Hand Grip in the Modern World

I came across an interesting article at Nautilus. Elizabeth Fain published findings that modern man is weak—at least compared to data collected in the 1980s. Fain, an occupational therapist, found that when measuring grip strength in her patients, there has been nearly a 20% decline in gripping ability. It’s a revealing look at how the Modern World is quite literally weakening us.

The article is an interesting read, touching on everything you’d expect from life in the Modern World: automation, technology, sedentary lifestyle, and a general shift away from physical tasks. Most fascinating to me was the mention of Louis Robinson’s studies in the late 19th century:

“Louis Robinson, a surgeon at a children’s hospital in England, tested some 60 infants—many within an hour of birth—by having them hang from a suspended ‘walking stick.’ With only two exceptions, according to one report, the infants were able to hang on, sustaining ‘the weight of their body for at least ten seconds.’ Many could do it for upward of a minute.”

As a parent, I can’t help but wonder what the acceptable probability of falling from the stick is for parents—3% still seems like too high of a risk. I’m sure proper safety measures were in place, but still…

Also, if you’re the parent of child number 57 in the study, it’s probably easier to go along with the experiment, right? Like there’s a bit of a bandwagon effect. But I really wonder about the first set of parents:

Louis Robinson: “I’d like to hang your baby from a stick to see if it can support its own body weight.”
Parents: “Can babies do that?”
Louis Robinson: “There’s only one way to know for sure.”

That’s probably not fair, though. I have to assume these experiments were done while the baby’s mother was asleep. Letting a stranger hang your baby from a stick to measure grip strength—sounds like a total dad move.

Mt. Vernon and the Modern World of Politics

Controversy abounds in the sleepy town of Mt. Vernon, New York—the self-proclaimed birthplace of our Nation’s Bill of Rights. The former (or current?) mayor, Richard Thomas, recently pleaded guilty to stealing more than $12,000 from his campaign committee. As part of his plea deal, he was supposed to remain in office until September 30th. From his perspective, that makes sense. He obviously needs the money.

Naturally, the Mt. Vernon City Council does not want him hanging around, so it appointed Andre Wallace, the Council president, as acting mayor. The issue here? Richard Thomas won’t leave.

Things escalated quickly when Shawn Harris showed up for his first day of work as police commissioner—an appointment made by either the current or future mayor, Andre Wallace—and was immediately arrested and jailed for suspicion of trespassing by the police staff under the direction of their maybe-still mayor, Richard Thomas.

For insight, we could turn to Mt. Vernon’s legal counsel, Lawrence Porcari:

“Pursuant to the charter and pursuant to law, Mr. Thomas is the mayor, and he is going to be the lawful mayor until or unless some court of competent jurisdiction decides otherwise.”

Very clear—until you realize that Porcari himself was recently indicted for directing $365,000 away from the Mt. Vernon Board of Water Supply to pay Thomas’ legal bills and to hire a PR firm.

Ah, politics in the Modern World—where it seems like grip strength might not be the only thing in decline.

Also,

• How Jeffrey Epstein Made His Money: Four Wild Theories
• New Inequality Numbers Are A Gift To Campaign Sloganeers 
• Index-Fund Firms Gain Power, but Fall Short in Stewardship, Research Shows 
• Forget Robo-Taxis: It’s E-Bikes That Are Reshaping Urban Transport
• Google Spent 10 Years Researching What Makes The ‘Perfect’ Manager — Here At The Top 10 Traits They Found 
• Size Matters Less Than Skill In Asset Management’s New World
• Amazon’s Most Ambitious Research Project Is a Convenience Store 

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