Snowed-Under Slobs

  How much Americans spend on getting organized comes from Penelope Green, “Saying Yes to Mess,” New York Times, December 21, 2006.

  The PSB poll of slobs was conducted online on April 5–6, 2007.

  The book is Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman, A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder—How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place (Little, Brown, 2006).

  Surgery Lovers

  All citations to the survey of plastic surgeons refer to the “American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 2005 Membership Survey: Trends in Plastic Surgery,” released February 2006. The survey included 233 completed questionnaires, with data tabulated by ICR in Media, Pennsylvania.

  Income data was cited in Paige Herman and Marie Kuechel, “Cosmetic Surgery Has Gone Mainstream,” Ventura County Star, January 8, 2006.

  Data on men’s surgeries and on the plastic surgery industry generally come from “Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Research Statistics and Trends for 2001–2005,” Plastic Surgery Research, http://www.cosmeticplasticsurgerystatistics.com/statistics.html, accessed August 2006.

  “Scalpel slaves” were identified early in Paddy Calistro, “Looks: Slaves to the Scalpel,” Los Angeles Times, July 19, 1987; and Jennet Conant et al., “Scalpel Slaves Just Can’t Quit,” Newsweek, January 11, 1988.

  The Dowd reference comes from Maureen Dowd, Are Men Necessary?: When Sexes Collide (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2005), pp. 247–48, quoting Alex Kuczynski.

  More on the medical beauty business can be found in Natasha Singer, “More Doctors Turning to the Business of Beauty,” New York Times, November 30, 2006.

  Most of the data in the International Picture come from “Consumer Attitudes Towards Aging: A Global ACNielsen Report,” November 2006, http://www2.acnielsen.com/reports/documents/global aging attitudes nov06.pdf, accessed Januasry 2007. Other sources include a study by AGB Nielsen Media Research and Men’s Health on South Korean men and plastic surgery, cited in Burt Herman, “S. Korea Sees Boom in Male Plastic Surgery,” Associated Press, April 16, 2006; Frances Harrison, “Wealthy Iranians Embrace Plastic Surgery,” BBC News, October 1, 2006; “Bargain Basement Plastic Surgery in Kurdistan,” Iraq Slogger, March 6, 2007; and Sergio DeLeon, “Tourists Heading to Colombia for Plastic Surgery,” USA Today, March 14, 2006.

  Powerful Petites

  The Peter Gabriel song is “Big Time,” from the So album by Geffen Records, 1986.

  The New York Times article that started the petite flap was Michael Barbaro, “Where’s the Petite Department? Going the Way of the Petticoat,” New York Times, May 28, 2006, followed up by Michael Barbaro, “By Demand, Saks Revives Petite Department,” New York Times, June 20, 2006.

  Other key articles on this issue included Joy Sewing and Mary Vuong, “A Tall Order,” Houston Chronicle, June 8, 2006; Jean Patteson, “For Petites, a Shrinking Debate Grows,” Orlando Sentinel, June 23, 2006; Tanya Barrientos, “Petites Are Becoming the Odd-Woman-Out in Stores,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 26, 2006; and Anne Bratskeir, “No Small Fuss,” Newsday, July 10, 2006.

  Life expectancy data come from National Center for Health Statistics, United States, 2005, with Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans, Hyattsville, MD, 2005, Table 27, “Life Expectancy at Birth, at 65 Years of Age, and at 75 Years of Age, According to Race and Sex: United States, Selected Years 1900–2003,” accessed October 2006, at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus05.pdf#027.

  For more on the state of America’s sizes, see Leslie Earnest, “What’s with Women’s Clothing Sizes?,” Los Angeles Times, May 1, 2005.

  For more on the remeasuring of America, see Michael D. Sorkin, “Survey Sizes Up America for the Perfect Fit,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 7, 2004.

  Survey data on the average American woman’s discomfort with current styles and sizes come from a study done by Lifestyle Monitor, reported on the Web site of Cotton Incorporated and accessed January 2007, at http://www.cottoninc.com/lsmarticles/?articleID=356.

  XII. Technology

  Social Geeks

  The data cited in this chapter come from a poll PSB did in conjunction with Microsoft’s Market Research Group in September 2005. Thanks to Microsoft for their permission to use the study.

  For more on Tila Tequila, see Lev Grossman, “Tila Tequila,” TIME, December 16, 2006.

