Flowers Made of People

These are soooo pretty.

Source: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/14211/cecelia-webber-flowers-and-butterflies-from-human-nudes.html

'Shock Wave' Car Engine

Very cool!

Source: http://dailybail.com/home/new-car-engine-sends-shock-waves-through-auto-industry.html

Focus On Function, Not Others' Opinions

"The most powerful influence on women's appreciation of their bodies is how they believe important others view them, the study suggests."

"Efforts by friends and family to encourage a person to lose weight often backfire, Tylka noted, because they tend to place the focus on eating according to arbitrary calorie counts and portion sizes -- external cues -- rather than on what the body really needs -- actual internal hunger and satiety cues."

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110329141559.htm

Mermaid Tail For Amputee

What a great idea!

Source: http://www.likecool.com/Weta_made_a_mermaid_tail_for_a_double_amputee--Other--Gear.html

Personal Rotorcraft...Want That!

I want one.

Source: http://www.dudecraft.com/2011/04/fliege-supergiro.html

The Dog Eats Better

This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows dog people. Dog owners buy healthier good got their dogs than they do for themselves. Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-people-buy-healthier-food-for-themselves-o

Oh, no. After You...

I'd love to see the actual numbers from this study showing that men say "I love you" first and are happier about hearing it. Is it 52 vs. 48 percent? Or 80 vs 20?

"These studies have demonstrated that saying and hearing "I love you" has different meanings depending on who is doing the confessing and when the confession is being made."

Um... No kidding!

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/who-says-i-love-you-first-men-or-women

Salt and Social Anxiety

This is kinda like finding out aspirin helps with heart attacks as well as pain. The pretzels on the bar not only come with a nice dose of calming simple carbs, the sodium content also makes you less nervous. Hmmm... calm thirsty beer even less nervous more munchies more beer getting gutsy... Well, you see where this is going.

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-reduce-social-anxiety-in-the-tastiest

Amazing Money Sculptures

These are amazing. I'm a big fan of paper art and paper engineering. The added texture and interest of using printed bills is really cool.

Source: http://weburbanist.com/2011/04/06/scratch-art-u-s-dollars-sculpted-into-incredible-works/

Clues to Why Pride Goeth Before a Fall?

Pride leads to hypocrisy, and gratitude doesn't. Hmmm... Can I use this to determine when public figures are lying?

"...participants induced to feel pride showed a similarly high level of moral hypocrisy, but those induced to feel gratitude exhibited little evidence of it."

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110407121337.htm

The Amygdala: Brain Region of Conservatives

While this is really cool research, given how changeable our brains are, I'm concerned that the article makes the correlation sound causal. It would be interesting to do brain scans on people over their lifetimes to see how they change. I'll bet most of us know someone who was very liberal in college and turned conservative when they got older or vice versa.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110407121337.htm

Being Special to Someone Makes Us Happy

Interesting. They found that relationships make us happy (not terribly surprising) and that it's not just happy people who get into relationships. That one makes me wonder... Why would you want to get into a relationship with someone who isn't happy?

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-happy-people-more-likely-to-choose-commit

Stop Trying to 'Fix' Me!

Look! Some nice scientific evidence to back up "because it's really annoying." Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-improve-your-relationship-by-trying-t

Great Design: Book Tree

I so want these. They make no sense at all for someone with a giant library, but I still want them.

Source: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/13929/kostas-syrtariotis-booktree.html

He Makes Me Laugh...

Yup. Women go for funny guys. This research suggests it's because humor is an indicator of intelligence. So... "He makes me laugh." is really code for "I love him for his mind."?

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-do-women-find-funny-men-attractive

Being Romantic Does Not Increase Relationship Length

This research shows that romantic people don't have any better chance at a good relationship than non-romantic people. OK, fine. But my question is... What does "romantic" mean? Is it showing up with generic flowers on Valentine's Day or getting up early to make breakfast when your mate has an important presentation coming up?

Source: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-romantic-people-have-longer-relationships