The more things change...

... the more they stay the same..

Listening to MP3 players and other personal music players at high volumes for long periods of time can cause loss of hearing and tinnitus, a ringing sensation in the ears, the EU Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks said.

Yeah, OK... Next week in the "news": Experts warn computer chips pose choking hazard to toddlers.

From the Dept. of the Obvious

Societies the world over seem always to be moaning about the declining educational standards of "today's youth." Finally, amidst all the stories of gloom and doom, a bright spot:

The young are using alcohol labels to work out the fastest, cheapest way to get drunk.
A study of university students found they use the information on the labels [...] to pick stronger drinks.
[...]
"They also use the labelling to reduce the amount of liquid consumed; reduce the time taken to get drunk."

Never under-estimate the resourcefulness of the young, that's what I always say!

Fun Facts: Bottled Water

Confirming what reasonable people have suspected all along, a study by Statistics Canada has shown that people with high incomes but low levels of education are more likely to choose bottled water over perfectly safe and healthy tap water. According to the study,

Though there is often a link between households with high income and households with higher education, this does not extend to drinking bottled water in the home [...] The higher bottled water consumption among high-income households was driven by households where no one had completed a university degree.

Although I'm smugly pleased by this, I'm also troubled by some of the implications...