Studies – Who Needs Em?

My own personal research indicates we are a nation obsessed with research. I recall years ago reading a scientific study focused on why dogs go in small, concentric circles before they settle in for their hourly naps. Any sensible pet owner knows that dogs are, in effect, creating a little nest for themselves by trampling down their bed before snoozing. Did this really take a government or charity-funded study to come to this conclusion?

I have been surveying articles this weekend published in the WSJ and have found the following studies intended to enlighten the reading public:

  • Your body weight affects what location you choose when house hunting. There are actually “leanest vs. heaviest” neighborhoods and the study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, found that obese women were three times as likely as healthy-weight women, to move from leanest to heaviest neighborhoods.
    No mention of obese men – hmmmm – there are a few of them around too.ObeseMen
  • BodyImage_KimA 1993 study
    evaluating hip-to-waist measurements taken from Playboy centerfolds and Miss America contestants – some realistic statistics there I bet – was recently dismissed by a 2014 study finding that over time,
    females are growing taller and getting thinner. Goodbye – hourglass worshipers.
  • E-bay shoppers benefit by diligent shopping research. Those who search a lot (as in more than 36 times per sought item) before making a purchase offer will save 25 cents per search – now that can add up! So not only do you get some interesting recreational searching but also you can ultimately save a bundle.

I cougar-urbancould go on and on. Other research reported concerns natures greatest cheaters and deceivers (ranging from caterpillars to fish to butterflies), wild cougars roaming strip malls and cul-de-sacs out east, and the truth about the
rumored liaison between Herman Melville
and Nathanial Hawthorne. Truth be told, Master Melville  was really interested in Hawthorne’s wife, Mrs. Sarah Morewood – Melville’s “muse” – among other things. What you don’t learn from reading the morning news.Sperm-Whales-631