Some cultures have a lot more fun spring cleaning than we do...

If spring cleaning sounds like a bore, consider an international approach...

Here is how they do it in some other parts of the world:

* Chinese Sweep: Rooms should be swept from the entrance to the center, with trash going out the back door. The front door is for the good luck to come in! 

* Persian Purge: The entire family pitches in, scouring the whole house inside and out, getting rid of the past and evil spirits. Houses might also get a fresh coat of paint. 

* Thailand Wash: Their spring cleaning is called Songkran. After cleaning their houses, people take to the streets and spray each other with hoses and squirt guns.

* Guatemala Burn: The devil is lurking in piles of junk and under beds. After sweeping all of your garbage into a big pile, outside, you set it on fire and watch him burn. Some cities even celebrate spring cleaning with communal bonfires, music and fireworks.  

How many references should you list on your resume?

Before you send that resume off, take a good look at your references - and remove them...

References on resumes are considered outdated by most hiring managers and the same goes for that line “References available upon request.”

You WILL need references and they will be checked, when the time comes. It’s crucial that you have them lined up and ready to go. It’s also important that your references are in on it. Be sure to choose three to five people who really know and like you. All too often, people list unsuspecting references who are blindsided by a call and are not prepared to sing your praises.

Most of us are throwing out the best part of our produce....

You’re probably throwing away the most valuable part of your produce...

The tough ends of celery, lettuce and onions could be the gifts that keeps on giving - if you plant them. Here are some simple ways to produce your own produce:

* Green onions: That bottom inch contains the white bulb and roots. Plant those in a pot, covering everything but a bit of the stem and in one to two weeks, new green onion stalks will emerge. Snip them off as needed and they’ll grow back.

* Romaine lettuce: That tough stub will grow a new head if you like. Just slice an X in the bottom and sit it in a dish with a little water. Keep that in a sunny spot and replenish the water every few days. When new leaves and roots begin to form, plant that in a pot and you’ll be eating it in a few weeks. 

* Celery: Use the same technique as the lettuce, and start the tough stub in a dish of water. Once your celery sprouts roots and leaves, transfer a pot and watch it grow. 

Could getting angry really trigger a heart attack?

Most of us do things every day that could trigger a heart attack...

Dr. Barry Franklin, author of “One Heart, Two Feet,” has some startling statistics:

* Don’t get mad. When you’re really angry, your risk for heart attack in the next two hours is two to nine times higher.

* Bad news. It really can trigger an attack. Your risk is six to 21 times higher at the time of the shock - and can stay elevated for the next four weeks.

* Having sex can be risky for your heart - especially if its extramarital. 80% of heart attack deaths during or after sex take place in hotel rooms with non-spouses.

* A great game. If you’re passionate about sports, you could be at risk. During the 2006 World Cup soccer matches in Germany, cardiac emergencies increased on the days the German team played.

Who wakes up grumpier - men or women?\

It’s official: Women are grumpier in the morning than men...

That’s because sleep, or lack thereof, has a much bigger impact on women than men, mentally and physically. The study from Duke University woke up both genders and determined that women experienced more anger, depression and anxiety in the morning if they don’t get enough sleep. 

Sleep experts say women need about 20 more minutes of sleep than men. The primary function of sleep is to give the brain some down time and because women tend to multitask more than men, they’ll need some more shut-eye to recover - or else!

A seemingly harmless party food could kill you...

Beware of toothpicks!

Serving food with toothpicks might seem handy and harmless but it can actually be quite dangerous. Although it’s not common, death by toothpick does happen. Biting into a hidden pick could do some serious damage to the mouth - and that’s the best scenario. If a toothpick, or portion of one is swallowed, it can perforate the intestine with life-threatening or deadly results.

In most toothpick related mishaps, the victim did not realize the toothpick had been ingested which can make diagnosis particularly difficult. It’s best to skip the pick and use fingers or forks instead.

The next time you sit down at a table - choose your seat carefully...

There’s a strategy to choosing the best seat in a group situation...

Whether it’s a meeting or a meal, take your seat carefully. 

* In a 4 person circle, pick a seat, any seat. You can’t go wrong here.

* At a 4 person square table, sit opposite of your least favorite person. Conversations tend to work diagonally.

* In a 6 seated situation, choose the middle of one side. It may be harder to get in and out but you’ll have more conversational options.

* For tables of 8 or more, timing is everything. If you arrive first you’ll be expected to file to the end. If you’re last, you’ll probably get the least desirable seat. Stand back and wait for the right moment to make your move.

The spa industry is getting really fancy. Weird, exotic treatments...

Resorts and spas never run out of ideas for expensive treatments...

Here are some new luxurious trends in the pampering department:

* Caviar Facial: If smearing stinky fish eggs all over your face sounds appealing, you may be disappointed. Caviar facials actually use the less smelly caviar extract which promises to leave you with firm, glowing skin.

