Harvard research shows that eating nuts can lead to a longer life.
The research was published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Although researchers are still unsure as to why nuts are so beneficial, they have the numbers that show that eating a handful of nuts everyday can lead to greater longevity in humans. They tracked 119,000 men and women, some who ate nuts regularly and some who ate them rarely, if at all. It was found that the “nut-eaters were 20 percent less likely to die during the study period” In addition the study showed that nuts may reduce risk of dying of cancer (by 11%), heart disease (by 29%) and obesity. Researchers speculate that nuts boost health because of their unsaturated fatty acids, minerals and other nutrients. These components lower cholesterol and inflammation and reduce other problems.
Check out this video explanation of the study here.
Illinois legalizes gay marriage.
Just weeks after New Jersey and Hawaii made gay marriage officially legal, Illinois became the 16th state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill on Wednesday, subsequently tweeting “It’s official. #MarriageEquality is the law of the land in Illinois!” Same sex-marriages will be allowed by the state starting in the summer.
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Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto was stripped of power.
Rob Ford has been plagued by scandal since May when it was reported that he was caught on video snorting crack cocaine. The council does not have the power to remove Ford from office unless he is convicted of a crime. The Mayor is refusing help and will not step back from his role, so the council has taken action to reduce his power. Ford’s erratic behavior, including a heated debate ending with him knocking over a female councilor, makes citizen and councilors alike believe he is unfit to be in office. It was decided to cut his office’s budget by 60 percent rendering him virtually powerless until further action can be taken.
See video of the heated debate here.
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“Selfie” is Oxford’s word of the year.
In the battle for Word of the Year 2013 “Selfie” outshined “twerk,” winning the spot as Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year. The term selfie has enjoyed a 17,000 percent rise in usage from this time last year. However, selfie is not a completely new word. Evidence has been found dating the word all the way back to 2002 in Australia. The selfie joins the ranks of other past Words of the Year like podcast, locavore (a person who is only interested in eating food that is locally produced), unfriend, and GIF. Judy Pearsal, Editorial Director for Oxford Dictionaries said, “The Word of the Year need not have been coined within the past 12 months and it does not have to be a word that will stick around for a good length of time.” So, we’ll have to see how long the selfie sticks around.
To learn more about the history of the selfie click here.