In America, the idea of individual responsibility is lauded almost as much as our freedom and personal choice. But although we are all responsible for our actions, we don’t make decisions in a vacuum. Consider how much our environment—the city we live in, our friends, the layout of our streets—dictates our personal behavior. Humans, like other animals, are part of complex social and environmental networks, meaning that our actions inherently influence the actions and reactions of those around us.

One example of this is our health. While things like diet, tobacco use, or sedentary lifestyles seem to be purely personal decisions, friends and family—our social network— can greatly influence our choices.

Obesity Is Among Us
It’s certainly no surprise that our social networks can positively and negatively influence our health. If a friend is slathering on sunscreen, you might too; when a friend decides to order another cocktail, you might too. But recent studies have managed to quantify just how this happens.

Dr. Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School and James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego have done much of the work linking social networks to health. One of their first studies looked at obesity. Using data from the Framingham Heart Study, a large prospective study that follows most of the residents of Framingham, Massachusetts, they were able to look at obesity trends in a network of 12,067 people over the course of thirty years. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study found that “obesity appears to spread through social ties,” suggesting that the condition, which afflicts over 30 percent of the U.S. population, moves in a manner not unlike an infectious disease.

But just how does this work? The authors speculate that having obese social contacts could increase a person’s “tolerance” for obesity (if everyone around you is big, it doesn’t seem abnormal), or might influence their adoption of certain behaviors (getting super nachos instead of a salad). Having an obese friend was found to increase a person’s risk of becoming obese by 50 percent; having an obese sibling increased the risk by 40 percent, and an obese spouse by 37 percent.

No one likes being jolted awake from a deep sleep, especially when what riled you up was an assailant, a snake in the bed, or being engulfed by flames. Bad dreams—or worse, nightmares—aren’t just annoying; when reoccurring, they can disrupt a good night’s sleep, and sometimes, life.

On the spectrum of dreams, missing an important exam or showing up naked to work pales in comparison to nightmares, which are defined as bad dreams that wake the sleeper. They occur during rapid eye movement (REM) late in the evening and because we jerk awake during them, we usually remember all too clearly the fear, anxiety, and horrors.

Though more common among children, nightmares and bad dreams happen throughout life. But is there anything we can do to prevent the bad things from creeping into our sleep?

1. Anxiety and Stress
Anxiety and stress, often as the result of a traumatic life event, are sometimes the cause of nightmares and bad dreams. According to the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD), a major surgery or illness, grieving over the loss of a loved one, and suffering or witnessing an assault or major accident can trigger bad dreams and nightmares. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is also a common cause of recurrent nightmares.

Not all nightmare triggers have to be traumatic, however. Everyday stressors, such as job or financial anxiety, or major life transitions such as moving or divorce, can also cause nightmares.

2. Spicy Foods
When and what we eat may affect our nighttime rest, if not our tendency toward bad dreams. A small study published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology had a group of healthy men eat spicy meals before bed on some evenings and compared their quality of sleep on nights where they had non-spiced meals. On the spicy nights, the subjects spent more time awake and had poorer quality sleep. The explanation is that spicy food can elevate body temperatures and thus disrupt sleep. This may also be the reason why some people report bad dreams when they eat too close to bedtime. Though few studies have looked at it, eating close to bedtime increases metabolism and brain activity and may prompt bad dreams or nightmares.

3. Fat Content of Food
Though far from conclusive, some research has indicated that the more high-fat food you consume during the day, the greater the chance that the amount and quality of your sleep may suffer. A small study published in 2007 in Psychological Reports found that the dreams of people who ate a high amount of organic food differed from those who ate “junk foods.” The authors hypothesize that certain foods may negatively influence dreaming.

4. Alcohol
Though alcohol is a depressant that will help you fall asleep in the short term, once its effects wear off, it can cause you to wake up prematurely. Excess consumption can also lead to nightmares and bad sleep; nightmares are also a common occurrence for those going through alcohol withdrawal.

