Information Overload
Not only is routine correspondence taking more time out of the workday, but such distractions are literally draining the brain. Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist at King's College London, found that when test subjects who were asked to carry out problem-solving tasks were bombarded with e-mails and phone calls, their IQs dropped an average of 10 points (even when they were told to ignore the interruptions). New Scientist (April 30, 2005), which reported Wilson's findings, tells readers that other studies have shown that those high on pot lose just 5 IQ points.

Divine Drilling
Believing that the Bible points to a precise place to find black gold in Israel, evangelical Christian John Brown had his Dallas-based company, Zion Oil, begin drilling there in June, according to Car Busters (April/June 2005). Faithful that the project can restore Israel to its days of biblical glory, Zion is also building a lookout tower at the site where evangelical pilgrims can come and pray to their god(s).

One Man's Junk . . .
Architect Yoshio Taniguchi, who designed New York City's Museum of Modern Art, recently helped build a $400 million incineration plant in Hiroshima, Japan, that doubles as a tourist destination, complete with glass walkways and a waterfront park. According to Shameless (Spring 2005), the city's mayor believes that the building will beautify what is an otherwise pretty utilitarian-looking landscape (thanks to World War II), and, if a bulk of the city's 1.1 million citizens -- who produce way too much garbage -- actually see their waste being processed, they might become more environmentally conscious.

Supersize That Dream
The American Journal of Preventive Medicine (May 2005) says that if the next 100 billion burgers sold under the Golden Arches were the chain's plant-based McVeggie (available in select markets), consumers would eliminate approximately 550 million pounds of saturated fat and 1.2 billion total pounds of fat from their diets while adding 1 billion pounds of fiber and 660 million pounds of protein.

Different Strokes
A new technique for verifying people's identities, called keystroke biometrics, reads a user's typing speed and rhythm, which is nearly as unique as a fingerprint (only 1 try in 50 yields a false rejection). Wired (June 2005) reports that the World Bank is already using the technology, which is cheaper and more reliable than other forms of identification, from passwords (which can be stolen) to keys (which get lost). And BioPassword of Issaquah, Washington, one of the industry's big players, is already negotiating a deal with the intelligence community.