It's official! Having sex just as effective as gyming

Washington: A new study has found that having sex is similar toexercising, as it burns an average of 4.2 calories a minute in men and 3.1 calories a minute in women.

For the study, sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson observed 21 youngheterosexual couples having sex and discovered that heart rates reached as high as 180 beats per minute, Live Science reported.

Participants in the study were asked to don an armband, called SenseWear , that would help researchers keep an eye on their energy expenditures while they had sex.

Before being sent home to have sex at least four times in a month, each person was required to do a 30-minute moderate-intensity workout on the treadmill to provide a baseline measure of their calorie expenditure during exertion.

The findings showed that men, on average, spent 101 calories while having sex, as compared to 276 calories on the treadmill.

Also, women spent an average of 69 calories during a sex session, compared to an average of 213calories on the treadmill.

According to researchers, the results of the study suggest that sexual activity may potentially be considered, at times, as a significant exercise.

The study was published online in the journal PLOS ONE. 

(ANI)

World's first 'wee willy party' to see men with small penises converge

London: Men across Britain will now be able to shake off insecurities about their small penises at the first-ever "wee willy party" to be held in the UK.

The party, called The Big Small Penis Party, which invites those with a smaller-than-average member to celebrate their size, has been shared thousands of times on Facebook, the Daily Star reported.

The event, which claims to be the "first ever conference for the celebration and acceptance of small penises everywhere" as per the Facebook invite, is for men and woman, of all lengths, and suggests that people have to pay "50p per claimed phallic inch" for entry.

Ant Smith, who put on the event in hope of celebrating the body parts that are not seen as attractive in society, said that it's a small, but growing, movement and this event is the first that really calls the lesser endowed men into the open.

The penis campaigner noted that judging by the response so far he expects the venue to be filled to capacity, adding that New York had a Small Penis Pageant, but that was just a handful.

Smith added that Riot TV will be filming the party for a documentary on the subject and the event has already had some celebrity endorsements as he even saw Diplo tweet Lorde that they should come and perform.

The event is billed for March 7 and kicks off at 7pm at the Rhythm Factory, London.

 (ANI)

People who consume sodas daily could face risk of cancer

Washington:Soda lovers beware! A new study has found that people who drink 1 or more can of soda per day could be possibly exposed to an ingredient 4-methylimidazole, which is a potential carcinogen.

Public health researchers have analyzed soda consumption data in order to characterize people's exposure to a potentially carcinogenic byproduct of some types of caramel color. Caramel color is a common ingredient in colas and other dark soft drinks. The results show that between 44 and 58 percent of people over the age of six typically have at least one can of soda per day, possibly more, potentially exposing them to 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), a possible human carcinogen formed during the manufacture of some kinds of caramel color.

Building on an analysis of 4-MEI concentrations in 11 different soft drinks first published by Consumer Reports in 2014, researchers led by a team at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) estimated exposure to 4-MEI from caramel-colored soft drinks and modeled the potential cancer burden related to routine soft drink consumption levels in the United States.

Senior author of the study Keeve Nachman, PhD, said that soft drink consumers are being exposed to an avoidable and unnecessary cancer risk from an ingredient that is being added to these beverages simply for aesthetic purposes. This unnecessary exposure poses a threat to public health and raises questions about the continued use of caramel color ing in soda.

While the 2014 study of the 110 samples of soda brands was not large enough to recommend one brand over another or draw conclusions about specific brands, results indicated that levels of 4-MEI could vary substantially across samples, even for the same type of beverage. "For example, for diet colas, certain samples had higher or more variable levels of the compound, while other samples had very low concentrations," says Tyler Smith, lead author of the study and a program officer with the CLF.

While there's currently no federal limit for 4-MEI in food or beverages, Consumer Reports petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to set limits for the potential carcinogen last year. It also shared the findings with the California Attorney General's office, which enforces the state's Proposition 65 law aimed at reducing consumers' exposure to toxic chemicals. Under this state law, any food or beverage sold in the state that exposes consumers to more than a specific amount of 4-MEI per day requires a health-warning label.

The results are published online in PLOS One.

 (ANI)

The Best Music To Tune Up Your Sex Life: Study

A new survey has revealed the most common songs and artists devoted to getting people in the mood for sex.

Spotify dug through millions of love, Valentine's and sex-themed playlists to find the most popular songs, the Guardian revealed.

The two minute rhythmic instrumental 'Intro,' the first song on the debut album of indie rockers 'The XX,' is apparently considered the perfect song to make love to.

