Birthday Blues: Study Suggests People More Likely to Die on Birthday

On your next birthday, you might be careful not to strain yourself too much blowing out all of those candles on your cake, as a new study suggest people are more likely to die on their own birthdays as they get older!

Researchers conducted a study of over two million death cases from the past forty years and concluded that people experience an increased risk of dying on their actual birth dates from a series of risks, including heart attacks, strokes, accidents and suicides.

On average, people over the age of 60 were 14 % more likely to die on their birthdays than any other random day. Heart attack deaths rose by a percentage of 18.6 % and were more likely to claim men, while women suffered deadly strokes a staggering 21.5 % on their special day!

There was also a 34.9 % rise in birthday suicides, 28.5 % rise in accidental deaths not related to cars, and a 44 per cent rise in deaths from accidental falls occurring on victim's birthdays. Birthday suicide rates only increased significantly in men, the study concludes.

Famous individuals who died on their birthdays include playwright William Shakespeare, as well as actress Ingrid Bergman. 

TWEET TWEET! Study Shows Birds Sing Louder to Be Heard Over Traffic

A recent study conducted by the respected journal The Scientific American has discovered that birds in urban environments sing louder today than they did in 1965.

The scientists who conducted the study of the Zonotrichia leucophyrs (the white-crowned sparrow) realized that the birds near to San Francisco's famed Golden Gate Bridge park are now singing at a much higher pitch than they did just forty-seven years ago. Bird experts believe that the animals have adapted to the loud traffic noises near to the popular tourist attraction and now sing more loudly to be heard over the din of urban noise pollution.

The study concludes that the change in behavior in the birds proves the theory that evolutionary processes can occur in a relatively short period of time, giving animals a chance to adapt to sudden environmental changes and improving a species chances at survival. The higher pitch singing allows for better communication between the birds in an urban setting, giving them the chance to be heard more clearly during the mating process.