Our Brains Love Bragging: Know someone who lights up when they talk about themselves? That’s because talking about ourselves makes us feel sooo good that we do it almost 40 percent of the time, according to the Wall Street Journal. Bragging is especially rewarding and it doesn’t matter if it comes out of our mouths or our fingers on Facebook or Twitter; pleasure and reward areas of our brains light up when we do it. “Self-disclosure is extra rewarding,” Harvard neuroscientist Diana Tamir told the WSJ. “People were even willing to forgo money in order to talk about themselves.” (3:35 p.m.) via PNAS and the Wall Street Journal
Famous Fat Cat Put Down: “Meow” may be gone, but in his life, he left a big impression. The 39-pound cat gained fame over the past year with appearances on the “Today” show and “Anderson 360.” His claim to fame was his weight, but his weight also claimed his life in the end. A foster volunteer who inherited Meow from his 87-year-old New Mexico owner and volunteers at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Human Society had worked to try and help the animal lose weight. But it was a losing battle. Meow was put to sleep once it was clear they could not stop his suffering and the progression of pulmonary failure. (11:45 a.m.) via People
Experience-Takers Make Fictional Traits A Reality: Some people reading fictional stories relate so strongly to characters that their own behaviors will change in reality, if only temporarily. But the ability to emotionally connect with the fictional world and then act on those emotions in reality only happens when readers are able to forget about themselves and their own self-concept and self-identity while reading, reported Medical Express. (8:22 a.m.) via medicalxpress
Explosive Briefs: In 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to blow up a Christmas Day flight into Detroit — he ended up badly singed and in jail on terrorism charges. Today, it seems another wannabe bomber has updated a similar device designed to bring terror to the air: the underwear bomb. Although this most recent al Qaeda plot was foiled by U.S. cooperation with unnamed security services in Yemen before a plane ticket could even be purchased, it goes to show the terror organization still considers bombs in underpants potent weapons against airliners. (2:06 a.m.) via BBC News
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