Women live longer than men.  It's true now, it was true hundreds of years ago, it's true in the U.S., it's true in Japan, it's true in the Congo, it's probably true with your grandparents.  And scientists have FINALLY figured out why.

The answer isn't particularly sexy, but whatever.

Scientists in Japan found that men's bodies produce fewer T-cells and B-cells than women as they get older.  T-cells protect us from infections, and B-cells produce antibodies.

And it suggests that the female body is DESIGNED to last a little longer than the male body.  The male body just starts breaking down sooner and becomes more prone to diseases than the female body.

In the U.S., the current life expectancy for a man is 75.35 years.  For a woman it's 80.51 years.

(BBC / Jezebel)

You know, this is EXACTLY what this country needed.  Oscar Mayer has just introduced a new line of hot dogs that are STUFFED WITH BACON.  That's in addition to whatever else hot dogs are normally stuffed with . . . chicken, pork, turkey, squirrel?

These Bacon Dogs are now on sale all over the country.  Each one is 130 calories and has 11 grams of fat. 

(Yahoo)

This is one of the most EXTREME methods we've ever heard for trying to QUIT SMOKING.  But if it works for this woman, it could start quite a trend.

31-year-old Etta Lopez of Sacramento, California wanted to quit smoking.  So she decided the best strategy would be . . . getting herself THROWN IN JAIL.

On Wednesday, Etta followed through with her plan, and SLAPPED A POLICE OFFICER.

She told the cop she wanted to go to jail, where she'd be FORCED to go without cigarettes.

And part one of the plan worked . . . she was arrested and now she's in jail.  As for whether part two of the plan worked . . . we'll have to see if this really does get her to stop smoking.

(CBS 13 - Sacramento) 

Here's scientific proof of something you've ALWAYS suspected:  Your coworkers are making you DUMBER.  And it happens every single time they talk to you about the weather, your big weekend plans, and what happened on "The Voice".

According to a study out of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, every time your coworkers talk to you and distract you, you immediately become 20% STUPIDER.

Not permanently, of course, or you'd be a drooling, sputtering pile of Jell-O by now.  But as long as you're distracted, you're dumber.

A separate study found the average officer worker only gets 11 minutes of work done between interruptions . . . and it can take almost half an hour to fully focus again after you're interrupted.

Based on that math, you may NEVER be able to get back to a place of full productivity.  At least I think that's the math.  I'm at least 20% dumber right now.

The researchers at Carnegie Mellon DID find the best defense.  If you tell yourself you're DEFINITELY going to be interrupted at any moment, it actually helps you focus and improves your productivity.

(Yahoo Finance)