In 1998, Michael Crichton, author of the best-seller Jurassic Park, wrote a book entitled State of Fear, a fictional look at a global disaster caused by eco-terrorists. To prepare for the writing of the book, Crichton researched global disasters. He was particularly intrigued with what happened in Chernobyl, one of the worst man-made disasters in history. He was surprised to find, though, that Chernobyl ...

Sam Chapman, founder of Empower Public Relations in Chicago, Illinois, has banned gossip in his office. Two years ago, Chapman left a larger company where office backbiting was epidemic and damaged both careers and morale. Now he calls the shots, and one of his primary rules is that if you have something to say to or about a colleague, you must say it to their face.

The penalty for breaking this rule ...

For the Birds is a short film included as part of the Monsters, Inc. DVD. In the clip, several small birds fly onto a telephone wire and begin to squabble—chirping and pecking at each other. All of a sudden, they hear a loud squawk. Looking over, they see a giant, funny-looking bird perched on top of a nearby telephone pole. When the big bird sees that it has attracted their attention, it smiles ...

In a 2008 Addeco survey, 1,807 U.S. workers were asked to identify issues they felt were off-limits for discussion at work. Here are the top five responses:

• Religion: 29 percent
  
  
• Office gossip: 27 percent
  
  
• Personal life: 16 percent
  
  
• Politics: 14 percent
  
  
• Money: 14 percent
  
  

A 2008 survey by The Barna Group asked adults which, if any, of eight behaviors with moral overtones they had engaged in during the past week. The behaviors included looking at pornography, using profanity, gambling, gossiping, engaging in sexual intercourse with someone to whom they were not married, retaliating against someone, getting drunk, and lying. Of those surveyed:

• Twenty-eight percent had used profanity.
  
  

Mildred Fister's beauty parlor in Jefferson, Iowa, has an unusual rule. Mildred refuses to allow gossip. A columnist for the Des Moines Register reacted this way:

This is a beauty parlor, for goodness' sake, one of those places women come to say things—loving, kind, unkind, and, sure, maybe downright nasty—about their friends and neighbors—whether it's true or not.

It's as basic in a ...

Live so that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.

—Will Rogers, actor, writer, and speaker, 1879–1935

I inherited an old trunk that sat in my grandma's basement. It had belonged to the generation before, who had used it to bring their possessions across the sea from Sweden. It sits in my dining room. It smells a little musty, but I treasure it as a link to my heritage.

I was thrilled to receive the trunk, but even happier when I opened it and saw my bonus surprise. The bottom was lined with pages of ...

We never pray for folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folk for whom we pray!

—Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill (1907–1994)

So you think you've had a bad day? It may take former NBA star and current Phoenix TV commentator Edward Arnett Johnson a long time to get over the worst day of his life. Johnson, 6' 8" tall and 47 years old, has a history of strong character and community service, working with children and giving motivational speeches after his NBA career ended.

But another former NBA star—6 '2," 51-year-old ...