Attention, Additives, And Attractiveness

We've all known for years about sugar's tendency to over-invigorate our youth. Now comes word of what else may have the wee ones bouncing off walls.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. If the kids are rambunctious and devoid of attention, it may be food additives, according to British researchers.

From Reuters:

Tests on more than 300 children showed significant differences in their behavior when they drank fruit drinks spiked with a mixture of food colorings and preservatives, Jim Stevenson and colleagues at the University of Southampton said.

"These findings show that adverse effects are not just seen in children with extreme hyperactivity (such as ADHD) but can also be seen in the general population and across the range of severities of hyperactivity," the researchers wrote in their study, published in the Lancet medical journal.

By "general population," we wonder if he's talking about adults... including your Lightning Round editor-in-chief. To think all that Kool-Aid made me the overgrown kid I am today...

WELL, DUH. A needless study has only confirmed what we all knew. In the mating game, men primarily go for good looks. As for the ladies, they are more selective. All of this research was done by careful observations and queries before and after a session of "speed dating."

From the AP:

Women's actual choices, like men's, did not reflect their stated preferences, but they made more discriminating choices, the researchers found.

The scientists said women were aware of the importance of their own attractiveness to men, and adjusted their expectations to select the more desirable guys.

"Women made offers to men who had overall qualities that were on a par with the women's self-rated attractiveness. They didn't greatly overshoot their attractiveness," Todd said, "because part of the goal for women is to choose men who would stay with them"

But, he added, "they didn't go lower. They knew what they could get and aimed for that level."

So, it turns out, the women's attractiveness influenced the choices of the men and the women.

Your Lighting Round suggests another study, this time with ugly people.

CALDERON'S COMPLAINT. Mexican President Felipe Calderon said the U.S. is coming down too hard on illegal immigrants during his State of the Union speech. Mainly, he's upset about a new crackdown on the businesses that hire them.

From Reuters:

"The Mexican government will continue to insist firmly ... on the need for an integral immigration reform and the categorical rejection of the building of a wall on our common border," Calderon said to raucous applause.

We note this speech came after a meeting with poster-girl UDA Elvira Arellano, whom he promised to help obtain a visa for the U.S. It also came one day late because of "protests by leftist lawmakers." The way things are going, your Lightning Round thinks Calderon may need a visa for himself.

OOPS. The New York Post reports on a major boo-boo by CNN:

No wonder CNN gets its clock cleaned by Fox News. Two weeks ago, Anderson Cooper shot a pre-taped Hurricane Katrina special in New Orleans, but somehow the tapes got lost. According to our spy, "Anderson was on vacation in Europe last week when he got a call saying he had to fly back to the States and reshoot the entire special in New Orleans. The screw-up cost tens of thousands of dollars, and he was not happy. It was unbelievable." A rep for CNN said, "Yes, footage was lost, but he always had plans to be in New Orleans if needed . . . It was a great show."

A grueling solution, but better than one offered than a former tape editor we know: "We could draw pictures!" Wait a minute, though. Isn't the Post owned by News Corp., which owns Fox News? Uh, never mind.

INSIDE THE CLOSED CASE. And now, for those of you who wonder how a hard drive works, we present this expose.


Just don't try it in your PC.