News reports. However, Dominic Raiola, who has played centre for the Detroit Lions for 11 seasons, can't see himself suing the league. He told the newspaper: "It's common knowledge people are going to suffer. Memory loss is going to come. I am ready for it. It's worth it; totally worth it."
A whiff of old books
"Like fresh rain or comfort food, sniffing a worn favourite novel is a calming experience," says The Huffington Post. "But why do old books smell so great? The ink and chemicals used in the production of a book react with heat, moisture and light, causing the organic materials to break down. This is especially true for books with high acidity, like those made during the 19th and 20th centuries. According to [a video from Abebooks]'Chemists at University College, London, have investigated the old book odour and concluded that old books release hundreds of volatile organic compound into the air from the paper. The lead scientist described the smell as 'a combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness.' "
Six-year-old's bad day
"Police say they needed to handcuff a six-year-old Milledgeville, Ga., girl for allegedly throwing a tantrum that injured a school principal," United Press International reports. "Kindergartener Salecia Johnson allegedly tore items from walls, threw furniture and knocked over a bookshelf that injured the principal of Creekside Elementary School. When police arrived, Salecia was in tears in the principal's office. They said they tried to reason with Salecia, but she wouldn't hear it. So they cuffed her." Police Chief Dray Swicord said he takes a hard line on suspects, regardless whether they've had nap time." Salecia, charged with simple assault, will not have to appear in court but is suspended from school until August. "She has mood swings some days, which all of us have mood swings some days," said Constance Johnson, the girl's mother. "I guess that was just one of her bad days that day."
Thought du jour
"There are more foolish buyers than foolish sellers."
French saying