* Ramen Bath: At one Japanese resort, you can submerge yourself into a human size soup bowl filled with imitation noodles for a unique sensation which will stimulate you all over. They’ve also got tubs filled with coffee, green tea, red wine and sake.

* Gold body mask: If you’re running out of ways to get beautiful, go for the gold. The gold and clay body mask will will absorb pollutants from your body and leave your skin glowing and your wallet empty.

There’s a new sign of stroke to be on the lookout for. What doctor’s discovered...

There are many symptoms that could suggest you are having a stroke - and one of them could be on your phone. Doctors at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit were able to use a patient’s phone to determine he was indeed having a stroke. The text messages gave it away. While the victim was able to speak, read and write normally, his text messages were garbled and incoherent. 

Another valuable aspect of the text message stroke diagnosis was the time stamp on the patient’s texts from the night before. It helped the doctors determine a window of time when the stroke likely hit.

Could being rude pay off? Sadly, yes. The mean advantage...

If you’re a really nice person, there’s a good chance your mean coworker will wind up making more...

A recent study from Cornell University is suggesting that the more agreeable we are, the less we earn. Nice guys take a bigger hit than nice women. Men who scored higher on a rudeness scale were likely to be earning about 18% more than their polite peers. Mean girls took home about 5% more than the agreeable gals.

Don’t just drink Guinness for St. Patrick’s Day, eat some too...

If you’re stocking up on beer for St. Patrick’s day, save some for cooking...

There are lots of ways to cook with beer and Guinness is just the right brew for the job:

* Corned beef and cabbage is tastier Guinness style. Just add half a pint to the pot for simmering.

* Simmer some corn in the brew for 2 minutes. Drain and stir in butter and seasonings. A lot of vegetables taste better in beer.

* Guinness battered shrimp or fish can be festive. Just add Guinness to your flour and spices, dredge and fry in oil for a crispy, dark delight.

* Adding Guinness to soups and stew is simple and will add rich taste and texture with an Irish touch.

And for dessert - more Guinness. You can make Dublin brownies or chocolate cake by substituting Guinness for the water required in your favorite mix. The brew will intensify the chocolate flavor and change the consistency a bit. Just be sure your Guinness is room temperature.

Would you like to be a philanthropist? How anyone can do it...

You don’t need to be rich to be a philanthropist...

Philanthropist literally means lover of man and is used to describe goodwill to fellow members of the human race - and it doesn’t have to cost a dime. Some philanthropists donate time, skills or material goods in lieu of money. Another philanthropic idea is to set up a fund to which others with money can contribute.

If you’d like to be a philanthropist, you’ve got a lot of options. Scholarships are popular because they’re relatively easy to set up and customize. They can be named in honor of a loved one and designated to benefit a specific group of your choice. Students who like what you like, good students, bad students - just about anything you can dream up. Typically, scholarships will require $100 to $1,000 a year. Some larger institutions require more. To start your career as a philanthropist, contact the person in charge of charitable contributions.

Have you heard of the 20-20-20 rule to relieve Computer Vision Strain? They’re adding another 20...

More people are complaining about CVS, or Computer Vision Strain, than ever...

Those required to stare at close-range screens for hours on end are paying the price with blurred vision, stiff necks and a headache. The 20-20-20 strategy is generally the recommended fix for CVS. It means every 20 minutes we should look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. They’re adding another 20 into the mix now - 20 blinks.

Most of us don’t blink nearly enough while working on a computer. Not only does blinking provide some much needed moisture to our dry computer eyes, those blinks also give our brains a break and can act as a mini mental reboot.

There’s a dangerous noise in your house. Why you need to turn it off...

Is there a TV on in your house somewhere?

Millions of Americans leave one on, even when nobody is watching. Now the journal Pediatrics is warning us about white noise and unattended TVs. They say that could be to blame for some attention issues. Young children have a particularly hard time tuning out some of those distant noises coming from the television. Voices and sounds grab their attention and can interrupt the thought process. 

Experiments show that children who play within earshot of a TV spend less time with individual toys and shift their attention more quickly from one activity to another, compared to how they play when the TV is off.

Distant TVs can have the same effect on adults but to a lesser degree. Developing brains of young children are not yet familiar to the sounds of the world and have a harder time identifying or tuning them out.  

If you think age doesn’t matter for fatherhood - think again...

Mothers are warned about the risks of conceiving later in life - so what about the fathers?

New research is suggesting that older fathers pass on nearly four times as many genetic mutations as mothers do. While a mother’s age may contribute to risks of having a child with Down Syndrome and Edwards Syndrome, it is now believed that the father’s age may be linked to the risk of autism and schizophrenia. 

Genetically speaking, a man’s biological clock starts ticking around age 20 at the rate of about 2 genetic mutations per year, doubling the risk around age 36.