Yahoo! Answers

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Last week, the Vatican added rapper Tupac Shakur’s song “Changes” to its playlist on MySpace. The MySpace playlist contains eight tracks, including Mozart, Muse, and Fleet Foxes.

While the Vatican’s choice may resonate with some people, it may strike a different note with others, as the rapper was well known for his role in the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry.

Despite Tupac’s social ties, the Vatican’s choice of a playlist prompts this question: If you had to select eight tracks that represented you, what would they be? Enter your playlist below, and be sure to tell us why you selected the tracks you did!

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Hey Guys,

Consider the kiss. An odd custom if you think about it. Why is that two people putting their lips together for a short (or long) period of time the ultimate symbol of affection?

According to various sources across the Web, kissing isn’t as universal as we might think. Anthropology.net explains that approximately 10% of the human population doesn’t kiss. Another site writes that “kissing is apparently unknown” among certain cultures around the world. Some cultures didn’t kiss until Westerners showed up on their shores.

So, why do we most of us do it? An article from the UK’s Mail Online postulates that kissing may have started for more practical reasons — to fight off infection. By kissing a person on a regular basis, one builds up a resistance to germs. British scientists speculate that “a bug that is dangerous in pregnancy to be passed from man to woman to give her time to build up immunity.”

That’s one theory. A 2006 article from the New York Times explains that one anthropologist traced the first recorded kiss to 1500 B.C. India. According to the expert, “early Vedic scriptures start to mention people ‘sniffing’ with their mouths, and later texts describe lovers ‘setting mouth to mouth.’” After that, he believes the “kiss spread westward when Alexander the Great conquered the Punjab in 326 B.C.”

How Stuff Works writes that not everybody agrees if kissing is learned or an instinct. The article goes on to offer another possible theory for the origin of the kiss: a looooong time ago, human moms may have fed their babies the way birds do now, by passing along chewed up food into the baby’s mouth. A bit yucky, but no more gross than sticking your tongue down somebody’s throat.

What do you guys think about the origin of the kiss? Is it an instinct or is it something we learn? Pucker up and leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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This year, Yahoo! Answers has seen its fair share of questions and answers—you’ve covered everything under the sun—from questions about current events such as “balloon boy” to Michael Jackson’s death to everyday questions about culture to tackling tough questions about the economy and unemployment.

We’ve gone through some of the best (and quirkiest) content on Answers to create this year’s highlight book. (Review last year’s here) This year’s e-book contains 12 questions from Answers users, just like you, that showcase some of the unique questions and answers you’ll find on Yahoo! Answers- as well as a few outstanding community members you might come across while perusing the site.

So view the book 2009 Highlights (10442) and explore some of the content found on Answers (this will prompt you to download a small PDF file).

Feeling inspired after checking out this year’s e-book and want to share your favorite question with the team? Send it our way! Shoot us an email with a link to your favorite question (and a quick note on why you selected it) to: y_answrs_favorites@yahoo.com

Download the e-book here: 2009 Highlights (10442)

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In the United States, Thanksgiving weekend is known as one of the biggest shopping weekends in the country. But did you also know it’s one of the biggest weekends to watch football, eat leftovers, travel, and see movies?

Thanksgiving weekend (and the weekend before it) typically marks the start of the holiday blockbuster sweeps: Movie studios scramble to squeeze in as many big-ticket movies into the last remaining weekends of the year when they know kids are off from school, parents are overwhelmed with holiday guests, and people are looking for something to do that doesn’t require braving the throngs of people at the mall.

If you plan on visiting the movie theater this weekend, what do you plan on seeing?

Are you going to take in the latest “Twilight” flick, or are you going to see how George Clooney does as an animated character in “Fantastic Mr. Fox”? Or maybe you’re looking for something a bit more serious and will end up watching “Precious” or “The Men Who Stare at Goats.” Whatever you see, enjoy the popcorn, and be sure to check out Yahoo’s Holiday Movie Guide and come back to share your reviews!

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Hey Guys,

Black Friday — that most unholy of shopping days — is just around the corner. The day after Thanksgiving is commonly referred to as the “busiest shopping day of the year,” but is that actually true or just one of those myths that became a fact? And, by the way, who coined the phrase “Black Friday”?

Anyone who has gone to the mall on Black Friday knows that it can be a complete madhouse. Parking is impossible, workers are overwhelmed, and shoppers are cutthroat. But, it could be worse. According to Snopes.com, Black Friday may be the busiest day of the year in terms of foot traffic, but it rarely wins the crown as far as money spent.

Snopes writes that Black Friday usually ends up being in less cash for retailers than the last Saturday before Christmas. For example, in 2002 Black Friday was actually the fourth busiest shopping day of the year. The point: Procrastinators spend more than early birds./p>

As for how the day after Thanksgiving got its name, there are a couple of theories. One states that it’s due to the fact that stores make so much money, they instantly go from being “in the red” to turning a profit or being “in the black.” Another theory — the Philadelphia police gave it day its name in the 1960s because the day after Thanksgiving is full of bad traffic, irritable people, and possible stampedes. Or, maybe, as one site explains, it’s a little bit of both.

What about you guys? Are you planning to risk life and limb to score some deals on Black Friday or will you stay at home in your bunker and wait for the madness to die down? That’s my plan. After all, there’s always Cyber Monday.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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