Photo: Ben Goldstein/Studio D

Yes. Doctors have known for years that cold weather puts strain on the heart, and British researchers recently discovered how much strain. They found that with every 1.8-degree drop in temperature, the risk of heart attack went up by 2 percent. 

Photo: Thinkstock

Since becoming a mother, I've honed my ability to heat up chicken nuggets while holding a baby in one arm, and I'm super good at inventing cautionary tales on command, but I have yet to perfect my Mom Voice. You know, the voice that can say, "You go to your room right now," in an unignorable way, the "I mean business" voice. I either sound whiny or like I'm trying too hard to be nice or like I'm really mad, none of which is exactly the calm, authoritative vibe I'm going for. My two-year-old, in the meantime, has completely perfecting rolling her eyes at me when I say, "Right! Now!" I think what we need are some serious Jedi Mind Tricks.

That's why I'm glad to have come across these 17 Ways to Persuade People. The advice is meant for people in marketing, but I think it applies to the rest of us too, whether our intended audience is the PTA board or a group of coworkers or a toddler who doesn't believe in eating food.

The whole article offers some great ideas, but here were the tips I thought were most interesting:

"Emphasizing the positive can be more persuasive than pointing out the negative." This seems to apply to pretty much every arena of life. So less, "You putting on your shoes and then taking them off and them putting them on again is making us so late," and more, "I bet you could put on those shoes even faster!"

"Story beats data." Yes, I know this already. Cautionary tales about a little girl who refuses to bathe until trees start growing out of the dirt on her skin have been much more successful than saying, for example, "People have to bathe."

"If something happens often enough, you will eventually be persuaded." Which is why I keep putting those things called vegetables on my kid's dinner plate!

Whatever you plan to use your new found powers for, read the whole article for the secrets of persuasion, including the fascinating phenomenon called "The Sullivan Nod."

Read more on getting your point across:
Dr Phil's Rules for Talking and Listening
What Oprah knows for sure about communicating

The single woman's guide to celebrating Thanksgiving.

Sandwiches that go way beyond PBJ.

You've heard of slow food, but what about slow music? The world's longest concert turns 10.

Scientist develop the lightest material ever, and then take the most amazing photograph of it.

The Life-Lifter: Three years after a horrifying chimp attack, this woman has a face—and the hopes for a normal life—again.

Photo: Gregor Halenda

I love these not just for their delicious colors but for the way they can act as a makeup bag, an evening clutch, or a pretty case for your iPod, PDA, and other gadgets. Splurge on Hunting Season's python version or a more affordable option from Magaschoni—both are discounted for O readers.

Photo: Thinkstock

Moments before we arrived at a raucous birthday party last weekend, my daughter announced, "Murray didn't come with. He's just feeling a bit too shy." Some coincidence that her imaginary friend was feeling shy! Because as soon as we opened the door her verbal abilities vanished, and the well-meaning grownups who shouted, "Awwww are you shy? ARE YOU SHY?" were greeted with a slightly panicked expression, which was soon hidden in my shoulder. She eventually came out of her shell and thoroughly enjoyed herself, but was so exhausted for the rest of the afternoon that she could barely function.

The problem with being shy is that people are always telling you not to be shy, which of course makes a shy person feel 8,000 times more shy. But for some reason people just can't leave a shy kid (or grownup) alone, as if there were something wrong with being a bit timid, a touch introverted. Maybe this is because these are not qualities much valued in today's world of reality stars, big personalities, chronic oversharers.

Luckily there is now a (hilarious, tongue-in-cheek) guide to dealing with these mysterious quieter creatures, Jonathan Rauch's great "Caring for Your Introvert" in the Atlantic. "Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day?" writes Rauch.  "Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate?" What follows is an amazingly accurate description of introverts, including the wisdom, "introverts are people who find other people tiring. Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone." He goes on to entertainingly and insightfully discuss how introverts are misunderstood (including the myth that all introverts are shy!).  This should be required reading for introverts and extroverts alike; after all, as Rauch points out, the latter very infrequently understand the former. As he writes, introversion is "not a choice. It's not a lifestyle. It's an orientation." Read the whole essay to learn why extroverts run the world...but introverts understand it. How refreshing, to read something not about how an introvert can be less analytical or more outgoing, but rather, why it's okay to be an introvert. Especially if you happen to be one. Like, um, Murray.

More:
Get the world to see the real you.
Can you fake charisma?

Photo: Thinkstock

Tryptophan. For years, that was our excuse for sneaking away from the table to "test out the guest pillows" after Thanksgiving dinner. Tryptophan had become the dinner guest's kryptonite. Then we started hearing that we weren't actually getting that much tryptophan in a couple of slices of turkey--no more than the same serving of roast chicken breast or tofu, and not enough to explain our overpowering drowsiness. And when we thought about that, it made sense: We don't expect to spend an afternoon comatose after eating a turkey and cheese sandwich from the deli. So what's making us so tired on Thanksgiving?

Lots of things, it turns out, including what we did the night before the big feast, how many helpings we ate of Nana's marshmallow sweet potatoes, what we drank with our meal, and what activities we have planned for Thursday evening. (See the nutrition blog at Boston.com for the full explanation, as well as a unique theory from a professor who has researched napping).

This Thursday, when you start feeling snoozy after dinner, give the turkey a break. The poor thing has been through enough already.

Monday is too stressful. Wednesday is already hump day. But Tuesday is "you" day: a day when you have the energy to do—or plan—something fresh and unexpected that might just turn your whole week around.

Try out the newest, strangest foodie trend. How to make a meat cupcake (and eat it too!)

Get ready for Thanksgiving by doing something you might forget. How to get your car ready for the long drive to Grandma's house.

There's—finally—a nip in the air, and scarfs at department stores now cost $100. How to knit a chunky, fashionable scarf that requires no skill, pattern or even talent.

A little known fact: Black Friday is also known as Buy Nothing Today. How to resolve conflicts between someone who is desperate to shop at dawn and someone who isn't—or just restore the peace after other kinds of extended family discord.

The holidays are now officially underway. How to get realistic about how overboard you're going to go when it comes to festive treats with a little quiz: can you tell which slice of pumpkin pie is 100 calories?

Photo: Courtesy of Speck

The case that is currently clinging to my cell phone is metallic red and while it sparkles and protects my phone as it gets jostled around in my bag, it doesn't do much else besides look good. So when I came across these three innovative options from Speck that multitask and give my phone some personality, I couldn't wait to trade mine in:

• CandyShell Flip: The bottom panel of this cover bends back so that you can stick your phone directly into your dock without struggling to take off the entire case (and ruining your manicure in the process).

• CandyShell Card: Not only does this cover keep your phone protected, but it has a built-in slot for your credit cards. Perfect for nights when you don't want to lug a bulky purse around a crowded bar or cocktail party.

• CandyShell View: A retractable kickstand props up your iPhone so that you can watch YouTube videos, follow a recipe, or reapply lipstick at your desk using the mirror app—hands free.

Read More
The 13 best beauty multitaskers
4 gadgets that can improve your health