Talking Points

Tired of giving the same old presentations? Use these nuggets of information to spruce them up.

Reported by PLANADVISER Staff
  • The term vaccine derives from Edward Jenner’s 1796 use of the term cow pox (Latin variolus vaccinus], adapted from the Latin vaccînus, from vacca, cow), which, when administered to humans, provided them protection against smallpox.
  • As predicted, the movie industry has seen a boom as Americans turn to movies to chase away the recession blues, similar to the Great Depression. Movies might be much more expensive than they were during the 1930s, but admissions are still up as the economy is down. The movie theater industry is one of the few discretionary spending markets to show substantial revenue growth in 2009, with a projected 11.6% revenue increase this year, according to a report from market research firm Mintel. The growth is attributed to a rise in admissions rather than ticket price increases, reversing a trend of the last several years, the firm said.
  • With the flu season having arrived, a ComPsych poll illustrates that many employees are taking their own precautions to avoid becoming ill at the workplace, as 70% of respondents reported changing their everyday habits because of the flu danger. Almost half (47%) of employees have adopted an “avoidance” strategy, forgoing handshakes and the touching of workplace surfaces to stay healthy.
  • Bad decisions make good stories.
  • The longest period in which the New York Stock Exchange was closed occurred during World War I, when the NYSE was closed for four and a half months starting July 31, 1914.