Reality TV show survivor first aired when Bill Clinton was still in office. More than a decade later the show still draws large audiences. David Shultz tried to understand why:

• A psychologist found that those who enjoy reality TV are motivated by status and vengeance.
• In the case of Survivor, the status part comes from watching ordinary people suddenly become elevated.
• Survivor also requires people to work with and against one another for an ultimate victor to emerge. This is where vengeance comes in.
• The popularity of this social strategy game is driven in part by Survivor seeming more authentic than most other “reality” TV.
• Anecdotal evidence indicates that those who watch Survivor are those who think they would win the game.
• Given that 9 million people still watch it – making it consistently the #1 show in its time slot – there are a lot of social strategists out there.

Read more here.

Source: Nautilus

The 2015 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was lit yesterday. David Caplan provided some details about it, and we looked into our own archives to get a sense of its cost:

• 45,000 multi-coloured energy efficient lights adorn the tree. These cost around $13,500. A computer program that took three months to build powers the software that adds the beautiful shimmering glow to the tree.
• Solar panels power the lights helping offset upkeep costs.
• A Swarovski star with 25,000 crystals tops the tree and is estimated to be worth $35,000.
• The tree itself is 78 feet tall. Such trees usually cost around $25,000 but the Rockefeller Center always gets it as a free donation.
• This year it was donated by a family that has taken care of it for 80 years but recently decided it was getting too big for their property.
• The family that donates the tree gets front row VIP tickets to the tree lighting and other ceremonies.
• After the tree gets taken down it is turned into wood that is used to build houses for low income people.
• The wooden planks from the tree will be stamped with the words “2015 Rockefeller Center Tree”

Read more secrets about the tree here. And see our past coverage here.

Source: AM New York

Derek Blasberg wrote about Jessica Alba and why she’s in the same league as those who created Facebook and Uber:

• After Alba’s first child broke out in hives the actress looked into the ingredients that go into children’s products and learned that multiple toxins are sometimes labelled as “fragrances”.
• She decided to launch a company, now called Honest, which sold baby products that parents could trust.
• One tech investor showed little interest in the idea, until he had a child, and his wife started desperately searching on the internet for information about safe children’s products.
• The company launched in 2012 and saw sales of $10 million in its first year.
• This year sales are over $150 million and the company is valued at $1.7 billion.
• This makes it a “unicorn” – the term for a startup that is valued at over a billion dollars within five years of its launch. Jessica Alba managed to do it in three.
• Part of the secret seems to be redefining people’s relationship with celebrity. Instead of representing the unattainable Alba’s products are about connecting with every day consumers.

Read more about Alba’s success, how her acting career helped build an entrepreneurial character, and her hands on approach to things over here.

Source: Vanity Fair

Christina Cauterucci reported on a study that looked at how eating habits are affected by social context in Homo sapiens:

• Men who ate at an all you can eat buffet with women ate twice as much pizza as men who ate with other men.
• They also packed in 80% more salad.
• Women didn’t change their eating habits based on the gender of their companions, but they did say that when they ate with men they felt that that they had overeaten.
• This is in line with other studies which indicate that when men eat with women they take bigger bites and employ more “chewing power”.
• The reason seems to be that men want to prove their ability to pack calories into their guts.
• This could also help explain why eating competitions are particularly popular with men.
• Other research suggests that women seemed to find the scent of men who had eaten garlic more attractive than those who hadn’t.

Read more about the study over here.

Source: Slate

A surprising number of people have sex while they drive. Imagine what it’ll be like once they don’t even have to drive wrote Ben Guarino:

• The Mile High Club, of members who have had sex on an airplane, got started with a man who created the pre-cursor of the autopilot. This ultimately freed him up for other activities.
• Cars are at a similar stage of development with auto-pilot features being able to take control and drivers experimenting with sexual escapades.
• In fact car makers seem to be adapting cars so that there are fewer knobbly bits – like gear boxes – to poke people while they do their thing.
• The legality of the sex will be debated. If it’s done in view of a school bus full of primary schoolers then a judge will probably have something to say about it.
• But what if it happens on a highway where everybody can watch but nobody is in danger? The law isn’t clear on this.

Read other musings on the topic here.

Source: Inverse

Beth Mole covered caffeine charged peanut butter:

• Each tablespoon of STEEM peanut butter has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee.
• Its makers note that it’s perfect for those who don’t want to pay for over-priced coffee, or don’t want to bring an espresso machine with them when they go camping.
• Critics including New York Senator Charles Schumer argue that it is an irresponsible product – especially since caffeine is being put into something so closely associated with a children’s snack.
• While dogs typically love peanut butter this stuff is also unsuitable for pets. Most animals can’t digest caffeine.

You can find the product page here.

Source: Arstechnica

Firefighters might soon be equipped with jetpacks wrote Amy X. Wang:

• Dubai is filled with glittering skyscrapers which can make things difficult for firefighters.
• The government has thus signed an agreement to purchase 20 jetpacks for its firefighting force.
• They will have a top speed of 45 mph and will climb 900 meters.
• Thermal scanning technology will enable firefighters to identify those in need of assistance. The jet packs will also be able to carry medical equipment.
• They should be ready by the end of 2016, and each is thought to cost around $150,000.
• This will make a good addition to Dubai’s civil services, which also includes Lamborghini police cars.

Read more here.

Source: Quartz

Jason Karaian looked into the world of apparel for camels:

• A company in Abu Dhabi has come to be known for its upmarket camel beauty supplies.
• Now it is branching out into performance wear. The full body compression suit apparently makes race camels run faster and beauty camels look better.
• The suits are worn before and after camel races to increase blood flow.
• The advantages are similar to that which Under Armour marketed to become a billion human clothing company.

Read more about the business here.

Source: Quartz

Natalie Vail at Cracked composed a list of ways that your name can affect your life:

• People who have names that come early in the alphabet do better in life. This may be because in classrooms, for example, they’re called upon first, have their names mentioned first when they co-author something, or even have their names on the tops of ballots when they run for office.
• This helps explain why, in the past century, only six American Presidents have had a surname from the latter half of the alphabet.
• We’re also more likely to marry people whose names resemble our own.
• Children in conservative states get weirder names – such as “Serenity” or “Londyn” – than children in liberal ones. This might be because conservative mothers tend to be younger and thus may be more adventurous in their choice of names.
• In Germany, at least, having a noble sounding name – like Furst (“Prince”) – leads to better life outcomes.
• For male CEOs having a simple informal name – like Mark – seems to be an advantage. It makes them seem less intimidating, allowing people to be more comfortable around them.
• For female CEOs however a more complicated name – like Marissa – seems to be advantageous. This might be because it makes them seem more professional.

The full article has many more fascinating details, and as with all articles from Cracked has a good deal of humour in it. You should read it here.

Source: Cracked