Physiotherapists have coined the term 'wallet-neuropathy' for the lower back pain caused by men sitting down (such as when driving or in the office) on wallets always carried in their back trouser pocket.

The condition is triggered by the wallet pressing on sciatic nerves in the back and can lead to pain or numbness in the lower leg, ankle or foot.
—Victoria Lambert, "Why marrying a younger woman can save your life (even if it sends HER to an early grave)," Daily Mail, June 30, 2009

The usual concerns arise, knowing teen drivers will be packing the ever-present buzzing and ringing cell phones from which most seem incapable of parting. We've had the discussion many times at our house of the idiocy of driving while using a cell phone and especially driving while "intexticated," and as confident as I am that my kid won't do it, there's always that nagging concern that the slightest distraction can lead to tragic consequences.
—Lorrie Lykins, "Parents, teens need safe driving contract," St. Petersburg Times, May 31, 2009

As an English professor at Algonquin College in Ottawa, I was very impressed by the report's neologism: "Wikipedia kids." Too many graduates of Ontario's high schools know how to cut and paste, but have learnt little about cross-referencing and taking time to read, think and incorporate what they've read into a wider scheme of knowledge
—Nathan Greenfield, "View from here — Shopping and schools don't mix," The Times Educational Supplement, May 22, 2009

Forget sticks, and stick with carrots instead. So says Brent Schulkin, founder of a fledgling movement of activist consumers employing a kind of reverse boycott that he calls a carrotmob. The concept is simple: instead of steering clear of environmentally backward stores, why not reward businesses with mass purchases if they promise to use some of the money to get greener?
—Jeremy Caplan, "Shoppers, Unite! Carrotmobs Are Cooler than Boycotts," Time, May 15, 2009

Body-image experts say it's not uncommon for people, especially women, who have lost a lot of weight to be disappointed to some extent to discover that they still aren't "perfect." The excess fat is gone when they reach their goal weight, but they may have sagging skin, cellulite or a body shape that they still deem undesirable. Like Hicks, some even continue to see themselves as though they are overweight.

Some specialists use the term "phantom fat" to refer to this phenomenon of feeling fat and unacceptable after weight loss.

"People who were formerly overweight often still carry that internal image, perception, with them," says Elayne Daniels, a psychologist in Canton, Mass., who specializes in body-image issues. "They literally feel as if they're in a large body still."
—Jacqueline Stenson, "'Phantom fat' can linger after weight loss," MSNBC.com, June 23, 2009

Weisure has been fueled by social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, where "friends" may actually be business partners or work colleagues.

"Social networking as an activity is one of those ambiguous activities," Conley said. "It's part fun and part instrumental in our knowledge economy."

These networking sites offer participants in the weisure life lots of ways to do business — and to have fun.
—Thom Patterson, "Welcome to the 'weisure' lifestyle," CNN.com, May 11, 2009

After the Pirate Bay founders were fined $3.5 million, they swore they wouldn't cough up a single cent. Instead, they've come up with a DDo$ plan of attack that'll cost the IFPI instead of themselves.
—Andi Wang, "Pirate Bay Founders Plan a DDo$ Attack on the IFPI," Gizmodo, May 11, 2009

Astronauts need to add space headache to their list of occupational hazards, say researchers. ...

The researchers believe there are a number of reasons why space travel could cause headaches, the root cause being microgravity.

Microgravity is known to cause lower oxygen levels in the blood and this may be the trigger for space headache.
—"Space headache a real phenomenon," BBC News, June 2, 2009

VB6. No, it's not a tomato cocktail or the latest version of a computer programming language. VB6 is short for Vegan Before 6, the increasingly popular veggie-heavy diet that converts say can do wonders for both the body and the planet.

Coined and devise by food writer Mark Bittman, the regime is pretty self-explanatory: No animal products, processed food or simple carbohydrates during the day. After 6 p.m., anything goes.
—Alexandra Gill, "Tick tock, it's steak o'clock," The Globe and Mail,
May 27, 2009

Here's an idea that would light up talk-radio phone lines, even though it would do little more than legalize what many cyclists do every day anyway: It's called the Idaho stop. ...

Almost no cyclist, even the most cautious, stops at stop signs in this city. Dr. Gridlock has previously smugly bragged that he does. But, in fact, he does not. He does Idaho stops.
—Jeff Gray, "Idaho stop one way to fuel 'war on the car'," The Globe and Mail, May 29, 2009

Bet dieting is the newest rage and there are a few websites that enable it, but stickK has an extra ploy: the "anti-charity." Choosing the most politically controversial non-profit charities to motivate someone to achieve their goals is a great idea. Science and the stock market know that risk is a much more powerful motivator than reward.
—Boomer Babe, "Bet dieting: If You Lose You Pay Guns, God, & Gays!," InventorSpot, May 23, 2009

Flotsametrics: The use of floating trash, such as a huge consignment of training shoes washed off a cargo ship in 1990, to study ocean currents.
—"Viewfinder: Opinions from around the world," New Scientist, April 22, 2009