Lost wallets that contain a snapshot of a baby are more likely to be returned to their owners, scientists have discovered.
Researchers left 240 wallets on Edinburgh streets last year to see how many were returned. Some contained one of four photographs - the baby, a cute puppy, a family and a portrait of an elderly couple. Others contained a card suggesting the owner had made a charity donation and a control batch contained no extra items.
Psychologist Richard Wiseman said 42 per cent of the wallets were returned.
Those with the baby picture were most likely to trigger an honest reaction from the finder, with 88 per cent being returned, followed by those with the puppy picture at 53 per cent. Those featuring the family snapshot had a 48 per cent return rate and the elderly couple a 28 per cent return.
Wallets containing the charity cards and the control sample were least likely to be returned. (source: telegraph.co.uk).
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Going out in Auckland is fraught, says this frustrated reader.
"My wife was keen to see the new Jane Campion movie at the film festival. Luckily it was a 7.30pm start as neither of us wanted a late night. We were surprised that the movie did not actually start until 8pm as there was a speech and many sponsors to thank first. The movie was OK and when it finished at 10pm we rushed to our car, only to discover that we had to wait 35 minutes to get out of the Civic car park - apparently there is construction under way and only one exit operating (although they don't tell you this when you go in, and offer no discount or apology for their poor management of the situation). So then we were on the motorway trying to get home, when the traffic suddenly comes to a stop. An accident, maybe? No, resurfacing the motorway between Northcote and Tristram Ave by closing three of the four lanes with no signage warning of the closure! We ended up getting home at 11.30pm. Puts you off trying to support events in the city."
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We all know that texting and driving is dangerous, but texting and walking? New York teenager Alexa Longuiera learned the hard way when she fell down a manhole while texting. Now her family intend to file a lawsuit. Whether Alexa was sending a text or not shouldn't make any difference, her mother says, because workers should never have left the manhole unattended. (Source: Neatorama.com)
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More Most Memorable Kiwi One-Liners:
Cheeky Darkie (infamous quote by Paul Holmes, referring to Kofi Annan); It won't happen overnight, but it will happen (Rachel Hunter, Pantene Ad); Gone by lunchtime (Don Brash); Cook me some eggs ... (Once were Warriors).
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View today's Herald cartoon
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Today's Webpick: Old Russian ladies sing a Britney Spears number… Altogether now “hit me baby one more time…” Watch it here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
