Lectures are boring and doodling is fun! The next time you're in class or an office meeting and you start doodling, chances are it'll help you! In my Philosophy 104 (Ethics and Moral Reasoning) class, my friend Jason always...ALWAYS doodles. Some of you might say his art makes him a genius, others might say "This kid must have been high while drawing this because none of it has to do with anything...Nothing at all". But then Picasso himself said "The world today doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?" Okay...fine...maybe Jason is no Picasso and I doubt he had that quote in mind, but studies DO show that doodling boosts memory!

As they listened to the tape, half of the participants were encouraged to doodle on a piece of paper. They didn't have to draw freehand; instead, they were given a sheet of paper filled with outlines of squares and circles to shade in. For comparison, the other half of the group didn't doodle while listening to the tape.

A minute after the tape finished, participants took a pop quiz in which they had to recall the party-goers' names and places that were mentioned on the tape. They had not been told to listen for the places.

The doodlers recalled an average of "7.5 pieces of information (names and places), 29% more than the [average] of 5.8 recalled by the control group," Andrade writes.

So there you have it folks! People who were doodling and listened to the (boring) tape on the side, recalled more from the tape than people who were just bored and tried to listen to the tape without doodling! After all...Muffin Milk started out with a doodle and now they're pretty successful! Check up close up shots of Jason's art below!

This is Chen Zongtao and has a 154 LB. tumor on his right leg. I am not sure if he had surgery yet but from the looks of it, it looks like his foot weighs more than he does. Well At least it's LARGER than him. This is old news to many but it's still shocking to me. Zongtao is said to be suffering from neurofibroma. It's a sad site to see and if I were in that position, I might amputate my leg. He was unable to afford the medical treatment a year ago, I'm not sure what his current situation is but hope for the best for him!