Feeling depressed about your weight? If you think eating a pizza would cheer you up, you're probably right. But drawing a picture of a pizza could have the same effect without all the calories, according to a study at Bonaventure University. Participants were divided into four groups and told to make sketches of pizza, cupcakes, strawberries and peppers. As the Daily Mail reports, drawing pizzas improved the subjects' mood by 28%, while drawing cupcakes raised their spirits by 27%. Sketching strawberries improved their moods by 22%. Perhaps not shockingly, the peppers hardly did any good at all, improving subjects' moods by only 1%.

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Lead By Example

As the leader of your staff, you have a lot of people counting on you. Great leaders throughout history have possessed certain attributes, including leading by example, inspiring others to succeed, listening, providing constructive criticism and genuine praise. How many of these attributes do you possess?

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This Week In Pizza

Today on This Week In Pizza: Pizza Party in the Desert; Reds’ No-Hitter Earns Free Pies for 10,000 Fans; and Pizza Roulette Game Turns Up the Heat

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4th of July Means Pizza for Troops

Pizzas 4 Patriots, the nonprofit group that throws huge pizza parties for U.S. troops serving overseas, was back in action on Independence Day. The group, founded by Master Sergeant Mark Evans of Chicago, delivered 18,000 pies to soldiers in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman. It was the 13th international pizza party hosted by Pizzas 4 Patriots, with help from DHL Express, AT&T and numerous pizza industry sponsors. Pizzas 4 Patriots landed in the Guinness Book of World Records last year after delivering 30,000 pies to overseas troops-the largest pizza delivery in recorded history.

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Pizza Without Borders

Reach Out to Muslims With Halal Pizza

With the Ramadan season upon us and an estimated 8 million Americans following guidelines for halal food (compared to 3.1 million people with Celiac disease), it makes sense for some pizzerias to offer a halal pizza option on their menus. "Halal" mostly refers to the way the animal is slaughtered-it must be done with a sharp blade to the throat by a Muslim who recites a prayer before and during the blood-letting. Pork is prohibited, and halal foods cannot touch any surfaces that have been contaminated with "haram" (or forbidden) foods during preparation.

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Christmas in July

A nonprofit group that gives Christmas gifts to 2,000 needy children each year got a little summertime help from some pizza-making elves at Bianchi's Pizza in Ottawa, Illinois, last week. As a 4th of July promotion, Bianchi's hosted its fifth annual Christmas in July Red Stocking Pizza Party, the proceeds of which went to support The Red Stocking Fund. Customers paid $3 for two huge slices and a soft drink, and total sales and donations hit a new high of $6,638, topping last year's total of $5,180. One donor kicked in $300 to buy pizza for a group of 100 kids, and Bianchi's owner, Al Ruhland, Jr., personally delivered the pies to a green-space park across the street where the kids had gathered.

Read more at PMQ.com.