Energy Drink Statistics

Frequently Asked Questions

1. QUESTION:
   statistics on how energy drinks can be helpful to your body?
   I need statistics for a speech like for example. 72% of the ingredients in energy drinks help your brain function problem. If 97% of teens drank energy drinks instead of alchol the risk of alchol intoxication would decrease by over 52%. I only made these facts up to give an example of the facts i want.

   • ANSWER:
     Energy drinks have a lot of caffeine, I've heard. A suggestion; Make your own drink, it takes like 6 minutes. Mix a banana, a half cup of fresh or frozen strawberry's and a half scoop of low fat vanilla ice cream, with 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. (Some like to add protein powder, which you can get at Whole Foods.) Also 1/2 cup of low fat milk, put it all together in a blender.
     You can add some vanilla yogurt in too. Great drink, very healthy. It has potassium, carbs, and protein. You can also replace the strawberries with blueberries.

2. QUESTION:
   Does anyone know the energy drinks market share statistics for Brazil?

   • ANSWER:
     The energetic drinks market at brazil are increasing. I Hope you understand this site. Is in portuguese, but you can translate at altavista.com.

     Good luck,

     Rafaaa

3. QUESTION:
   What's the best energy drink? Actual stats?
   I would like to get some actual statistics not opinions. Which one has the most caffeine, taurine and all that other energy drink stuff.

   • ANSWER:
     Sobe's No Fear taurine has 2000 milligrams. Wired X294 caffeine has 294 mg. of caffiene

4. QUESTION:
   How are energy drinks good for you?
   plz give me statistics eg. energy drinks help you to stay awake for 60% longer than normal. Also the site or person. eg. Amisha University of Medecine stated that .....................................
   this is for a speech positive staticstics only
   this is for a speech positive staticstics only

   • ANSWER:
     Energy drinks are NOT good for you. No statistics from me. Water is good for you, milk is good for you.....Red bull is not!
     People that buy drinks like that are slaves to the large beverage comanies like pepsi and coke. Slaves......drink more water and take a One A Day.

5. QUESTION:
   How many cups of coffee/ energy drinks do you drink a day?
   this question is for people who still attend school. also, do you have trouble sleeping at night? PLZ answer as soon as possible. WE NEED YOU TO ANSWER BY THURSDAY!!!
   Your answer will be involved in statistics for our debate. Thank you

   • ANSWER:
     i dont drink coffee on a regular basis occsionally ill have a cup maybe once a week (or less) it doesnt affect my sleep

     ---but my friend has coffee every morining she sleeps ok i think

6. QUESTION:
   Energy drink help?
   I need two things, please.1) the history of energy drinks, and 2) a list of statistics, like average hours of energy, top ten most popular energy drinks, top ten most successful energy drinks, that kind of thing. Thanks.

   • ANSWER:
     2 kinds : caffeine and Not caffeine (red bull)
     Caffeine , bazillion years ago , average energy ~ 1 hr ,
     Red Bull , created in Thailand ~ 20 yrs ago, copied & ; brought west ~ 10 yrs ago, knock offs being created weekly , average energy varies by consumer but many 4+ hrs is my observation.

7. QUESTION:
   How bad is it to drink 5 energy drinks in about a 12 hour period?
   So..2 months of statistics to catch up on before 9 am tomorrow. May have to stay awake all night. Just wondering how bad it would be if I had about 5 of these 473mL rockstars from 3pm today untill say 4am? I'm male, 170lbs, good shape
   I should mention that I never typically have energy drinks, proably less than 20 a year because I'm not a fan of the taste, but on occasion when exams roll around

   • ANSWER:
     Health beats school, I was at intensive care for a few weeks after a brain surgery and I can tell you, that sure made me realize how important health is. NOTHING is more important than your health.

     Beside you'll need your rest if you want to be able to think clear. It's a cliché, but it's true, I can confirm that as a 21 year old student.

     If you still wanna try it: sleep 1 hour (I did that when I had my French final), it'll help a tiny bit. Coca cola and food are a healthier way to keep you awake, take enough breaks to eat some.

     I wish you all the best.

8. QUESTION:
   Where can I find everything I need to know about energy drinks?
   Nutrition facts
   statistics
   health concerns
   recent news

   • ANSWER:
     in here you can get it...

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Energy
     http://everything2.com/title/Java+Monster

9. QUESTION:
   INFORMATION ON ENERGY DRINKS PLEASE?
   i ahve to do a speech on the excessive use of energy drinks in america.
   but i need some concrete information to back me up! i have been looking but cant find anything really.
   maybe some polls, or statistics on how many are dranken a day, how many people drink them, percentage of use, if there has been deaths, that would be good too.
   THANKS SO MUCH!
   who cares about spelling, geezzz, what re you all english teachers?

   • ANSWER:
     Dranken is not a word. The word to use there is drunk.

10. QUESTION:
    HELP! NEED INFO ON ENERGY DRINKS!?
    i ahve to do a speech on the excessive use of energy drinks in america.
    but i need some concrete information to back me up! i have been looking but cant find anything really.
    maybe some polls, or statistics on how many are dranken a day, how many people drink them, percentage of use, if there has been deaths, that would be good too.
    THANKS SO MUCH!

    • ANSWER:
      Energy Drink Statistics and InformationEnergy drink statistics can take many forms. The most common type of statistic is a list of the most active or important ingredient. Clearly, in a drink designed to produce energy and reduce fatigue, the ingredients are one of the most important elements. Common energy-producing ingredients in energy beverages include caffeine, taurine, and guarana, as well as combinations of these. However, because energy drinks want to market that they are healthful beverages, many energy drinks also have other ingredients, like vitamins, minerals,and herbs.

      Another component of energy drink statistics is the information about calories, sugar, sodium, etc. Sugar, especially in large amounts in a drink, can cause a dramatic drop in energy once the sugar leaves the bloodstream, causing sluggishness and possible mood changes. Although you cannot always predict how a particular drink will work for you, paying attention to some of the energy drink statistics like this can help you make a better decision. Salt can likewise be important to note because many energy drinks contain large amounts of sodium. Although this is not critical for some people, people who have problems with high blood pressure or cholesterol will need to avoid these particular drinks.

      Energy drink statistics also include other critical information, like who the manufacturer is, medical warnings, and dosage recommendations. Energy drinks as powerful beverages that should be consumed with care. The statistics that describe potential dangers and maximum recommended consumption should be heeded by all customers. Because energy drink cans and bottles are generally small, there is a great deal of additional information that cannot fit in this limited space. If you are really interested in energy drink statistics, take the time to research the drink on the web. There are many websites that describe extensive statistics about particular brands of energy drink, and this information can really give you the inside look.

11. QUESTION:
    How do I not fall asleep?
    I do not like to drink coffee, energy drinks, or eating packets of sugar. I have a history test tomorrow and I need to study a lot. I can not play music because I need to concentrate. Do you have any tips to make me stay awake and focus. I have tried so many things but every time I fall asleep. I really need your help. I can not go to the store and buy something because I am too young. Please help me. PS: Dont tell me that it is not healthy or show me statistics. Just help me please.

    • ANSWER:
      keeping my eyes open always helps me

12. QUESTION:
    I have to write a speach on a health and/or safety topic. Do you have any ideas for a good subject?
    I just can't think of a good subject to write the speach on. I don't want it to be about something everyone already knows a ton about, like smoking or alcohol. I want it to be somewhat original, with a lot of statistics to back it up. I was going to write the speach on the health risks of energy drinks but there just isn't enough information about them. Please can you help me think of a good topic?

