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June facts


Sadness May Encourage More Extravagance

A new study (2/08) suggests that sadness leads to shopping.

According to the study that will be published in the June 2008 number of Psychological Science, sadness leads to ego-centrist thinking. In other words, a sad person tends to transform into a shopaholic, willing to spend extra money on the same item than neutral-emotion people would buy for a lot less.

“It is the combination of sadness and self-focus that drives the effect, and it turns out that sadness leads to an increase in self-focus,” said Cynthia Cryder, co-author to the study, AFP quotes. “What we think is going on is that sad and self-focused people are feeling pretty bad about themselves and have a decreased valuation, and one way to do this is by acquiring material goods.”

Oh yeah, it also says this therapy does not work. If you’re sad and feel like shopping, don’t!

Reference: http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Feeling_Sad_Shopping_Is_Not_The_Answer_Study_Warns_13799.html

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What is the altitude of the sun relative to Earth ?

The altitude of the sun varies throughout the year. On December 21st (sometimes the 22nd) the sun is 20 degrees above the horizon, it's lowest point of the year. On June 21st (sometimes the 20th) the sun is 65 degrees above the horizon, it's highest point of the year. Do you know what days these are? They are the winter & summer solstice.

Reference: Winter Sun Design

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