Safe seating on the toilet

Paper toilet-seat covers in public restrooms serve no hygienic purpose. If the seat is clean and dry, you don't need a paper cover. If the seat has drops of urine, they will seep through the paper (just wipe off the seat). People worry about contracting a disease from the toilet seat, but this fear is unfounded. As long as the skin of your buttocks and thighs is unbroken, you have no chance of getting a disease from the seat. The many layers of skin form a fairly impermeable barrier; in addition, the skin is laced with certain immune cells that protect against microorganisms. The most important thing, of course, is to wash your hands with soap and water after using the toilet, since microorganisms can be transmitted from hand to mouth.

-- The University of California at Berkeley Wellness Letter, copyright June 2011, wellnessletter.com

Pillow politics

Most people marry those whose political views align with their own, according to a study from Rice University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The study, published recently in the Journal of Politics, examined the physical, personality and behavioral traits of more than 5,000 married couples in the United States. The researchers found that spouses appeared to instinctively select partners with similar social and political views. In fact, political attitudes were among the strongest shared traits -- even taking precedence over personality or looks. The only attribute that scored slightly higher than political views was the frequency of church attendance.

-- HealthDay