Stock markets tend to rise in the week after a blockbuster movie opens
Blockbuster movie releases were followed by significantly higher US stock market returns the next week, along with lower expected volatility and risk aversion, and the pattern also appeared in international markets.
Most social media users would leave toxic posts up, even some violent threats
In experiments with 8,864 Americans, uncivil or intolerant posts raised support for moderation by only about 19 points, and outside attacks on LGBTQ people, large majorities wanted no action even against violent threats.
Towns that built a Carnegie library saw patenting rise 10 to 12 percent
US towns that built one of Andrew Carnegie’s 1,500-plus public libraries between 1883 and 1919 saw patenting rise by 10 to 12 percent over the next 20 years, compared with towns that were offered a library but never built one.
America’s pandemic drop in religion was a survey artifact: devout people stopped answering
When the General Social Survey moved online in the pandemic, its response rate fell to 17%. Panel data show biblical literalism was 36% among people who declined the web survey versus 25% among those who took it, creating an illusion of rapid secularization.
Brains of parents with more children show the reverse of age-related changes
In UK Biobank scans of 37,571 adults, more children went with stronger sensorimotor brain connections, the same links that weaken with age. The parenthood and aging maps correlated at r = -0.81 in men and -0.66 in women at the network level.
Fourth graders taught with science of learning methods scored higher in math
In a national sample of 4,520 US children, more frequent math instruction aligned with science of learning principles predicted higher end-of-fourth-grade math achievement, even after accounting for earlier scores, and the link did not depend on how interested children were in math.
Men who follow masculine norms earn more but back strongmen and take more health risks
In a survey of 125,147 people in 70 countries, men scoring higher on masculinity norms earned about 3% more but had worse depression scores, were 5.3 points less willing to seek therapy and 9 points more likely to back strongman rule.
Ransomware attacks raise death rates for hospital patients by more than a third
Linking hospital ransomware attacks to Medicare claims, economists found patient volume drops 17 to 24% in the first week of an attack, and in-hospital mortality for patients already admitted rises by 34 to 38%.
Violent crime rises near new dollar stores in Chicago and falls back when they close
A difference-in-differences study of Chicago found violent crime, especially robbery, rose significantly near dollar stores after they opened, with no sign of displacement, and returned to pre-opening levels after they closed.
