Things I learned lately - 5 Oct

• Science is concluding that our water is older than the sun itself.
• SpikeTV is purportedly developing the Kim Stanley Robinson Mars trilogy into a TV series.
• It is estimated that the total parts and manufacturing cost of a new iPhone 6 is about $230.
• In March 2012, the average taxi made 1424 trips per month in San Francisco. Now an average cab makes 504 trips per month. This is attributed mainly to the success of new companies like Uber, Sidecar and Lyft. To me, it speaks to the fact that consumers will pay more for quality, reliability and being able to manage their rides with modern technology.
• More than 300,000 people marched in New York City to demand action on climate change along with events in 2700 other cities totalling somewhere around 570,000 people marching.
• Stupid used to mean 'be amazed or confounded, be struck senseless'.
• The more stressed out a person is, the easier they are to hypnotize.
• Oral sex was illegal in Canada until 1969. Insert your own joke here.
• Primacy and recency: People most remember the first and last things to occur, and barely the middle. When scheduling an interview, ask what times the employer is interviewing and try to be first or last.
• Once you make the sales pitch, don't say anything else. This works in sales, but it can also be applied in other ways. My boss at an old job was training me and just giving me pointers. I was working at a gym trying to sell memberships. He told me that once I got all the small talk out of the way and presented the prices, that the first person to talk will lose. It didn't seem like a big deal but it actually worked. Often there were long periods of awkward silence as the person tried to come up with some excuse, but usually they bought.
• If you ask someone a question and they only partially answer, just wait. If you stay silent and keep eye contact they will usually continue talking.