    • ANSWER:
      how about how obesity is becoming such a widespread problem among teens and in general. There are loads of info on that. You could talk about how restaraunts should change the way they cook food and how companies market there products

      good luck:)

13. QUESTION:
    I have to write a speach on a health and/or safety topic. Do you have any ideas?
    I just can't think of a good subject to write the speach on. I don't want it to be about something everyone already knows a ton about, like smoking or alcohol. I want it to be somewhat original, with a lot of statistics to back it up. I was going to write the speach on the health risks of energy drinks but there just isn't enough information about them. Please can you help me think of a good topic?

    • ANSWER:
      You sent this to me
      LOL....OK "You smell me?" is like "You feel me?" and thats basically saying "Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

      Thats the same thing I told my grandmother, but she just takes everything so literally

14. QUESTION:
    I need help with SPSS (PASW) statistics?
    I am currently undertaking my thesis for my masters in sport and exercise science, I have conducted research that looks at childrens use of different sports and energy drinks. I am trying to run a chi sq cross tabulation analysis to determine a number of things, for example is there a relationship between age and use of a drink, or use of a drink and knowledge of its categorisation.

    The issue I have is in many cases because usage was low the cells in the cross tabulation are less than 5, as a result it deems my analysis inaccurate. I have read a few articles, some state i can use the fischer test, but from what i can see you need fixed marginal totals, I am not entirely sure what this means but I am pretty sure I dont have them.

    Is there any other work around tfor chi sq to assess the relationship between two variables where cell frequencies are in some instances low.

    Any help would be really appreciated.

    • ANSWER:

15. QUESTION:
    How do I stay up all night?
    do not like to drink coffee, energy drinks, or eating packets of sugar. I have a history test tomorrow and I need to study a lot. I can not play music because I need to concentrate. Do you have any tips to make me stay awake and focus. I have tried so many things but every time I fall asleep. I really need your help. I can not go to the store and buy something because I am too young. Please help me. Ps: do not tell me that it is unhealthy or give statistics. Just please help. Also no carbonated drinks.

    • ANSWER:
      Goodness, you have so many restrictions of things you can't do to stay awake.

      About the best thing I would suggest is avoid getting too comfortable. Definitely don't lie down or sit in a comfy chair to study. Try pacing with your notes or book. Stand still if you have to while reading, then look up and pace some while memorizing.

      Good luck!

16. QUESTION:
    sigh...does this sound like english?
    ok. so ive just finished typing up a paragraph for an assignment that i had to write for english. we have to talk about our experience while writing the first part of the english assignment.weird i know. this is what i wrote:

    The pain in my head is excruciating and the sleep deprivation is sickening, especially when a major statistics project and upcoming midterm exams beg for my attention. I rub my eyes, yawn, and take another sip of the bitter and revolting caffeine-loaded Full Throttle energy drink. Shuddering and gagging, I wonder why something as important as caffeine syrup has to be so disgusting, and I try to convince myself that what I am actually drinking is a large steaming mug of hot cocoa. Failing miserably, I abandon the attempt and return my attention to the three million page journal article that I had to read for my English assignment. My fingers move rhythmically across the keyboard as I hope to god that I don’t go blind from staring at the screen for so long.
    Numerous attempts are made to analyze the meaning behind the meaning while at the same time trying to sound slightly intelligent and somewhat English-speaking. I take a momentary pause to rest my head on my knee, close my eyes for several seconds, and think about the stupid question that I asked my friends today (something to do with whether turkeys and roosters are the same animal). Smiling sheepishly, I force my head up, take another sip of Nasty Juice, and type up the conclusion to paragraph two. I experience a momentary feeling of bliss at finally finishing, then I feel sick as I look over to find a mountain of school work still waiting to be completed. I have a small fight with my inner conscience, trying to convince it that I need sleep, but as usual it wins and I end up opening my statistics textbook and scribbling down answers that my half-asleep brain has thought up.

    So is it good or should I work on it some more? All opinions are encouraged and help is greatly appreciated.

    • ANSWER:
      You're relying on adjectives & adverbs too much, using too many words generally, and too many compound sentences. Mix it up a little.
      How can I focus on a major statistics project and upcoming midterm exams when I'm sleep deprived & suffering a fierce headache? Why must anything so important as caffiene syrup be so disgusting? I tell myself that I'm drinking hot cocoa, but it's a lie and I abandon the effort. I turn back to my English assignment, a three million page journal article. My fingers sputter across the keys...

17. QUESTION:
    POLL:: Isnt it time that Y!A adds more sections to this website?
    I think so. There is simply not enough sections. heres an example of how many sections that Answerbag has that Y!A DOESNT!

    Shopping
    Black Friday
    Consumer Prices
    Where can I buy.......
    Jewelry
    Death and Funerals
    Near Death Experiences
    Cemeteries
    Funeral Rites
    Cremation
    Sexuality and Gender
    Religion and Religion
    Gay Marriage
    Feminism
    Same Sex Parenting and Adoption
    Gender Issues
    World Records
    Parties and entertaining
    Clowns
    Birthday Parties
    Baby Showers
    Military customs and protocol
    Military Draft
    Military loved ones
    Military Ranks
    Homelessness
    Urban Legends
    Poverty
    Is it illegal......
    Copyright law
    Stalking
    Teenagers
    Traditions
    Criminology
    Animal Rights
    US politics
    US Constitution
    US President
    US Political Parties
    Barack Obama
    Roller Coasters
    Circus
    Peanut Butter
    BBQ
    Dinner
    Lunch
    Picnics
    McDonalds
    Burger King
    Subway
    Quiznos
    Beer
    Wine
    Liquor
    Smoothies
    Energy Drinks
    Soda
    Cheese
    Sandwiches
    Snack Food
    Leftovers
    Frozen Food
    Scars
    Drinking Water
    Bottled Water
    Suicide
    Smoking
    Cigarettes
    Cigars
    Smokeless Tobacco
    Quitting smoking
    Sleep
    Hospitals
    Phobias
    Guns
    Dealing with Bullies
    Fraternal organizations
    Terrorism
    United Nations
    Atheism
    Christianity
    Assassinations
    School Shootings
    Racism
    Stereotypes
    Bowling
    Badminton
    Shuffleboard
    Roller Blading
    Skateboarding
    Street luge
    Beaches
    Tourism
    Road Trips
    Passports
    Comedians
    George Carlin
    Dane Cook
    Eddie Murphy
    Richard Pryor
    Carlos Mencia
    Holocaust
    9/11 attacks
    Conspiracies
    Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Baseball rules
    Pitching in baseball
    Baseball statistics
    Baseball regulations
    Baseball jargon
    Hitting in baseball
    Little League Baseball
    World Baseball Classic

    and this is just a few of them that Answerbag has that Y!A doesnt have. Everything that Y!A has, Answerbag has plus hundreds more. What do you think of Y!A having such a lack of categories to go to?
    ALL OF THESE ARE THEIR OWN SEPARATE CATEGORIES OR SUBCATEGORIES.
    and this is just a SMALL FRACTION of what Answerbag has that Y!A doesnt have!
    Shouldnt Yahoo start adding a lot more sections to this website so people could ask and find things more accurately? Theres simply not enough sections so people with the same interests can talk about.

    Isnt what Answerbag did much better? They dont have permanent suspensions and have all the freedom of speech.
    Every country has its own section on Answerbag while Y!A still doesn't have one for Haiti.
    and these are NOT ALL the sections and subcategories that Answerbag has that Y!A doesnt that i just listed. there are TONNNSSS more!!!
    yes they have a furniture section! They even have subcategories for couches, chairs, recliners, tables, draws and everything. its crazy!

