On Facebook, it’s 4.74 degrees of separation, not six, according to a new study by study by researchers at Facebook and the university of Milan.

“Think back to the last time you were in a crowded airport or bus terminal far from home. Did you consider that the person sitting next to you probably knew a friend of a friend of a friend of yours? In the 1960s, social psychologist Stanley Milgram’s “small world experiment” famously tested the idea that any two people in the world are separated by only a small number of intermediate connections, arguably the first experimental study to reveal the surprising structure of social networks.

With the rise of modern computing, social networks are now being mapped in digital form, giving researchers the ability to study them on a much grander, even global, scale. Continuing this tradition of social network research, Facebook, in collaboration with researchers at the Università degli Studi di Milano, is today releasing two studies of the Facebook social graph.

First, we measured how many friends people have, and found that this distribution differs significantly from previous studies of large-scale social networks. Second, we found that the degrees of separation between any two Facebook users is smaller than the commonly cited six degrees, and has been shrinking over the past three years as Facebook has grown. Finally, we observed that while the entire world is only a few degrees away, a user’s friends are most likely to be of a similar age and come from the same country.

A story in the New York Times, Separating You and Me? 4.74 Degrees points out how the scale of social network studies have grown.

“The original “six degrees” finding, published in 1967 by the psychologist Stanley Milgram, was drawn from 296 volunteers who were asked to send a message by postcard, through friends and then friends of friends, to a specific person in a Boston suburb. The new research used a slightly bigger cohort: 721 million Facebook users, more than one-tenth of the world’s population.”

…Or at least it is according to the U.S. government.

On Tuesday, Congress decided that the tomato paste on pizza qualifies it as a vegetable in school lunches, conveniently dodging new USDA guidelines that would have required more fresh fruit and vegetables be served in school cafeterias.

This may be a case in which dollars speak louder than science, as the food industry spent more than $5.6 million lobbying against the proposed regulation.

Ms. Marion nestle, nutritionist and Professor at New York University notes

“Schools are supposed to set an example of many values of society, and one of them ought to be eating well. It’s unfortunate that the food industry is putting profits before the health of children,”

The fruits (pun intended) of a poor childhood diet can be seen as early as 2020, when projections say 83 percent of men and 72 percent of women will be overweight or obese.

Healthcare costs related to cardiovascular disease, already projected to reach $1.1 trillion per year by 2030, could rise even further.

While obviously school lunches are not the only factor in America’s obesity epidemic, more fruits and non-pizza vegetables in school lunches certainly couldn’t hurt.

In comparison, the Agriculture Department has projected the proposed school lunch rules would have added about $6.8 billion over the next five years, or about 14 cents to the cost of a school lunch. Food for thought? Definitely.

Have you just wanted some good ‘ole BBQ without having to do all the work?! Well here is the place for you!

Shane’s Rib Shack in Laurel is some of the best BBQ Food I have ever tasted. Everything is slapped, slopped, and soaked in delicious marinades and sauces that will make you just fall out out of your seat. The staff is friendly and the food is amazing!

I went there one night after a long day of driving to Virginia and back to Baltimore with no food to eat. I wanted something that I could just sink my teeth into, get my clothes dirty, and lick my fingers. Yes, it was one of those days! My friend suggested to me that we go to Laurel and try Shane’s Rib Shack. Now my first question was, “Who is Shane?” After a lot of laughter, she told me that it was a restaurant that had amazing wings and to die for ribs. That was all the information I needed, and we headed out.

Once I entered the Shack (it wasn’t really a shack), I was surprised how nice the place was. It wasn’t a fru fru fancy restaurant, but the décor was very fitting for the place. It had memorabilia on the walls, nice booth seating, and tvs to watch the games. When it was time to order, the staff was extremelly patient with me, even when I was so indecisive.

I decided to order the Shack Sampler, you know, just so I could try all the best stuff. My friend ordered a tray of wings and some sweet potato fries. I thought it would take a while to get my food, but the food was ready and delivered to our table in under 20 minutes.

Boy o boy, was that food delicious! Nothing bad could be said about that food. In the same regard, you can’t know how good it is until you taste it. I strongly  recommend Shane’s Rib Shack to anyone looking for a casual and different place to eat BBQ. They have two locations: Laurel and Alexandria. I have posted the menu which has the addresses for both locations. If you get the chance to go, send me an email and tell me about your experience at the Shack!