"Competition against daunting opponents makes your own performance worse."

A study by Northwestern University appearing in the Journal of Political Economy investigated 11 years of Tiger Woods' records against various PGA opponents, and found that the simple fact that they were facing Woods made them worse golfers. His opponents tended to play more conservatively when competing directly against him, taking shorter, safer shots. The economist Jennifer Brown estimates that the influence of this effect made Woods an extra $6 million overall.

 

"Walking speed can predict overall health."

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center analyzed data from over 35,000 people over the age of 65 and found that walking speed was one of the most accurate predictors of longevity. The participating seniors typically moved at around speeds of 2.2 miles per hour. For every 0.1 meters per second they moved faster than that, they were 12 percent more likely to be alive a decade later. Only age and gender were better predictors -- making it potentially even more accurate than metrics like weight and blood pressure.
 

"The purpose of yawning may be to cool down the brain."

A study published in the journal Medical Hypotheses suggested that yawning -- something that has always baffled scientists -- may serve to move air through the maxillary sinuses (under and behind the eyes) and up to the brain thereby lowering its temperature. This theory would also tidily explain the function of sinuses, another curious anatomical feature. Researchers tested the theory by measuring the temperatures in rats' brains and found that temperatures tended to spike before a yawn before dipping back down, indicating that the yawns themselves were precipitated by a brain in need of cooling.

'One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime.'

The 1960 Winter Olympics were the first to feature instant replay. '

Squaw Valley, California, is now home to some of the world's finest ski slopes, but in 1960 it was a modest, little-known region that hosted the VIII Winter Olympic games. These games became the first Olympics not only to feature instant replay on TV but also to be covered exclusively by one network (CBS). It was at these games that the U.S. men's hockey team won their first gold medal by beating the Russians and the Czechs, an incredible achievement overshadowed -- but not outmatched -- by the fabled 1980 team.