The rest of the top 10 sex songs include 'From Eden' by Hozier, 'Menswear' by The 1975, 'Magic' by Coldplay, a remix of 'You and Me' by Disclosure, 'Sweet Ophelia' by Zella Day, 'Let's Get Started' by Dylan Gardner, 'Night Like This' by LP, 'Talk Is Cheap' by Chet Faker, and 'Dreams' by Fou De Toi.

Men are slightly more likely to have created playlists with "sex" in the title than women (56 per cent to 44 per cent), and both sexes tending towards the on-trend Chet Faker, Zella Day and LP who all make an appearance in the top ten. That leaves Coldplay the odd one out.

In contrast, "love" playlists are significantly more common (there's 28m of them) and the music skews towards the mainstream. Miley Cyrus, Beyonce and Justin Timberlake all place in the top ten.

John Legend's 'All of Me' is the No. 1 song for love, with other top picks including 'Stay' by Rihanna, 'Not a Bad Thing' by Justin Timberlake, 'Drunk in Love' by Beyonce, 'Say Something' by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera, 'Me and My Broken Heart' by Rixton, 'Adore You' by Miley Cyrus, 'Just Give Me a Reason' by Pink, 'Let Her Go' by Passenger, and 'Mirrors' by Justin Timberlake.

Hey #HypocriteIndia: Why no hashtag for brutal murder of Kerala guard?

If you are an Indian and have not been living under a rock for the past few days, chances are that you are familiar with - and outraged about - what happened to 57-year-old Sureshbhai Patel, who was left partially paralysed after he was slammed to the ground by an Alabama policeman. Patel, who had gone to the US to help his son take care of his baby, cannot speak English and was therefore unable to answer the questions fired at him by the policemen.

His case has caused widespread national outrage and has prompted the creation of innovative hashtags like #RacistAmerica on multiple television news channels. The MEA swung into action, and asked the Indian embassy in Washington for a report and directed them to 'raise the matter strongly' with the US State Department as well. Arnab Goswami of Times Now called up a bunch of unsuspecting Americans onto his show and shouted at them, calling them 'racist' and 'ungrateful for all that Indians had contributed to the US economy'.

But now contrast the attention Patel's story got to the tragedy of 50-year-old Indian Chandrabose. If you ask 'who?' you would be forgiven. The shocking story of what happened to Chandrabose may have caused a blip or two on the media radar, but has for the most part been entirely ignored on social media whose denizens are usually the first to outrage. but oddly this case has raised barely a murmur.

Chandrabose was a security guard who was murdered in cold blood by Kerala beedi tycoon Muhammad Nizam, because he didn't open the gate of Nizam's apartment complex quickly enough. The details are horrific. Nizam rammed Chandrabose with the Hummer he was driving and pinned him against a wall. The businessman stepped out of his car, assaulted Chandrabose and ransacked the guard’s cabin, forcing the other guards who were present to flee. He then got back into his SUV and chased Chandrabose before ramming his car into the 51-year-old.

He then dragged the battered guard into his vehicle, drove towards the parking area, pulled him out and beat him to pulp with a rod. He stopped only when the other guards rushed to the spot and alerted the police.

Doctors attending on Chandarabose said his heart had not been functioning properly following the impact of the internal injuries. His heart ceased functioning at 13:40 hours and he was declared dead.

And to make matters worse, Nizam is a repeat offender. Telegraph India quotes police sources as saying, "although Nizam was involved in over a dozen cases, he had managed to work out compromises in most of them".

You would think that all of this would at least merit some serious national outrage. But no. Apart from tiny, obligatory agency copies that mentioned that Chandrabose has now died, his murder didn't so much as cause a ripple in any of the major national media outlets. There were no outraged news anchors or headlines, no television cameras at the hospital, no live updates from Thrissur... heck, not even a hashtag. If there was any anger at all, it was restricted to Kerala.

Clearly, it's fine for Indians to brutally attack other Indians for absolutely no reason whatsoever. It's just not ok for people outside India to do it.

So what prompts this kind of selective coverage and outrage? Easy. Middle and upper class elitism. Let's face it. Many of us could identify with what happened to Sureshbhai Patel. He could have been an elderly non-English speaking relative of any one of us, traveling to the US to help his son babysit his child. Sureshbhai was a PLU unlike a poor security guard.

The uncomfortable truth about Chandrabose is that none of us can really identify with him. Let's face it, he's just one of the many nameless, faceless people who open our gates for us everyday and who we probably wouldn't recognise when out of uniform. He's probably one step above the nameless faceless taxi drivers who we use to get from point A to point B and a few steps above the nameless faceless beggars who swarm our vehicles, trying to sell us things and ask for money.

