Serendipity

Ah, serendipity -- finding something valuable while in the process of looking for something else. Serendipity is not exactly the right word for an experience I recently had while surfing the web, but it has the right spirit. I need a word to describe the act of stumbling across a web site which just so happens to explain or illuminate some problem or issue posed on another web site.

For example, I happened upon the article "Why are More Boys than Girls Being Born?" at Sixwise.com. It turns out that "Globally, there are about 105-107 boys born for every 100 girls." (Except in China, where the ratio is 116.9 boys for every 100 girls -- a trend which Chinese officials find alarming, for a variety of reasons.) The Sixwise.com article speculates on a number of factors which may affect this global ratio, such as older parents, fertility drugs, and some diseases. They also warn of an even more disturbing trend -- the number of male births per hundred seems to be decreasing .

After reading the Sixwise article, I happened upon the Naval Safety Center's Photo of the week. Suddenly, all became clear. From a behavioral perspective, it seems obvious why humans produce more males than females. It is also obvious why we really can't afford a decline in male births.

The Center's Archive of Previous Photos of the Week illustrates certain patterns of behavior which the folks at the Naval Safety Center find lacking in some way. Photos include:

• A Breathtaking Trust in Rope
• Balancing Act
• Stone Age Car Jack
• Heck of a Blind Spot

It is worth a visit to the Naval Safety Center's site to browse their archive of compelling photos.

(Note: If you don't see what why the good folks at the Safety Center get so bent out of shape about some of these practices, you may be what Dave Barry calls a "guy.")