  Data on degrees conferred by specific fields of study were taken from Table 252, “Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctor’s Degrees Conferred by Degree-Granting Institution, by Sex of Student and Field of Study: 2003–04,” Digest of Education Statistics: 2005, National Center for Education Statistics, , accessed March 2007.

  New Luddites

  The 2003 Pew Center study is Amanda Lenhart, “The Ever-Shifting Internet Population,” Pew Internet and American Life Project, April 16, 2003. This study’s description of Net Dropouts, pp. 21–23, was particularly useful.

  Other articles useful to describing the attitudes of New Luddites include Kevin Cowherd, “Teen’s Missionary Zeal for Technology Can’t Convert Luddite Dad,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 12, 2006; Ken Spencer Brown, “Wi-Fis, PDAs, Blogs, Smart Phones, PVRs, Hmm . . . Overload?,” Investor’s Business Daily, November 7, 2005; and Richard Seven, “Life Interrupted,” Seattle Times, November 28, 2004.

  For more on the faltering plan to allow cell phones on airplanes, see Paul Davidson, “Jet Passengers May Not Get to Chat on Cell Phones After All,” USA Today, March 22, 2007.

  Tech Fatales

  The Consumer Electronics Association data on women outspending men on technology were cited in Yuki Noguchi, “On Cellphones, Girl Talk Comes with a Bling Tone,” Washington Post, December 6, 2006. That article also describes the bejeweled phones having great success with young women purchasers.

  The data on wholesale dollars influenced by women over time were provided by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

  The CEA market research on gadgets preferred by male and female teenagers was reported in Jack Schofield, “Toys for Boys and Girls: Technology Companies Must Come to Grips with the Fact That More Women than Men Now Buy Gadgets,” The Guardian (London), February 10, 2006.

  The Best Buy efforts are reported at Mindy Fetterman, “Best Buy Gets in Touch with Its Feminine Side,” USA Today, December 20, 2006. Radio Shack’s status was reported at “Study: Women Buy More Tech than Men,” www.cnn.com, January 16, 2004.

  The survey data of women’s experiences shopping in technology stores were reported at May Wong, “Consumer Electronics Has Challenge: Wooing Women,” Ventura County Star, January 14, 2004.

  What women want in electronics comes from research done by Motorola, as reported in “On Cellphones, Girl Talk Comes with a Bling Tone,” cited above.

  Sharp’s efforts were reported at “Shopping for Electronics: Isn’t Just a Guy Thing,” Associated Press, January 22, 2004.

  Car-Buying Soccer Moms

  To see the Superbowl commercials, check out http://www.ifilm.com/superbowl/2005.

  The data on women’s experience in automobile showrooms come from numerous sources, including “Survey Finds 77 Percent of Women Car Buyers Continue to Bring Man Along to Dealership,” accessed June 2006, at http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/06/01/009311/html.

  For more on La Femme, see Edmunds.com, “Winning Women Over in the Car-Buying Process,” accessed June 2006, at http://www.autotrader.com/research/shared.article/jsp?article id=3883&refpage=buyingtip . . .

  The Kelley Blue Book data on male versus female car-buyers were reported in Dan Lienert, “The Best-Selling Cars by Gender,” Forbes, May 24, 2005.

  For more on the Volvo Concept Car designed by women, see “Women Design Concept Car for Volvo,” USA Today, March 2, 2004, accessed June 2006, at http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2004-03-02-ycc x.htm.

  Data on male vs. female preferences for cars and brands come from Dan Lienart, “Most Popular Cars for Men and Women,” Forbes, June 27, 2006; and the Auto Channel, accessed June 2006, at http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/07/11/137213.html.

  The quotation by Marc Graham, president of Juffy Lube, was first reported at Leslie Toussaint, “No Longer an Afterthought: Women and the Aftermarket,” Aftermarket Insider, Vol. 9, 2001; accessed June 2006, at http://4wheeldrive.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=4wheeldrive&cdn=autos&tm=19&gps=406 984 1020 580&f=10&su=p284.7.420.ip p706.3.420.ip &tt=2&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.aftermarket.org/Information/AftermarketInsider/women.asp.

  XIII. Leisure and Entertainment

  Archery Moms?

  All of the sports participation data in this chapter come from the National Sporting Goods Association study, “2005 Youth Participation in Selected Sports with Comparisons to 1995,” accessed January 2007, at http://www.nsga.org/public/pages/index.cfm?pageid=158. The data include, but are not limited to, youth participation.

