study by a sociologist revealed that more and more women in Italy are opting to lead a hermit's life and turn their backs from the modern world. Sociologist Isacco Turina, a professor at the University of Bologna, said there are over 1,000 hermits currently in the country and many more all over Europe and the United States, a majority of whom are women. But these modern hermits no longer wear long beards and hide away in caves, instead they live in apartments and surf the Internet.

A study published in the New Scientist journal revealed that shorter men are more prone to jealousy than taller men, suggesting that men who do not live up to the 'ideal height' harbor insecurities. The study conducted by Netherlands-based University of Groningen is considered as a possible proof of the so-called 'Napoleon complex' or 'short man syndrome' where short men compensate for their lack of height through aggressive tendencies, often associated with leaders with strong personalities such as Napoleon, Mussolini, and Hitler.

A Canadian baby is born every minute and 29 seconds, while a Canadian passes away every two minutes and 29 seconds. Given this trend of birth and deaths, Canada's population is expected to hit 33. 3 million by July 2008. For the Action Democratique du Quebec, the country's natural birth rate is not growing fast enough to spare the province from becoming a gray one. ACT believes a faster pace of economic growth can be achieved by Quebec if their women have more babies. ACT is suggesting at least two children per Quebec woman.

earing their best stiletto heels, around 150 young women dashed in Amsterdam's 'Stiletto Run', in a bid to win the $15,000 (10,000 euros) cash prize. The annual race on PC Hooft street, on its third run, has fast grown in popularity and has been imitated in Germany, Sweden, Poland and Russia. The race's motto is "Shopping is a Sport" and friendly competition is encouraged, but usually not practiced by the aggressive participants.

Danes are up in arms over the manner in which Swedish home furnishing manufacturer IKEA is naming its products. The Danes resent the naming of its lower-end products like doormats and carpets after Danish towns, while christening high-end products after Swedish names. The Danish resentment arose out of an analysis by two Danish academics who performed a thorough analysis into IKEA's naming system. Klaus Kjoller of the University of Copenhagen told a Danish newspaper, "Doormats and runners, as well as inexpensive wall-to-wall carpeting are third-class, if not seventh-class, items when it comes to home furnishings. "