Word: phenomenon
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...Giesler theorizes that the itch sensation creates an excited state in the STT neurons that scratching inhibits - as if our fingernails were sending a message to spinal-cord neurons to cool off. Scientists are still a long way from understanding the itch-scratch phenomenon, and while Giesler's study gives them a good place to start, neuroscientists caution that in humans, the mysteries of itching and scratching may go beyond the physiological: emotional and psychological factors are also often at play, especially in cases of unexplained, unremitting itching or itching of phantom limbs...
...burden on Julia. Best to blame the title, which promises the average moviegoer nothing except a problem pronouncing it to the multiplex ticket seller. Only two live-action films with one-word, four-syllable titles have ever grossed more than $100 million total; and the two that did, Phenomenon and Collateral, just barely scraped that number...
...does touching an item increase the likelihood of purchase? The motivation traces back to what behavioral economists have labeled the "endowment effect." This phenomenon posits that consumers value a product more once they own it. And simply touching that Charmin may increase a shopper's sense of ownership and compel the consumer to buy the product. (Read "How to Know When the Economy Is Turning...
Wednesday, April 1, commonly known as April Fools Day, is a phenomenon to which even the illustrious (and sometimes all-too-serious) Harvard is not immune. FlyBy has chosen some of the most prominent campus pranks this year to highlight, with details after the jump...
...able to stop spending the rest. "Once that barrier is passed, it's like a dam gets broken," says Srivastava. "And we've found that when people decide to spend, they'll spend more with the bigger bill than with the smaller bill." Researchers have labeled this phenomenon the "what the hell" effect: "I've broken the hundred; it's gone from my wallet. What the hell, I may as well blow off the rest." So consumers, afraid that the "what the hell" effect will drain their wallets, hold on to those large denominations. (See pictures of expensive things that...