5. Drugs
Some drugs, including antidepressants, barbiturates, and narcotics, can cause nightmares as a side effect. For instance, a 2008 study published in the journal Pyschopharmacology looked at ketamine, a drug used in anesthesia and recreationally, and found that compared with a placebo, ketamine use resulted in more dream unpleasantness and increased the incidence of bad dreams. Similarly, anyone who has traveled to a country where malaria is endemic may have taken Lariam and had some interesting nightmares associated with it. Nightmares usually cease once the drug is cleared from the system.

6. Illness
Illnesses that include fever, such as the flu, can often trigger nightmares. And other sleeping disorders, including apnea and narcolepsy, may also increase the incidence of bad dreams and nightmares.

While bad dreams and nightmares are considered normal responses in dealing with everyday experiences, the IASD recommends consultation with a therapist if they last in intensity and severity. But trying to eliminate these six factors first may be the best place to start in your quest to sweeten your dreams and chase the nighttime demons away.

You think your potential partner is going to fix whatever you don’t like about yourself or your life.
You think your potential partner is going to fix whatever you don’t like about yourself or your life.
You believe time is running out on your search for love and/or your chance to have children.
If any of the above sound familiar, don’t worry. You’re not a lost cause. In fact, with a little time and effort, you can turn things around! What follows are five simple and effective tips and techniques geared toward helping you break free of limiting relationship beliefs and bad dating habits. Practiced over time, you can and will kick any bad dating habit — for good!
1. Identify the dating traps you’re stuck in
Think you’ve got to miraculously solve all your problems before you’ll be deserving of love? Convinced there are no good “ones” left? Or do you believe that your perfect partner will one day swoop in and magically save you from your life? If any or all of the above sound familiar, chances are good that you suffer from some common dating traps. In order to become a successful single, you first need to free yourself from these traps. Acknowledging the traps you’re stuck in is the first step. Next, you’ve got to break free of these traps, as well as any other limiting or destructive beliefs that are keeping you stuck. To find out how, keep reading.
2. Assess your excess baggage
Next, it’s important to get honest with yourself about what you might be lugging around with you on dates (or in life in general). What are you holding onto that no longer serves you? Rejection, disappointment, betrayal? This is from your past, not your present or future. If you’ve got negative or destructive beliefs or fears weighing you down, you owe it to yourself to dump that excess baggage!
3. Dump your excess baggage
In order to have a happily ever after future, you have to first believe you deserve finding a mate. Gather those painful memories, that chip on your shoulder, any residual anger from past relationship experiences, and tell them they’ve got to go. Thank them for the lessons you’ve learned and tell them that it’s now time for you to stand on your own two feet. In your mind’s eye, give them the heave-ho! Next, start visualizing the kind of life you want to have, complete with your dream job, perfect partner, ideal home, etc. By getting clear about what you want, you give yourself permission to attract it.
4. Stop putting off your life and/or personal happiness
So many of us put off personal happiness waiting for some external result like “I’ll be happy when I lose weight, when I pay off my debts, when I get a better job.” The truth is, you deserve to enjoy your fabulously imperfect life right this very minute!
When you stop putting off happiness, you start attracting happy people, healthy relationships, exciting and new opportunities.
When you stop putting off happiness, you start attracting happy people, healthy relationships, exciting and new opportunities. Instead of postponing joy until something external happens, today’s the day to start celebrating the joy in your everyday life.
5. Embrace a new dating vocabulary
Now that you’re baggage light and dating-trap free, it’s time to introduce a new vocabulary to your dating belief system. Every morning and night for 30 days, practice the following exercise: Say to yourself “Love/dating/my ideal relationship is…” and then fill in the blank with the appropriate words (words like healthy, whole, loving, fun, etc.). By creating a new vocabulary for yourself, you may be surprised at how your outlook on dating and relationships changes, and as a result, you’ll start attracting happier and healthier potential partners. Love that!
So there you have it — five simple dating tips and techniques to help you break free of limiting relationship beliefs and bad love habits. May you learn them, love them, live them. In doing so, you just may fall in love with your life all over again, not to mention exponentially increase your chances of future relationship success.
Good luck and happy dating!

