Study shows most can’t live without cellphone
How many days could you last without your mobile phone? According to a new report released by Bank of America, nearly half of the people surveyed (47 percent) said they wouldn’t last a day.
The need for access to a mobile phone ranks higher than access to TV or coffee, according to the survey, conducted by Braun Research.
Thirty-five percent of respondents said they check their phones constantly while 26 percent say they check it several times throughout the day. Thirteen percent said they hardly ever check their phone or only when they really need it.
Bank of America had the study done partly to show how much consumers are relying on smartphones to make banking transactions. The bank found 82 percent of those surveyed access their bank accounts at least once a week and 31 percent log in at least once a day.
In other findings:
• 28 percent of respondents said they could do without their phone for about a week.
• 45 percent would be willing to give up alcohol to get their phone back and 34 percent would give up chocolate (more men than women would give up the chocolate).
• Among millennials (ages 18-24), a phone is more important than social networking sites, a car, television, deodorant and a toothbrush.
• 38 percent admit to checking their phone behind the wheel.
— Christopher Seward
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hints from Heloise:
Pressurized air cleans keyboard and toaster
G.T. in Texas writes: I keep a can of pressurized air to clean my keyboard and computer. I have found that it also comes in handy to clean the toaster. Spraying it helps get out all the crumbs that are stuck in the crevices.
— King Features
Spoons are inaccurate for measuring medicine
The song says a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, but a study says that kind of imprecise measurement can lead to potentially dangerous dosing mistakes.
The results, published online in Pediatrics, underscore recommendations that droppers and syringes that measure in milliliters be used for liquid medicines — not spoons.
The study involved nearly 300 parents with children younger than 9 years old. The youngsters were treated at two New York City emergency rooms and sent home with prescriptions for liquid medicines, mostly antibiotics.
Parents were contacted afterward and asked by phone how they had measured the doses. They also brought their measuring devices to the researchers’ offices to demonstrate doses.
Parents who used spoonfuls “were 50 percent more likely to give their children incorrect doses than those who measured in more precise milliliter units,” said Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, a co-author and associate professor at New York University’s medical school.
Incorrect doses included giving too much and too little, which can both be dangerous, he said. Almost one-third of the parents gave the wrong dose and 1 in 6 used a kitchen spoon rather than a device that lists doses in milliliters.
— Lindsey Tanner
Associated Press