Researchers say men are better at using a hammer in the dark, but that women are more accurate during the day. They tested the “hammering performance” of a range of people, under various lighting conditions, measuring how easily they could knock a nail into a block of wood. They found some people were naturals — getting the job done after a few clean strokes of the hammer — whereas others ended up with the nail bent in the middle or a sore thumb. But the team from the University of Massachusetts discovered men were better when the lights were turned off, while women were more accurate in proper lighting conditions.

When Niagara Falls, New York, High School seniors graduated over the weekend, they didn’t hear encouraging words from the lone valedictorian of their class. That’s because no one really knows who ranked No. 1 in the class of 2009. Niagara Falls High School got rid of class rankings and valedictorians, a decision officials say was designed out of fairness. Instead, 18 students graduated with so-called valedictory honors as their true class rank remains a mystery — one that school officials say even they can’t solve.

The head of the high school said the difference between their rankings was sometimes hundredths of a point and many at the school felt all the kids were deserving. Students are mixed on their feelings of the new system. Some say it is nice that more can be honored, but others feel the shared honor lacks the same impact.

Competitive students kept an eye toward the two valedictory speaking slots at the graduation ceremony. The speakers were selected by a panel based on interviews and a submitted speech outline.

What do you think? Should class rankings be reinstated?

This year's winner: PABST

Last year's winner: RASCAL

The complete story online in the Sacramento Bee

Thomas Daley of Phoenixville, PA

A suburban Philadelphia landlord has admitted setting up a recording system and secretly spying on 34 women who rented apartments from him. Thomas Daley pleaded guilty this week to 30 counts. He had set up cameras behind mirrors and in ceiling fans, recording the women and even watching some of them live on his home computer. Prosecutors say it began in 1989 and continued until September 2008 at five apartment buildings Daley owned. Daley’s defense attorney said his client never showed the videos to anyone else and “is extremely remorseful.”

THE ENTIRE, CRAZY GOVERNOR MARK SANFORD ‘DISAPPEARANCE’ TIMELINE

Thursday, June 18

• Governor Sanford takes a State Law Enforcement Division Suburban and leaves the governor’s mansion in Columbia.
• A cell phone tower near Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, picks up a signal from Sanford’s cell phone, before his phone is apparently turned off for the next few days.

Friday, June 19

• South Carolina law enforcement officials call and send text messages to Sanford’s cell phone, with no response.

Saturday, June 20

• The governor’s office issues a statement to the police saying there is no reason for concern.
• State Sen. Jake Knotts — a Republican but frequent Sanford critic — calls SLED chief Reggie Lloyd. According to Knotts, Lloyd says the security details knows Sanford’s location.

Sunday, June 21

• Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer — who would take over from Sanford in an emergency — discovers Sanford’s whereabouts are unknown.

Monday, June 22

• 2:30 p.m: Knotts issues a statement asking who is in charge of South Carolina if Sanford is gone.
• 2:40 p.m.: The State newspaper publishes an article saying Sanford has been unreachable for four days.
• 2:50 p.m.: The governor’s office issues this statement: “[Sanford] is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle,” and to “work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside.”
• 3 p.m.: Sanford’s wife, Jenny, tells the AP that she does not know where her husband is, but she’s not worried. Vacationing with her four sons at the Sanfords’ Sullivan’s Island beach house, she says “he was writing something and wanted some space to get away from the kids.”
• 3:40 p.m.: Lt. Gov. Bauer’s office tells reporters the governor’s office has said it has spoken to Sanford and knows his location.
• 5:00 p.m.: Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer denies that the office ever told Bauer’s office they had spoken to Sanford.
• 10:00 p.m: Bauer’s office issues a statement suggesting it has been misled into believing that the governor’s office had spoken with Sanford, when in fact it hadn’t. Bauer says he “cannot take lightly that his staff has not had communication with [Sanford] for more than four days.” A Bauer spokesman later tells TPMmuckraker that the statement was prompted when Bauer had asked to speak to the governor on the phone and the governor’s office had been unable to make this happen.
• 10:05 p.m.: The governor’s office issues a statement saying Sanford is hiking on the Appalachian Trail, but gives no specifics about what part of the trail or if the governor is alone.

Tuesday, June 23

• 9:40 a.m: The governor’s office issues a statement saying Sanford has called the office and is “taken aback” by the reaction to his disappearance. The statement adds that Sanford will return to the office Wednesday.
• 4 p.m.: Jenny Sanford tells CNN she still hasn’t heard from her husband. She says, “I am being a mom today. I have not heard from my husband. I am taking care of my children.”
• 5 p.m.: Local news channel WYFF4 reports that a missing state vehicle was tracked down to the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta. Sources tell the TV station that Sanford was seen by federal agents boarding a plane there, without security. The governor’s office stands by the Appalachian Trail story.
• 10 p.m.: CNN reports that a black Chevy Suburban believed to be used by Sanford was found at Columbia Metropolitan Airport. “A parking permit for the school attended by Sanford’s children is visible on the windshield,” said the report.

Wednesday, June 24

• Early morning: Sanford arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta on a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he says he has been for the last few days. He tells a reporter from The State that he considered hiking the Appalachian Trail, but decided he “wanted to do something exotic” instead. Sanford says he went alone, and that he spent time driving along the coast. He also says he changed his return itinerary to fly in to Atlanta, not Columbia, in order to avoid the media.
• 10:30 a.m.: Sanford’s office announces a 2 p.m. press conference.
• 2 p.m.: Sanford announces affair and trip to Argentina.

Calling all business-savvy kids. Summer is here and that means its time for a lemonade stand. And kids, if yours is awesome then you need to hop online and tell Inc. magazine about it. Again this year the business and entrepreneurial mag is searching for the best lemonade stands in America. Share your story about building and running a lemonade stand and you could be one of Inc.’s top winners and receive money for college. (More info)

… Last year Hunter and Gunnar, 11-year-old twin brothers from Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, were winners. They ran their shark-themed LemonSharks Lemonade stand at the beach all summer long.

Science has discovered that the secret to getting someone to do something is to ask them in their right ear. Research shows that people prefer to be addressed in their right ear because they will find it easier to process the information and are therefore more likely to perform a task. Known as the “right ear advantage”, scientists believe it’s because information received through the right ear is processed by the left hand side of the brain which is more logical and better at deciphering verbal information than the right side of the brain.

Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper columnist Regina Brett once wrote the 45 lessons life taught her. To this day it’s the most-requested column she’s ever written:

• Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
• When in doubt, just take the next small step.
• Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
• Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
• Pay off your credit cards every month.
• You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
• Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
• It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
• Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
• When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
• Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
• It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
• Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about..
• If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
• Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
• Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
• Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
• Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
• It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
• When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
• Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion, today is special.
• Over prepare, then go with the flow.
• Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
• The most important sex organ is the brain.
• No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
• Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
• Always choose life.
• Forgive everyone everything.
• What other people think of you is none of your business.
• Time heals almost everything. Give time.
• However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
• Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
• Believe in miracles.
• God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
• Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
• Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
• Your children get only one childhood.
• All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
• Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
• If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
• Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
• The best is yet to come.
• No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
• Yield.
• Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

The WaterMellon Thump

Talking to plants makes them grow, especially if you are a woman. According to an experiment by Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society, female gardeners’ voices speed up growth of tomato plants much more than men’s. In an experiment they found that tomato plants grew up to two inches taller if they were serenaded by the dulcet tones of a female rather than a male.