Hmm, I've been experiencing a similar phenomenon (only the zig-zagging is more black and white than color) for years. I didn't realize there was a name for it. I never particularly worried as it never lasted terribly long and never hurt or anything.
I had a cat who behaved this way whenever I used my electric shaver to shave my legs. He'd get get all puffed up and arched and take quick jabs at the shaver until I would chase him away.
I think that the problems with binge drinking in America have almost nothing to do with the legal age that one can purchase and drink alcohol and everything to do with the lack of communication and education about alcohol and responsible use. As long as the cultural mores place a lot of importance in the ability to drink oneself drunk and the glamour of drinking there are going to be young adults who cannot make wise decisions reguarding alcohol.
That is why I always look for the price per unit that is usually found on the tag in the corner. If I can't find it on the tag, I pull out my cell phone's calculator and figure out the price per unit. It's a great money saving activity.
What is freakier is that everything on the ground sends out its own seeking leader and it's when a leader from the air meets a leader coming up from the ground that you get a giant electrical discharge. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning#Leader_formation
Cephlapods like the octopus can basically squeeze themselves through any opening as long as the opening is big enough to accomodate their beak, which is the only hard substance in their body.
I don't know about the study, happiness is what you make out of life no matter your circumstances. Some people are better at it than others.
As for me and my husband, our two children are a constant source of joy in our lives. One heartfelt hug and "I love you!" from your child can really make up for a lot of awful things in your day. Yes, having children can be stressful and sometimes you feel like an inmate at an insane asylum. But let me tell you, those times can be all but forgotten when you get the chance to experience life anew through your children.
That being said, I firmly believe that not everyone needs to go out and have children. Some people are built to be parents and other people are built to do things that parents cannot. You need both types for a good society.
You also can't forget the Stone Mother at Pyramid Lake, NV. There's even a whole creation myth centered around her. http://www.crosbylodge.com/pyramid_lake/pl_map_stonemother.htm
Being a lifelong member of the population living next to or within the Sierras, it always makes my heart hurt to see the heavy dead load that litters the ground in most forested areas. You know that it's not a matter of if, but when all of it will go up in a blaze of glory. The frequent brush fires that you get on the valley floors are one thing, the majority of that vegitation will be back with in a couple of years. Forests just do not bounce back. The Crystal Peak fire occured way back in '92 and the mountainside above Verdi, CA is basically one big meadow where thousands of trees used to stand. Now the forest service is in the un-enviable position of trying to play catch up and there is just not enough time and man power to undo years of foolish management.
What choice or alternative do I have? I couldn't afford to live any closer to my job and I need my job to be able to afford to live. There are no alternative transportation routes (it would take over an hour to ride a bike to work and there are no buses that go there from here) and I cannot afford a hybrid car. This where the majority of America is, between a rock and a hard place.
These statistics don't surprise me. I remember sitting in my sophomore world history class in high school and being utterly dumbfounded by how little most of the students around me knew about the world they lived in. We were given the assignment to label major world landmarks and people were asking me where the Amazon river is and where Europe is.
As to fixing this, I think that the number one culprit in this sort of ignorance is the parents. Parents fail to get their children interested in the world outside of their home. They don't show their kids maps or talk about the world outside of America. Heck, how many people never leave their home state?
As for me and my husband, our two children are a constant source of joy in our lives. One heartfelt hug and "I love you!" from your child can really make up for a lot of awful things in your day. Yes, having children can be stressful and sometimes you feel like an inmate at an insane asylum. But let me tell you, those times can be all but forgotten when you get the chance to experience life anew through your children.
That being said, I firmly believe that not everyone needs to go out and have children. Some people are built to be parents and other people are built to do things that parents cannot. You need both types for a good society.
As to fixing this, I think that the number one culprit in this sort of ignorance is the parents. Parents fail to get their children interested in the world outside of their home. They don't show their kids maps or talk about the world outside of America. Heck, how many people never leave their home state?