Adults are happy to tell their children that crusts (面包皮) will give them curly hair, carrots will help them see in the dark, and spinach will make them strong. Even though adults know it's not totally true, they think it's good for their children's health, a study had found.

    In a study about 31 per cent of adults said they once told their children the curly hair tale, and 36 per cent said they'd been told the same thing by their mother or father. Among the over-50s, almost half said they'd been promised curly hair if they ate their crusts. A quarter of the 2,000 adults questioned in the study told their children carrots would help them see in the dark. This could be true to some extent because of the high levels of vitamin A and beta-carotene in root vegetables.

    Another favorite among parents is that milk will make one strong. A third surveyed said their parents told them this, and about 29 per cent said they told their children the same thing. But while there is plenty of evidence to suggest milk is good for people's health, there are also a lot of scientific papers saying it isn't.

    Thanks to Popeye, spinach is also fed to children, along with the idea that it will make them strong. While there is also some truth in this one, scientists now believe it is not the iron, but the inorganic nitrates (无机硝酸盐) that improve physical power.

    One in seven of the surveyed admitted telling their little ones that runner beans will make them run faster, which is nothing more than wordplay and has no basis in science. Almost one in five adults were subjected to the same tale in childhood.

    Just over one in 10 parents told their children green food would turn them into a superhero, and a quarter admitted hiding vegetables in meals.

    Lyndsay Jones, spokesman for Persil Washing Up Liquid, said, "It's clear that the most persuasive stories about food are passed on from generation to generation. Our research shows that the ideas continue, and we tell our kids the same things our parents told us, even if they're not always entirely true."

    Crusts may not make your hair curly, but there's plenty of research that says crusts contain more of the goodness than the rest of a loaf. Hopefully, as a result of our Cook with Kids promise, more parents will be encouraged to spend time with their children in the kitchen and teach them the truth about food.

    By now, we are all aware that social media has had a powerful influence on our culture, in business, on the world at large. Social media websites revolutionized the way people communicate and socialize on the Web. However, besides seeing your friends' new baby on Facebook, or reading about Justin Bieber's latest conflict with the law on Twitter, what are some of the real influences?

    Social networks offer the opportunity for people to reconnect with their old friends and acquaintances, make new friends, share ideas and pictures, and many other activities. Users can keep pace with the latest global and local developments, and take part in campaigns and activities of their choice. Professionals use social media sites like Linkedln to improve their career and business development. Students can work together with their peers to improve their academic and communication skills.

    Unfortunately, there are a few downsides too to social networking. If you are not careful, immoral people can target you for cyber bullying(网络欺凌) and disturbance on social sites. School children, young girls, and women can fall victim to online attacks which can create tension and suffering. If you are a victim of cyber bullying, do not take it lying down, but try to take appropriate legal action against the attacker.

    Many companies have blocked social networks as addicted employees can distract (分心)themselves on such sites, instead of focusing on work. In fact, studies show that British companies have lost billions of dollars per year in productivity because of social media addiction among employees.

    Also, what you carelessly post on the Net can come back to trouble you. Leaking personal information on social sites can make users easily harmed to crimes like identity theft, stalking(尾随犯罪), etc. Many companies perform a background check on the Web before hiring an employee.  If a potential employee has posted something embarrassing on social media, it can greatly affect their chances of getting the job. The same holds true for our relationships too, as our loved ones and friends may get to know if we post something undesirable on social networks.

    Social media has its advantages and drawbacks as each coin has two sides. It is up to each user to use social sites wisely to improve their professional and social life, and exercise caution to ensure they do not fall victim to online dangers.

    According to findings of a survey by Citi and Seventeen Magazine, nearly four out of five (almost 80 percent) college students work while attending college, with the average work load of 19 hours per week. But should college students work while at college? Many factors should be considered.

    One benefit of working while in college is that it can help build your resume, regardless of whether the job is in your field, according to an article at Scholarships.com. "If you're lucky enough to find a job that closely relates to your major, you could get a leg up on the rest of your class once you graduate, because you'll have more experience in your chosen field," according to the article.

    Perhaps the most compelling reason for working while earning a degree is the money. While it's unlikely to entirely finance your education through a part-time or full-time job, you can still make quite a dent(削减)in the college bill by working.

