Comfort eating helps stave off the blues: study

LONDON (Reuters) - A sweet tooth might not be the only reason why we reach for ice cream and cake in times of stress. Comfort from the consumption of fatty foods is not derived purely from the pleasurable sensory experience of eating but also through gut-brain signaling, according to a study by scientists at the University of Leuven, in Belgium.

Rate your priest on new German website

BERLIN (Reuters Life!) - You can rate your restaurant meal, your make-up, your teacher online and now in Germany your priest. Hirtenbarometer (http://hirtenbarometer.de) or the "shepherds' barometer" is the first online platform where priests can be rated for their performance at church services, on projects for youths and the elderly, on their credibility and on how up to date they are.

Spike in cotton prices hurts quilters' wallets

CARROLLTON, Va (Reuters) - Last year, customers at Bella Fabrics in eastern Virginia paid no more than $9.99 a yard for the designer fabric they fashion into quilts. But these days quilters who shop at Lisa Steele's store and others around the country are finding that their hobby has become more expensive, thanks to a "perfect storm" of events in the global cotton industry that have pushed fabric prices up to anywhere from $10.50 to $12.99 per yard.