NEW EXPERIMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 72, 26 March 1934, Page 13

NEW EXPERIMENT

TALKING STATISTICS

An experiment carried out recently has revealed that when girls talk' they talk mostly about the opposite sex! (states a London exchange). Many times, probably, you may have- wondered what those neatly-overalled rows of factory girls talk about while they sit for hours on end wrapping chocolates and toffees. Tho answer is afforded in a report recently issued by the Industrial • Health Research Board under, tho heading of ."Incentives in Repetitive "Work." For 54 weeks some scientific investigators watched, questioned, and listened to ten girls between tiio ages of 15 and 16 employed at a factory. INTERESTING REVELATIONS. The following record of topics discussed by the girls affords one of tho most interesting revelations of the investigation:— Subject. Frequency. Tlio opposite 6ex ;... 42 Films and film stars 27 Local gossip and scandal 14 Suicides, murders, aud accidents 10 Local events 11 Conditions of work (features disliked) .:.. 32 " (features liked) ...... 5 Outside activities: Uambles ........ S Dirt-track racing .. 12 " " IluEby football ....' 2 Girl Guides ...... lfi " " Swimming 5 " " Dancinß S " " Gardening '. fi Holidays ........ 8 " Home life : 7 Personal: Pliotosraphs i...« 7 Clothes 12 Food - .5 " Money 9 i ... 33 A host of other interesting facts.was : revealed by tho inquiry. ' j ; Only three workers out of the ten, . for instance, showed any tendency to : be satisfied with the work for its own , sake. The most important incentive to proficiency was the weekly wage.