Did you know?

0 Comments | Insight on the News, June 10, 2002 | by John Elvin

* Most recent studies have shown no definitive link between the use of cellular phones and illnesses such as brain tumors or other neurological conditions (Reuters news agency reporting the findings posted in "Cell Phone Facts," a government Website located at both www.fda.gov/cell phones or www.fcc.gov/cellphones).

* There were 41,821 people killed, 5.3 million injured and 27.6 million damaged vehicles as a result of auto accidents in the year 2000, for a cost of $230.6 billion--or $820 for every U.S. citizen (from an Associated Press account of a new study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

* The common theme of popular teen horror films, beginning with Halloween in 1978 and continuing through the current Jason X, is one of parents who aren't there or who are stupid, selfish, uncaring and unable to help their kids face the nightmares of the everyday world (Pat Gill, professor of media studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in a forthcoming paper: "The Monstrous Years: Teens, Slasher Films and the Family").

* Sexually transmitted diseases afflict roughly one in four teen-agers who are sexually active (Heritage Foundation study about the effectiveness of abstinence-education programs, posted at www.heritage.org/library/backgrounder/ bg1533.html).