The Science of Screams

io9 had a neat piece last week on the science of screams.  It should come as no surprise that horror movies use screams to elicit particular emotions in viewers, but the neat thing that researchers have found is that, the more irregular they are, the harder screams are to ignore.

This article also alerted me to the existence of Wilhelm scream, a stock Hollywood sound effect scream that's been used on tons of movie since the 1950s.  I'll never be able to listen to another horror movie the same way.  Here's a supercut for your enjoyment.

Giving Birth on Halloween

According to io9, a Yale University study that has found women don't want to go into labor on Halloween. I'm not sure why, as that would pretty much be the most awesome thing ever, as far as I'm concerned. Any Halloween babies out there want to weigh in?

Black Dog Syndrome

As the owner of two wonderful black cats, it makes me sad to know that people are prejudiced against black animals.  Some shelters, I know, hold special drives to adopt out animals that are considered "unadoptable" because of their unpopular coloring.  [Via Jezebel]

And in case you doubt that black cats can be sweet, here are my two, being as un-evil as possible:

53% Spent $50 Or Less On Costumes

According to some recent research, 53% of people spend under $50 on Halloween costumes.  20% will spend more than that, while 17% spend nothing at all on costumes.  Where do you fall?

Brach's Candy Corn

Candy Corn, by Kurt and Sybilla, via Flickr

I bought my first bag of candy corn of the season the other day, and the bag offered this incredible piece of trivia:

Americans buy enough Brach's candy corn every year that, if laid end to end, it would circle the earth 4.25 times.

I don't know whether to be terrified or impressed.