A serving of 11 popular cereals, including Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, carries as much sugar as a glazed doughnut, the consumer group found.

And some brands have more sugar and sodium when formulated for the U.S. market than the same brands have when sold in other countries.

Post Golden Crisp made by Kraft Foods Inc and Kellogg’s Honey Smacks are more than 50 percent sugar by weight, the group said, while nine brands are at least 40 percent sugar.

The most healthful brands are Cheerios with three grams of fiber per serving and one gram of sugar, Kix and Honey Nut Cheerios, all made by General Mills, and Life, made by Pepsico Inc’s Quaker Oats unit.

“Be sure to read the product labels, and choose cereals that are high in fiber and low in sugar and sodium,” Gayle Williams, deputy editor of Consumer Reports Health, said in a statement.

Honey Smacks has 15 grams of sugar and just one gram of fiber per serving while Kellogg’s Corn Pops has 12 grams of sugar and no fiber.

Consumer Reports studied how 91 children aged 6 to 16 poured their cereal and found they served themselves about 50 to 65 percent more on average than the suggested serving size for three of the four tested cereals.

Consumers International, which publishes Consumer Reports, said it would ask the World Health Organization to develop international guidelines restricting advertising and marketing of foods high in sugar, fat or sodium to children.

However, the group noted that breakfast cereal can be a healthful meal and said adults and children alike who eat breakfast have better overall nutrition, fewer weight problems, and better cognitive performance throughout the day.

Kellogg said it was working to make its food more nutritious.

“Kellogg recently reformulated a number of our cereals including Froot Loops, Corn Pops, Rice Krispies, Cocoa Krispies and Apple Jacks in the U.S. with improved nutritional profiles,” a company spokeswoman said by e-mail.

“To put Consumer Reports’ information in perspective, yogurt contains more sugar and sodium than a serving of Honey Smacks cereal (25 grams of sugar vs. 15 grams of sugar in Honey Smacks).”

Consumer Reports, like other groups, compares the sugar content of food with its fiber, mineral and vitamin content. Many cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals.

Here’s how…

• Brew It Bold A great coffee drink starts with a strong cup of coffee. If you have an espresso machine, you’re set. Otherwise, you can make double-strength coffee using a French press or drip coffee machine (although anyone with a French press will vouch for the fact that they make the richest non-espresso brew). Experiment with putting a scoop and a half of coffee for every scoop that you normally use.
  
• Spice Things Up If you like flavored coffees, try adding a scoop of spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa powder, or vanilla bean) to the coffee before you brew it.
• Milk It Stock up on whole or low fat milk, half & half, or soymilk — whichever suits your tastes. For hot drinks, half-and-half makes the creamiest blend. For cold coffees, whole or low fat milk makes a smooth, icy treat.
• Mix Magic Aside from milk, experiment with other goodies to mix with your java — powdered hot chocolate or Ghirardelli’s Chocolate Syrup makes a mean mocha, while Starbucks Vanilla Syrup offers a yummy touch of sweetness.
• Top It Off A little topping goes a long way, so treat yourself to a spoonful of Cool Whip or fresh whipped cream, a dash of cinnamon, or a sprinkling of shaved chocolate.
• Get Iced For iced versions of your favorite drinks, make a strong pot of coffee, place it in an airtight pitcher (to keep it from becoming bitter) and refrigerate. Mix in a blender with ice and a scoop of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf vanilla powder or sweetened cocoa powder, along with some milk. Add a straw and slurp to your heart’s content.

