Hugh Jackman tops Drinking Buddy Of Choice poll

October 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - If you're in the US or planning to go there, whatever you do don't use the word "Whatever", for a new survey has found that the popular slacker term of indifference irks almost half of Americans. According to the Marist poll, 47 percent of the country's population said there's no phrase more annoying than "whatever." Others in the most irritating phrases list were: "you know" netted 25 percent of the vote; "it is what it is" got 11 percent; "anyway" got 7 percent; and "at the end of the day" ended the day with 2 percent, reports CBS News.

September 28th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Explorer and mountain climber Sir Edmund Hillary might have died more than 18 months ago, but he has still topped a list of the greatest living New Zealander. Officially, according to the Research New Zealand poll, former prime minister Helen Clark topped the list of 500 people, followed by All Black legend Sir Colin Meads and Olympic triple gold medallist Sir Peter Snell.

September 27th, 2009 LONDON - A recent poll has suggested that British voters think Tory leader David Cameron would make a better Prime Minister than Gordon Brown. According to the ICM survey for the News of the World, some 43 per cent voters said that Cameron was the best choice, while just 20 per cent believe that Brown is the best man for the job out of the current three main party leaders.

August 31st, 2009 LONDON - An increasing number of lonely and depressed elderly in the UK are turning to drinking, and are dying from booze-related illnesses. Recent data has revealed that a total of 1,912 over-60s died as a result of boozing in 1999, which has increased 40pct in the last decade to 2,677 in 2008.

August 24th, 2009 NEW YORK - For American women drinking the recommended daily amount of water is more important than having enough sex, a new poll has revealed. In the "Women's Wellness Poll", drinking water was fifth in the list of priorities, two spots ahead of having sex.

August 12th, 2009 LONDON - Children as young as nine are receiving treatment for binge drinking at a clinic in the UK. Andrew Hall, chief executive of Alcohol Support, which runs Albyn House clinic in Aberdeen, revealed the majority of the children involved fell in the age bracket of 11 to 15.

August 3rd, 2009 LONDON - The number of British women drinking real ale has increased two-fold in the past year, according to a new survey. Almost one in three is enjoying what the campaigners regard as Britain's "national drink".

May 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Fifty-one percent of Americans consider themselves "pro-life" and just 42 percent say they are "pro-choice." This is the first time a majority in the country has stated a personal objection to abortion since Gallup polls began tracking the data 15 years ago, Fox News reports. The numbers correspond with FOX News polls this month showing 49 percent of Americans as pro-life and 43 percent as pro-choice on abortion.

May 8th, 2009 SYDNEY - Exitpoint, a small, wearable, safety device, helps divers find their way back to their boat or their diving buddy at any time during a dive. Exitpoint is a concept for a sonar navigation and early warning system, designed by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) industrial design graduate Tom Fraser.

May 5th, 2009 LONDON - Aussie actor Hugh Jackman has revealed how he accidentally slashed the hand of his co-star Taylor Kitsch with his metallic claws while filming 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'. Jackman, 40, was doing an intense fight scene with 28-year-old Kitsch's character Gambit, and he said that he got a little too aggressive during one take.

May 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Dashing his hard-man personality, Hugh Jackman has confessed he's scared of dolls coming to life on the big screen. The X-Men star openly admitted he is always scared whenever he watches kids' toys brought to life on screen - and he traced his fears back to watching horror movie Child's Play as a youngster, which featured a murderous doll named Chucky, reports Contactmusic.

May 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - After calling himself the Jesus Christ of Italian politics, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi boasted yesterday that he's the world's most popular leader. The 72-year-old said opinion poll findings in his possession showed his popularity at just over 75 per cent, making him far more popular than the American president, Barack Obama, or any other head of government.

April 24th, 2009 CHICAGO - US President Barack Obama's approval rating might be strong, but a new survey has revealed that first lady Michelle is more popular than him. In the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll survey, 79 percent people said they approve of the way Michelle Obama is handling the job of first lady.

April 14th, 2009 SYDNEY - First there were the S.N.A.Gs (Sensitive New Age Gyus), then came the metrosexuals, retrosexuals and now, the latest male breed making ladies go weak in the knees is "neosexual". A typical "neosexual" has been identified as one having shrugged off the femininity of the metrosexual and returned to his more masculine, primitive roots.

April 6th, 2009 SYDNEY - The recession has made beefy blokes like Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig more appealing than scented metrosexuals like Hugh Grant and Leonardo DiCaprio, an Australian sociologist said. Demographer Bernard Salt said that as the global financial crisis wore on, lots of women would eye a motor mechanic for a life partner rather than an investment banker.