    • ANSWER:
      download and upload section.....

18. QUESTION:
    "Kids these days". Why does every one think were old lady muggers?
    Listen, it might just be me, but, I feel as though young people (like myself) are been overlooked by adults. I am 13, have a part time job and will be starting my GCSE coursework for maths, general studies and statistics shortly. Recently (to the dismay of my parents) I have been noticing little things that just grind my gears slightly in and around my home town. I am sure that there is a logical explanation for these things and if you have one, feel free to comment. For example one day after work I decided to have a look around the shops. I was in the card shop "birthdays" when a woman pushed in front of me. When I spoke up she totally ignored me. The woman behind the checkout then served her and when I said, Rather politely, "excuse me" she said something along the lines of "wait your turn" and shared a "knowing glance" with the woman which seemed to say "kids these days". The annoyance of that far too familiar phrase!! Also why cant we we buy energy drinks? We're not going to get high and take over the world are we? Why do the bad things teenagers do make the headlines, and not the ever recurring good deeds? Also I was refused purchase of a small bottle of alchol-free beer, as, wait for it, it could "get me drunk". Kids are not all murdering, mugging, rapist drunks. Please leave your opinions below.
    Thank you for reading.
    John R

    • ANSWER:
      Because they listen to the papers, and papers only look at bad things teenagers do, never the positives and also they generally blow things way out of proportion. (its complete stereotyping)

      Many just have to see teenagers on the street to presume that they are being anti social!

      Also many people believe because they are older it means they are more important and have more rights... It is completely unfair!

      =]

19. QUESTION:
    I have to give a speech on a health and/or safety topic. Do you have any ideas?
    I just can't think of a good subject to write the speech on. I don't want it to be about something everyone already knows a ton about, like smoking, or obesity. I want it to be somewhat original, with a lot of statistics to back it up. In previous years I have done the speech on fire safety, sports safety, and distracted driving. This year I want to be more different, I was going to do the speech on aspartame dangers but there just isn't enough conclusive effidence for that, and I also thought about doing it on the dangers of energy drinks but once again just not enough factual information. Do you have any good ideas? please help.

    • ANSWER:
      i had to do this for health this year two, and i did phobias. I got some good information and an A+!!! Good luck!!!

20. QUESTION:
    Should Yahoo Answers add more sections to this website like Answerbag?
    Doesnt Yahoo Answers not have nearly enough sections?

    For Example, on Answerbag they have all of these as its own separate category.
    Theres a section for............

    Shopping
    Black Friday
    Consumer Prices
    Where can I buy.......
    Jewelry
    Death and Funerals
    Near Death Experiences
    Cemeteries
    Funeral Rites
    Cremation
    Sexuality and Gender
    Religion and Religion
    Gay Marriage
    Feminism
    Same Sex Parenting and Adoption
    Gender Issues
    World Records
    Parties and entertaining
    Clowns
    Birthday Parties
    Baby Showers
    Military customs and protocol
    Military Draft
    Military loved ones
    Military Ranks
    Homelessness
    Urban Legends
    Poverty
    Is it illegal......
    Copyright law
    Stalking
    Teenagers
    Traditions
    Criminology
    Animal Rights
    US politics
    US Constitution
    US President
    US Political Parties
    Barack Obama
    Roller Coasters
    Circus
    Peanut Butter
    BBQ
    Dinner
    Lunch
    Picnics
    McDonalds
    Burger King
    Subway
    Quiznos
    Beer
    Wine
    Liquor
    Smoothies
    Energy Drinks
    Soda
    Guns
    Dealing with Bullies
    Fraternal organizations
    Terrorism
    United Nations
    Atheism
    Christianity
    Assassinations
    School Shootings
    Racism
    Stereotypes
    Bowling
    Badminton
    Roller Blading
    Skateboarding
    Street luge
    Beaches
    Tourism
    Road Trips
    Passports
    Comedians
    George Carlin
    Dane Cook
    Eddie Murphy
    Richard Pryor
    Carlos Mencia
    Holocaust
    9/11 attacks
    Conspiracies
    Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Baseball rules
    Pitching in baseball
    Baseball statistics
    Baseball regulations
    Baseball jargon
    Hitting in baseball
    Little League Baseball
    World Baseball Classic

    ALL OF THESE ARE THEIR OWN SEPARATE CATEGORIES OR SUBCATEGORIES.
    and this is just a SMALL FRACTION of what Answerbag has that Y!A doesnt have!
    Shouldnt Yahoo start adding a lot more sections to this website so people could ask and find things more accurately? Theres simply not enough sections so people with the same interests can talk about.

    Isnt what Answerbag did better?

    http://www.answerbag.com/

    • ANSWER:
      That's a very long list you've suggested. I appreciate it. But then in stead of asking such a question wouldn't it had been better if you had suggested it to the Yahoo Administrator. Here at the Y ! A They are always seeking your valuable suggestions. You'll find an ad here that asks you to contact through a Feedback. Yes, I acknowledge there are a good many subjects that can be added here at Y!A.

21. QUESTION:
    Could you correct my grammar , Please?
    To begin with , People these days are very wearied about their health . Coffee has many health benefits. Coffee has dozens of proven and widely-suggested health benefits. According to researchers that worked for a few years to find out that coffee can increases Alertness because caffeine is a well-known to increase alertness in individuals. This is because it stimulates the nervous system and regulates blood pressure. And another fact that coffee help to burn extra calories t because coffee boosting your metabolism. One cup of Coffee every morning can give an energy that help you workout and exercise for longer time. In fact, It is also low in calories. On the other hand , people who drink tea most of the time have a higher blood pressure . That lead to heart attack and other health problems .A statistics Scotland study found that People who drink coffee are less likely to get heart disease than tea drinkers. . In short, drinking coffee is better than drinking tea because of health benefit.

    • ANSWER:

22. QUESTION:
    I need help regarding fallacies, ASAP! Please!?
    For each of the questions, I have to determine which type of fallacy it is. I have given my answers, but I have a hard time understanding some, and mistake some types for others. Can someone please help describe the fallacies, and/or check my answers,please?

    1. All environmentalists are tree huggers. If you do not support the saving of all trees, you cannot be an environmentalist.
    Choices are: Undistributed middle (My answer), Appeal to authority, Straw Man, or Vagueness.

    2. I am an expert on water quality, as I only drink water filtered by Purette!
    Choices are: Appeal to Authority (My answer), False Cause, Suppressed Evidence, Undistributed middle

    3. Lumber companies have to cut more and more trees each year, especially clear cuts. After all, businessas have to increase profits, because people need more money every year.
    Choices are: Undistributed middle, Appeal to Authority, Red Herring (My answer), Genetic fallacy

    4. The introduction of hybrid cars into the market has increased efficiency of fuel use by 50%. The pollution problem is getting better.
    Choices are: Red Herring, Suppressed evidence (My answer), Straw Man, Appeal to Authority

    5. Do most people in this country believe in global warming? After extensive research and surveying students at the top ten environmentally friendly schools we concluded that 90% are trying to concerve energy. So we know we are concerned about global warming.
    Choices are: Questionable use of statistics (My answer), Undistributed Middle, Red Herring, Straw Man, Genetic Fallacy

    6. Dr. Freud said dreams are suppressed thoughts, desires and feelings. Do you see how important it is to follow your dreams?
    Choices are: Vagueness, Undistributed middle, Genetic Fallacy (My answer), Straw Man

    7. Al Gore won the nobel prize for his campaign against for Global Warming. Now we do not have to worry about climate change any more because Al Gore takes care of it.
    Choices are: Straw Man, Genetic Fallacy , Red Herring, Undistributed Middle, False Cause (My answer)

    8. Coal consists of the element carbon. Carbon molecules are the basis of all organic molecules in living organisms. So coal must be alive.
    Choices are: Questionable Use of Statistics, Suppressed Evidence, Equivocation (My answer), Vagueness, Undistributed middle

    9. The earth is warming due to pollution and the ozone hole is growing over the south pole. The ozone hole is caused by compounds released by aerosol cans. I think aerosol cans should be banned to reduce global warming.
    Choices are: Vagueness,Straw Man, Red Herring, False Cause (My answer), Undistributed Middle

    10. The nurses study of the National Institute of Health showed that female nurses had an increased risk for breast cancer if they consumed beef most days of the week. We should not give beef to children any more!
    Choices are: Undistributed middle, False cause (My answer), Questionable use of statistics, Appeal to Authority

    Thanks to all who help!

