Watercooler Stories

CHOCOLATE BEST IF WARM

A study using the science of surface metrology finds that Easter chocolate tastes better if warm.

Gabriel J. Cantor of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts broke hundreds of pieces of chocolate at various temperatures and charted the resulting surface area and texture of the pieces using a scanning laser microscope.

He observed that the amount of chocolate flavor people sense depends on the surface area -- more surface area equals more flavor -- and warm pieces have a rougher texture that gives more surface area for taste buds to savor.

Cantor did not aim to determine the temperature at which chocolate tastes best, but he says the optimum temperature is around room temperature.

SURFERS GET SICK FROM WATER

A University of California at Irvine study finds surfers in urban beach water became ill twice as often as surfers in more rural areas.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Public Health, suggest that water at beaches in highly populated areas may increase health risks to all swimmers -- even if environmental monitoring guidelines have been met.

The surfers' symptoms ranged from fever, nausea, stomach pain and diarrhea to sore throat, eye redness and skin infection.

"The findings suggest that the current guidelines to monitor and close beaches in urban areas such as Orange County (Calif.) may not be sufficient to protect the public's health from general water runoff," study leader Dean Baker says in a statement.

JAILED JUVENILES HAVE HAD TRAUMA

Almost every boy and girl now in a juvenile facility in the United States has experienced at least one major trauma.

A study, by the Psycholegal Studies Program at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, finds 93 percent of the boys and 84 percent of the girls reported at least one traumatic experience.

The study, published in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, finds more than 12 percent met the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Our findings also are consistent with research linking traumatic victimization in childhood and subsequent psychosocial problems, such as delinquency and drug use," says study leader Karen M. Abram.

LESBIAN, BISEXUAL GIRLS SMOKE MORE

Lesbian and bisexual girls 12 to 17 were almost 10 times more likely to say they smoke weekly compared to heterosexual girls of the same age.

The findings of the Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston indicate that almost 40 percent of lesbian and bisexual girls smoked weekly.

Only 6 percent of heterosexual girls reported smoking. The lesbian and bisexual girls also were about 60 percent more likely to use tobacco promotional merchandise, such as hats, T-shirts and bags, the study says in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

"These girls may be slipping under the radar screen when it comes to tobacco prevention efforts in schools and communities," says lead author S. Bryn Austin.