  Baseball data come from Joseph Carroll, “Football Reaches Historic Popularity Levels in Gallup Poll,” January 19, 2007. Hockey data come from Tim Lemke, “Power Play,” Washington Times, October 4, 2006.

  For more on the rise of snowboarding, see Anne E. Wright, “It’s All Downhill,” Albuquerque Journal, February 15, 2004.

  For more on teen viewing and playing habits, see David Wharton, “Generation Gap: Traditional Sports Don’t Have Same Pull with Today’s Teens,” Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2002.

  Lacrosse data come from Pete Thamel, “Lacrosse Is Coming into New Territory,” New York Times, May 30, 2005. Fencing data come from Jacqueline L. Salmon, “Exploring New Fields: Other Sports Gain Popularity as Kids Discover Life Beyond Soccer,” Washington Post, August 15, 2001. For more on USA Dance, see http://www.usabda.org/.

  For more on Fantasy Fishing, see Kevin J. Delaney, “‘Fantasy Fishing’ Leagues Hook Interested Parties,” Associated Press Financial Wire, July 20, 2006.

  The data on the Olympic Games come from http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/index uk.asp?OLGT=2&OLGY=2006.

  “Most Popular Male Athlete” is a Harris Interactive online poll, reported at, “Tiger Takes No. 1 Spot in Harris Poll of Fans,” Associated Press, June 9, 2006, accessed January 2007, at http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2476502.

  XXX Men

  The data on porn-watchers come from “Pornography Statistics 2007,” accessed at http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html, and “Internet Pornography Statistics,” accessed at http://www.mykidsbrowser.com/pornography stats.php.

  As of spring 2007, an average Major League Baseball game had a Nielsen rating of about 2.4, which translates into fewer than 3 million households watching.

  Articles useful for the data on porn consumption include Eric Retzlaff, “Pornography’s Grip Tightened by Way of Internet,” National Catholic Register, June 13, 2000; and Dennah Gresh, “A Decent Proposal: How to Take the High Road in a Low-Rise, Skin-Is-in-Society,” Today’s Christian Woman, May/ June 2003.

  The data on the size of the porn industry and its share in cyberspace come largely from the Pornography Statistics Web sites cited above.

  The Investor’s Business Daily article on porn and technology is Patrick Seitz, “High Def’s Adult Situation Favors Toshiba,” Investor’s Business Daily, March 2, 2006. Thanks to Milo Jones, University of Kent, for steering us toward this insight.

  Information on the declining age of Americans’ first sex comes from Durex’s 2004 Sex Survey, accessed at http://www.durex.com/cm/GSS2004Results.asp. That survey was also used for global data regarding porn-watching.

  For the International Picture on porn, useful articles included Michael Field, “The Pacific Porn Paradise,” Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand), December 17, 2005; “Italy Probes Porn on a Mobile Network,” Global News Wire—Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, May 6, 2006; Matt Richtel and Michael Marriott, “Ring Tones, Cameras, Now This: Sex Is Latest Cellphone Feature,” New York Times, September 17, 2005; Phermsak Lilakul, “Survey: Youth Well Versed in Internet Porn, The Nation (Thailand), October 10, 2002; “Porn a Major Presence in Lives of Youth,” UPI, February 26, 2007; and “African’s ‘Porn Centre’ Seeks Cash,” BBC News, December 14, 2004.

  Video Game Grown-ups

  Most of the data in this chapter come from Entertainment Software Association, “2006 Sales, Demographic and Usage Data: Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry.”

  Other useful resources included Mike Johansson, “Game On!,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, May 21, 2004; Roy Rivenburg, “Plan Your Funeral or Play Nintendo,” Los Angeles Times, October 26, 2006; and Mike Sneider, “These Mind Games Do You Good,” USA Today, April 18, 2006; and Paige Craig.

  For more on serious games, see Josh Schollmeyer, “Games Get Serious,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol. 62, No. 4, July/August 2006.

  Neo-Classicals

  Useful articles for this trend, from which many of the cited statistics come, include Allan Kozinn, “Check the Numbers: Rumors of Classical Music’s Demise Are Dead Wrong,” New York Times, May 28, 2006; Ken Schwartz, “Classical Music Comes off Life Support,” www.businesstoday.com, March 14, 2006; Barbara Jepson, “Classical, Now Without the 300-Year Delay,” New York Times, March 26, 2006; Patrick Kavanaugh, “Rumors Greatly Exaggerated,” National Review, June 30, 2003; and Robin Pogrebin, “Uncertain Times: Impulse Buyers Replace Ticket Subscriptions,” New York Times, October 16, 2002.