    • ANSWER:
      I might sound like an idiot, but what subject is this from? Is it HS or college?

      What ever it is Good Luck!

23. QUESTION:
    How many of these did you already know?
    It is impossible to lick your elbow.

    Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

    In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.

    Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.

    More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.

    13% of Americans actually believe that some parts of the moon are made of cheese.

    The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.

    Fish that live more than 800 meters below the ocean surface don't have eyes.

    Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave. Go on, try it then

    Ramses brand condom is named after the great pharaoh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children.

    Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.

    The average chocolate bar has 8 insects' legs in it.

    In York, it is perfectly legal to shoot a Scotsman with a bow and arrow (except on Sundays)

    No piece of square dry paper can be folded in half more than 7 times

    The average human eats 8 spiders in their lifetime at night.

    "Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

    An average human loses about 200 head hairs per day.

    Mexico City sinks about 10 inches a year

    It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

    In France, a five year old child can buy an alcoholic drink in a bar

    During the chariot scene in "Ben Hur," a small red car can be seen in the distance.

    Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

    By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand.

    Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

    Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.

    The glue on Israeli postage is certified kosher.

    In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all of the world's nuclear weapons combined.

    On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year.

    Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

    The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

    Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to s-l-o-w film down so you could see his moves.

    A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother's first flight.

    Babies are born without knee caps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2-6 years of age.

    14% of all facts and statistics are made up and 27% of people know that fact.

    Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

    Eskimos have over 15 words for the English word of 'Snow'

    Americans on the average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

    Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

    On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament buildings is an American flag.

    Almonds are a member of the peach family.

    The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

    Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was born on and died on days when Halley’s Comet can be seen.

    US Dollar bills are made out of cotton and linen.

    The 57 on the Heinz ketchup bottle represents the number of pickle types the company once had.

    Americans are responsible for about 1/5 of the world’s garbage annually.

    Giraffes and rats can last longer without water than camels.

    Your stomach produces a new layer of mucus every two weeks so that it doesn’t digest itself.

    98% of all murders and rapes are by a close family member or friend of the victim.

    A B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building on July 28, 1945.

    The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp (marijuana) paper.

    The dot over the letter “i” is called a tittle.

    Benjamin Franklin was the fifth in a series of the youngest son of the youngest son.

    Triskaidekaphobia means fear of the number 13.

    Paraskevidekatriaphobia means fear of Friday the 13th, which occurs one to three times a year.

    In Italy, 17 is considered an unlucky number. In Japan, 4 is considered an unlucky number.

    A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find a mate.
    Coca-Cola contained Coca (whose active ingredient is cocaine) from 1885 to 1903.

    A “2 by 4" is really 1 1/2 by 3 1/2.

    It’s estimated that at any one time around 0.7% of the world’s population is drunk.

    40% of McDonald’s profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.

    Every person, including identical twins, has a unique eye & tongue print along with their finger print.

    The “spot” on the 7-Up logo comes from its inventor who had red eyes. He was an albino.

    315 entries in Webster’s 1996 dictionary were misspelled.

    The “save” icon in Microsoft Office programs shows a floppy disk with the shutter on backwards.

    Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin both married their first cousins

    Camel’s have three eyelids.

    On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong p
    Everyday, more money is printed for Monopoly sets than for the U.S. Treasury.

    Every year 4 people in the UK die putting their trousers on.

    Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds; dogs only have about ten.
    Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

    Every time you lick a stamp you consume 1/10 of a calorie.

    You are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider.

    Hedenophobic means fear of pleasure.

    Ancient Egyptian priests would pluck every hair from their bodies.
    Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

    Every time you lick a stamp you consume 1/10 of a calorie.

    You are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider.

    Hedenophobic means fear of pleasure.

    Ancient Egyptian priests would pluck every hair from their bodies.
    A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

    80% of burglaries are committed by people aged 13-21.

    An ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

    All polar bears are left-handed.

    The catfish has over 27000 taste buds (more than any other animal)
    A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

    80% of burglaries are committed by people aged 13-21.

    An ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

    All polar bears are left-handed.

    The catfish has over 27000 taste buds (more than any other animal)
    A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

    80% of burglaries are committed by people aged 13-21.

    An ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

    All polar bears are left-handed.

    The catfish has over 27000 taste buds (more than any other animal)
    A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death.

    Butterflies taste with their feet.

    Elephants are the only mammals that cannot jump.
    An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.

    Starfish have no brains.

    11% of the world is left-handed.

    Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

    The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses.

    There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.

    A healthy (non-colorblind) human eye can distinguish between 500 shades of gray.

    A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

    Lizards can self-amputate their tails for protection. It grows back after a few months.

    Los Angeles’ full name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula”.

    A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
    A honeybee can fly at fifteen miles per hour.

    Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

    A “jiffy” is the scientific name for 1/100th of a second.

    The average child recognizes over 200 company logos by the time he enters first grade.

    The youngest pope ever was 11 years old.

    The first novel ever written on a typewriter is Tom Sawyer.

    One out of every 43 prisoners escapes from jail. 94% are recaptured.

    The average chocolate bar has 8 insects’ legs melted into it.

    A rhinoceros horn is made of compacted hair.
    Elwood Edwards did the voice for the AOL sound files (i.e. “You’ve got Mail!”).

    A polar bears skin is black. Its fur is actually clear, but like snow it appears white.

    Elvis had a twin brother named Garon, who died at birth, which is why Elvis middle name was Aron.
    Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

    Donkeys kill more people than plane crashes.

    Shakespeare invented the words “assassination” and “bump.”

    There are a million ants for every person on Earth.

    If you keep a goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white.

    Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
    Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people do.

    There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.
    Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people do.

    There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.
    Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people do.

    There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.
    ********************************************************************************************

    I actually read all of them before adding them here.. the website has a total of 600 facets.. i just got a couple hundred (i think)

    anyway, if you want to read more, go to

    www.djtech.net/humor/shorty_useless_facts.htm

    ********************************************************************************************
    ********************************************************************************************

    I have no idea how many I knew.
    About 30-40

    haha, i' not a CIA agent.

    Sorry if the facts are untrue.
    I have no idea if these facts are true, I just found them on the internet.

    Thanks for the quick replies.

    

    ********************************************************************************************
    ********************************************************************************************

    I have no idea how many I knew.
    About 30-40

    haha, i' not a CIA agent.

    Sorry if the facts are untrue.
    I have no idea if these facts are true, I just found them on the internet.

    Thanks for the quick replies.

    

    ********************************************************************************************

    • ANSWER:
      None thanks for the knowledge insight!