This is how middle class India deals with the less fortunate. By largely ignoring their existence unless absolutely necessary. So one security guard dies somewhere. "Oh. Brutally murdered? Shocking yaar." Indian grandfather beaten up in the US? "How dare they target an Indian? And after everything we have done for their economy? How dare they? " The last, by the way, was the line Arnab took while hectoring two Americans on his show.

This hypocrisy does not just extend to what happened to Chandrabose. Brutal gangrapes only make national headlines when they happen in the glare of city lights, in an Uber or DTC bus. As we noted, in the aftermath of the Rohtak gangrape, "It's as if the sliver of the country, whose ration of outrage still manages to goad justice delivery systems here, have looked away, muttering '***t happens'.

As a section of society, we have the power to get politicians to answer questions, to hold systems accountable and demand answers, like we did with the Delhi gangrape or even with Sureshbhai Patel. Yet more often than not, when we really should speak up, we choose to look the other way. Time for a new TV hashtag perhaps? Might we suggest #HypocriteIndia?

Will V-Day make CM Kejriwal effusive?

When the ‘mufflerman’ takes charge on Saturday, February 14, as CM of New Delhi, he could be hoping that the love affair between the people of New Delhi and AAP would continue for long. On Valentine’s Day, after he takes over as the custodian of the affairs of about two crore people in the Indian capital, will the new CM use the moment to express his love and gratitude to Sunitha, his wife, once again?

Before his fascination for AAP and the broom, Kejriwal was swept away, about two decades ago, by the charms of his IRS batch mate, Sunitha, in Mussoorie. After he fell headlong into love, life changed for the better and Sunitha has been managing it, spick and span. Their 1993 IRS batch mates might not have thought that the bespectacled introvert and the outgoing and genteel Sunitha would together change the political history of the Indian capital. Nor would they have thought that the fiery activist in Kejriwal would go knocking at the doors of Sunitha, one evening, to propose his love.

Sunitha was quick to accept the proposal and what followed has been a saga of love and sacrifice that Kejriwal has acknowledged many a times. Today, he is getting another chance to do it and perhaps CM Kejriwal could mark the day with his tributes to Sunitha.

When Kejriwal ended his 10-year stint at the IRS to get actively involved in politics, Sunitha did not object. She merely took on more responsibilities to support her husband. Kejriwal had started his political career in the house at Kaushambi, which was allotted to Sunitha, who is still with the IRS. The house became the office of Kejriwal, who slowly started getting busy with his public commitments, while Sunitha had the additional responsibility of managing the house along with her job. Her domestic responsibilities have not affected the career of this lady, who is an Additional Commissioner with the Delhi IT department.

When Kejriwal started the second phase of his activist life, Sunitha was apprehensive because the leader's health had been taking a beating. Diabetes and persistent cough were two major health concerns of Kejriwal that Sunitha had to take care of. When he was CM, Kejriwal would leave for office with home-cooked food. When he took to the streets, fighting against central government policies, the food accompanied him, and Sunitha ensured that he had it in time.

When Delhi expressed its confidence in Kejriwal in 2015, the AAP leader did not have to think twice to dedicate his successes to his wife who had stood by him through thick and thin. He did not have to search for words to praise her contributions to his successes, because when he said that he would not have become anything without her support, the words flowed from his heart. Kejriwal repeated the same sentiment once again at Patel Nagar in front of his party office and might as well do it today, a big day for him as well as lovers all around the world.

For Sunitha, the acknowledgements were perhaps the best gift she could get- not because the CM elect dedicated his success to her might- but because she had a place in the heart of her man, who has scaled the heights of personal successes.

A real life inspiring love story

Breaking the interlude of a brief silence, the girl disclosed the magic words without so much as a preamble, ‘You know that I love you…’

His reaction was a slight outburst. 'What the … For four long years I was waiting to hear it. And now, when it is this late…'

The two fell silent for a length of time. The sudden rude jolt had the boy stretching back on his cot.

The girl realized the pangs of unrequited love that had long bottled up in his mind and now seeking sudden release. The two college students had arrived in the study room of the Chennai Choolaimad apartment for combined study one lightly cold winter evening in January 2004. They were students in their final year MBBS exam season at Madras Medical College. Vasuki and Karthikeyan. They had an exam the next day – a complex paper called Social and Preventive Medicine.

Today they are both IAS officers. But the travails they went through to attain the same service selection in order to be united are something that only they know about. The dare which Vasuki showed in revealing her love in her own home, extended to her three year toil in getting her lover across to the IAS ranks after she first secured the selection herself.

