Trends for December 24, 2001

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Dec. 24, 2001 | 8:01 a.m.

Lisa Ferguson is the Sun assistant features editor. Her Trends column appears Mondays. Reach her at lisa@lasvegassun.com or 259-4060.

Break time

Now that there is an end in sight to the craziness that is the holiday season, let's take a moment to reflect on just how badly we could all use a break right about now.

At least that's what the folks at Hershey are hoping you will think about while languishing over one of their new Reese's Fast Break candy bars.

According to a recent telephone survey of 1,000 adults, sponsored by the candy conglomerate, men take more "fast breaks" than women 3.3 breaks per day compared to 2.8 breaks.

Americans 35 percent of women and 21 percent of men apparently need more breaks during the holidays. Unfortunately, they're harder to come by this time of year, according to 40 percent of those polled.

What activities do people crave a breather from? Twenty-eight percent of men need a time out when it comes to their jobs, while 26 percent of women want to walk away from cooking or housework.

And, didn't this work out well for Hershey? Snacking is one of the top activities people participate in during those breaks. Southerners (72 percent) and Westerners (71 percent) are more likely to chow down than Northeasterners (63 percent) or Midwesterners (65 percent). And what are they reaching for? More than half (again, conveniently for Hershey) choose to chomp on chocolate.

A head of the game

Though we know how important it is to take a break from the holiday madness, it's not always possible. So don't be surprised when a holiday headache results. It's the National Headache Foundation to the rescue. The Chicago organization is offering tips for avoiding holiday-induced head pain:

Knot necessary

Another activity that can be a headache-causer is dealing with holiday decorations. Let's talk about those pesky strings of lights.

Colin Adams wants to. A professor of mathematics and statistics at Williams College in Massachusetts, he's also the author of "The Knot Book: An Elementary Introduction to the Mathematical Theory of Knots" (W.H. Freeman & Co.).

So if you're waiting until tonight to trim the tree, heed Adams' advice:

"Even if tempted, do not attempt to untangle the lights from the center of the knotted mass: this method has little chance of working."

Meanwhile avoid creating new knots in the strand. Here's why:

"A theorem proved ... in 1953 says that there are no inverses for knots." Remember, if the free end keeps getting longer, you're on the right track.

Thanks for the news flash, smart boy.