24. QUESTION:
    Am I bipolar ii?.........................................?
    Hi I hope someone can provide a little insight, I'm fairly certain I have a mood disorder i'm leaning towards Bipolar ii of course my limited knowledge on the condition has made me question this, I do think I "fit" on the bipolar spectrum, i'm afraid that due to the ridged criteria in the DSM or ICD-10 statistics and diagnostic manual I fear a misdiagnosis. I'm am currently waiting to been seen by a specialist, this can take weeks and i'm quite impatient at the moment.

    My symptoms do resemble bipolarity, I have periods where I feel really good about myself and I become more creative than usual, I have a wonderful sense of optimism, I become sharper in my mind, and I have a general lifted mood, but it does cloud my judgement I have done some what i consider inappropriate things, started arguments and act in a disagreeable manner for no reason, i feel like people are not able to understand what i'm trying to explain to them and i feel that people are just not fast enough in their cognition's, I.E they cant finish a story quick enough for me, or make decision quick enough etc... I have these life changing goals, I seriously consider moving to another town or county even country for no particular reason even tho i have commitments that one just cant leave on a whim even tho i do really desire to. I binge drink and socialise more, write more, read more, spend impulsively, got into financial trouble, sought out many sexual partners, become fixed on an idea and enthusiastic about this long journey i'm gonna embark on and just a quickly as i throw myself into the idea i get another one and leave the original plan half done and so on. Sometimes I truly believe I am the most important person for anyone who has ever met me, and am great disappointed when people don't recognise or treat me that way, this has lead to lots of arguments where i become very hostile and verbally abusive. All this can last days or be scattered over many months.

    Then I wake up and i feel normal, i just cruise along been my usual polite self, i feel content, however I get depressed more often than not, during this time i have low energy I sleep up to 15 hours a night and will nap in the day, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, self loathing, worried, anxious, scared, cant see a future, want to isolate myself from everyone, i have even deleted my Facebook account and turned my phone off for days, everything becomes difficult and pointless. I have been treated for dression in the past, I have had antidepressants but they don't work for me, all i know for sure is i get depressed for no reason or at least one that i cant attach to the depression then after a few weeks or a few months i over it and i feel great, then some time later maybe a year or maybe a few months i get depressed and the whole thing starts again.

    The last 12 days have been so up and down i just don't know how i'm going to feel next!

    I will say that when i'm in a great mood my need for sleep is still present yet it is mostly interrupted and i may have around 5-6 hours rather than my usual 8, i mention this because this has made me doubt as to if i am bipolar, as i have read that manic or hypo-manic states often lead to massively reduced need for sleep.

    Does this sound familiar to anyone? any feedback would be of great help

    Many thanks

    • ANSWER:
      I'm disabled by Bipolar 2 and usually Bipolar takes a long time to get a proper diagnosis. I wasn't diagnosed at all for any mental health condition for years until my depression became so severe that it started impacting my work and ultimately resulted in many hospitalizations. Even though I kept telling my psychiatrist and other psychiatrists at the hospitals that I thought I was bipolar, they wouldn't diagnose it as that. My psychiatrist basically didn't diagnose it until he actually witnessed me in a hypomanic episode during one of my appointments. He made a comment about me being unusually talkative and a much better mood than normal that day which was about a year and a half after I started seeing him and all the hospitalizations started.

      It sounds like you have done a lot of research on the web based on how you noted the symptoms above. You don't need to have all the symptoms to have bipolar disorder. Also, many of the hypomanic symptoms may just reflect a good mood and not really be hypomania. Generally other people notice the change in your mood before you will recognize it. Usually I don't recognize when I am in hypomania. Someone else has to point it out to me. In hindsight, I can see what they were talking about. Quite often, when I am hypomanic, my thoughts are really racing and I can't stay on topic. My speech is pressured and I actually get winded because I am talking so fast but I can't stop.

      If you've only tried one antidepressant, there are many more to try. I went through MANY different antidepressants, mood stabilizers and anti psychotics alone in combination over the 1.5 years when I was really bad until they found the combination that works for me. Generally Bipolar 2 is treated with an antidepressant and / or mood stabilizers which improve your mood as well as psychotherapy. An antipsychotic may occasionally be added to suppress the possibility of hypomanic episodes. But you will still have mood fluctuations even when you are on the meds. As my psychiatrist and my general doctor have told me, it is common for everyone to have mood swings and just because you are feeling good and more productive doesn't mean you are hypomanic.

      I recommend you talk to your general doctor about your depressions and the fact that you think you are bipolar. Tell him which antidepressant you tried which didn't work so that he can possibly prescribe something else. Also, ask him about getting you into therapy. Sometimes they can point out thought processes that may be triggering the depression.

25. QUESTION:
    Do I have bipolar disorder or social anxiety?
    I am concerned that I have bipolar disorder, however looking up statistics it says that most bipolar people experience depressive episodes and maniac episodes that last for weeks. I suffer from both of these, however these change very rapidly, sometimes as many as 3 changes in an hour. Whilst I am in a depressive episode, I will self-harm, even if there isn't anything to make a definitive cut with e.g. my nails. I hate myself and everyone around me, I get angry with anything and everything, and I often feel isolated from other people. I often cannot be bothered with anything, become apathetic and my social anxiety gets worse (to be explained later). I spend a lot of time contemplating suicide. Most often, I substance abuse - I've learned the minimum overdose and then take one less. I will often see dismembered limbs, blood and stone hearts hanging from intestines that sprout out of the ceiling. I will often feel nauseous at physical human contact and occasionally experience depersonalization. However, when I switch to a maniac episode, I find myself unable to sleep, and often laugh at nothing and then can't stop. I can't finish tasks without getting distracted and tend to experience a boost in my energy levels (like I've just drank a lot of caffeine). I still substance abuse, but I don't self-harm or contemplate suicide, and I still experience delusions. I often rave about rainbow colored animals (usually penguins) or just animals in general. I also experience episodes where I experience symptoms of both episodes, and I often get very frustrated. I spend a lot of time sitting out of windows wondering whether to jump when I'm like this - one half of me tells me I'll squish a rainbow colored rabbit on the way down, and tells me to take some more pills, and which point the second half usually agrees, and I take some more pills. I am not in control of these mood swings at all - depressive episodes are usually longer that maniac ones, and they are usually quite volatile.

    Social anxiety disorder symptoms I display: an intense fear and avoidance of public embarrassment, humiliation, or social interaction. This fear is experienced in most social interactions. Social anxiety often manifests specific physical symptoms, including blushing, sweating, and difficulty speaking. Like with all phobic disorders, those suffering from social anxiety often will attempt to avoid the source of their anxiety; in the case of social anxiety this is particularly problematic, and in severe cases can lead to complete social isolation. (If I don't know a person very well, then I don't talk to them. I don't really talk to people, like people, or like talking to people. I usually have to watch people interact with others and have them ask me a direct question before I interact with them).

    • ANSWER:
      Sounds exactly like Borderline Personality Disorder... it had rapid mood swings lasting minutes or hours and self harm is prevalent, so is substance abuse and anxiety. It really doesn;t sound at all like Bipolar.

      Everyone has moods like those of Bipolar Disorder....... because everyone has mood swings, momentary loss of judgment, likes to go shopping, likes sex, feels down sometimes, gets angry now and then and is hyper on occasion. The difference is that all of these symptoms in Bipolar are so intense that they interfere with your ability to function. Think of a pole (biPOLEr) with 0 at the center (0 being normal) and 10 at one end (manic) and -10 at the other (deep depression). Most people have swings but stay within 3 to -3. I have fairly severe Bipolar 1 but since my psychosis is mild I go from -9 to 9.... Also depression that comes and goes is not bipolar but just recurring depression, you have to have mania for it to be Bipolar..... you have to go to both ends of the pole.

