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10 Things News

The 50 Most Looked-Up Words on the New York Times Website


New York Times Crossword Puzzle
The New York Times Crossword Puzzle

New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz must be having a field day with this one.

The NYTimes has a feature on their website where a visitor can double-click any word in any article and be presented with the definition of what that word means.

And, just like everything on the Internet, such usage is tracked.  And if it’s tracked, then it’s something that can be reported.

Here are the 50 MOST LOOKED UP WORDS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES WEBSITE, by you – their readers.

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10 Things shopping Video Websites

Odd invention of the day: Anti-Aging Cream made from Infant Foreskin


SkinMedica - TNS: Essential Serum
SkinMedica – TNS: Essential Serum

SkinMedica is a San Francisco-based company that specializes in anti-aging creams and lotions to help restore elasticity to aging skin. 

And, it appears from what Web Watch reads on other sites, that they will make an anti-aging cream just for you… if you send them your baby’s foreskin to use as an ingredient.  It must be true, as it was allegedly announced as such on an episode of the Oprah Winfrey show in 2007.

And we know that Oprah wouldn’t lie to us, would she?  Besides, SkinMedica isn’t the only company doing this.  A different company uses foreskins to make Vavelta, which is injected to help smooth wrinkles as Botox does.

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10 Things Disney Movies

The 26 Most Disturbing Kids Movies Ever Made


Disturbing Movies

Growing up, we all remember being taken to see certain movies with our parents and wondering why they thought that seeing these films would be a good idea.

Web Watch faintly remembers being taken to see a double-feature of THE THREE MUSKETEERS with UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT, and recalls that we really couldn’t follow the plots of either film, let alone understand why we were taken to see them. 

But when it comes to kid’s films, Walt Disney once famously said “for every laugh, a tear must fall”, which explains why many Disney films made back in the day contain some vivid, scary imagery or themes that may be a bit heavy for what today are considered to have been – truthfully or not – primarily children’s films.  There’s a reason why the attraction at Walt Disney World is entitled SNOW WHITE’S SCARY ADVENTURES… because that Evil Queen reallydoes live up to her name.

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10 Things Book Internet Websites

According to the AP Stylebook, they are spelled “website” and “e-mail”


The Elements of Style
The Elements of Style

Proper spelling and pronounciation is a long-standing debate amongst techno-nerds.  For example, is a GIF image pronounced “JIF” (like the peanut butter) or “GIF” (rhymes with “gift”)?   We usually settle it by saying it both ways in the course of a graphic-related conversation so that nobody feels superior to another.

Spelling, however, can be dictated by a central authority.  Most of us are familiar with Merriam Webster, or at least the Scrabble Players Dictionary (where you may not get the definition you’re looking for, but at least you’ll have the word spelled correctly for that triple-word score).

So when the new AP STYLEGUIDE was announced with new words and spellings, you can imagine how excited wordsmiths must feel, as if they received a new toy at Christmastime.

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10 Things Music News

The Ultimate List of Worst Earworms Ever Recorded (You’ll Never Guess #1)


Audio Mashup Construction Kit
Audio Mashup Construction Kit

Earworms.

They’re those songs in your head that you just can’t get rid of.  It happens to everyone — 98% of people have had an earworm at one time or another.

But it took a PhD student at the University of Montreal Department of Psychology – Andréane McNally-Gagnon – to create a study to identify, for once and for all, what THE ABSOLUTE WORST EARWORMS OF ALL TIME ARE.

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10 Things

Today’s Fact: 40-50% of American Marriages End in Divorce


Guy's Guide to Getting Over a Divorce
Guy’s Guide to Getting Over a Divorce

Sometimes one needs to evaluate their personal relationships based on statistics around us in order to see whether we are above the norm or staying about average.

We all want to be in the top x% of whatever the good ranking is; nobody wants to be “average” or worse.  Unless the topic is one such as divorce, in which case the object is to NOT be in the normal range — especially when the range appears to lean towards divorce being the norm.

Sometimes you can’t help it – some marriages are destined to lead to divorce based on established criteria learned from hundreds of thousands of divorces before yours.  That’s what led economist Betsey Stevenson to create the DIVORCE CALCULATOR, a simple way to determine the likelihood of your relationship ending in a flurry of court-approved paperwork or not based on education level and financial stability.

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10 Things

The Best Wedding Advice You’ll Ever Receive


The Wedding Planner
The Wedding Planner / My Best Friend’s Wedding

We all know the stereotypical wedding-movie plotline involves some crazy BRIDEZILLA who gets involved with planning a wedding (or a crazed wedding planner, or a father who tries to plan the perfect wedding for his daughter)…when Suddenly Something Goes Wrong!

Let’s face it – actual weddings and wedding planning can be much, much simpler than that.  Glamour magazine interviewed a number of wedding planners and came up with THE BEST WEDDING ADVICE EVER GIVEN that every bride and groom should try to follow – regardless of anything else – if you want to be able to sit back and really enjoy your nuptials.

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10 Things

Things not to talk about on a date

How to Get a Date
How to Get a Date

In today’s Facebook and Twitter world, everbody is used to sharing (and oversharing) everything about themselves.  Status updates abound, with every little detail / complaint / success / feeling being sent out onto the Internet for the entire population to see — and possibly comment on.

Which is why, when it comes to dating – especially the first date – there are still some rules that should be reviewed as a reminder of what does…and doesn’t…make good first date conversation.

Here are some THINGS NOT TO TALK ABOUT ON A FIRST (or second, or even third) DATE:

  • Any previous relationship.  Yes, everyone has an ex of some type, but you’re not out on a date with them right now, are you?   You can have the “how many people have you slept with” conversation later… like when you’re actually planning on doing the deed.  But for now, leave that topic behind.
  • Your mom.  Even if you’re from the South, where MOMMA’S BOYS ARE MOST OFTEN FROM.  She’s important, but you’re not dating her either. Since Web Watch knows you’re curious about this, 42% of men from Alabama talk to their mom every day.  Here are the states with the highest percentages of sons talking to their mothers on a regular basis (not necessarily daily):
    • Alabama – 72%
    • Tennessee – 69%
    • Louisiana – 64%
    • Georgia – 61%
    • Utah – 55%
    • Kansas – 53%
    • Virginia – 41%
    • Florida – 27%
    • Alaska – 24%
    • Maine – 41%
  • Financial problems.  Everyone has some sort of money issue, but don’t scare off your date this early in a possible relationship.  Besides, she’s going to be wondering whether she should be paying for dinner tonight.
  • Stripper stories.  Unless, of course, you’re on a first date with a stripper.
  • Family baggage.  Unless your mom was a stripper to solve some family financial problem. With that, you have a fascinating story.

Of course, the conversation portion of the evening is just half the battle.  Picking a good first date location is difficult, beyond the less-than-original “dinner and a movie” concept.  But at least have more than one activity planned, and be willing to completely alter your plans if she decides that she wants to do something else entirely. 

And don’t answer your phone or check your Blackberry.  You want her to think that she’s the most important thing in the room to you.  Remember, women almost always know within the first five minutes of meeting a possible suitor whether or not they will be sealing the deal.   So don’t blow it because you need to check your buddies’ Facebook statuses.