Good news and bad news here.  The good news:  A team of scientists in Germany have determined that drinking beer does NOT actually cause you to develop a beer belly.  The bad news:  Instead, it just makes you chubby ALL OVER.

--In the study, the scientists monitored almost 20,000 people's beer drinking and diet for four years.

--And they found that people who drank a lot of beer didn't necessarily develop more stomach fat than anyone else.

--Quote, "Beer consumption seems to be rather associated with an increase in overall body fatness."

(The Guardian)

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How Long Does It Take For a Hybrid or an Electric Car to Pay For Itself?

When you buy a hybrid or electric car, you're doing it for the environment.  You're also doing it to save money on gas.  We won't judge you if that second reason is secretly WAY more important to you than the whole environment thing.

--But hybrids are always more expensive than traditional gas versions of the same cars . . . so how long will it take before the gas savings actually make up the differences in cost?

--The "New York Times" figured out how long it takes for the hybrid, electric, and high-mileage versions of different car models to pay for themselves.  Here are a few highlights . . .

--It takes 12.1 years to make up the cost difference between a Honda Civic Hybrid and a regular Honda Civic . . . because the Civic gets great mileage already.

--It takes 8.7 years for the Nissan Leaf to make up the cost difference from the Nissan Versa.

--It takes 26.6 years for the Chevy Volt to make up for the cost difference from the Chevy Cruze Eco.

--It takes just 1.8 years for the Toyota Prius to make up for the cost difference from the Toyota Camry.

--And the biggest winner is . . . the Volkswagen Jetta TDI.  It only takes 1.1 years for the TDI to make up the difference in price versus a regular Jetta . . . although they don't have a huge price difference to begin with.

(New York Times)