  Survey data on musical instruments at home come from the Gallup Organization, “American Attitudes Towards Music,” conducted for the National Association of Music Merchants, March 2003, accessed January 2007, at http://www.amc-music.com/news/pressreleases/images/gallup/Gallup2003.ppt#281.6.

  The older piano-player data come from Robin Schatz, “Your Inner Musician Is Just Waiting to Be Found,” BusinessWeek Lifestyle, May 13, 2002, accessed January 2007, at http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02 19/b3782107.htm.

  The classicalarchives.com survey was accessed January 2007, at http://www.classicalarchives.com/demographics.html.

  XIV. Education

  Smart Child Left Behind

  Articles useful to this chapter include Elissa Gootman, “Preschoolers Grow Older as Parents Seek an Edge,” New York Times, October 19, 2006; “Parents Delay Kindergarten to Give Children an Edge” New York Times, April 27, 2004; “Postponing Kindergarten,” Chicago Tribune, April 26, 2006; and Nara Schoenberg, “More Boys Finding They’re Ahead of the Game When They’re Held Behind,” Chicago Tribune, April 25, 2006.

  The term “Kindergarten Arms Race” was coined by Steve Sailer, “Redshirting: A Kindergarten Arms Race,” UPI, July 25, 2002, accessed July 2006, at http://www.isteve.com/2002 Redshirting-A Kindergarten Arms Race.htm.

  For doubts about the efficacy of red-shirting, see Michelle Keller, “‘Academic Red-Shirting’ Is Getting a Mixed Report Card,” Los Angeles Times, July 5, 2006; Elaine Lapriore, “Delaying Kindergarten Has No Benefits,” http://www.usc.edu/escnews/stories/12716.html, September 7, 2006; Hermine H. Marshall, “Opportunity Deferred or Opportunity Taken?: An Updated Look at Delaying Kindergarten Entry,” Beyond the Journal, September 2003. But see also “Delaying Kindergarten: Effects on Test Scores and Child Care Costs,” Pardee Rand Graduate School Research Brief, 2004.

  For the data in the graph, we are indebted to Chris Chapman, program director, Early Childhood and Household Studies, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, provided November 7, 2006.

  America’s Home-Schooled

  The U.S. Department of Education study is D. Princiotta and S. Bielick, Homeschooling in the United States: 2003 (NCES 2006-042), U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, D.C., 2006, accessible at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/. School-age population counts in 1999 and 2003 rely on http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p20-533.pdf and http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p20-554.pdf.

  Data on students in charter schools come from U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), “Public School Questionnaire,” 1999–2000, and “Charter School Questionnaire,” 1999–2000, prepared December 2002.

  Data on the size of the home-school industry come from “George Bush’s Secret Army,” The Economist, February 26, 2004.

  The college policy information is taken from Tania Deluzuriaga, “Home School Phenomenon,” Orlando Sentinel, June 12, 2005. The data on SAT’s come from the Home School Legal Defense Association, accessible at http:www.hslda.org/docs/news/hslda/200105070.asp, and is based on information the HSLDA acquired from the College Board.

  Spelling bee data come from the Web site of the National Spelling Bee, accessible at http://www.spellingbee.com/statistics.asp. Geography bee data come from the HSLDA Web site at http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/hslda/200305/200305300.asp.

  Public opinion data on home-schooling come from Linda Lyons and Gary Gordon, “Homeschooling: Expanding Its Ranks and Reputation,” reporting on a Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll study conducted May–June 2001.

  All demographic data about home-schoolers come from the U.S. Department of Education study, cited above.

  Data on home-school regulation come from the HSLDA Web site, at http://www.hslda.org/laws/.

  Data on states proposing bills to let home-schooled students use public resources come from James Dao, “Schooled at Home, They Want to Play at School,” New York Times, June 22, 2005.

  International data come from the following sources: The Home School Court Report, a publication of Home School Legal Defense Association, Vol. 19, No. 5, September/October 2003; Tim Large, “Stay-at-Home Kids Shunning the System,” Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo), September 2, 2000; Nechama Veeder, “Learning Without Lessons,” Jerusalem Post, September 1, 2006; and Paul Belien, “2007 German Horror Tale; Nazi-Era Law Prosecutes Today’s Home-Schoolers,” Washington Times, February 28, 2007.

  College Dropouts