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• Somewhere, the Bears Are Champs
• The Yoga Debate
• TV Ratings Go to College
• To Buy, or Not to Buy
• A Doggy Diet Drug
A New Stonehenge Mystery
Archaeologists in England have uncovered remains of an ancient village near Stonehenge, about 100 miles southwest of London. Stonehenge, a circle of massive stones around 18 feet tall, dates to about 2500 B.C. It is believed to have been used by worshippers of the sun. The 4,600-year-old village is about two miles from Stonehenge. Its houses, made of sticks woven together, were about 15 feet square and had fireplaces and clay floors. The village might have been home to the workers who built Stonehenge. Mike Parker Pearson, a leader of the excavations from the University of Sheffield, says the discovery of the village supports a theory that Stonehenge was part of a larger religious complex. A smaller version of Stonehenge, made of wooden posts, was located near the village. The ancient villagers were evidently not the best housekeepers: They left behind piles of broken pots, jars, and animal bones. The village also might have housed religious pilgrims whose solar worship included lively feasting.
Somewhere, the Bears Are Champs/B>
On February 4, two sets of Super Bowl championship caps and T-shirts were closely guarded until the last possible moment. Minutes after the game ended, the Colts were wearing their championship gear. But what happened to the 288 caps and shirts proclaiming the Chicago Bears as champs? By order of the N.F.L., these items are never to be seen on U.S. soil. World Vision, a relief organization, ships them to developing nations in Africa. "Where these items go, the people don't have electricity or running water," says Jeff Fields of World Vision. "They wouldn't know who won the Super Bowl. They wouldn't even know about football."
The Yoga Debate
Yoga has spurred a political and legal debate in India. A measure by officials in Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India, would have required all public-school students to perform a yoga exercise and recite Hindu chants during a statewide event on January 25. But Muslim and Christian groups argued in court that it violated India's constitutional separation of religion and state. The court ruled that neither the chants nor the exercise could be forced on students. An education official reported that 5 million children voluntarily performed the exercise on January 25. The state government also announced that textbooks will soon include lessons on the importance of yoga.
TV Ratings Go to College
Nielsen Media Research, which monitors and measures TV viewership, has begun tracking the viewing habits of college students. As a result, many shows are likely to see a surge in their ratings. The chart shows some programs that are expected to gain a lot of viewers with the inclusion of the college audience. The percentages indicate how much college women and men might boost each show's ratings. These gains would be good news for TV producers, who can charge advertisers more for commercials shown during a high-rated show. Nielsen places "people meters"—small devices connected to TV sets—in about 10,000 U.S. households. Data from these devices are used to estimate how many people watch any given program.
To Buy, or Not to Buy
Researchers may be close to identifying that little voice in your head that says "Buy it!" Using an M.R.I. machine, researchers at Stanford University in California scanned people's brains as they made shopping decisions. Subjects were given $40 and offered the chance to buy various items. Lying down inside the scanner, they would see a picture of a product and its price. Then, they had to decide whether they would like to buy it. The urge to buy activated an area of the brain that reacts to pleasure and caused it to light up on the scan. If the subject thought the price was too high, a part of the brain lit up that is activated by a repulsive sight or smell. ver kept." But, Richardson admits, "this also gets good publicity for the state."