This is one Tamil love story that needs mandatory recounting as we celebrate Valentine’s Day every year on February 14th. There is even material in here for a Tamil potboiler.

Vasuki and Karthikeyan had many distinctly differing tastes even as they came from the same educational and vocational spheres. Daughter of a Chennai bank manager, Vasuki is a typical city girl. Karthikeyan is a small town boy from Erode. However his father was an IIT engineer and top official at TCS. Caste, the usual villain in many love stories, cannot be left out in this one either. They were both OBC but with a difference. Vasuki belonged to the Aavantara category of Senkunthar among Mudaliars and Karthikeyan a Gounder. Karthikeyan’s father wished to build and run a hospital in Erode as both his daughters and sons-in-law and son are all doctors. But this son alone jumped another ship. Despite some initial opposition, the father left his son to his own wish.

They both belonged to the 2000 batch which came to be known as the Millennium Batch of Madras Medical College. Karthikeyan set foot on the Medical College by grabbing a third rank at the Medical Entrance in Tamil Nadu while Vasuki did so with a first rank in Biology. Their campus gang of seven, known as Seven Star consisting of girls Vinu, Sindhu and Sreesha apart from Vasuki and boys Arun and Bommu Savi and Karthikeyan had a swell time in those days.

Combined study and house visits were common. Hence when Karthikeyan went to Vasuki’s house for combined study, it did not raise any eyebrow. Many guys were after Vasuki as fair and lanky Tamil lass she was! Bharatanatyam, Western dance, song, painting.. countless were the accomplishments she could boast of. Vasuki recalls like it is a small matter that several rich kids and good lookers tried to woo her. For long-time a senior, a PG student, longed for her. Vasuki was not interested, yet conversed with him.

Vasuki says that Karthikeyan had ‘ideas’ about her right from the start. However he would deploy all the tricks in the book to conceal those ideas. For example, even if Karthikeyan called the rest of the gang over phone, he would leave out Vasuki. The highly intelligent Vasuki could decipher this ploy in no time. Vasuki says that Karthikeyan sent out all kinds of confusing signals to her. That is how the conversation with the PG student ensued. Eventually convinced about Vasuki’s lack of interest, the PG man tied knot, leaving Vasuki alone.

Karthikeyan had to hide his love as he faced inhibitions in opening his heart out to Vasuki who had a legion of admirers. He feared that she would stop being friends with him. Vasuki was the type to slap a guy who transgressed boundaries.

Karthikeyan cooled down after the love dialogue on examination eve. He called back and grew even more love-struck. By April they decided that they have to be together forever. But their perspective on life took a drastic turn with the coming of the Tsunami in December 2004. Thousands were devoured by the killer waves in Chennai and Tamil Nadu. They came to directly observe those in civil service doing good to society. Even if construed by people as a conduit to making money, is not a doctor destined to do good to others? They both felt that joining the civil service would enable them to serve the society better than being in the medical profession. Their love emboldened them for it. Thus, as both of them embarked on civil service examination, an intermission!

They both started preparations by taking Geography and Psychology as optional subjects. Combined study was nothing given that they had decided on a combined life for themselves. Vasuki secured 97th rank in the 2008 exam. Karthikeyan’s rank was 127. The euphoria of success on very first attempt was dampened when news of the allotment came like a bolt from the blue. Vasuki got Madhya Pradesh cadre. Karthikeyan did not make the IAS. He instead got the IFS or Indian Foreign Service. The job could be anywhere in the world. Secretary, Minister, Consul General, Ambassador, High Commissioner in Embassies… how will he be able to live together with Vasuki who will be in Madhya Pradesh?

There have been couples in IAS – IFS who perennially lived in extreme poles of the world. But Karthikeyan’s instinct was to chuck his IFS. That proved to be a bombshell. To decline the IFS which is nicknamed Heaven-born Service? Karthikeyan never went to the Foreign Service Training Institute in Delhi. He was inundated by calls from there. The North Indian grapevine had it that he will not be eligible to sit for the Civil Services exam again and even if he did he will not be called for the interview. This was a period when their love underwent an ultimate trial by fire.

Even the authorities did not know how to handle someone who got IFS but declined it and again set out to write the exam. They retained Karthikeyan’s name in the IFS list for two years.

Vasuki says that she was the only one who was silent when all others of the 2008 batch who joined for IAS training at the Mussorie Academy were celebrating. Vasuki frequented the External Affairs and Personnel Ministries in Delhi and succeeded in establishing Karthikeyan’s right to sit for the exam again. The entire Civil Service listened with wonderment to the story of the IFS lad who gave it up to take up the IAS exam, all for the sake of his lady love. In Mussorie as friends went to parties at nights, Vasuki became the lover who sat up alone preparing for her beloved. She would send those notes to Karthikeyan.

