By Christy Barritt

Britain’s Most Popular Baby Boy Name

Britain has a new most popular name for baby boys born there. It’s Muhammad.

More than 8,000 boys born in the country last year were named some variation of the name. There were 18 deviations, with the most common being Muhammad, followed by Mohammed and Mohammad.

It’s estimated that there are now three million Muslims living in Great Britain, and this new trend in names seems to affirm that Islam is growing and thriving in England. A majority of Muslims living in the UK are from Pakistan, and nearly five percent of the British population are followers of Islam.

The United Kingdom’s Office of National Statistics declared Oliver as the top name of 2013, with 6,949 boys heralding the moniker. However, when all the variations of Muhammad were compiled, it easily topped the list.

Most Consumer Sales Happen Offline

Most U.S. retail sales still happen in physical stores, according to a new survey by Ripen Ecommerce.

Using Google Consumer Surveys, analysts polled more than 1,000 U.S. shoppers and discovered that 92 percent still prefer to shop in stores instead of on websites. Findings showed that 30 percent of shoppers still want to see or touch products before buying them.

Another factor in determining whether consumers purchased online or off was that 29 percent of shoppers wanted instant gratification instead of waiting for items to ship to them. Other respondents said they shop in physical stores to save on shipping (14 percent), because they were concerned for personal privacy (17 percent), or because of easier and cheaper returns (6 percent).

“Bless You”

A public high school in Newbern, Tennessee, reportedly suspended a student from class for saying “bless you” to a classmate who sneezed.

Senior Kendra Turner supposedly broke a class rule by using the phrase. Her teacher told her that saying “bless you” was for the church and that they wouldn’t have godly speaking in her class.

According to news reports, Turner told her teacher that she had the constitutional right to use the phrase. After she defended her actions, the teacher told her to go to the administrator’s office. Turner spent the rest of the class period in in-school suspension.

Later the teacher claimed that Turner’s outburst was a classroom distraction and that the student shouted “Bless you” from across the room, which was both disruptive and aggressive.

After the event, Turner’s classmates wore handmade “Bless You” T-shirts to show their support.

Richard Dawkins on Down Syndrome

Atheist Richard Dawkins set off controversy when he tweeted a defense of abortion as it related to Down syndrome.

Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist, said through his social media account, “It would be immoral to bring it into the world,” referring to a fetus that tests positive for Down syndrome.

A number of people responded to Dawkins on Twitter, many disagreeing with his philosophy, which only led to more controversial statements from Dawkins.

He went on to note that a majority of Down syndrome fetuses in the United States and Europe are aborted and that his stance is actually “the norm.” He called these kinds of abortions civilized and continually referred to unborn babies as “fetuses” without human feelings.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons. 
www.christybarritt.com