A small study out of Northwestern University says that how much you use your iPhone and where you go over the course of a day may indicate whether you're depressed or not.

Researchers studied phone use and GPS data for 28 individuals (20 women and eight men), with an average age of 29, over a two-week period. A sensor in their phones tracked GPS movements every five minutes. All of the participants then took tests to assess whether they suffered from clinical depression. Half showed no signs of depression; half had symptoms, ranging from mild to severe.

They found that depressed people used their iPhones about 68 minutes per day, compared with 17 minutes for non-depressed people. Depressed people also traveled less, had less regular schedules and went to work at different times each day.

Based on the phone sensor data, the scientists said they could identify people with depression symptoms with 87 percent accuracy in the study.

"The significance of this is we can detect if a person has depressive symptoms and the severity of those symptoms without asking them any questions," said senior author David Mohr. "We now have an objective measure of behavior related to depression. And we're detecting it passively. Phones can provide data unobtrusively and with no effort on the part of the user."

Body of Knowledge

The average human on an average day secretes 2 1/2 quarts of sweat.

Number Cruncher

A Sonic fudge brownie molten cake sundae (276 grams) contains 800 calories, 306 from fat. It has 34 grams of total fat, or 52 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet, according to the Calorie Count database.

It also contains 65 milligrams of cholesterol (22 percent), 610 milligrams of sodium (25 percent), 117 grams of total carbohydrates (39 percent), 4 grams of dietary fiber (16 percent), 73 grams of sugar and 8 grams of protein.

Never Say Diet

The Major League Eating record for pancakes is 50 3.25-ounce flapjacks in 10 minutes, held by Patrick Bertoletti. Warning: Most of these records are held by professional eaters; the rest are held by people who really should find something better to do.

Best Medicine

One evening, a man visits his doctor.

The doctor asks what's wrong, and the man says, "I think I'm a moth."

The doctor is chagrined. "You think you're a moth?" he exclaims. "You don't need a doctor. You need a therapist."

"I know," replies the man. "I was on my way to see a therapist, but then I saw your light was on."

Observation

"I am pretty sure that, if you will be quite honest, you will admit that a good rousing sneeze, one that tears open your collar and throws your hair into your eyes, is really one of life's sensational pleasures." — American humorist Robert Benchley (1889-1945)

Medical History

This week in 1903, Thomas Edison made front-page news in The New York World with his concerns about X-rays. He described a history of injuries in his own lab, including an employee who had his arm amputated because of cancer attributed to X-ray exposure. Edison blamed his failing eyesight on past X-ray experiments, prompting him to abandon the research. "I am afraid of radium and polonium, too," he said, "and I don't want to monkey with them."

Epitaphs

"No comment." — American writer and environmentalist Edward Abbey (1927-89). The words are also reportedly the last ones he uttered before dying.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.