The most active period of the witchcraft trials coincides with a period of lower than average temperature known to climatologists as the "little ice age"...In a time period when the reasons for changes in weather were largely a mystery, people would have searched for a scapegoat in the face of deadly changes in weather patterns. 'Witches' became target for blame because there was an existing cultural framework that both allowed their persecution and suggested that they could control the weather.

As people do a task, they improve at it.

Being pregnant was a lot like being a child again. There was always someone telling you what to do.

In short, humans are programmed to get bored.

Education campaigns ... may not be enough, at least not alone. If people have no incentive to avoid AIDS on their own, even if they know everything about the disease, they still may not change their behavior.

When I meet people on airplanes and they find out I'm an economist, they usually ask about stock tips.

Good household decision-making often relies on thinking about your household like a firm.