Last but not least, presentation is key. Part of the allure of going to a gourmet coffee shop is the presentation. Bake or buy some muffins and invest in a coffee mug that you love, one that’s “grande” sized and makes you feel like you’re indulging in something decadent. Cheers!

As a result, some may be snubbing trucks and sport utility vehicles in favor of fuel-efficient, smaller cars. But when it comes to saving money over the long haul, a range of costs–from depreciation to maintenance to taxes to insurance–has to be considered. This is especially important for a simple reason: Small cars aren’t right for everyone.

In other words, when it comes to saving money on a car, size isn’t everything. And neither is the sticker price.

“The sticker price is truly the tip of the iceberg,” says Christie Hyde, a spokeswoman for AAA, the consumer motor vehicle association.

To find the least expensive-to-drive car in the class that best suits your needs, you’ll need to do some homework as to what you’ll be spending money on the instant you drive off the lot. And gauging what’s most important to you–be it fuel efficiency or depreciation or reliability–could quickly sway your purchasing decision.

For example, it doesn’t take much intuition to figure out that one of the least expensive cars to drive over a five-year period is indeed a small car, the $11,550 Toyota Yaris, which gets an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)- estimated combined 31 mpg. The five-year cost of owning the car is, on average, $33,831 (triple the purchase price), which is modest so far as long-term car expenses go. It’s wise to consider, however, that while the car will save you on gas, with fuel taking up about 30% of the long-term costs (assuming you drive 15,000 miles per year), you’ll be hit hard on depreciation. The car depreciates at a rate of 73%–the fastest of any car on our list.

Similarly, the popular Toyota Prius hybrid claims a spot on the list, with a markedly low 17.9% of the five-year costs going to fuel. But this car also depreciates quickly (though only just less than half the rate of the Yaris), as those in the market for a hybrid want the latest and newest technology, not a car that’s a few years old.

Because of the range of factors that go into considering a car’s expense over the first few years of ownership, the rest of the list of the least expensive cars to drive is a mélange with as many standouts as surprises. Some are fuel-efficient, some aren’t; some hold their value well, others not so much.

Behind The Numbers

To identify the 10 least expensive cars to drive we used data provided by Vincentric, a firm that tracks vehicle life expenses for the auto industry. To calculate the cost of ownership, Vincentric evaluates depreciation, interest and opportunity costs, fuel, maintenance and repairs, insurance, taxes and fees over a five-year period. We then divided the market into 10 vehicle classes to find the least expensive-to-own 2008 models in each.

The most fuel-efficient and more affordable cars aren’t necessarily the cheapest to own. Finding a spot on the list is the $43,175 Cadillac DTS luxury sedan. The cost of fueling this car is the highest of any on the list, helping boost the five-year cost of ownership to $69,663. However, the car’s depreciation rate is among the lowest on the list, at 38%, and insurance is only 10% of the total cost–far less, percentage-wise, than that of the Yaris or the Prius.

Why such high insurance costs for the cheaper cars? Smaller cars usually have higher auto insurance rates than larger vehicles because they tend to have higher rates of injury and collision claims, says Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “Small cars are less safe than bigger vehicles, so people are more likely to be injured in them when they crash, and small cars also tend to get into more crashes to begin with, so they have more insurance claims for repair.”

Big Car, Low Price

2009 Honda Fit

Also noteworthy on the list, then, is the Jeep Patriot, which has a long-term cost of ownership similar to that of the Toyota Prius. Along with a base MSRP about $4,000 lower than that of the Prius, the Patriot is among the more fuel-efficient SUVs on the road, getting a combined EPA of 24 mpg (thus reducing the fuel costs), and has one of the lowest maintenance and repair costs of any vehicle on the list. The insurance costs are also among the lowest on the list.

Where the Jeep isn’t so hot is on depreciation, but the same could be said for any car on the list. Paying close attention to depreciation, in fact, is critical since a whopping 60% of the cost of ownership occurs in the first year, and most of that will be depreciation. Depreciation is also the largest annual ownership cost for vehicles up to six years old, according to Consumer Reports.

