RTFA: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-115…

It was discovered that chimpanzees that favour their right hand play with more toys.

Right handed marmosets are quicker to explore new environments and foods, and appear less scared of predators.

Experts say the finding fits with evidence that the left side of the human body is controlled by the right side of the brain – which deals with fear.

The right side, in contrast, is controlled by the left of the brain, which suppresses fear.

Previous research has shown left-handers do slightly worse at maths and are more aggressive.

But left-handedness has also been associated with greater levels of creativity and skill. A disproportionate number of artists, musicians and sportsmen are lefties

Eh, I’m a lefty… define playful and adventurous please? Isn’t art, music and sports playful?

RTFA: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090223/ap_on_en_mo/os…

I have yet to watch slumdog, but heard there was some outcry at the portrait painted of Indians. I’m wondering if these criticisms have merit. Am I missing something here, the director said this at the Oscars last night:

“Just to say to Mumbai, all of you who helped us make the film and all of those of you who didn’t, thank you very much. You dwarf even this guy,” Boyle said, holding up his directing Oscar.

Now to say that all of Mumbai dwarfs an Oscar is an insult right?

RTFA: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/02/17/chimpanzee.at…

(CNN) — A Connecticut woman pleaded for police to “please hurry” to save a friend from an attack by a pet chimpanzee, according to emotional 911 recordings released Tuesday by Stamford police.
Police say Travis, seen here as a younger chimp, was like a child to his owner, Sandra Herold.

Police say Travis, seen here as a younger chimp, was like a child to his owner, Sandra Herold.

“He’s ripping her apart,” Sandra Herold, 70, tells dispatchers about her pet, Travis.

With the chimp squealing in the background, Herold cries out, “He’s killed my friend!”

The victim, Charla Nash, 55, remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after the chimp, once featured in television commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy, attacked her Monday afternoon, police said.

Nash had just arrived at Herold’s house when Travis jumped on her and began biting and mauling her, causing serious injuries to her face, neck and hands, according to Stamford Police Capt. Rich Conklin. Conklin said the attack was unprovoked, but he described it as “brutal and lengthy.”

Herold had called Nash to her house to help get 14-year-old Travis back inside after he used a key to escape.

While her friend was being attacked, Herold was unable to pull the primate off. She then called 911 before stabbing the chimp with a butcher knife and hitting him with a shovel. Neither fazed Travis, who police said had been like a child to Herold.
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A Stamford police officer later shot the chimp multiple times after the primate went after him inside a police cruiser, Conklin said. Travis returned to the house, where police found him dead. Conklin estimated that Travis weighed close to 200 pounds.

I post it here simply for the purpose of saying: big freaking deal.

RTFA: http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/150832/14-tim…

In our exclusive photo Michael Phelps, who won a record EIGHT gold medals for swimming at the Beijing games last summer, draws from a bong.

The glass pipes are generally used to smoke cannabis.

…that said, here’s the “proof”

[UPDATE 2009-02-01]
RTFA: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5…

Olympic great Michael Phelps has acknowledged “regrettable” behavior and “bad judgment” after a photo in a British newspaper showed him smoking marijuana.

In a statement released to The Associated Press, the swimmer who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games conceded the authenticity of the exclusive picture published Sunday by the tabloid News of the World.

Phelps said: “I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”

This dude currently holds the human record for the most gold medals won in swimming at the Olympic Games. It makes you wonder about the veracity of the anti-marijuana propaganda, that’s for sure.
[/UPDATE]