GESTURES MAKE WHAT WE SAY MORE MEMORABLE _ Searching for a way to make your point? Then look no further than your hands. Gestures such as slicing the air or waving can make what we are saying more memorable. It may explain politicians’ annoying habit of making chopping motions to emphasize words in their speeches — and why people in some countries such as Italy tend to gesticulate when they speak. The research (Max Planck Institute) shows gestures can affect the sounds people hear, for example making vowels seem longer. They say that practical implications are that speech recognition systems may be improved by including looking at hand signals and that computer figures, when speaking, would benefit from animated hand gestures along with computer generated sounds.
DOGS WILL KNOW ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE IS COMING AND WILL TRY TO WARN US _ If you go to bed at night worrying about zombies, get a dog. According to an expert, man’s best friend will know a zombie apocalypse is coming before scientists do — and they’ll try to warn us. This comes from the UK tabloid Daily Star which leans on Dr. Cameron Carlson of the “Zombie Research Society” for the story. Dr. Carlson believes dogs’ powerful senses mean they will know the undead are coming before the first one even rises. He also reckons they could be able to sniff out a zombie virus way before the dead start walking thanks to their powerful sense of smell. Changes in atmospheric pressure and natural phenomena carry odors that only our furry friends can pick up.
26% OF AMERICANS SAY GOD DETERMINES WHO WINS THE SUPER BOWL _ Their hands might be gifted… their feet fast… their strategies on the field absolutely cunning… but a quarter of Americans don’t really think it matters. They believe that God personally controls who wins the Super Bowl. The survey showed that 26 percent of Americans, and 27 percent of those who describe themselves as sports fans, believe God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event. The majority of Americans (71 percent, and 69 percent of sports fans in general) disagree.