But because so many other factors are at play as well, car buyers are best served thinking about their individual needs first and foremost. There’s no point in buying a cheap-to-drive small car if it doesn’t fit everyone in your family, for example. After thinking about the class of car that’s right for you, then start doing your homework.

“People are finally starting to understand how these costs work,” says David Wurster, president of Vincentric. “As the economy gets a little tighter, consumers are becoming smarter at looking at the total cost of ownership.”

We’ve all been there… It’s 3pm, you’re at work, you need a snack, and the office vending machine is RIGHT THERE in front of you. If you haven’t armed yourself with other snacks, go ahead and give in. Just heed Hungry Girl‘s advice and don’t eat these…
DON’Ts!
Save your pennies (and LOTS of calories!)…

Nacho Cheesier! Doritos
(1 serving = 140 calories, 8g fat, 17g carbs, 1g fiber)

We KNOW how alluring these cheesy little buggers can be, but please don’t go there. The above stats are per serving, BUT those Big Grab bags actually have two servings in them!
 
Cheetos
(1 serving = 160 calories, 10g fat, 15g carbs, <1g fiber)

Same story as above. If you do decide to give in to your cheesy snack craving, at least stick to one serving and give the rest to a hungry friend.
 
Chili Cheese Fritos
(1 serving = 160 calories, 10g fat, 15g carbs, 1g fiber)

They always put the fun flavors in the vending machines to pique your interest, don’t they? Promise yourself guilt-free HG nachos later, and pass these banditos by!
 
Sun Chips
(1 serving = 140 calories, 6g fat, 18g carbs, 2g fiber)

Hmmm, this one’s on the cusp. If low-fat baked chips aren’t an option and you MUST HAVE chips, these are the way to go. No, they aren’t super-low in fat, but at least they have that fiber. The problem with Sun Chips is they’re TOO delicious, so it’s hard not to eat the entire bag which is sometimes (you guessed it) two servings.
 
Twinkies
(1 cake = 150 calories, 4.5g fat, 27g carbs, 0 fiber)

Oh come on! Who eats just ONE Twinkie when they’re given two? Who does Hostess think they’re fooling? Skip it!
 
Mrs. Freshley’s Jumbo Honey Bun
(1 package = about 590 calories, 29g fat, 76g carbs, 2g fiber)

You know what? Just don’t eat this. Really. DON’T.
 
Snickers
(1 bar = 280 calories, 14g fat, 35g carbs, 1g fiber)

Sigh. So hard to say no — but be strong. Find a better substitute if it’s just something sweet you want.
 
Twix
(1 package = 280 calories, 14g fat, 37g carbs, 1g fiber)

Props for not pulling a Twinkie on us and actually listing the stats for the full package… but it’s still a couple of candy bars. Sorry, folks.
 
Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts
(1 Pop-Tart = 210 calories, 7g fat, 34g carbs, <1g carbs)

FOR ONE?! Sure, the words “frosted” and “sugar” are in the name, but that’s still a lot of calories for one tart!
 
Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies
(4 cookies = 150 calories, 7g fat, 20g carbs, <1g fiber)

The serving size is 4 BITE-SIZED cookies? Not horrible, but probably not worth it.
 

INSTEAD, BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR…

- Cold Food Vending Machines! These neato refrigerated units feature excellent options, like fat-free yogurt. Our personal favorite is Yoplait Light — click here for Hungry Girl’s first video short, a wacky take on the new Yoplait Light cake flavors!

- 100-Calorie Packs! These are making their way into more and more machines. Woohoo!

- Fully Loaded Cold Beverage Machines! Staying hydrated is KEY to avoiding mindless snacking. Most of these machines dispense bottled water, diet iced tea, and diet soda. If you’re parched, those really are the best way to go. We don’t trust those cappuccino machines and the creamy, sugar-packed stuff they churn out.  

