So you know how the recession has supposedly been "over" since June 2009 even though it really doesn't feel like it? There is a reason for that and it isn't just that we've got unemployment hovering around nine percent. Two former Census officials have just released research that shows that the "Real median annual household income has fallen significantly more during the economic recovery period from June 2009 to June 2011 than during the recession lasting from December 2007 to June 2009." In particular? Since 2007, the real median annual household income has dropped by 9.8 percent. more ›

After the attacks on September 11, 2001, a friend—unable to get home—came by our place so as not to be alone. We sat on the stoop sharing a cigarette and looked up at the billowing smoke in the distance. After a long pause she looked at the smoke, then down to a recently painted mural commemorating a recently deceased singer and then turned to us. "First Aaliyah," she said with all seriousness, "now this." We've been telling that story for just about a decade now...but did it really happen that way? According to research out of NYU, maybe not! Though our memories of that day may feel extraordinarily vivid and true it turns out they are just as flawed as any other memory. more ›

Calorie count information is everywhere these days—and soon will be even more so—but how can you be sure that the numbers a restaurant lists on its walls are accurate? You can't! At least not according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. After testing 242 unique foods in 42 restaurants from three states, and they found that while overall the stated numbers were accurate "there was substantial inaccuracy for some individual foods." Nearly one in five of the samples taken, when measured in a laboratory, were at least 100 calories over the amounts listed on the restaurants’ websites. And that isn't even the surprising part. more ›

Breaking news, you guys! All that internet cruising is making affecting your memory in not-so-good ways, maybe. more ›

An ideal listicle touches on matters of objective taste in an entertaining but also informative way, using credible evidence to back up an opinion. GQ's newest list of the "40 Worst-Dressed Cities in America" ignores this tenet and eschews photos of normal people dressing poorly for stills from movies, popular culture, and football stadiums. more ›

You shouldn't get so annoyed at your girlfriend for crying about everything, because it turns out there's a biological reason behind those tears. And no, it's not ladies' wombs making them all sympathetic to that Lifetime special. New research is delving into the difference between how men and women cry, and part of the reason women tear up faster is because their tear ducts are too small. How long until men start comparing the size of their tear ducts in the locker room? more ›

New research out of the U.K. should give fresh ammunition for the vegetarian-set, even if it won't necessarily make them feel better. According to a paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B "adult female birds possess at least one of the essential underpinning attributes of empathy." more ›

How convenient that the price of coffee is rising just as its medical benefits are being uncovered. A team of Israeli researchers have found that 200 mg. of caffeine (or about three cups of joe) is good for the circulatory system and protects against heart attacks (presumably the same amount of caffeine in tea would have similar results). more ›

According to new research from the University of New Hampshire, marijuana is not the gateway drug your grandmother made it out to be. The study, which appears in the September 2010 issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior in the article, "A Life-course Perspective on the 'Gateway Hypothesis,'" found that while teens who smoked marijuana were more likely to use harder illicit drugs while they're young, the gateway effect was lessened by 21, and factors such as employment status and stress were more important in those decisions. more ›

When's the last time you saw a sea horse? While they can be seen in captivity (the above photo was taken at the New York Aquarium), they often won't survive outside of their natural world. The problem is, they aren't surviving out there either! According to Newsday, sea horses used to be common sights until their preferred habitat, called eelgrass, was decimated by something called "wasting disease" in the 1930s. more ›

Brains and booze go hand-in-hand, according to a new study carried out by the London School of Economics. The researchers found that women who went to university consume more alcohol than their less-educated counterparts and they are twice as likely to drink on a daily basis. In fact, this can all be predicted at an early age—the study points out that schoolgirls who scored medium and high test marks are 2.1 times more likely to drink daily as adults. more ›

The crack team at the New York Public Library is where to go when the Google machine leads you down a dead end. Today the NY Post talks to the six senior librarians who field hundreds of questions a day from their station in the Rose Reading Room. While the most common calls are simply inquiries about obtaining library cards, there are also several dozen "cherry questions" a day. more ›

We knew Jon Corzine was being immature and plain-old mean when he attacked opponent Chris Christie’s weight last year, but new research shows the jab was bad politics too. According to another “no fair” new study voters prefer their male politicians tubby, though they like their female ones slender. Results showed voters think heavy men are more reliable and sometimes more inspiring than their skinny counterparts. more ›

Veterans of Teach For America — a program that assigns recent college grads to teach in some of the country's worst schools — are less likely to vote, give to charities, or participate in civic groups than program drop-outs and those who were accepted by Teach For America but declined to take part, according to the a new study. The Times reports that the low rates of civic involvement might stem from exhaustion and burnout, as well as disillusionment with the group's approach to improving the educational disparities. more ›

Some big news on the off-shore population in NYC: scientists have discovered an impressive amount of whales "only a couple of miles from the Statue of Liberty," the NY Post reports.

"This isn't exactly great real estate for whales," said Dr. Christopher Clark, director of bioacoustics research at Cornell's ornithology lab. "It would be like trying to make a home in the middle of the Long Island Expressway." more ›