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kottke.org posts about candy

Candy-craving criminals

Just in time for Halloween: a new study theorizes that eating too many Pez will land children in the pen. Researchers believe that using candy as a reward for a chore such as homework drives children to have difficulty handling anything but immediate gratification. The dopamine release that is caused by consuming sugar, and the inherent “addiction” that it causes, can lead to impulsive behavior when treats are withheld from kids. It’s the inability to successfully cope with delayed gratification that has doctors concerned, since rash behavior in children can be linked to criminal acts and violence in adults. The British study, which followed 17,000 children over four decades, found that, by the age of 34, 69% of daily candy eaters were apprehended for violent acts. Perhaps it’s the prevalence of penny candies that leads people to the penitentiary.

Update: It’s all in the subtleties. The article reads:

“The October 2009 study revealed that 69 per cent of those with a criminal record of violence consumed candy daily as children.”

This means that it can be inferred that those who have committed crime had sweet teeth as kids, but not that children who eat candy every day will therefore be predisposed to criminal behavior. Moreover, there are so many variables and unobserved factors that if you eliminated the sugary rewards, it wouldn’t necessarily mean a correlated drop in crime. It isn’t the candy that’s causing the trouble, it’s just that trouble-making and candy seem to be bedfellows. So much for trick or treat. (thx, neil and scott)


Old news, but the copy of Edvard

Old news, but the copy of Edvard Munch’s The Scream stolen two years ago from an Oslo museum has been recovered. M&M’s will honor their offer of 2 million M&M’s for the safe recovery of the painting. No word on whether the reward was responsible for the recovery.


Mars, Inc. is offering a reward of 2

Mars, Inc. is offering a reward of 2 million dark chocolate M&M’s for the safe return of The Scream, the Edvard Munch painting stolen from a museum in Norway in 2004. Mmmm….Munch. (via girlhacker)


KitKat bars have always been big in

KitKat bars have always been big in the UK, but when the company introduced some exotic new flavors, overall sales of the candy dropped 18%.


Authorial Candy Bars, with Their Respective Tag

Authorial Candy Bars, with Their Respective Tag Lines, That Weren’t as Successful as the Oh Henry! Candy Bar. “Mrs. Dalloway Treats โ€” ‘Woolf these down!’” and “Chaucer Sweet Cheese Bar โ€” ‘Of harmes two the lesse is for to cheese.’”