    But some students prefer not to work while earning a degree so they can focus on getting the best grades. It's true that you'll have more time to stay at school if you don't work, provided you use that time wisely. If you feel like even 10-15 hours a week of work will hurt your grades, then perhaps you should not consider working.

    Working a part-time or full-time job can take away time from social activities, according to a You University TV article. "Trying to balance a job and your college studies, and taking a job can cut down your time to hang out with friends," according to writer Dave Potts.

    In addition to missing out on hanging out with your friends, working during college could prevent you from attending a number of campus events, such as movies on the lawn or football games. While you may be able to land a job that's flexible, it seems unlikely they'll let you choose your own schedule.

    So should students work at college? The decision should be made on a case-by-case basis. Some students can also thrive in school while working, whereas others can't.

Learning to Run

    An article published in the scientific journal Nature discusses an important aspect of human evolution. According to Bramble and Lieberman, Professors at the University of Utah, humans possess a number of features that make them surprisingly good runners. “We are confident that the selection for running was important in the origin of the human body form,” says Bramble.

    Traditional thinking has been that humans are poor runners compared to such animals as horses. However, this is only true if we consider running at high speed, especially over short distances. Even an athlete can hardly run as quickly as a horse does, and can only keep up a top speed for 15 seconds or so. But when it comes to long-distance running, humans will do astonishingly well. They can keep a steady pace for many kilometres, and their speed is at least at the same level with that of horses.

    Bramble and Lieberman examined 26 parts of human bodies. One of the most interesting of these is the nuchal ligament (韧带). When we run, it is this ligament that prevents our head from moving back and forth or from side to side. Therefore, we are able to run with steady heads, held high. Then there are Achilles tendons at the backs of our legs, forming the mechanical links between the muscles to the bones. They act like strong strings and help to push us forward when we run. Besides, we have low, wide shoulders, a development which allows us to run more effectively. Add to this our light forearms, which swing in co-operation with the movement of our legs to assist balance, and one begins to appreciate the point that Bramble and Lieberman are trying to make.

    But what advantage is gained from being good long-distance runners? One theory is that this ability may have permitted early humans to obtain food more effectively. Some scientists guess that early humans may have run after animals for great distances to make them tired before killing them. Running would also have shown another advantage: early humans might have eaten the meat left over from a kill by other large animals. They may have been warned of the existence of a freshly killed animal by vultures (秃鹰), and the faster they got to the scene of the kill, the better.

    “Research on the history of human ability of running has traditionally been controversial,” says Lieberman. “At the very least, I hope this theory will make many people have second thoughts about how humans learned to run and why we are built the way we are.”

    If you are in charge of a project, the key to success is getting everyone to want to help you. As a director, I point, I suggest, I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go. In the 1986 movie, "Nothing in Common", Jackie Gleason's character, Max Basner, gets fired from his job as a clothing salesman. The scene, shot on a boat, shows Max's despair about being out of work. I was looking for some gesture that would allow Max to show his feelings.

    Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened. What could I possibly tell "The Great One" about acting? Out of fear I decided to direct by suggestion, and I sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene. "So Max is sad, right?" I said.

    Gleason nodded.

    "And he's probably still carrying his pens with his name on them—the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?"

    Gleason nodded.

    "So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?"

    He was silent for a moment. "Why don't I throw them overboard?"

    I stood up and turned towards the crew. "Hey, everybody, Jackie has a wonderful idea. Let's shoot it."

    After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and said with a smile. "Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?"

    You and your team can discover the answers to problems together. When there are no prizes or gold stars for those who get the solution first, you'll all benefit when everything turns out right.

    While small may be beautiful, tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems, particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.

    The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB), which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall, has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants. Beds that are too small, shower heads that are too low, and restaurant tables with hardly any leg-room all make life difficult for those of above average height, it says.

    But it is not just the extra-tall whose needs are not being met. The average height of the population has been increasing yet the standard size of beds, doorways, and chairs has remained unchanged.

    "The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it, so even a king-size bed at 6′6″ (6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men, while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population." Said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy, "seven-foot beds would work fine."

    Similarly, restaurant tables can cause no end of problems. Small tables, which mean the long-legged have to sit a foot or so away from them, are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.

    Some have already taken note, however. At Queens Moat Houses′ Caledoman Hotel in Edinburgh, 6′6″ beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors, particularly Americans.