But all that Karthikeyan got in the 2009 exam was IRS. He could become a Customs Officer. The IRS story was repeated in the 2010 exam. What is usually seen in such cases is a person bidding bye to love and all that hassle if the partner does not measure up to her standard and then going for someone at her level. But Vasuki got married to the IRS man Karthikeyan after six years of courtship, in 2010. Karthikeyan started preparing for the IAS for the fourth time. In mythology Vasuki is the serpent that the gods used for churning the ocean for nectar. This Vasuki of the Age of Kali churned out the IAS. Karthikeyan won IAS selection in 2011. Rank 116, Kerala cadre.

Vasuki would not be relieved from Madhya Pradesh though. Finally the Chief Secretary narrated this love story to the Chief Minister there. Who said a love story can't do any good? Transfer from Madhya Pradesh to Kerala followed. Dr. K. Vasuki is today Suchitwa Mission Director. Dr. S. Karthikeyan is the Sub Collector of Thiruvananthapuram. The husband who is ten months junior to Vasuki finds her three years senior to his service. They have two children – 3 years old Sayuri and 1 ½ years old Samaran. Sayuri means Lily flower in Japanese. Samaran means fighter in Tamil. Apt names indeed for the children of Vasuki who is as pleasant as a Lily flower even as she is a fighter.

The surefire slap

At least 30 eve teasers have tasted the slap medicine of Vasuki in the metro city that is Chennai. The hapless fellows who comes to tease in buses and roadsides can scarcely escape her slap. Local folks will pitch in with their share of beating once they see a woman at the act. She has the history of once chasing a guy and thrashing him all the way from the college campus to the bus stand. Those who approach with goondaism in mind beware, Vasuki, true to name, would have transformed to a fiery serpent.

Karthikeyan and Vasuki on why they fell for each other

Vasuki: It has been my wish all along that I would only fall for a person who accepts me and loves me for who I am. Not a male chauvinist. Fortunately Karthikeyan is somewhat feminist. He might have a dominating character as a husband but even the tiffs will be oriented towards my well-being. Karthikeyan would like his wife to succeed even if he fails. He tremendously helps a careerist like me to grow.

Karthikeyan: Vasuki boldly speaks her mind. She is remarkably daring. I am interested in leadership matters. Vasuki likes to help the poor. Vasuki was once nicknamed Vampire for her habit of conducting camps to collect blood. It was Vasuki who gave me courage and stood by me in my trying times. She gives utmost importance to family bonds. She is modern and traditionalist at the same time.

Colour the walls with love

Kochi: While billions crowd around gift shops or rake their heads over the perfect romantic getaway, some choose to express their love and care differently.

This Valentine's Day saw a rather unique blend of creativity, happiness and hope in the city of Kochi. The initiative was titled 'Ente Kochi' (My Kochi).

Amaara, a Kochi-based NGO catering to the welfare of children from financially backward families, chose to decorate the wall of Maharaja's College by painting abstract art. The activity, that took place from Friday to Sunday, saw the participation many students and residents of the Kochi.

Led by Rashmi, the founder of Amaara, 'Ente Kochi' involves the active participation of volunteers from the organisation as well as the student union of Maharaja's college.

“Everywhere in India, people are taking steps to make their city or state colourful. All these days, we have had several people talking about being creative. But nobody has done anything about it till date in Kochi. So we decided to do things differently. This is an opportunity of the people of Kochi to actually express their love for the city and become involved in making it a more beautiful and colourful place,” said Rashmi.

The activity is being carried out near the General Hospital as well.

“There are many kids who are admitted at the General Hospital. They suffer so much. We wanted to carry out this activity so as to bring smiles on their faces,” Rashmi said.

Anju, a student volunteer from Maharaja's College, said that they hope to paint at least a stretch of 52 metres of the wall.

“It will not be possible to do so in one day. But we hope to do so soon,” Anju commented.

First love is hard to forget, says study

London: More than a third of Britons still have feelings for their first love, and one in four has got back in touch thanks to Facebook, reveals a new study.

Six out of 10 people regularly think about their old flame, the study found.

Nearly four out of 10 admit to still carrying a torch for their teenage sweetheart, according to a poll for The Best Of Me, a film about a couple who give first love a second chance.

"Many look back more fondly at a first love than other failed relationships, leaving many wondering what might have been and, possibly, what could still be," a spokesman for the film was quoted as saying.

Twelve percent of those who stay in touch with the first love consider them a good friend, although a third admit their partner does not know.