5 Things: Bawdy Nutcracker, Hardy Cockroach

1. Got Wealth: The Federal Reserve said Monday that U.S. net worth, a measure of household wealth, rose 2.6 percent to $77.3 trillion from July through September. Net worth reflects the value of homes, stocks, bank accounts and other assets minus mortgages, credit cards and other debts. You can read more here.

2. There's a New Cockroach in Town: The LA Times reports on a disturbing discovery in New York – a species of cockroach that can withstand harsh cold. In a paper for the Journal of Economic Entomology,  Rutgers University insect biologists Jessica Ware and Dominic Evangelista write of confirming the presence of the Asian cockroach, first spotted in 2012 by an exterminator working on the High Line, Manhattan’s magnificent urban park, that reclaimed the former elevated spur of the New York Central Railroad on the West Side. If you're not creeped out yet, read on.

3. Buckle Up for High Chair Safety: According to a new study published this week in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, the number of children who went to emergency rooms because of injuries related to high chairs increased 22% from 2003 to 2010.Nearly all of those injuries, 93%, were the result of children falling out of high chairs, the authors found. Read more here.

4. Nutcracker Rouge: If you're looking for a twist on the traditional Christmas Nutcracker performance, consider this NC-17 rendition, described in this NYT review as "opulently burlesque and deliciously Freudian retelling of “The Nutcracker,” which has shades of Cirque du Soleil, “Sleep No More” and “Fanny and Alexander” (with a dash of “Satyricon”). Nutrcracker Curious? Read more here. 

5. Moo Juice Packs More Punch: Researchers tested nearly 400 samples of organic and conventional milk and found that the organic moo juice had a much healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids than the milk most Americans consume. The difference is believed to be a result of the pasture and forage-based feeds used on organic dairy farms. The study, which appears in the online journal PLOS ONE, is the first large-scale, nationwide comparison of organic and conventional milk, according to WSU.