Remember how your teachers used to forbid you from chewing gum in class? Turns out they were just trying to keep you down. Well, and keep the underside of the desks clean, but it also probably made you 3 percent dumber. A study conducted at Baylor College of Medicine tracked the test scores of 108 students, some of whom chewed gum, some of whom did not. Not only did the scores among chewers go up 3 percent after 14 weeks, but chewers were more quiet and attentive. Dr. Craig Johnston noted the increased blood flow to the brain as a possible factor. The study, coincidentally enough, was sponsored by the Wrigley Science Institute. Lot of science going on there at Wrigley.
Words
He parked and he had a good point
Not sure what Derek Brocklehurst of Manchester, England, does for a living, but we hereby declare him to be an honorary copy editor. Brocklehurst was ticketed for parking in a bus lane. But he argued against the $43 ticket, saying that the sign that declared it a bus lane was not accompanied by a sign that said "only." "It's a technicality, but the sign was illegal," he told the Daily Mail. And he was right. So the council tossed the ticket and ordered some signs that said "only." Brocklehurst is now trying to get the word out to anyone who got a ticket during the time of the insufficient sign to fight the ticket. So far, he has helped 20 people.
It's a lot of letters, so get them right
If you were asked to make a sign for Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, wouldn't you triple-check the spelling? Apparently the sign that has been up at the lake in Webster, Mass., since 2003 has been wrong. Suffice to say, two of the letters on the sign are wrong. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that the chamber of commerce is trying to find out who made the signs and see if the warranty is still good and get them to come out and fix it. At 45 letters, it is the longest place name in the country, until someone reads this and renames something longer.
Update
Drive-off mom
Madlyn Primoff, the White Plains, N.Y., mom who ordered her kids out of the car three miles from home for arguing, may see the girls again after a judge modified the order of protection against her. The 10- and 12-year-olds were dropped off three miles from their home on Sunday. The older child caught up with the mother, but police found the younger child wandering the streets.
Compiled from Times wire services and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster, who can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.
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