Current Facts 11

Safe State

Based on the incidence of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, blizzard, and wildfires, the two states where a person is least likely to die in a national disaster are Rhode Island and Connecticut.-Slate.com

The Week, September 30, 2005, Vol. 5, Iss. 227, pp. 20

Hurricanes

The US may be hit by a spate of unusually brutal hurricanes for another 10 or 20 years, according to National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield. Independent of any potential effect of global warming, hurricane activity follows cycles. The 1996 season launched a period of storm frequency and intensity not seen since the 1940's, '50's, and '60's.

The Week, September 30, 2005, Vol. 5, Iss. 227, pp. 8

Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death throughout the world, killing more people than AIDS, malaria, pneumonia,or lung cancer. One out of every three deaths is caused by heart disease.- CNN.com

The Week, September 30, 2005, Vol. 5, Iss. 227, pp. 20

Patent

The US Patent Office received almost 400,000 applications last year, a record. The system is so overtaxed that Apple is still waiting to receive a patent for the iPod.-Business 2.0

The Week, September 30, 2005, Vol. 5, Iss. 227, pp. 38

Backpack Generator

Researchers have developed a backpack that turns that energy into electricity. The development could eventually allow field scientists, hikers, explorers, soldiers and disaster workers to produce their own electricity.The researchers used a backpack fastened to the carrying frame by springs. The up-and-down motion caused by walking powers a small generator, producing electricity that can be used directly or stored in a capacitor or battery.
It doesn't crank out a lot of juice - just a bit more than 7 watts - but that's enough to run things like an MP3 player, a personal data assistant, night vision goggles, a handheld global positioning system or a GSM cell phone.

Excerpts taken from AP News.

Baby Boom Busted
Thirty-five years after baby boomers became the largest population of school children in US history, they've lost that record to their kids. The Census Bureau reports that 49.6 million US children are in public and private schools. The previous record, 48.7 million, was set back in 1970.-Associated Press

The Week, June 17, 2005, Vol. 5, Iss 212, p. 20.

Books
More than a third of hardcover books that publishers distribute to book stores each year are returned unsold.-Wall Street Journal

The Week, June 17, 2005, Vol. 5, Iss 212, p. 20.

Ranked European Healthcare

Health Consumer Powerhouse, a private institution based in Sweden, has published a study on healthcare standards in 12 European countries. Overall, 20 indicators across five areas of healthcare were studied, and Holland came out on top.

The study looked at patients' rights and information, care outcomes, customer friendliness, waiting times for common treatments and access to medication. Swizerland came second in the rankings and Germany came third.

The United Kingdom ranked ninth, only above Italy, Poland and Hungary. Whilst the UK was ranked as the best for offering health information, overall healthcare was classed as "mediocre". Spain, France, Belgium, Estonia and Sweden were also studied.
Taken from ShortNews 6.17.05 and BBC News

Japan-30,000 Suicides

Japan Tops 30,000 Suicides for Seventh Straight Year. According to the totals from 2004 there were 32,325 suicides. 2,102, or 6.1 percent less than 2003. That was the year Japan reached an all-time high of 34,427 suicides according to the National Police Agency.

Health problems was the most common reason of suicide in 2004 with 14,786, or 45.7 percent of the victims. The next was financial difficulties, with 7,947, or 24.6 percent. Family troubles came next with 2,992, or 9.3 percent of the victims.

Those who committed suicide with others they met through the Internet increased from 34 in 2003 to 55 in 2004. Most of the people committing suicide were unemployed (47.8%). Males accounted for 70% of suicides with 23,272 victims.
Taken from 6.17.05 Shortnews and Japan Times

Shoe TV

100 steps that a child must take in a pair of "smart shoes" during the day to earn one minute of TV time in the evening, as part of a novel anti-obesity effort in the UK. The new shoes, called Square Eyes, come installed with an electronic sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer takes in a day. That information is passed on to a receiver connected to the TV, which will shut off once the wearer runs out of viewing time, based on the day's excertions. The shoes were created by a student in a design program at Brunel University in London. Normal pedometers can be tricked into recording steps through shaking, but these shoes are harder to dupe. "It is possible, but it would be a lot of effort," the student says. "That was one of my main design considerations."
taken from Adweek, May 23, 2005, p. 46.