The World's Biggest and Most Awesome Islands

We've listed the five largest islands in the world and briefly outlined what you can find there.

The World's Biggest and Most Awesome Islands

Five Largest Cities in North America

We’ve found the five biggest cities in North America and given you a brief (but hopefully convincing) summary of why you should visit them instead of the more obscure holiday destinations.

The five largest cities in North America - and why you should visit them

Road Trippin'

An alternative to plane or train travel is road travel. Even though trains are fast, and you can source extremely cheap airline tickets on the internet, the humble road trip can be far more enjoyable and versatile than even the most extravagant luxury holiday. You’re in charge of every element of the trip - where you go, where you stay, and how fast you get there.

Road Trippin

New plane routes shrink Britain

Although it seems like overkill to many, air travel to parts of the United Kingdom can be an efficient, economical and enjoyable way to see the country.

New plane routes shrink Britain

New Cruise Articles

There are a number of scuba diving cruises and travel destinations for those seeking a more hands-on experience during vacation.

Great Summer Cruises

Second Impressions Have Limited Value

An international team of psychologists argue that there appears to be truth in the saying ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression'.

Second Impressions Have Limited Value

Genealogy and Family History

Tracing Family History

Tracing family history is an absorbing, mentally stimulating, educational and frequently obsessive pastime.

Your Family History

Few of us have famous ancestors. But in the same way as historians have widened their interests in recent years from Kings, Queens and Presidents to the history of ordinary people, genealogy offers us the opportunity to see how people 'just like us' lived their lives through the centuries.

Family History Information

This section could be sub-titled 'what information can you get for nothing?'

Organising Family History

Any serious genealogical work will lead to amassing a large volume of information, some of it amenable to computerisation.

Personality of 'Beautiful' People More Accurately Rated

People identify the personality traits of people who are physically attractive more accurately than others during short encounters, according to a new University of ritish Columbia study.


Personality of 'Beautiful' People More Accurately Rated

Remembering Faces

The ability to recognize and remember faces is best when we are aged 30-34 - ten years later than most of our other mental abilities.

Recognizing and Remembering Faces

Gozo - Maltese Islands

Gozo is the second largest of the Maltese Islands with a population of around 30,000.

ozo provides some excellent walking, great coastal scenery and some of Europe's best
diving. Archaeological remains, such as the megalithic temple of Ggantija and the citadel in Victoria provide great historical interest. The island's churches are, well, enormous - many looking more like cathedrals than parish churches. There are some excellent restaurants making good use of local produce and fish.

Gozo

Brailes - Antiquarian Notes

'Extract of a Letter from Brailes, in Warwickshire, dated June 11 1765.

'Monday last, between two and three o'clock, we had a most dreadful storm of hail, attended with thunder and lightning, which has cut off a great deal of the corn in Upper Brailes, Lower Brailes, and Sutton-field. In Lower Brailes all the fruit-trees are stripped as bare as if it was Christmas. The gardens are likewise cut off to that degree, that in the whole town there is not a plant big enough to wrap round your hand. The windows are broke in a shocking manner, particularly those that lay North. In the three windows in the school fifty squares are broke, besides those above stairs, etc. Many of the hail-stones measured six and seven inches round; rooks, pigeons, etc. were killed in great numbers, which continued about an hour, the thunder not ceasing one instant, and the hail (which I measured in the open field after the storm was over) lay fourteen inches thick on the ground.

More at: BrailesAntiquarian accounts of Brailes

Perceiving Emotions

Japanese people pay more attention to the tone of voice than facial expression.

Perceiving Emotions

Volunteers Disliked

Employees who readily volunteer even for unwanted tasks tend to be disliked by less selfless colleagues.

Volunteers Disliked

UK - No Plans To Retire

10 per cent of the UK working population (the equivalent of 3.5 million) have no plans to retire and 42 per cent are unable to say at what age they plan to stop working.

No Plans To Retire

Social Interactions Are Intense Experiences

The most intense positive and negative experiences tend to be associated with social interaction rather than individual accomplishment


Social Interactions Are Intense Experiences

Revising Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs

A recent updating of Abraham Maslow's iconic pyramid of needs by a team of psychologists concludes that factors involved in successful parenting, such as caring, feeding, nurturing and educating, are indicative of a profound pyschological need that
merits placement at the top of the hierarchy. Maslow's concept of ordering human motivations dates from the 1940s. The current revision, which the authors acknowledge is controversial, takes into account developments in areas such as neuroscience, developmental psychology and evolutionary psychology.

Revising Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs

Personality And Domestic Violence

Similar personality traits have been found in male and female perpetrators of domestic violence in a group of psychiatric patients - further study may extend this to the wider community.

Personality And Domestic Violence

Starr Carr - Britain's Oldest Dwelling Found

Recent research from the Universities of Manchester and York on Stone Age remains at Star Carr, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, has identified Britain's earliest known surviving house. The dwelling dates from at least 8500 BC, when Britain was still part of continental Europe, pre-dating the previous record holder found at Howick, Northumberland, by at least 500 years. Archaeologists consider Star Carr to equal
Stonehenge in importance.

Starr Carr

Rating Others Positively Linked To Emotional Stability

Research led by Wake Forest University identified an association between the degree to which individuals perceive others in positive terms and their own happiness and emotional stability.

Rating Others Positively Linked To Emotional Stability

Keep Busy, Keep Happy

Individuals who keep busy, even with relatively pointless activity, tend to be happier than those who do not.

Keep Busy, Keep Happy