Chores Rise for Women After Wedding Study Shows

Published in the September edition of the "Journal of Family Issues" research conducted by Dr. Theodore Greenstein, professor of sociology at NC State, Jennifer Marks, a graduate research assistant in sociology at NC State, and Dr. Shannon Davis, assistant professor of sociology at George Mason University studied data from more than 17,000 respondents in 28 countries and found that a live-in boyfriend will perform more household chores than his female counter part because cohabiting couples will more than likely split the housework more equally than married couples. The tables soon turn after a couple weds as women, on average, tend to do twice as much housework. Where's the love, guys?

Got Health?

Although 0.5 percent doesn't seem like much of an increase in the wrong direction, the US Census Bureau is reporting this 0.5 percent is what 47 million Americans are living without--health insurance. Moreover, the number of children under the age of 18 has increased 0.8 percent in 2006 generating an unhealthy number of 8.7 million.

And to no surprise, there's been a strong reaction to the report with presidential elections on the horizon; the New York Times has described it as a "presidential gold mine." Though the census report mentions some good things like household median incomes rising and poverty rates slowly declining, President Bush concedes it will be a challenge to reduce the number of Americans living without health insurance. So, what's the answer? Bush suggests Congress make health insurance more affordable rather than bring more people into the government scheme, saying he will veto any bill that warrants such an action.

Feel the same?

Could "Marriage" Be Abolished In California?

On Monday, a pro-family group charged that a future legislature could abolish marriage as we know it, removing the rights now enjoyed by a husband and wife. Say what? The raised eyes came when legal briefs were submitted to the California Supreme Court regarding same-sex marriage. Attorney General Jerry Brown stated that, "The words 'marry' and 'marriage' have no essential constitutional significance under the California Constitution. Thus, the legislature could change the name of the legal relationship now known as 'marriage' to some other name without any constitutional impediment." What does this mean? According to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Any of the statutory rights and obligations that are afforded to married couples in California could be abrogated or eliminated by the legislature or the electorate for any rational legislative purpose." But there is hope. Randy Thomasson, an organizer of VoteYesMarriage.com and the group's California Marriage Amendment, has call for support in getting the marriage amendment on the 2008 ballot.

In a news release Thomasson wrote, "This is proof positive that the VoteYesMarriage.com initiative, which will prevent marriage from being abolished and prevent marriage rights from being eliminated, is absolutely needed to protect the sacred institution of marriage from activist judges and liberal politicians."

Unbelievable!

Baby Domains

You know how there's the web natives and the web foreigners? What would you call a baby that has their own website? The latest trend to grab a hold of parents is snatching up domains for their babies. This article from USA Today interviewed a couple that said when selecting a name for their new baby, they first made sure the domain name for the baby was available. If it wasn't they had to find a new name. Talk about future proofing your kid's web presence. I guess it could be worse. The kid's name could be 4Real!

The Wife Carrying Championships

Talk about bringing your relationship closer together. In Finland, they hold the Wife Carrying Championships, which include husbands literally carrying their wives through obstacle courses for time.

Husband Pulls Over Wife--Twice!

Tell me you don't think this resulted in an argument when they got home. In Nevada, an off-duty Elko County sheriff's deputy was arrested on charges of driving under the influence after her husband, a fellow deputy, pulled her over! Charlotte Moore, 36, was pulled over by her husband Mike for either speeding or making an illegal turn. Before a breathalyzer test was administered she left the scene. Husband Mike pulled her over again, and arrested her. As you would imagine, Mike called for backup, then left the scene--presumably to get the couch ready. According to the Elko Daily Free Press, Charlotte was released from jail the following day and placed on paid administrative leave; neither were available for comment.

Marriage... For Women, It's all in the Face

Psychologists at Durham and St. Andrews Universities claim that women focus on a man's facial features when it comes to choosing a life-partner. The study found that men with a square jaw, smaller eyes and a larger nose are less-likely to be suitable long-term partners because they're more likely to be domineering, unfaithful, unaffectionate and poor parents... ouch! On the other hand, women said that men with finer facial features including fuller lips, wide eyes and thinner, more curved eyebrows would make for the proper long-term suitor. Women were asked to look at pictures of men's faces that had been digitally altered to look either more masculine or feminine and to predict the man's personality traits, sexual behavior and parenting skills. For more, go to the journal ofPersonality and Individual Differences here

That's My Name, 4Real

You don't like your name? Pat and Sheena Wheaton were rejected by their New Zealand Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages when they named their baby 4Real. After they were rejected, they officially changed his name to Superman. Yep, as in the Man of Steel or Shaq. The Wheatons said they finally decided on the name after seeing the baby for the first time in an ultrasound scan and realising their baby was "for real". All we can say is UnReal. Click here to read the full scoop.

Your Baby Ain't No Einstein

So you think your baby is a genius because you feed him those Baby Einstein DVDs? Well, what you're really doing is rotting their brain! According to a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, every hour a day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants between 8 and 16 months old understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who didn't watch them.

The lead author of the study, Frederick Zimmerman, an associate professor of health services at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute says "the most important fact to come from this study is, there is no clear evidence of a benefit coming from baby DVDs and videos, and there is some suggestion of harm."

For toddlers ages 17 to 24 months, the baby DVDs/videos had no positive or negative effect on vocabulary. So basically, DVDs/videos have zero beneficial value according to this study. Bummer.

What A Man Won't Do For His Gadgets

This story is pulled from a very reputable blog, Gizmodo. The short of it (no pun intended), is the story of a man who looooves Apple products. He couldn't resist and purchased an iPhone--without clearing it with his wife. This was not in the budget. As you could imagine, the wife was not very happy, but she gave him an out--get a vasectomy. Snip, snip, the man--Sean Johnson--got to keep his 8GB bundle of joy. What would you do for a surgery like this?

Caffeine, Exercise May Fight Skin Cancer

It's hot out right now and you've probably already experienced your summer sunburn--I know I have. According to scientists at Rutgets University, experiments on mice showed that caffeine and exercise together somehow made them better able to destroy precancerous cells whose DNA had been damaged by ultraviolet-B radiation. Yep, exercise and moderate caffeine consumption together could help ward off sun-induced skin cancer. The article from the OC Register suggests, however, that you shouldn't ditch the sunscreen for the treadmill and a cappuccino. The article also notes that the data is extremely preliminary. Sounds good to me, now I have to go run to the local coffee shop and grab my cafe mocha.