      Rapidly changing emotions or becoming angry or sad easily is not all there is to Bipolar. That is just having emotions. People with Bipolar Disorder do not just change emotions quickly, they go through periods of depression followed by periods of mania or elevated mood. Mood affects everything about you.... your energy level, self esteem, sleep patterns, appetite, sexuality, emotional response, judgment, etc..... not just your emotions. And while rapid cycling is possible, it is rare. The average person with Bipolar only cycles two or three times a year. It is considered rapid cycling if they cycle 4 or more times in a year.

      While everyone with Bipolar has a different set of symptoms and a different severity of symptoms, this is what Bipolar is like for me:

      Depression - too tired to get out of bed, shower, even to brush my teeth. Cry all the time, sleep 16 hours a day. Feelings of self loathing and guilt that drive me to think of suicide but I'm to tired to even think about how to go about killing myself. It makes you feel small and worthless and completely insignificant. It makes you think about how big the world is and how meaningless you are in it..... and it refuses to let you have any good thoughts or see any good things.... when you look in the mirror all you see is pain, you don't even see yourself, you don't taste your favorite foods anymore, see that flowers are blooming, whether or not the sun is out, you become so inward that you hardly even notice your surroundings..... You don't even feel love for people anymore.... positive thoughts are just not possible...... it is a deep dark hole with no way out and no light for hope.... and most of all it makes you feel sooooo alone. And even if there were someone who cared about you they would be better off if you killed yourself....... because all you will ever be is a burden....... this can last from a couple of weeks to a couple of years.

      Mania - Way too happy! PARTY GIRL! love drink and drugs. Talk really fast and pressured because my thoughts are going faster than my mouth can keep up with. Hypersexual - like I sleep with strangers and guys I just met on the internet or I masturbate 10 times a day. I once became bisexual because there were twice as many people to sleep with. down load porn and spend tons of money on sex toys. Spending sprees..... I once spent my mortgage money on african violets, yep, 00 on African violets (then I got depressed and let them all die). Quit my job because I wanted my vacation pay for lottery tickets and I was so convinced I would win that I started shopping and writing bad checks because I'd be rich as soon as the numbers were drawn. Decided that I could replace the furnace in my home by myself... I mean how hard can it be..... Only sleep 2 or maybe 3 hours a night for months on end and never feel tired. In the end I was unemployed, ,000 in debt, and had almost lost my home, which needed a new furnace because I had removed the old one.. or parts of it anyway. This can last for months.

      I also have mixed states when I am depressed and manic at the same time which are truly the worst... By body and mind are depressed but there is this undercurrent of energy running all the time..... I'm highly emotional but the emotions tend to be negative (guilt and anger) I have intrusive thoughts and urges to mutilate myself (like wanting to stick my hands in the garbage disposal or cooking them on the BBQ), and I also have psychotic episodes where I hallucinate. This is when I am most suseptible to suicide because I am depressed, wanting to hurt myself, and I have the mental energy to plan and carry it out.

26. QUESTION:
    What do you think of my monologue?
    Two hours I’ve been waiting in this concrete chair. Six hours of the sterile smell of bleach and disinfectant filling my nostrils giving me a headache. Four hours of lying on an x-ray table drinking gunk only to be then left in a waiting room.

    Waiting, waiting for answers I probably won’t get. People are walking at an almost run, to and fro, in and out. Patients bee lining toward exam rooms, medical personnel hurrying by, eyes set on their destination and I’m just sitting here, waiting.

    I know the drill; I’m not new to this. A mother will exit that exam room soon, a crying child in her arms. An old man will struggle through the door in a few minutes and trudge towards the reception desk. I’ll be called soon, ushered through a door and offered a slightly softer seat. My doctor will give me that sympathetic look and explain that once again the test was inconclusive. The last six hours were a waste but could I please come back in a week and do it again, you know just in case something shows up next time. “It’s a waiting game”, she’ll say “you’ve just got to wait it out, we’ll get there in the end.”

    Ten years. I know the statistics, I know them well. Ten years is the average waiting time for someone like me. Ten years before hearing the magic four words.

    So I’ll smile, thank her and somehow find my way home without falling apart. That can wait for tonight when I’m in bed alone. Then curled up I’ll let tears come and the day dreams. I’ll dream of better times. Times in the past when I was free, when I had boundless energy and everyday wasn’t an exercise in conservation. Times in the future when instead of a sympathetic look I’ll get the words ‘you have a diagnosis’, times when I’m on effective treatment and if I really let the dreams run away, times when I’m in remission.

    I’ll cry myself to sleep and somehow get up in the morning. I’ll down my meds and pile on the heat packs. Maybe I can get to school today for a lesson or two and maybe if things go really well I’ll be healthy enough to have a friend over this weekend. I’ll lie on my bed, she’ll sit on the side and we’ll talk. We can’t go out, catch a bus or see a movie, not this week.
    I know the drill; I can see the future, at least for the next month. But sitting here right now in the too cold hospital air conditioning, I feel lost. Lost behind the worlds of the healthy and the diagnosed. There are no fundraisers for me. No walks, no T-shirts, bracelets or ribbons. I am the lost within the lost. Trapped by my body and left behind by the world.
    Is it wrong to be jealous of people with a diagnosis? They go through hell, daily pain, fear and debilitating fatigue. But then I go through hell too. Is it wrong to want some kind of support, recognition for the hell I go though? Maybe, but that doesn’t chase away feeling.

    Yet I haven’t given up. I still dream and plan. I still work towards my goals. Sometimes I wonder what it is that gets me through the day and keeps me believing in the future. What is it that stops me from giving in and giving up? What keeps me coming to school and making plans?

    Looking around the waiting room again I think I can see a glimpse of what it is. I can see it in the eye’s of the mother with the crying child, it’s there mixed in with the despair. I can see it in the small smile of the old man, mixed in with the tiredness. It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning. The same thing that allows a kid with cancer to laugh at a joke the clown doctors tell. The same thing that keeps prisoners of war sane and keeps the prosecuted fighting,

    Hope. It allows us to keep on going when there is no reasonable reason to. Hoping, being able to hope is a unique part of humanity that we would fade away without. I keep on hoping because hope refuses to give up.

    Sitting here I feel lost, I feel broken and forgotten but I still have hope and that’s why I’ll come back next week and do it all over again. Every time I feel alone hope somehow manages to shed some light on the despair. Again and again it pushes me forwards and gives me the strength to keep going.

    So in words of John Keats

    When by my solitary hearth I sit,
    And hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom;
    When no fair dreams before my "mind's eye" flit,
    And the bare heath of life presents no bloom;
    Sweet Hope, ethereal balm upon me shed,
    And wave thy silver pinions o'er my head!

    Whene'er I wander, at the fall of night,
    Where woven boughs shut out the moon's bright ray,
    Should sad Despondency my musings fright,
    And frown, to drive fair Cheerfulness away,
    Peep with the moonbeams through the leafy roof,
    And keep that fiend Despondence far aloof!

    Should Disappointment, parent of Despair,
    Strive for her son to seize my careless heart;
    When, like a cloud, he sits upon the air,
    Preparing on his spell-bound prey to dart:
    Chase him away, sweet Hope, with visage bright,
    And fright him as the morning frightens night!
    It has to touch on the huam condition and include at least part of a poem.

