Monday, March 10, 2008

MARCH 10, 2008

GOOFY HOME REMEDY TRICKS... THAT ACTUALLY WORK?
1. If your throat tickles, scratch your ear!
When the nerves in the ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause a muscle spasm. This spasm relieves the tickle."

2. Experience supersonic hearing!
If you're stuck chatting up a mumbler at a cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. It's better than your left at following the rapid rhythms of speech. If, on the other hand, you're trying to identify that song playing softly in the elevator, turn your left ear toward the sound. The left ear is better at picking up music tones.

3. Feel no pain!
Coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the needle stick. The trick causes a sudden, temporary rise in pressure in the chest and spinal canal, inhibiting the pain-conducting structures of the spinal cord.

4. Clear your stuffed nose!
Forget Sudafed. Here's an easier, quicker, and cheaper remedy to relieve sinus pressure is by alternately thrusting your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then pressing between your eyebrows with one finger. This causes the vomer bone, which runs through the nasal passages to the mouth, to rock back and forth. The motion loosens congestion after 20 seconds, you'll feel your sinuses start to drain.

5. Fight fire without water!
Worried those wings will repeat on you tonight? Try this preventive remedy: Sleep on your left side. People who sleep on their left sides are less likely to suffer from acid reflux. The esophagus and stomach connect at an angle. When you sleep on your right, the stomach is higher than the esophagus, allowing food and stomach acid to slide up your throat. When you're on your left, the stomach is lower than the esophagus, so gravity's in your favor.

6. Cure your toothache without opening your mouth!
Just rub ice on the back of your hand, on the V-shaped webbed area between your thumb and index finger. A Canadian study found that this technique reduces toothache pain by as much as 50 percent compared with using no ice. The nerve pathways at the base of that V stimulate an area of the brain that blocks pain signals from the face and hands.

7. Unstitch your side!
If you're like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.

8. Wake the dead!
If your hand falls asleep while you're driving or sitting in an odd position, rock your head from side to side. It'll painlessly banish your pins and needles in less than a minute.

9. Impress your friends!
Next time you're at a party, try this trick: Have a person hold one arm straight out to the side, palm down, and instruct him to maintain this position. Then place two fingers on his wrist and push down. He'll resist. Now have him put one foot on a surface that's a half inch higher (a few magazines) and repeat. This time his arm will cave like the French.

MEN MORE SECURE THAN BEFORE?
How many times have you seen it on TV where a sitcom character finds out his girlfriend makes more money than he does... and totally LOSES IT? It's a cliché. And according to a new study... it's not even accurate.

"Elle" magazine and MSNBC surveyed more than 74,000 people, and they found that only 12% of men actually care if their wife makes more money than they do.

In fact, 40% of men whose wives AREN'T working actually wish they were. And of the men whose wives DO have careers, only 5% wish they would quit and be stay-at-home moms.

But here's the bad news: HALF the couples surveyed said they argue over money at least once a month.

HOW TO STAY AWAKE AT WORK
Going through the motions at your mundane, boring job can literally PUT YOU TO SLEEP... no matter what you do to try to stop it. Here are some things you can do to try to stay awake at work...

1) BRING COFFEE, SNACKS AND GUM. These things will give you energy... and the gum should give you something to do... so you don't get bored and fall asleep. Careful with the coffee, though, because the caffeine could make you crash later on.

2) DON'T REST YOUR EYES OR LAY YOUR HEAD DOWN. This is pretty obvious, but when you do this... it'll be more likely that you'll fall asleep at your desk. Don't rest your head in your hand, either.

3) MOVE AROUND. Get up from your desk and walk around the office. You have to keep that energy up, because staring at your computer screen all day is probably one of the most boring things that you can possibly do.

4) TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS. If, for some reason, The Man doesn't offer you unlimited breaks... take a bathroom break. While you're there, splash some cold water on your face to wake yourself up.

5) GET HELP FROM CO-WORKERS. You know how you always see the wage-slaves on "The Office" play games to alleviate their boredom? If some of your co-workers are cool enough, maybe you can gather them together to do the same.

WORST CAR OF THE YEAR
Every year, "Consumer Reports" comes out with its list of the worst cars of the year based on handling, reliability and safety. This year, the "honor" of Worst Car of the Year went to the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited scored below average in several categories, including ride, handling, braking, noise, fuel economy, fit and finish, visibility, front seat comfort, access and reliability.

Out of a possible 100 points, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited only managed to get a 17.