Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - May 21, 2018

Human Nature:

It has a sad beat... but you can dance to it. New scientific research says pop music is getting sadder, but also --weirdly-- more danceable. New research published by the Royal Society Open Sciencelooked at music trends over the last 30 years, from 1985 to 2015, focusing on songs that make the U.K. top 100 during that time. Mashable.com says researchers from the University of California Irvine found that over the last few decades, there's been a "clear downward trend" in bright and happy songs, and a slight upward trend in sadder songs. The "maleness" of songs, has also decreased.
Successful songs were identified by researchers as being in the top 10 or staying in the charts for a long time. Those tended to be "happier," more "party-like," less "relaxed" and more "female" than most. Recently, chart-topping songs noted as being on the sadder side of the index included SAM SMITH hit "Stay With Me" and "Unmissable" by GORGON CITY, which compares to the prevalence of popular happier songs from the 1980s like "Would I Lie to You?" by the EURYTHMICS and "Freedom" by WHAM! (Bartha)

Taking everything much too seriously:

Could Play-Doh scented perfume be hitting the market soon? Maybe.
Toy company Hasbro says it has officially trademarked the smell of Play-Doh. The toy dough with the distinctive smell has been around since 1956. But, this is the first time its smell has been officially recognized by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark documents describe the smell as a "sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough." A Hasbro spokesman says the scent of Play-Doh has always been synonymous with childhood and fun. It's unclear if the company plans to license the scent for use in fragrances or air fresheners. (Still)