    • ANSWER:
      I think it's good! A little long though, and there are some minor grammar issues.

27. QUESTION:
    HELP!! what do you think of my oral. Generations ARE becoming dumber?? (read and suggest)?
    *starting off with homer video- homer simpson reads the word gym and “guy-mmm”*

    funny huh? funny that homer cant read a simple 3 letter word? what’s this message telling our kids? that it is ok to be a little bit stupid? Homer Simpson is easily the worst role model for all children and even teenagers! if your idea of role modelling is pigging out on doughnuts, being overweight , drinking and strangling your son, then YOU ARE FOOLISH! This sort of behaviour should not be encouraged but instead stopped!
    Homer simpson represents a failure, a slob... instead of looking for examples in people that are successful, REAL PEOPLE.... what the hell is Australia turning into?

    Sometimes I wonder, I wonder where the human race is going. Is it really evolving? Or is it actually devolving?

    It makes sense to me that people are getting more stupid, society seems to embrace it even promote it through movies such as “Dumb and Dumber”. Dumbing down is becoming the norm, reading as a past-time is becoming old-fashioned. You hear phrases like “ey ey you know what I done?” instead of the correct term “you know what I did” and “I didn’t do nothing” rather than “I didn’t do anything”. They’ve become a normal part of our everyday so called “English” language. Movies like Bruno and ali g “in da” house deterioate the mind and are just complete wastes of time.

    Former president, George bush leader of the US nation is no exception. When he publicly said during a speech "Rarely Is The Question Asked: Is Our Children Learning?" , alright so george bush is tryna GET his point across, we need to educate our children? well maybe we would of considered it, if he gave us a reason too??
    And also , we have the head of powerful nation, who say such things as “I know how hard it is for you to put food ON your family." We’ve had leaders such as this one, determining the direction our generation is heading.

    But, just HOW dumb are Australians? According to a recent survey, carried out in 2009, nearly half the adult population in Australia does not have the literacy skills to meet the "complex demands of everyday life and work", according to new figures. Only 53 per cent of Australians aged 15-74 could find and use complex information on job applications, payroll forms and bus schedules, the figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.
    Back in the late 1800's and early 1900's, scientists were discovering electricity, radio waves, evolution, medicine, automobiles, planes, and nuclear weapons. Then we went to space and to the moon.

    However, in the past 40 years, we discovered nothing significant. Are internet, cell phones, and video games the only things that have progressed all these years? Are humans able to discover something more important like energy conservation?
    An English professor at Emory University in Atlanta contends that technology is making the next generation dumber rather than smarter according to USA Today.
    Mark Bauerlein contends that Generation Y is more likely to use their free time to check Facebook or a blog rather than read a book. And because of the generation’s exposure to computer technology since elementary school and communicating on-line in text-messages and Internet slang, Baurlein says people ages 16-29 are losing “narrative skill needed as adults.”

    “Those forms groove bad habits, so when it comes time to produce an academic paper … or when they enter the workplace, their capacity breaks down,” he said.

    Instead of using the Web to learn about history and politics, young people indulge in gossip, social networking and pop culture. Cut off from the 'adult' world of tradition, culture, history and context, the digital generation is quickly losing the ability to focus on a book or anything else for more than 5 minutes. Another problem is the nature of the Internet itself, which allows people to "seek out what they already hope to find (...) fast and free, with a minimum of effort." Not having to deal with anything that bores or challenges them.

    Hey, and lets not forget Britney spears, once an inspiration…now a distaster. So once upton a time all the ladies wanted to BE HER, and the men wanted to be WITH HER!....the next day….ahh not soo much……she BECOME the most negative influence on young women, she goes insane..shaves her hair off…it scares me what the world is becoming, take her sister for example…jamie lyn spears…pregnant at the age of 16? And proud? What is she telling teenagers…that its okay to sleep with men at such an age? She is a terrible role model, and showing her ignorance to such a sensitive matter! A bad environment, and lack of education and understanding is what makes you fail in life.

    What does all this say about our generation? Are we really...dumb?
    There was a time in history when women fought for equal rights. Education was deemed unimportant for girls. Things are always better, when we haven’t go

    • ANSWER:
      Hi,
      ok, first thoughts... The Simpsons is not meant for children, so children shouldn't be receiving any messages about men from The Simpsons.
      that said, there is fallout from our adults embracing these idiotic men on tv. being an american, i'd have to say that our people are definitely devolving and becoming dumber.
      there is still brilliance in some of our youth, but do our societal messages and constantly lowering expectations destroy the potential of those that could be brilliant if they had some encouragement and opportunity?
      idolizing people like britney spears, doesn't that make us reach for the dirt - in terms of the aspirations of our youth? we have a whole generation who wants to be sexy, (get rich quick) rich, dumb, and substance-addicted.
      yay
      don't get me started on gw and the nuke-u-lar.
      what our little girls are learning to embrace as "sexual freedom" is really just us women embracing what men want us to be... now we have a generation of std-diseased youth, bored with sex in their teens, pregnant and divorced, if they ever even bothered to get married.
      yay.
      and they teach their children to not bother to aspire to be better.
      yay.
      and this is the future... herpes scabbed, amoral, lazy, selfish, self-indulgent, self-centered, heathens. i'm not all godly or anything, but i think the absence and erasure of religion has really screwed up america.
      i think we are cultivating a terrible future of idiots.

28. QUESTION:
    Can you say, "Good Bye and Good Riddance, Mr. Bush"?
    According to the New York Times, 524,000 Americans lost their jobs in September and October. Unemployment spiked at 6.5 percent. Additionally, 28 million Americans subsist on food stamps. Millions maintain heat and lights with assistance from 'energy banks' subsidized by other Americans who still enjoy jobs.

    "The economy is slipping deeper into a recessionary sinkhole that is getting broader," said Stuart G. Hoffman, chief economist at Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh. "The layoffs are getting larger, and coming faster. We're likely to see at least another six months of more job reports like this."
    http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/pnc_
    financial_services_inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org

    For the past eight years, George Bush watched, and assisted as some eight to twelve million illegal migrants crashed U.S. borders to displace American workers while they wreaked chaos in American schools, hospitals and prisons. At press conferences, he said, "They do the jobs that Americans won't do." While reports show illegal aliens killed more Americans via drunk driving, murders and rapes than combat soldiers suffered death in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. Bush no longer speaks about illegal migrants doing the jobs that Americans won't do. Gees! Can't figure that one out now, can we?

    At the same time, Bush and Congress gave away jobs by pushing for millions of H1-B and H2-B visas for foreign workers to displace American jobs. Bush worked hardest at offshoring, outsourcing and offshoring American jobs. He and Congress killed U.S. manufacturing. He finished the job that Clinton started!

    But Bush's most ominous act as president remains his lie of "Weapons of Mass Destruction." He created it to foment the Iraq War that killed 4,300 young men and women while it lacerated 32,000 into lives fraught with pain, anguish and missing limbs. While an estimated 150,000 Vietnam veterans committed suicide after service in Vietnam, twenty years from now will bring chilling statistics of how many lives suffered irreversible emotional damage and suicide from war time service in Iraq. The personal carnage already piles up across this country.

    By Frosty Wooldridge

    • ANSWER:

      Quoting from the NY Times is like listening to the KKK give a sociology lesson. That paper is biased to a fault.

      Have you ever heard that numbers can tell any story you want? 524K people lost their jobs in Sept and Oct? Really? How many jobs were created during the last 8 years? Do you know? If I told you over 6 million, 524K isn't the catastrophe you thought it was. 524K does not tell anyone, anything.

