In times of economic uncertainty, people look for an escape from their financial worries – and Hollywood magic has become a popular refuge.

A recent study by the National Association of Theatre Owners showed that movie ticket sales were up in the first quarter of 2009, a 9 percent increase over the first quarter of 2008. Why? The trade group says it’s because going to the movies is a relatively inexpensive entertainment option. (They neglected to mention the $5 tub of popcorn.)

(Source: News & Observer and Kiplinger’s)

Smash your finger with a hammer or slam your knee on a coffee table… and, if you’re like many people, you can’t help but let loose a string of expletives. It turns out the swearing could be beneficial. A new study published in the journal NeuroReport found that spewing out bad language may actually relieve pain.

The researchers asked college students to keep their hands in icy cold water as long as they possibly could. During their “ordeal,” they were told to keep repeating either a swear word of their choice or a neutral word. The “swearers” reported less pain and could stand the water almost a minute longer.

So why does swearing help? The researchers think it might have something to do with the “fight-or-flight” reflex triggered by the brain when we are in danger. This primitive defense mechanism not only makes the heart rate climb (a reaction observed in the students who swore), it makes us less sensitive to pain.

(Source: Scientific American)

Before you turn in a job application, check what you wrote. And check again. A recent survey of senior executives found that more than 20 percent of them would automatically dismiss an application with just one typo. Twenty-eight percent said they would permit one, but not two. Only 19 percent said four or more typos would be okay.

(Source: Reuters)

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon 40 years ago, it was a huge technological feat. Here are a few fun (and little-known) facts about the mission:

• The computers on the mission had less processing power than a cellphone does today.
• Neil Armstrong’s “one small step” was actually a 3.5 foot jump to the lunar surface.
• Planting the American flag (made by Sears, by the way, which got no product placement credit at the time) was a difficult task. The moon’s surface is rock covered by a thin layer of dust. So Aldrin and Armstrong had to jam the flagpole in as far as they could for the pictures.

(Source: Popular Science)

You’re in Paris, snapping a series of pictures as the sun sets behind the Eiffel Tower.

You’re sure you must have captured the perfect image… until you check and notice an “intruder” in every shot: a fellow tourist, the rear wheel of a passing bicycle, a stray bit of debris in the foreground.

And that’s when you break out a new Web application called Tourist Remover. The software removes any unwelcome objects by combining the “clean” parts of multiple photos of the same scene into a composite.

(Source: Boing Boing Gadgets and SnapMania)

Eco-watchers say that traditional wood caskets can have a negative effect on the environment as a result of all the metal, plastic, and other “trimmings” that end up buried in the ground.

Enter the eco-alternative: a casket made of wool on a cardboard frame. The Swaledale coffin – co-produced in England by a coffin manufacturer and a textile company – is completely biodegradable.

(Source: Boing Boing)