Another pair that points to a preoccupation are two entries having to do with attractiveness. In at number eight for the year was a piece linking the good looks with the successes of professional male cyclists. Meanwhile, number three was a story about a correlation between a country’s average level of health and the relative perceived beauty of feminine- and masculine-looking women.
It should be no surprise that brains and beauty capture the readership’s imagination. But beer and barbecue snuck in, too. A piece on the health benefits of cooking with the hoppy stuff came in at number five. On a markedly more serious note, a look at the technology being brought to bear on the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in September garnered the fourth spot.
In sixth place came the only piece about energy (or physics): a story about thorium, the chemical element named after the Norse god of thunder, and its potential role in the nuclear power industry.
It should be no surprise that brains and beauty capture the readership’s imagination. But beer and barbecue snuck in, too. A piece on the health benefits of cooking with the hoppy stuff came in at number five. On a markedly more serious note, a look at the technology being brought to bear on the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in September garnered the fourth spot.
In sixth place came the only piece about energy (or physics): a story about thorium, the chemical element named after the Norse god of thunder, and its potential role in the nuclear power industry.