      28 million Americans are subsidized? How has that number kept pace with the overall population?

      About the visas to foreign workers. We live in a global economy. Foreign workers are to our benefit! They make our corporations unchallenged sucesses. American born children have every opportunity to secure the education and skill to take advantage of those opportunities, but they don't. So, should our highly skilled jobs go unfilled? See, its not as clear as you say:

      "Bush and Congress gave away jobs by pushing for millions of H1-B and H2-B visas for foreign workers to displace American jobs. Bush worked hardest at offshoring, outsourcing and offshoring American jobs"

      We did not kill manufacturing. Other countries are willing to do it cheaper than we are. I heard recently the average UAW worker gets paid /hr. Honda or Toyota is . Who's fault is that? Bush's? Unions don't support him.

      About the economic slip, yes it is. Do you realize that alot of the mortgage financing rules were loosened under Pres. Clinton? The same rules that allowed people to borrow without having to meet tighter lending guidelines was something Pres. Clinton advocated!

      My point is, this mess we are in is of everyone's making. A president neither makes or breaks an economy on his/her own. Every time you and I borrow money we can't afford, every time we complain about the price if oil, every time a business decides to make an easier dollar, every time a union decides to break the back of an industry....its all of us.

29. QUESTION:
    I have to give a speech on a health and/or safety topic. Do you have any ideas?
    I just can't think of a good subject to write the speech on. I don't want it to be about something everyone already knows a ton about, like smoking, or obesity. I want it to be somewhat original, with a lot of statistics to back it up. In previous years I have done the speech on fire safety, sports safety, and distracted driving. This year I want to be more different, I was going to do the speech on aspartame dangers but there just isn't enough conclusive effidence for that, and I also thought about doing it on the dangers of energy drinks but once again just not enough factual information. Do you have any good ideas? please help.

    • ANSWER:
      How about something on bullying, both the bully and the victim and how to recognize and stop it. The impact of bullying in school can affect people for a lifetime. It seems to me that this issue still needs to be addressed.

30. QUESTION:
    What do you think of my monologue?
    Two hours I’ve been waiting in this concrete chair. Six hours of the sterile smell of bleach and disinfectant filling my nostrils giving me a headache. Four hours of lying on an x-ray table drinking gunk only to be then left in a waiting room.

    Waiting, waiting for answers I probably won’t get. People are walking at an almost run, to and fro, in and out. Patients bee lining toward exam rooms, medical personnel hurrying by, eyes set on their destination and I’m just sitting here, waiting.

    I know the drill; I’m not new to this. A mother will exit that exam room soon, a crying child in her arms. An old man will struggle through the door in a few minutes and trudge towards the reception desk. I’ll be called soon, ushered through a door and offered a slightly softer seat. My doctor will give me that sympathetic look and explain that once again the test was inconclusive. The last six hours were a waste but could I please come back in a week and do it again, you know just in case something shows up next time. “It’s a waiting game”, she’ll say “you’ve just got to wait it out, we’ll get there in the end.”

    Ten years. I know the statistics, I know them well. Ten years is the average waiting time for someone like me. Ten years before hearing the magic four words.

    So I’ll smile, thank her and somehow find my way home without falling apart. That can wait for tonight when I’m in bed alone. Then curled up I’ll let tears come and the day dreams. I’ll dream of better times. Times in the past when I was free, when I had boundless energy and everyday wasn’t an exercise in conservation. Times in the future when instead of a sympathetic look I’ll get the words ‘you have a diagnosis’, times when I’m on effective treatment and if I really let the dreams run away, times when I’m in remission.

    I’ll cry myself to sleep and somehow get up in the morning. I’ll down my meds and pile on the heat packs. Maybe I can get to school today for a lesson or two and maybe if things go really well I’ll be healthy enough to have a friend over this weekend. I’ll lie on my bed, she’ll sit on the side and we’ll talk. We can’t go out, catch a bus or see a movie, not this week.
    I know the drill; I can see the future, at least for the next month. But sitting here right now in the too cold hospital air conditioning, I feel lost. Lost behind the worlds of the healthy and the diagnosed. There are no fundraisers for me. No walks, no T-shirts, bracelets or ribbons. I am the lost within the lost. Trapped by my body and left behind by the world.
    Is it wrong to be jealous of people with a diagnosis? They go through hell, daily pain, fear and debilitating fatigue. But then I go through hell too. Is it wrong to want some kind of support, recognition for the hell I go though? Maybe, but that doesn’t chase away feeling.

    Yet I haven’t given up. I still dream and plan. I still work towards my goals. Sometimes I wonder what it is that gets me through the day and keeps me believing in the future. What is it that stops me from giving in and giving up? What keeps me coming to school and making plans?

    Looking around the waiting room again I think I can see a glimpse of what it is. I can see it in the eye’s of the mother with the crying child, it’s there mixed in with the despair. I can see it in the small smile of the old man, mixed in with the tiredness. It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning. The same thing that allows a kid with cancer to laugh at a joke the clown doctors tell. The same thing that keeps prisoners of war sane and keeps the prosecuted fighting,

    Hope. It allows us to keep on going when there is no reasonable reason to. Hoping, being able to hope is a unique part of humanity that we would fade away without. I keep on hoping because hope refuses to give up.

    Sitting here I feel lost, I feel broken and forgotten but I still have hope and that’s why I’ll come back next week and do it all over again. Every time I feel alone hope somehow manages to shed some light on the despair. Again and again it pushes me forwards and gives me the strength to keep going.

    So in words of John Keats

    When by my solitary hearth I sit,
    And hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom;
    When no fair dreams before my "mind's eye" flit,
    And the bare heath of life presents no bloom;
    Sweet Hope, ethereal balm upon me shed,
    And wave thy silver pinions o'er my head!

    Whene'er I wander, at the fall of night,
    Where woven boughs shut out the moon's bright ray,
    Should sad Despondency my musings fright,
    And frown, to drive fair Cheerfulness away,
    Peep with the moonbeams through the leafy roof,
    And keep that fiend Despondence far aloof!

    Should Disappointment, parent of Despair,
    Strive for her son to seize my careless heart;
    When, like a cloud, he sits upon the air,
    Preparing on his spell-bound prey to dart:
    Chase him away, sweet Hope, with visage bright,
    And fright him as the morning frightens night!
    It has to be 4 mins, touch on the human condition and include a poem or part of a poem.

    • ANSWER:
      I'd re-arrange the thing, to build up contrast, something like this;

      I’m just sitting here, waiting. Other patients are called to exam rooms, medical personnel pass by, and here I am, just sitting, waiting for an answer.

      Two hours I’ve been waiting in this concrete chair. People are walking at an almost run, to and fro, in and out. And here I am, just sitting, waiting for an answer I might not even get.

      After having to drink some horrible gunk that stuck to my tongue and teeth, four hours of lying on an x-ray table. Only to then be left in a waiting room. A cleaner just passed by and left behind a cloud of bleach and disinfectant.

      Six hours I've been here now, the stench of bleach and disinfectant filling my nostrils giving me a headache - but at least that stench has wiped away the aftertaste of that gunk I had to drink. A woman just ran out of an exam room crying, almost colliding with the old man who was shuffling across to the reception desk.

      Stretch the time for the narrator, slow it down. Separate the narrator from the normal flow of things; make something bad seem somehow an imporvement. Contrast the narrators' slowing, stretching time with the ever faster movement of others. You might even give some indication of the time of day; contrast the warm light outside that makes way for the darkness to the shade inside that makes way for the cold fluorescent light.