The FREAKest Links: Rotten Chicken and Personal Debt Edition

Repulsed by that six-inch centipede? Or are you simply being reminded of your own inevitable demise? A study led by Cathy Cox, a graduate student in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, determined that people find certain things disgusting because they make apparent our “vulnerability to death.” Food for thought next time you find yourself eating rancid chicken.

From Creditslips.org, via Consumerist: If everyone in the U.S. spent zero percent of their personal income on food, shelter, taxes, and medical care for one year, the savings wouldn’t fully cover our collective mortgages, credit cards, car loans and other personal debts. Granted, this figure lumps all debt into one category, without accounting for the often huge payoffs associated with debts like mortgages and student loans — not to mention the fact that, if no one bought houses, cars, education, etc., the economy would subsequently tank.

Spymac.com, an ad-sponsored site made up of user-generated content about all things Mac- and Apple-related, is experimenting with an elegant compensation model for the 5,000 to 10,000 user-created videos uploaded every day: it pays the people who create the most popular clips. Since January, the company has paid content providers more than $373,000.