The Science and Psychology of Breakfast Cereals. The Food and Brand Lab from Cornell University did a study about the psychology behind how breakfast cereals are marketed to the consumer.
Using data they collected from 65 types of cereal and 86 different spokes-characters in 10 different grocery stores in New York and Connecticut, Director of Cornell's Food and Brand Lab Brian Wansink and post-doctoral lab researcher Aner Tal published their study in the Journal of Environment and Behavior. They note in the study that 16% of the consumers are more likely to trust a cereal brand when the characters on the cereal box look at them straight in the eye.
They also note that breakfast cereals targeted toward children sit half as high on the shelves (around 23 inches from the floor) compared to adult cereals (48 inches from the floor). Video: Cereal Box Psychology- Wansink says: "If you are a parent who does not want your kids to go 'cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs,' avoid taking them down the cereal aisle. Tal says: Increased Pediatric Ingestion Related Injuries Due to Neodymium Supermagnets. The rise in popularity in the use of neodymium magnets as desktop ornaments and toys have lead to a rise in ingestion related injuries for toddlers and preteens.
In a study presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, 2,700 ingestions were observed over a ten year period and it was revealed that ninety four of the cases involved magnet ingestion. The study also revealed that cases of magnet ingestion increased in the last three years of the study with the age of patients ranged from 7 months to 13 years. Neodymium magnets are the most powerful magnets around. A neodymium magnet a few cubic centimeters small can cause bodily harm from pinching to even causing broken bones. Magnets have been a popular accessory for preteens where they use the magnetic property to simulate a tongue stud, nose ring, or earring. Neodymium-iron-boron, or "super" magnets, became available in the early 2000s in toys, jewelry and other novelty items.
Improving Gas Mileage For Better Fuel Economy. Gas mileage is the ratio of the distance a vehicle travels to the amount of fuel used.
Gas mileage has been an important factor when it comes to evaluating a vehicle specially with fuel prices going up. These are three simple ways to improve gas mileage. There is a rising awareness for fuel economy because of increasing gas prices. Largest Scientific Study on Effectiveness of Online Video Advertising Presented at Internet Conference. University of Massachusetts Amherst presented a study on the effectiveness of video advertising as an economic, sustainable and profitable media platform.
The study covered 275 million ads from in 367 million videos. With over 3,000 publishers and 65 million viewers, this study is the largest ever done on video advertising. UMass researchers used Akamai's media analytics platform to study a 15 day period in April 2013 of anonymized viewer data to come up with their observation.
Electric and Hybrid Cars Face Pricing Crisis. As mainstream automakers slash their prices on hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs), luxury car makers and upstarts are getting their feet into the market.
If you've been waiting to buy, now might be the time - even as EVs become playthings for the well-heeled. Big Price Drops Mean Low Demand Automakers may be slashing prices on EVs to counter consumer concerns about high cost and uncertain driving ranges. Nissan and Chevy have announced big price reductions recently for the all-electric Leaf and plug-in hybrid Volt . At new starting prices of $28,800 and $34,185 respectively, these high-tech cars are almost competing at regular car price ranges Lease deals on electrics and hybrids are getting interesting too, according to FiatUSA and U.S. At least one analyst with automotive expert group, R.L. FDA Study On Updating the Nutrition Facts Label To Better Help Consumers. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are looking at updating the Nutrition Facts Label found in food items.
The update will incorporate the latest nutrition and public health research and improve the presentation of nutrition information to better help assist consumers in their food choices. Most food items carry a Nutrion Facts Label. This contains the essential values of fat, protein carbohydrate, calories and other nutrients contained in the food.
Mobile App Tracking Diet and Calorie Consumption Can Help In Weight Loss. A recent study has shown that using mobile applications to assist in tracking and managing eating habits effectively helps in losing weight by an average of fifteen pounds.
With the advent of the advanced mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, the use of mobile applications have risen tremendously. Mobile apps are software programs that are designed to run on these mobile devices. From just a simple email client, apps now have expanded to games, GPS tracking, and even online banking. A recent study reported that mobile app users use their devices to browse the web more than using a standard desktop computer (51.1% vs. 49.8% respectively). Since these apps can effectively assist users in their activities, a useful activity that can benefit from this is in tracking one's diet and eating behavior. There are numerous applications that does this and even extends to exercise & physical activities to also monitor how much calories have been burned. Video: Weight Watchers Mobile App. Researchers Release Paper on Exploding Pyrex Glass Phenomenon And Addresses Consumer Safety.
Pyrex first achieved popularity for baking purposes.
It is durable, odor and stain proof. Even the name 'Pyrex' is said to be taken from the word 'Pie' and 'Non-expanding'. Borosilicate glass, the main componenet of Pyrex has a low thermal expansion characteristic. Aside from kitchenware, Pyrex is also used in laboratory tools. Opinion Piece - What's In The Box. What's In The Box?
Brad Pitt kept repeating that question in the movie Se7en. What’s in the box? What’s in the boooox? Yep, even in thrillers, packaging gives off that mystique. Go to any grocery anywhere and the first thing you will notice is packaging. Let’s take the simplest thing one can buy in a store; water. So, what makes one brand of water different from the other? Packaging of bottled water epitomizes how important this process is.