87% of escapees from prison or other confinement head west when they escape.

humans are born with just 2 innate fears: falling (which also accounts for fear of deep water) and loud sounds. all other fears are learned.

without a landmark or some other visual marker (such as the sun, moon, or stars), human beings cannot walk in a straight line. they gradually walk in a circle.

the salem witch trials resulted in the conviction and murders of 19 people, all because a young girl and her friends wanted attention and drove the people of their village into a frenzy, convincing them that the 19 practiced witchcraft and summoned the devil. a few years later, the convicted were 'pardoned' for crimes that were never specified, and money given to their families by the village elders.

most of the 'close door' buttons in elevators are not connected to anything. like 'push to walk' signs on street corners, they exist to give the illusion of control in an effort to prevent violence.

if you ask yourself a question about an action you want to take, it is more likely that you will take that action. for example, instead of mentally telling yourself, "i'll go for a walk after dinner," ask "will i go for a walk after dinner?"

if you perform an act of kindness for someone at least once a week over at least 2 months, they will perform 3 times as many acts of kindness as someone who has not benefited from an act of kindness.

although a certain percentage of what we find attractive about how someone looks is determined by our culture, 50% of what we find attractive is unique to each one of us, and determined by our life experiences.

procrastination is most often caused by fear, distress, or guilt.

10 times more people are bitten by other people each year in new york city than are bitten by sharks in the entire world.

less than half of the cultures on earth kiss.

less than half of the world's cultures kiss as a sign of romantic affection.

in a survey, 35% of airline passengers revealed that they would try to retrieve their belongings during an emergency aircraft evacuation, despite the fact that it would likely cause their death and possibly the deaths of their fellow passengers.

every year, fewer american teens do any of the following:

• go on dates
• drink alcohol
• work for pay
• go out without their parents
• get a driver’s license

since the late 1990's, human beings are having less sex every year. this is true for all ages, genders, and in almost all countries.

in 2016, 1 out of 5 americans aged 18 to 29 years had no sex at all, twice as many as in 2000.

as of the time of this writing, 54 countries around the world have banned spanking - even by parents.

in 11 different studies, it was found that human beings would rather administer electric shocks to themselves than sit for 15 minutes and just think.

if a happy person sweats, almost all of the other people who smell that person's sweat will become happy, even if they can't see the happy person.

men with smaller testicles tend to be better fathers.