For more snacking, look here. 

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

But while they’re doing that, they’re also using their best marketing tricks, craftiest numerical switcheroos, and most dastardly dietary stratagems to swap unhealthy, cheap ingredients for more expensive, wholesome ones. The result: bloated bottom lines — for their budgets, and for their customers. But we don’t want to let that happen to you, which is why we’ve spent the last two years researching all the ways restaurants try to sabotage your food choices.

Below you’ll find a sampling of the fruits of our long labor: some of the new secrets the restaurant-chain gang doesn’t want you to know. They’re only a few of the many ways restaurants fatten up their customers for the sales slaughter. Heed the warnings and you (and your family) can make it through the drive-thru alive.

1. Baskin-Robbins doesn’t want you to know that…..

Sometimes a drink can have fruit in the title, but not in the cup. For instance, the top four ingredients in its Blue Raspberry Fruit Blast were Sierra Mist soda, water, sugar, and corn syrup. Since we first called the company out on this fruitless horror, Baskin-Robbins discontinued the Blue Raspberry Fruit Blast. The company also began listing all nutrition and ingredient information online. We call that progress.

If you’re looking for a real fruit smoothie, visit Jamba Juice. Just remember to check those calorie counts, so you don’t over-indulge.

2. Papa John’s doesn’t want you to know that…

Unlike rival chains such as Domino’s, it has made little effort to introduce healthier options. After we goaded them on their slow pace of innovation, Papa John’s did introduce whole grain wheat crust pizzas last May. Now, if only Papa would toss a thin-crust version into the mix and alter the recipe for sides like cheesesticks, which are loaded down with more than 2,900 milligrams of sodium!

3. Fuddruckers doesn’t want you to know…

The fat content of its 1-pound burgers. We contacted our local Fuddruckers restaurant and were told that the nutritional information was available on the chain’s Web site (it’s not). The corporate office later responded that providing such information would be “very extensive and timely.” We’re pretty sure he meant “very expensive and time-consuming.” How’s that for a Freudian slip?

4. Panera Bread doesn’t want you to know that…

The synthetic food colorings in its pastries have been linked to irritability, restlessness, and sleep disturbances in children. And British researchers found that artificial food colorings and preservatives in the diets of 3-year-olds caused an increase in hyperactive behavior. The same ingredients appear in fast-food items like mayonnaise, M&M Blizzards, and McDonald’s shakes.

On Panera’s Web site, you can track down calories, fat, sugar, and other nutritional numbers. If you look hard enough you’ll find ingredient lists, too — and note that a few items still contain artificial coloring. Disappointing. If you want to cut out the artificial stuff entirely, head over to Chipotle: The restaurant uses no artificial colorings or flavorings. Just make sure you saw their burritos, which can have more than 1,000 calories, in half.

5. Chevy’s Fresh Mex doesn’t want you to know …

How its tortillas stack up nutritionally. The chain says it provides “nutritional information regarding calories, fat, protein & carbohydrates for some of our most popular items” — the chicken, steak, and shrimp fajitas, for example — on its Web site. But the numbers provided don’t include the tortilla: an essential component typically bloated with fat and carbs. When we called a New York Chevy’s for more information, a server told us he couldn’t find that info on the in-house menu, either, which would seem to be a violation of New York city regulations. He did direct us to the same misleading nutritional information on the company’s Web site. Gee, thanks.

6. Applebee’s, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback, Red Lobster, and T.G.I. Friday’s don’t want you to know …

The nutritional impact of their dishes. Despite the fact that we continued to pester each company, they all were mum about their nutritional information. So we had it nutritionally analyzed on our own. We may not be in this fix for long, however. New York City regulations that went into effect in July require all restaurants with 15 or more branches nationally to post calorie counts on their menus.

