Ariel’s Story Picks: Bad Behavior, Christmas Shopping, and Cartoons

With Chad on vacation, I’ll be taking over the “steaming pile” for a few days (and changing the name temporarily…) Here are my story picks for the day:

1.) Military jets escort airplane after passengers report "suspicious behavior" [link]

The 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks came and went without any major incident, thankfully. But the paranoia was still felt on some airlines. Yesterday, a Denver flight was escorted by military jets after passengers reported the "suspicious behavior" of their fellow travelers in the bathroom. The precautions turned out to be unnecessary as the "suspects" claimed they were "making out" in the airplane bathroom. Bad idea, even worse timing.

2.) Christmas comes even earlier for retailers [link]

You know, I remember when I was a little kid the major stores wouldn't even set out a candy cane or a little tree before Thanksgiving. But now, popular retailers such as Wal-Mart, Costco, and Lowe's are rolling our their Christmas merchandise even earlier this year, starting in mid-September through early October:

"Retailers are putting out a little bit of holiday stuff earlier each year," says Mike Gatti of the National Retail Federation's marketing division. "They know a substantial number of consumers will pick out Christmas tree ornaments even as they're picking out Halloween pumpkins."

More than 37% of shoppers — and 42% of women — plan to do some holiday shopping by Halloween, reports an NRF consumer survey. Retailers are happy to oblige as they chase the estimated $450 billion of holiday spending.

Am I the only one who finds it a little strange to see jack-o-lanterns and Santa Clauses on the same shelf?

3.) Are cartoons bad for your children's memory? [link]

Those cartoons your kids love may be worse for them than you think, According to a new study, children who watch these fast-paced, high-action cartoons perform worse on tests that children who watch educational cartoons or draw pictures. The children were tested on such skills as following rules, problem solving and memory, and according to researchers, the fast-paced cartoons had an "immediate and strong"  effect on the children who took the test. Personally, I'll take my good old Looney Tunes over these "new" cartoons any day.