Why gas in the U.S. is so cheap

Americans are feeling the pain of spiking prices at the gas pump more acutely than citizens in other countries because they've become accustomed to cheap fuel and large cars, experts say.

clipped from viewer.zoho.com clipped from money.cnn.com Despite daily headlines bemoaning record gas prices, the U.S. is actually one of the cheaper places to fill up in the world. Out of 155 countries surveyed, U.S. gas prices were the 45th cheapest The U.S. has always fought to keep gas prices low, and the current debate among presidential candidates on how to keep them that way has been fierce. Cheap gas prices have also lulled Americans into a cycle of buying bigger cars and bigger houses further away from their work - leaving them more exposed to rising prices Comparing gas prices across nations is always difficult. For starters, the AIRINC numbers don't take into account different salaries in different countries, or the different exchange rates. The dollar has lost considerable ground to the euro recently. Because oil is priced in dollars, rising oil prices aren't as hard on people paying with currencies which are stronger than the dollar Gasoline costs roughly the same to make no matter where in the world it's produced

Peanuts cartoon

clipped from members.comics.com

Peanuts cartoon

clipped from members.comics.com

Peanuts cartoon

clipped from members.comics.com

Quality of Sleep = Memory storage

the Belgian study shows that getting a good night’s sleep the night after learning a new fact has a direct impact on the transfer process between the hippocampus and the medial prefrontal cortex.

clipped from physorg.com Quality of Sleep Determines Where the Brain Stores Memories As time passes, our memories are transferred to different parts of the brain in order to ideally store our past experiences. While scientists have known that sleep plays an important role in helping consolidate memories, a new study investigates the role of sleep a step further, and shows how one night of sleep can lead to changes in brain activity six months after an event has occurred. Their research shows that a good night’s sleep after learning word pairs enhances memory processing in the hippocampus, and also induces information transfer between the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). This transfer serves to consolidate memories, helping new memories become stable and immune to interfering stimuli. Our work shows how the development of a trace left by new memories depends on sleep This is the first time we could confirm in humans a number of predictions based on animal research.

The Science of Siesta

Research Finds That Napping Improves Brain Functioning..

clipped from www.dailygalaxy.com Let’s hear it for siesta time. What better news than to hear that taking midday naps are good for your grey matter? Companies that want smarter employees should let them take 90 minute midday nap-time. Researchers at the University of Haifa in cooperation with the Sleep Laboratory at the Sheba Medical Center and researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal recently concluded that a daytime nap changes the course of consolidation in the brain in several positive ways. This research mirrors several other recent studies with similar conclusions. A ninety-minute daytime nap helps speed up the process of long term memory consolidation "We still don't know the exact mechanism of the memory process that occurs during sleep, but the results of this research suggest the possibility that it is possible to speed up memory consolidation, and in the future, we may be able to do it artificially," What? Artificially? Why do scientist hate REAL sleep so much?

The amazing catacombs full of mummified monks

This was a way to preserve status and dignity even in death, by being clothed in the latest fashions and the most expensive cloth (although monks wore their everyday clothing and any ropes they had worn as penance).

It has been rumoured that the body of Spanish painter Velasquez is at Capuchin, but the exact position is unknown.

As well as providing clothing for their deceased, and generally keeping them looking presentable, grieving relatives gave financial donations to the monastery, which helped maintain the catacombs and guarantee their loved one a permanent spot at the site.

If the relatives ceased to pay these contributions, then the body would be removed from its resting place and left on a shelf until more money arrived.

clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk Dating back to the 16th Century, the catacombs were dug under the Capuchin Monastery when it's original cemetary had been filled It sounds like something out of a horror movie - except this is the macabre sight which greets thousands of tourists in Palermo, Sicily, each year. A total of 8,000 mummies are housed in niches along the walls of the Capuchin Catacombs. clipped from viewer.zoho.com clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk Hung from hooks by their necks and feet, they wear expensive-looking clothes and their heads hang as if in prayer. clipped from viewer.zoho.com clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk Some have been posed - two children sit side-by-side in a rocking chair - and men, women, virgins, children, monks and professionals have been separated. clipped from viewer.zoho.com clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk Bodies were hung on ceramic pipes in the catacombs, to dry out for up to eight months, before being washed with vinegar and exposed to the open air. clipped from viewer.zoho.com clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk Some were then embalmed, while others were sealed in glass cases. the tombs were officially closed in 1871. The last person to be interred there was a small girl, aged only two, called Rosalia Lombardo, in 1920. clipped from viewer.zoho.com