No shocker here: 30% of workers admit to calling in sick when they weren’t actually under the weather, according to a new Careerbuilder survey. What is surprising? Some of the ridiculous excuses people use, such as one employee calling in because she was too upset after watching The Hunger Games; another saying he was sick from reading too much; and one person who said the sobriety tool wouldn’t allow his car to start. What motivates the strategies behind these excuses? Experts say some people feel the more detail they provide, the more believable the excuse will be. How To Train Your Fat Cells [US News & World Report] For overweight people with type 2 diabetes, intensive exercise and dieting not only aid weight loss, they can also help train their fat cells to produce a hormone believed to boost production of “good” cholesterol, according to a new study from The Methodist Hospital in Houston. The Drink Swap That Isn’t Doing You Any Favors [USA Today] Diet drink consumption has increased over the past decade, finds a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diet drinking for women is up from 18% in 2000 to 21% in 2010, and up from 14% to 19% for men. And while we’re all for cutting down on sugar, diet soda isn’t exactly a health food. Check out these 7 side effects of drinking diet soda. Metal In Your Mini Wheats [The Wall Street Journal] Retailers were contacted this week about the recall of 2.8 million packages of Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite-Size Original and Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite Size, which are being pulled from store shelves due to possible contamination by pieces of metal mesh. On Wednesday, Kellogg Co. said it would swallow the nearly $30 million cost to cover the recall. No injuries have been reported. The Refrigerator That Only Opens If You Smile [Mashable] Who doesn’t feel like grinning when a case of “hanger” strikes (you know, hunger + anger = your feeling h-angry)? Um, yeah. But you’d better fake it anyway. Researchers at the University of Toyko have developed a smile-activated refrigerator, which requires users to flash a grin before entering. The system, which is called the “The Happiness Counter,” aims to naturally encourage smiling in our every day lives.
