Blog Posts by Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! blogger

Millions of women who have soldiered through natural childbirth while their male partners wilted beside the bed may be shocked by a new study published in the Journal of Pain. According to the authors, who pored over the records of over 72,000 medical patients, "Women report more intense pain than men in virtually every disease category."

The study's senior author, Atul Butte, MD, PhD, points out that there have been other reports on men versus women and pain, but their investigation is the first to indicate that women feel pain more intensely than men. Butte's team looked at self-reported pain scores from 1 to 10 in over 160,000 cases across 250 diseases. "We saw higher pain scores for females practically across the board," said Butte.

Related: Men vs. Women: Who are Better Drivers?

Studies of female ultra-endurance runners and long-distance swimmers have bolstered the idea that, contrary to old biases, women are tougher than men. A 2010 report commissioned by the insurance

When Walt Disney opened his first theme park in Anaheim, California in 1955, he wanted to distinguish it from the tawdry amusement parks that had sprung up after the Great Depression. "The Happiest Place on Earth" was to be wholesome and clean cut, and so were its employees. The notoriously strict dress code for employees, who are known as "cast members," included the rule that men must be clean-shaven.

Related link: If Disney Princesses Were Real

In the biggest shake up since 2010 when Disney decreed that female cast members could ditch their pantyhose and go bare legged when they were wearing a skirt, male cast members will soon be permitted to sport beards. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, as of February 3, goatees and beards will be allowed as long as they are shorter than a quarter of an inch. Mustaches have been permitted since 2000, when an employee reportedly pointed out that Uncle Walt himself wore one.

"Disney Look guidelines are periodically

undefinedActor Ralph Fiennes (of Voldemort fame) turned up the volume on Shakespeare this weekend with the release of his directorial debut Coriolanus. This blood-and-guts movie version of a tragedy that was written between 1605 and 1608 is an edgy thriller full of political backstabbing that will resonate with today's audiences.

Related: Was Shakespeare a Fraud?

While streamlined and set in a modern, war-torn European country (it was shot in Belgrade, Serbia), the movie sticks to the original play's language. But, don't be daunted--you may be more familiar with Shakespeare than you think. Many common expressions we use today were actually penned by the Bard. Here are ten favorites:

1. A forgone conclusion. Othello: "But this denoted a foregone conclusion: 'Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream." Othello, 1604

2. Fair play. Miranda: "Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle, and I would call it, fair play." The Tempest, 1610

3. Hot-blooded. Falstaff: "The

Think the grudge between the Patriots' Tom Brady and the Giants' Eli Manning has been going on awhile? There are urban legends about the big game that have persisted for decades. We thought we'd put some of the Super Bowl's biggest myths to the test.

1. Domestic violence spikes after the Super Bowl.

This story stemmed from a Public Service Announcement that aired at the beginning of the televised broadcast of the 1993 Super Bowl match between the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills that warned, "Domestic violence is a crime." Although a number of articles debunking the claim appeared in various newspapers, the idea has persisted. Football is so overtly macho and physical it's no wonder that it gives some people, especially those who don't enjoy or understand the game, the chills. However, in 2006, Richard Gelles, an expert on domestic abuse from the University of Pennsylvania said, "This kind of 'urban legend' trivialized the causes and consequences of domestic violence."

The Lunar New Year is celebrated in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Tibet, as well is in countries such as Singapore that have large Chinese populations. Christopher Livaccari of the Asia Society explains to Yahoo! Shine that it used to be celebrated widely in Japan, but now most Japanese people consider January 1st to be the main New Year's holiday.

Related: Coming Home for Chinese New Year

Year of the Dragon

This year's Lunar New Year begins on January 23, which is the first day of the first new moon of the year. It ends 15 days later on the full moon. The Chinese calendar is divided into 12 cycles each represented by a special animal. According to Chinese Astrology, this year is the year of the Dragon, the only mythical animal in the zodiac. People born in the year of the Dragon are said to be energetic, charismatic, and natural born leaders. Some famous "Dragons" include Joan of Arc, Vladimir Putin, and John Lennon.

Lunar New Year Traditions

When Mildred and Richard Loving married in Washington, D.C. in 1958, they didn't think they were breaking the law. Both were from the small town of Central Point, Virginia. Mildred was of African-American and Native American decent and Richard was white. They did know it was illegal for them to marry in their state-as well as 15 others--which is why they left to tie the knot. Within a month of returning home, police burst into their bedroom in the middle of the night and arrested them under the state's anti-miscegenation law. They were sentenced to a one-year in prison term that could be suspended if they left Virginia.

Related Link: Kentucky Church Bans Interracial Couples from Becoming Members

Banished to Washington, D.C., Mildred Loving, who did not consider herself a political person, wrote about her plight to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The American Civil Liberties Union took up the case and brought it all the way to the United States Supreme Court. In 1967,

According to the New York Daily News, DOBI (my new nickname for Dad of Blue Ivy, otherwise known as rapper Jay-Z) is not dropping the "b-word." Turns out it was all an Internet hoax. He told reporters, "That story and poem are fake." Personally, I think he should have just have rolled with it but…whatevs.

Celebs aside, fatherhood does change men, in ways that are both mundane (touching poop) and profound (realizing, as my friend Jeff did that, "I care if the world will survive.")

Mike Adamick who blogs about being a stay-at-home dad on Cry It Out!, tells Yahoo! Shine, "How does becoming a dad not change you? It's an incredible watershed moment for anyone." He notes that more and more fathers are taking on the role of being an active parent. "I used to be the only dad at playgroup or the park. Now I see a lot more dads out there. 'Fathers, we're not just for after work martinis anymore.'"

Shine's new Parenting Guru, blogger Ryan Soard, agrees. "Raising a child is such an

People have dubbed Andrew Hyde an "extreme minimalist" but he prefers to call himself a "vagabond." In August 2010, he sold his apartment and most of his belongings and hit the road, blogging about his adventures along the way. Since then, he's travelled to 32 countries, worked at a friend's dude ranch, and spent the warmer months living in a tent. He's also survived comfortably owning only what he considers essential items ranging from 15-39 possessions at a time.

Related link: German Grandmother Lives Money-Free: And Has Never Been Happier

"I had pretty typical goals out of college," Hyde tells Yahoo! Shine. "I wanted to pay off my debts and get a good job." Hyde worked as a web designer and programmer also sold a startup company. He had achieved what most people would call success when he began feeling bored and restless. Always frugal (one of his posts is about how to live on $36 a month for food), he realized he was unsatisfied striving toward a consumer-based model of