Phila. #1 In Bike Thefts

SEPTA Watch writes up another survey released by a company that ranks Philadelphia. The catch: This time the survey is on bike theft and Philadelphia is #1! Go team!

Chicago is second. Cambridge, Mass., is 9th (naturally). In a possibly related story, an Allentown man set a new world record in the Rubik’s Cube, finishing it in 46.03 seconds.

His bike was stolen while accomplishing the feat and he had to take SEPTA home. Okay, not really, but let’s see how fast he can solve a Rubik’s Cube in a packed El car.

Wharton Study: The Sky Is Freaking Blue

Wharton went out and and spent your application fee on a study that proves men like men’s stores and women like women’s stores.

Well, pretty much. The study, by Wharton’s Jay H. Baker Retail Initiative and Toronto consulting firm Verde Group reveals women like to shop for female things and browse around all the time, while men like to get in, get out and get home and use it. No, really.

The article on Wharton’s website about the study goes on for approximately 57,000 words, so I’ll just shoot right to the best part:

Erin Armendinger, managing director of the Baker initiative, puts it this way: “Men and women are simply different,” she says.

Wharton’s next study will be about men and how they like girls’ breasts.

‘Men Buy, Women Shop’: The Sexes Have Different Priorities When Walking Down the Aisles [Knowledge @ Wharton via Reason]

Breaking: Men Are Sex-Obsessed Even When Looking At Other Men

There’s an article on Online Journalism Review about a study done by Jakob Nielsen and Tara Pernice Coyne in 2005. The study focuses on usability and readability of websites.

But the researchers also did a study focusing on where people, ah, focus when they look at photos, and here’s the male/female breakdown (via Kottke):

Although both men and women look at the image of George Brett when directed to find out information about his sport and position, men tend to focus on private anatomy as well as the face. For the women, the face is the only place they viewed. Coyne adds that this difference doesn’t just occur with images of people. Men tend to fixate more on areas of private anatomy on animals as well, as evidenced when users were directed to browse the American Kennel Club site.

I love to see where men focused on a photo of a woman, but I guess that’s just be a waste of money. I think we know.

Eyetracking points the way to effective news article design [Online Journalism Review]
Men look at crotches [Kottke.org]

SEPTA Ridership Inexplicably Up

Despite having no money, a ridiculous token system, only about 3 places in the city that sell tokens and a ridership consisting of almost 100 percent annoying people, SEPTA increased ridership in 2005:

Vehicle traffic eased in center city Philadelphia while mass-transit ridership increased in 2005, counter to a long term trend, according to new figures.

Just over 1 million vehicles crossed the downtown area’s boundaries on a typical 2005 weekday, down about 5,000 from 2000 though still about 25,000 a day more than in 1995, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission data indicated.

The data said 28.5 percent of all trips in Center City were by mass transit in 2005, up slightly from 26.5 percent in 2000, though far below the 53 percent of all trips made by mass transit in 1960.

The 2005 figures increased sharply right after Hurricane Katrina, when gas prices spiked a bit. But, still: Imagine what ridership would be if they just, say, had a Metrocard-style payment system.

Mass transit use increases in Philly [AP/Camden Courier-Post]
Archives: SEPTA

Kids Don’t Have To Steal Playboys Anymore

KYW 1060 reports that a recent study came to some some horrible, bone-chilling conclusions: Teens find porn online.

Gasp! The study in the February issue of Pediatrics reports 42 percent of Internet users ages 10-17 have seen porn online, and 66 percent weren’t even looking for it. Porn! Sex! On the Internet! And our children see it! Just wait until the TV stations pick up this report!

There are a couple conclusions one can draw from the study: One, about 50 percent or so of Internet users aged 10-17 lied and said they had never seen Internet porn. Two… well, I guess that’s it. Porn in our kids’ hands: Who knew such a thing was possible?

Online Porn Finding Young Eyes Despite Precautions [KYW 1060]

Study: White Men Hold Positions Traditionally Held By White Men

If this study took more than an hour and cost more than $15, I could’ve done it cheaper.

Study: White men dominate leadership positions in college sports [AP/Yahoo!]

Leftovers: Bill Clinton Slums It

• Bill Clinton hit Bristol’s Mill Street yesterday, stumping for democrat Patrick Murphy. He also called Murphy’s opponent, Mike Fitzpatrick, a “mangy dog” in a really, really weird metaphor that I can’t figure out. [Bucks County Courier Times]

• The American Highway Users alliance did a report on the safest cities to evacuate from, and — surprise! — Philadelphia got an F, much like almost every other city. (Only Kansas City got an A.) Gee, what shocker. It’s hard to evacuate from cities with a million plus people in them. Who knew. [KYW 1060]

• Stop the presses! Dan Savage said something wild! Those alt-weekly editors/sex columnists! Who knew they’d say outrageous things? (Okay, okay, saying Carl Romanelli should be drug behind a car is a little out there.) [DP's The Spin]

• The infamous “Smiling Bank Robber” has been caught after robbing an Upper Darby bank. He said he moved to the suburbs because he had run out of banks to rob in Philadelphia. Guhwha? [KYW 1060]

• Berks County judges and their staffs may soon have to face random drug tests. Ha! [AP/NBC 10]

Leftovers: We Learn Good

• A study says Philadelphia graduates 55.5 percent of its incoming freshman, on average. The national average is 70 percent. Pennsylvania, on the whole, was a more respectable 79.1 percent. But — surprise! — the state may inflate its numbers, according to Paul Vallas. Film at 11. [Inquirer]

• A story in the New York Observer says that flab is in for men. And what do you do with that?

• That’s right: Hide marijuana in your fat rolls. Where else would you store it? [AP/NBC 10]

• Uh oh: Philly is now only about 1700 people larger than Phoenix. It looks like we’re going to fall to sixth-largest city soon. Get ready for the hang-wringing about how the city is on the downswing now. [Inquirer]

In Yet Another Variation On ‘The Sky Is Blue’ Joke…

In other news, the University of Pennsylvania reported a budget shortfall today, attributing it to funding for studies that confirm what people already know.

Study: Penn big part of Pa., Phila. economies [Phila. Business Journal]

I’ll tell you what you can do with your ‘disputes’

Hey, Mr. “Expert,” how about you shut your cakehole.

Expert Disputes Findings of “Fat Tolerance” Survey