Good day, bad day: January 24, 2012

GOOD DAY FOR:

Creative ultimatums

A new app called GymPact fines users who fail to show up at the gym after vowing to exercise, putting that money into a communal pot divvied up among GymPact users who actually did sweat. [Business Insider]

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Facial hair

Disneyland lifts its ban on bearded employees. Since 2000, workers have only been allowed to grow mustaches. [Death and Taxes]

Trippy treatments

Researchers announce that magic mushrooms may help treat depression, after discovering that one of the drug's active ingredients mimics anti-depressants. [CBS News]

BAD DAY FOR:

Terrible excuses

Paranormal experts refuse to come to the aid of a Wisconsin man who says ghosts are responsible for the beatings sustained by his wife. The man was arrested on Jan. 15 for domestic abuse, and told police that "a ghost did it." [Huffington Post]

Girl Scouts

A pastor bans Girl Scout troops from a Virginia Catholic church because he believes the group has ties to Planned Parenthood. [BuzzFeed]

Mothers-to-be

Researchers find that giving birth is 14 times more likely to result in a mother's death than having an abortion. The findings, while not unexpected, contradict some laws that suggest abortions are high-risk procedures. [Reuters]

For more winners and losers see: Good day, bad day: January 23, 2012