-
Photo: Keystone/Getty Images
Albert Einstein is one of history’s brightest minds, but recently, two girls too young to drive both bested his alleged IQ score of 160. The budding geniuses, ages 15 and 12 respectively, earned official IQ scores of 162, putting them in the top 1 percent of the population.
5 kids smarter than Albert Einstein
(Source: theweek.com)
-
In the first half of a new commercial from Luvs Diapers, a frazzled first-time mom sits alone in a restaurant, struggling to breastfeed her son under a blanket so as not to offend her fellow patrons. Cut to the second half of the clip, and a slightly older and wiser mom is in the same restaurant, this time breastfeeding her second baby in plain view while her firstborn, now a few years older, sits beside her. The shocked waiter can’t take his eyes off the woman’s chest, but the cool-headed and confident mom handles it like a pro, pointing to her face and saying, “Hey, up here.”
-
Feel like some peace and quiet while traveling by plane? You’re in luck.
One low-cost airline, AirAsia, will soon offer an adults-only “Quiet Zone” on long-haul flights. Only passengers age 12 or older will be allowed to sit in the first seven rows of the airline’s economy class.
-
$234,900 — Amount a middle-income family typically spends raising a child through age 17, as of 2011
$389,670 — Amount that families earning more than $100,000 a year typically spend per child
3.5 — Percentage increase in kid-rearing costs from 2010, due to rising transportation, education, child care, and food expenses
$70,000 — Total cost of housing a child through age 17, the single-biggest expense
18 — Percentage of total child-rearing expenses funneled to child care and education in 2011
2 — Percentage used on child care and education in 1960
-
Japan has 22 million pets compared to just 17 million children under age 15. With fewer children to dote on, many Japanese couples and single adults are lavishing attention on their animals, pampering them with everything from spa treatments to Chanel attire, and sparking a boom for the pet industry.
They buy premium doggie garments from labels such as Chanel, Dior, Hermès, and Gucci — a poodle pullover can cost $250, according to Britain’s Guardian. They frequent restaurants which allow pets to sit at the table with their owners and lap up organic meals. They indulge in doggie yoga classes and hot-spring resorts where lapdogs can get one-on-one swimming lessons, bubble baths, and pressure-point massages.
For some pets, the pampering doesn’t end with death. Some temples lay deceased dogs to rest with full Buddhist rites, at $8,000 a pop for a deluxe funeral and cremation.
-
Kinder-spa?
Grown-ups aren’t the only ones buckling under the financial strain of the recession. Health-care professionals in Germany say even toddlers can get stressed out as their parents cut household budgets, fret about job security, and lose their temper. And that’s on top of the pressure already placed on today’s little ones as they are shuttled from music class to dance lessons to sports. What’s the solution?
A school for kids as young as 3 that offers massages and other stress-relievers, of course
(Source: theweek.com)
-
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed 82 deaths between 1995 and 2007 to the choking game.
Cutting off the brain’s oxygen supply induces a warm, fuzzy feeling, perceived by some kids as a legal way to get high. The game has been around for years, but it now seems to be increasing in popularity, possibly because kids who have done it are encouraging others to try it on YouTube.
-
How can the U.S. foster better teaching?
In his latest column, Dr. William H. Frist explains how teachers can dramatically change the trajectory of a child’s future. “Our lack of teacher accountability is akin to a drug company producing medicines without measuring if the pills actually cure disease,” Frist says.
So, how can we foster better teaching? Do educators need more pay? Better evaluations? Stronger feedback?
Check out Frist’s column, and share your suggestions. Tweet @TheWeek using the hashtag #GreatTeachers and we’ll share your responses.
-
One in five kids in America lives in poverty
How can we fix this? Today, The Week’s newest columnist, Bill Frist, gives three suggestions. But we want to know what you think. Tweet your thoughts @TheWeek using the hashtag #ChildPoverty, or participate in the conversation on Facebook.
Tomorrow we’ll pull all the best responses together in one post. We can’t wait to read what you have to say.
-
npr:
Many Women Underestimate Fertility Clock’s Clang
A new survey finds many women dramatically underestimate how much fertility declines with age.
Photo courtesy of Kate Donnellon Nail
-
Pippi Longstocking… racist? According to one theologian, Astrid Lindgren’s classic children’s novels about the pig-tailed adventurer feature unsavory “colonial racist stereotypes.” In 1959’s Pippi in the South Seas, for instance, “the black children throw themselves into the sand in front of the white children.”
From Babar to the Smurfs, here’s a look at 6 other racist children’s characters.
-
Louisiana lawmaker introduces bill banning abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest or health issues
The Constitution, of course, is exactly what LaBruzzo is targeting. He admits his proposal is intended as a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the constitutional right to privacy included the right to abortions in some circumstances. LaBruzzo says he’d like his bill to become law and “immediately go to court,” and he told a local paper that an unnamed conservative religious group asked him to propose the law for exactly that purpose.