After tracking down every last dish, we can see what they were hiding: At Friday’s, no fewer than nine sandwiches and 10 appetizers topple the 1,000-calorie barrier; at IHOP, the “healthiest” entrée-size salad has a staggering 1,050 calories; and at Outback, even a simple order of salmon will wipe out 75% of your day’s caloric allotment.

For more restaurant industry secrets that will freak the weight right off of you, check out these other dubious restaurant secrets that are being hidden from you!

And lose weight in record time by staying away from the unhealthiest drinks in America! They can be responsible for causing you to gain a few pounds of fat — a month!

And now that you’re aware of the danger, do us all a favor: if you notice other big fat restaurant lies, let us know. Likewise, if you’ve found ways to cut through the fast-food jungle without getting eaten, let us know that, too. When it comes to the battle of the restaurant bulge, we’re all in this together.

It has always been a mystery why bluestones, the smaller stones that form part of the circle, were transported around 155 miles from Preseli Hills in Wales to Wiltshire in southern England.

Archaeologists from Bournemouth University, who carried out the dig in April — the first at Stonehenge since 1964 — believe the bluestones were revered as healing stones.

“It was the magical qualities of these stones which … transformed the monument and made it a place of pilgrimage for the sick and injured of the Neolithic world,” a statement from the archaeologist team said.

Geoffrey Wainwright, president of the Society of Antiquaries of London and one of the experts leading the work, told BBC radio that one reasons which lead to the conclusion was because a number of the burials around Stonehenge showed signs of trauma and deformity.

The archaeologists said in the statement that radio-carbon dating put the construction of the circle of bluestones at between 2,400 B.C. and 2,200 B.C., a few centuries later than originally thought.

But they found fragments of charcoal dating from before 7,000 B.C., showing humans were active in the area much earlier than previously thought.

The dig, carried out over two weeks, revealed that centuries after it was built, Stonehenge exercised a fascination for Romans in Britain.

In late Roman times, a shaft was dug in the centre of the site and a coin placed at the bottom before it was refilled with soil and stone and a block of bluestone placed on top.

The archaeologists found that pieces were deliberately broken off the bluestones until medieval times and that holly, ivy and yew were used in accompanying rituals.

Another of the team leaders, Tim Darvill of Bournemouth University, said the bluestones appeared central to the purpose of Stonehenge although it may have had more than one function.

Other theories about Stonehenge are that it was a religious site or that it acted as a calendar.

Yale Joel/Getty Images
Smoking in the 1950s was a gas — noxious, cancer causing gas. See more nicotine pictures.

Cigarette manufacturers were forced to list the ingredients in cigarettes in 1998, so the public is now aware that there are more than 4,000 chemicals in each and every smoke. Here’s a list of the 10 most dangerous:

• Ammonia — used to increase the absorption rate of nicotine. It’s also used to clean your toilet, helps to treat wastewater (poop and pee) and is a key ingredient in liquid fertilizer.
• Arsenic — used as a pesticide on tobacco plants, it remains in the resulting cigarette. If you have a rat problem in your home, you can use arsenic to kill them.
• Cadmium — a metallic compound that tobacco collects from acidic soil. Is the battery in your cell phone low? Use cadmium to recharge it!
• Formaldehyde — a byproduct of cigarette smoke, this colorless gas is commonly used to preserve dead bodies for burial.
• Acetone — another byproduct from burning a cigarette. It’s also found in nail polish remover and, like ammonia, is used to clean toilets.
• Butane — this byproduct is also used to help you light your cigarette, in the form of lighter fluid.
• Propylene Glycol — added to cigarettes to keep tobacco from drying out. What it really does is speed up the delivery of nicotine to the brain.
• Turpentine — used to flavor menthol cigarettes. This oil also can be used to thin paint and strip varnish from wood.
• Benzene — another byproduct from burning a cigarette. You can find benzene in pesticides and gasoline.
• Lead and Nickel — Yes, these are metals. Need we say more?

So how does your body digest these things? It really doesn’t — which is the problem with cigarettes.

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