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Did you know that your brain releases oxytocin, “the feel-good” hormone in the brain when you pet your dog or cat?

What is Oxytocin?
“Oxytocin is a powerful hormone. When we hug or kiss a loved one, oxytocin levels drive up. It also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. In fact, the hormone plays a huge role in pair bonding.”

This wonderful feeling can come from dogs, cats, and even goldfish! A study showed that having a fish tank at a nursing home improved appetites.

“Watch a Lassie movie and spit into a cup. It doesn’t sound like it, but this is cutting-edge research. By analyzing saliva, researcher Cheryl Krause-Parello showed that merely watching a dog in a movie lowered people’s stress. Krause-Parello, assistant professor and director of the Center for Nursing Research at Kean University in Union, N.J., learned that people felt better after watching a Lassie flick because their levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, took a free fall.”

Do you have a pet? Have you had these great experiences with them?

Full article at Psychology Today

Find more great articles about pets or psychology on Alltop.

Photo credit RKleine

Sweden might be better known around the world for Abba, Ikea and dragon tattoos than comedy, but that was before comedienne Petra Mede took the stage at the Eurovision Song Contest with “Swedish Smorgasbord.”

From Vikings to stay-at-home dads, Mede covers it all.

Top that, Finland!

Full story at YouTube via Kuriositas.

The not-so-frosty side of Sweden.

Is your blog lacking that sparkle that makes audiences come back for more?

Feel overwhelmed by all the advice out there?

Then try bookmarking this simple infographic by TopDogSocialMedia for future reference.

Via TopDogSocialMedia.

Tips for better blogging.

Sure, we’ve heard great reviews for J.J. Abrams latest addition to the Star Trek film library, but for those fans whose tastes run to jazz hands and awkward belting, Rhett and Link have just the treatment you’ve been craving with Star Trek: The Middle School Musical!

Sing it, Spock!

Full story at YouTube.

Singing your heart out for Star Trek.

Back in February, we reported on the amazing story of Kai, the homeless hitchhiker, who saved a woman from a man with divine delusions with a hatchet, but we’ve just heard the sobering news that the latest chapter in his story is anything but heroic.

According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

Police arrested Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, 24, known as “Kai the Hitchhiker,” at a bus terminal in Philadelphia, Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said.

Prosecutors allege McGillvary killed Joseph Galfy Jr., a 73-year-old attorney, in his Clark, New Jersey, home on Sunday.

It’s uncertain how the two men were connected but Galfy was apparently killed by a blunt-force trauma and police say they have ample evidence connecting Kai to the crime.

This is one viral story that has come to a vicious end.

Full story at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

News out of Santa Cruz.

Every once in a while, a video comes along that defies sensible commentary but we know must be shared for the good (humor) of humanity.

Just think, even if you don’t get lucky tonight, you’ll goat lucky, and that’s not something you’ll ever wake up regretting.

Full story at YouTube via Kottke.

YouTube oddities.

Checkout Canada’s new welcome ambassador, a talking beaver:

More stories about Canada.

Photo credit: Klaatu42

People flock to delightful personalities and what works at the water cooler works on social media, too.

As Pam Moore explains:

According to Dictionary.com, the word delight is defined as “to please someone greatly.” Notice the key word of “greatly.” Delight does not equal status quo. It does not mean doing, writing, posting, tweeting, pinning, +1-ing the same exact thing every other business in your niche is doing.

So, how can you stand out from the crowd while making people smile?

Start by trying these twelve helpful tips and watch your following grow.

1. Be human. Humanize your brand. Don’t talk like a robot in 1995 corporate speak. Realize that your brand is everything about you from what you tweet to how you respond to comments on Facebook. Don’t hide your employees. Let them shine and be a living, breathing representation of who and what you are. Read more here-> “13 Characteristics of the Human Brand.”

2.  Make them feel loved. Loved you ask? Why loved you may be giggling? Because at the core of our inner being is a need to feel simply needed. We want to feel loved, be loved. When someone visits your blog, Facebook page or other social network profile are you making them feel loved? Or is it all about you?

3. Capture their heart in the first 30 seconds. What are you doing to make their first 30 seconds on your platform delightful? If you can’t answer this question, you need to start here. First impressions are everything.

Full story at Pam Moore.

Strengthening social media bonds.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Small business owners wear many hats that, at a big company, could be laid on the minds of an extensive staff.

While a website might seem like the straw that could very well break the camel’s back, when one considers the amazing long-term benefits an appealing web presence can have, it might be time to bump this task to the top of the to-do list.

Fortunately, Samir Balwani at SiteFox has covered everything from spelling out the benefits to maintaining leads to get you started.

Full story at SiteFox.

An extra boost for small business.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Sorry, Yankee Doodle, but it’s time that macaroni got a brand update and we’ve got just the guy.

The adorable pygmy marmoset is one of the smallest primates, and you may be interested to know that when there are too many males around, they’re also polyandrous.

Full story at YouTube via Miss Cellania.

Adorable animals.

The sun’s out and that means it’s time to update your sunglasses for the season.

Will it be a Blues Brothers kind of summer or is Sylvester Stallone more your style?

Find out with this shade-y supercut of forty-seven flicks by FoundItemClothing.

Full story at FoundItemClothing via The Mary Sue.

Fun with the movies.

Wondering what goes into the making of an entrepreneur?

Check out this tongue-in-cheek chart by Grasshopper to get an inside look.

Via Grasshopper.

What makes entrepreneurs tick.

Psychology Today provides a collection of articles about ADHD.

Sixteen ways to manage your frustration, whether you have a quick temper or a biting sense of humor. Find your anger style:

Which is you?

1. explosive
2. self-abuse
3. avoidance
4. sarcasm
5. passive aggressive
6. habitual irritation

Great tips for each on what it looks like, what you do and how to turn it around.

Full article Real Simple

More articles from Real Simple on Alltop.

Photo credit Josh Janssen