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Steven D. Levitt at Freakonomics asks (and answers) the ever-annoying question: why get a tattoo? After rejecting the obvious, he zeroes in on the one reason we get inked (and do everything else): Sex. More »
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U.S.: One kiss. France: Two. Netherlands: 3. In today's "Freakonomics," Daniel Hamermesh asks, who makes the kissing rules? Who changes them? How do we learn them? And we'd better! [New York Times] More »
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Americans are spending a reported $13.2 billion on cosmetic surgery (more than the GDP of Bolivia!), but should health insurers be reimbursing at least a few of these procedures? Over on the New York Times "Freakonomics" blog, plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Zenn points out: "Insurance companies often insist that surgery should treat a functional problem, not a cosmetic one. However, the distinction is not as black and white as they would like and there is a large gray area between the two." Zenn uses the following as an example: "We might all agree that a woman who is a C cup and wants to be a D cup should not be covered by insurance, but what about an 18-year-old girl who has one B cup breast and one D cup breast? Many would argue that this scenario creates a functional problem that is hard to describe as only cosmetic. What about a woman who has had a mastectomy and wants a reconstruction? Cosmetic?" More »
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Hookers are everywhere these days: on the cover of the cover of the Post, in a special Diane Sawyer boasts, you find prostitutes here and there, you can find prostitutes anywhere! But seriously, folks, the nerds over at the New York Times' Freakonomics blog have an interview with two sex workers, Mindy and Dorothy, who answer readers' burning questions about what it's really like to be a prostitute. High or low end, they're all in cahoots with the coppers and they think legalization is ultimately bad for prostitutes because "they will just get exploited. They'll get paid a lot less and be forced to do a lot more." But the most interesting part is that both Mindy and Dorothy think "much of prostitution work is about therapy." More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=373392&view=rss&microfeed=true Sick of celebs — of the non Money Honey neo-P. Keaton variety — yet? Good, cause it's time for finance roundup, that thing we're doing so we don't lose all our neurons to the silicon-silicone vortex. (Get that? Please?) Basically the big news today is that the Fed Chief, who is no longer Alan Greenspan so we really don't trust him, has called a recession "unlikely" despite all the bad news for the housing market, meaning you may actually be able to afford those babydoll dresses and lumberjack flannels along with your rent this time around. But probably not. Because economic health is for rich people. More »
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