PsiCTO writes "American college students are hooked on cellphones, social media and the Internet and showing symptoms similar to drug and alcohol addictions, according to a new study. This probably falls under the no-big-surprise category. CBC Radio 1 played a couple of interviews with students that took part in the study. I especially liked the quote in which the student felt like he had a phantom limb experience with his cell phone."

You can call Shiv Charan simple, foolish, or just plain stupid if you want. The one thing you can't call him is a quitter. Starting in 1969, Shiv has devoted his life to passing India's year 10 exam. Since then he has taken the test every year except two (to study, I guess), and has failed every time. He has vowed not to marry until he can pass the test and is still single, which is now his main motivation. "As long as I am alive I will go on giving examinations in order to get a wife. For me, success is not merely about clearing the examinations. It will also throw open the doors of marriage," he said. By now Shiv must have the most impressive collection of prom wear in all of Asia. It seems like he'd pass just so he wouldn't have to dance to Alphaville's Forever young again.

A new child protection curriculum being implemented by the Education Department in Australia urges teachers to give children safety messages after reading them fairytales. The goal is to make sure that children understand not to engage in unsafe behaviors such as talking to strangers like Little Red Riding Hood and not to enter strange houses like Hansel and Gretel. While I can see the value in teaching kids not to talk to strangers, I want my kids to know that is is perfectly acceptable to push any elderly cannibal into an oven should they be kidnapped and kept in cages.