Squeaky cold
"Back in 1947, Snag, a nearly inaccessible little town in the Yukon, recorded the coldest temperature ever in Canada: -63 C," Chris St. Clair writes in Canada's Weather. "That's still a ways off the coldest temperature ever recorded on the planet, which is -89 C at the Vostok science station in Antarctica, but once you're past 60 below you probably wouldn't notice the difference. When it's that cold you can actually hear a squeaking sound as your breath condenses as soon as you exhale."
Heed your elders
"Respect for elders may be universal in primates," New Scientist reports. "Monkeys - just like humans - pay their elders special attention during conversation, apparently in order to garner some of the older animals' wisdom. Alban Lemasson at the University of Rennes in Paimpont, France, and colleagues recorded 823 vocal exchanges between eight female Campbell's monkeys, each of which was observed for six hours. The calls by older monkeys elicited more vocal responses than those by younger monkeys, regardless of their status within the group. Seven-year-olds got twice as many responses from the rest of the group as two-year-olds. 'This is the first time scientists have shown systematically that primates other than humans pay special attention to the voices of their elders, and it suggests that respect for elders is part of our primate heritage,' says Klaus Zuberbühler of the school of psychology at the University of St. Andrews, [in Scotland] who was not involved in the study."
Blabbermouth gadgets
"The Wi-Fi Body Scale automatically records the weight and body mass index of the user, and can upload those details to a Web page or iPhone application," Claudine Beaumont writes for The Daily Telegraph. "But now Withings, the French company behind the device, has added the ability to post that information on Twitter, the microblogging service. It means that every time a user steps on the scale, their entire social network will know how well - or how badly - their battle with the bulge is going."
"A talking, computerized weighing device that tracks how quickly food is gobbled off the plate could be a solution to childhood obesity, researchers say," BBC News reports. "The Mandometer keeps tabs during meal times and tells the user if they are wolfing down meals too fast - a habit experts have linked to weight gain." In a study with obese children, after 12 months of use the youngsters weighed less and ate smaller portions. The Mandometer, designed by scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, plots a graph showing the rate at which food disappears from the plate, compared with an "ideal" graph programmed in by a food therapist. If the user is eating too quickly, the talking machine will tell them.
Who reads spam e-mail?
"Chances are you've seen those e-mail 'spam' ads that tout the latest herbal remedy that promises dramatic weight loss. If you're like most people, you just delete them," Tara Parker-Pope writes for The New York Times. "But new research suggests that the spam ads related to weight loss appeal to a sizable minority of young adults, who not only read them but purchase the items they are selling, according to a new report in Southern Medical Journal."
Luxury cinema
A new theatre in Pasadena, just north of Los Angeles, has a seriously high ticket price, U.S. National Public Radio reports. "'Friday through Sunday is $29,' the box-office assistant said. 'Money through Thursday is $22.' That's right - $29 for a matinee. At the Gold Class Cinemas, that $29 entitled patrons to a movie in their choice of 40 reserved seats." There is no bad seat in the house, says the company's vice-president of marketing. "Which helps when you are stretched out in their microsuede recliners," NPR reports. "They'll even bring a pillow and blanket if you want. … Then there's the food. The $29 admission fee doesn't pay for it, but it does allow you the privilege of having dinner and cocktails served to you while watching the film. The seasonal menus include everything from fried calamari with lemon and ginger to hand-pulled pizzas cooked fresh to order."
Which dictionary?
Last week, "a judge in New York State took the oath of office with his hand placed on a dictionary rather than a book of scripture because officials could find no Bible," United Press International reports. "The glitch, in a packed courtroom of the historic Ulster County Courthouse in Kingston, N.Y., provided 'a light moment' in the swearing-in of Donald A. Williams as Ulster County judge, the Daily Freeman of Kingston reported Sunday. Williams said later he didn't mind using a dictionary instead of a Bible because the swearing-in Saturday was purely ceremonial. … U.S. government officials are not required to swear in on a Bible, but most do so as a demonstration of the binding nature of the promise. The act also adds solemnity to the ceremony."
Thought du jour
"Abstinence signifies higher purpose, moral scruples, lack of opportunity, lack of satisfaction, fear of punishment, or incapacity."
- Anonymous, quoted in the collection Quotationary