Calling all Facebookers. There's a new variation on the hugely popular game Angry Birds. In Angry Brides, you get to heave a red stiletto, say, at the head of the prospective groom. Points for every shot to the head and groin lower the dowry expected from his bride-to-be.
The game is the brainchild of dating site, Shaadi, which hopes to “raise awareness” about dowry-related violence in India (and abroad). Apparently every four hours there's a dowry-related death, in which a groom's family abuse that of his fiancee.
How effective, though, is a game that aims to fight violence by depicting, uh, more violence. Seems Angry Brides is just the latest in a slew of advertising ploys to tackle what the Globe and Mail dubs "battered-woman chic."
Case in point: the provocative photo shoot of Glee's black-eyed Heather Morris, and the Edmonton salon's black-eyed model telling women to "Look Good in All that you do."
Is Angry Brides making a valuable social statement or simply glamourizing domestic violence?
Good news for gossip girls everywhere. Salacious banter, idle chatter. Can gossip actually be good for you? Researchers are beginning to think so.
"Gossip gets a bad rap, but we're finding evidence that it plays a critical role in the maintenance of social order," said University of California, Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, who coauthored the study, currently published online in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
That critical role may even include positive outcomes such as "helping us police bad behavior, prevent exploitation and lower stress."
Noteworthy, though, was that the focus of the gossip in the study was 'prosocial' -- meaning it wasn't the run of the mill, bitchy look-what-she's-wearing variety. It was all about warning others about dishonest goings on.
"We shouldn't feel guilty for gossiping if the gossip helps prevent others from being taken advantage of," said Matthew Feinberg, another UC Berkeley social psychologist and lead author of the paper.
The Berkeley experiments involved card games in which one observers could see that one player was cheating. Heart rates increased as the cheating was detected, but once the observers dished about what they'd witnessed, their heart rates shot down. In short, Willer found "gossiping made them feel better."
Moral of the story? Gossip is good, so long as it's the altruistic kind. Used to help others out, and not just trash talking.
Health Canada has recalled the following metallic heart shaped pendants and plastic bracelets:
Pendants with rhinestones in a variety of colours and words such as "best friend", "peace", "princess", "dream", "truth" and "forever" (item U9FA 241 and UPC 06136694241).
Plastic bracelets in a variety of shapes and designs (items U9FA 898, U9FA 896, and UPC 061366948986 and 061366948962).
The toy jewelry contains lead in excess of the allowable limit, which is toxic and can cause a host of health problems, include vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, coma or even death.
Although Health Canada and Toy Land Company haven't received any reports of incidents or illnesses related to the jewelry, customers are advised to dispose of the recalled items immediately.
For further information, customers can contact Toy Land Company at 604-876-5432 or toll free at 1-800-668-6388.
From 2006 to 2011, approximately 432 pendants and 2,050 bracelets were sold in Canada.
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