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خلاصہ: Animal Origami: The Physics of Nature’s Folds – and How Technology is Adapting Them(Article by Rohini Subrahmanyam originally published by Knowable Magazine) As the microscopic, tear-shaped Lacrymaria olor  swims around hunting for food, it does something remarkable: In a blink, the tiny protist extends its neck more than 30 times its body length, snatching up unwitting prey. Then, just as quickly, the neck withdraws, returning to its original The post Animal Origami: The Physics of Nature’s Folds – and How Technology is Adapting Them appeared first on Good News Network.Source InformationPublisher: Good News NetworkOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: 11 old-timey frugal living habits younger generations need to revive ASAPToday's adults often lament the economic turmoil of the 21st century, from the Great Recession of 2008 to the financial upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic of the early 2020s to very real struggles with unaffordable housing and education. A lot has transpired to drive up the cost of everyday living without a corresponding rise in wages. With a major upheaval of the U.S. government unfolding in early 2025, uncertainty was even more solidified as the theme of the day. When financial instability hits, it's time to take measures to mitigate it however we can, and thankfully, we can learn a thing or two from our elders who lived through the money struggles of two world wars and the Great Depression. Frugality was a way of life for our grandparents and great-grandparents, and though times have changed—a lot—many of those wise ways to save money still stand. And the good news is that many of them are good for the environment and our health as well as our wallet, so Here are some of the easiest, best frugal living habits we can take from previous generations: Cooking at home is almost always cheaper than eating out, and often significantly so. Photo credit: Canva Cook from scratch Even with the cost of groceries being higher than they were, it's almost always significantly cheaper to eat at home than it is to eat out. Learning to cook is a useful and enjoyable (for many) hobby that can also save you money, as long as you're not trying to cook something overly fancy. Cooking doesn't have to be complicated, and it's never been easier to find simple recipes. There are even sites that will come up with a menu and recipes for you based on what you already have in your pantry. Stock up on basic ingredients, keep it simple, and find some favorite meals that you can whip up quickly and easily. Less meat, more beans Meat is pricey—especially good quality meat—and with animal-borne diseases becoming more of a concern, animal products in general are getting more expensive. Perhaps now would be a good time to transition to more of a plant-based lifestyle, making more use of cheaper protein sources like beans. Canned beans are generally quite affordable, but dried beans are even cheaper if you don't mind taking the time to soak and cook them. If you have an Instant Pot, it's super easy to batch cook dry beans , which you can then store cooked in the freezer for quick reheating. Bulk spices often cost a fraction of what they cost in jars. Photo credit: Canva Buy herbs and spices in bulk Spices in jars are stupidly expensive sometimes, and you might assume that's just what they cost. But if you've never shopped in the bulk spice section at a store—even at an expensive health food store—you might be surprised by how much cheaper it is. Leafy herbs like oregano, thyme, basil, and sage weigh almost nothing, so even if they cost $20/lb, a jar's worth is often pennies to the dollar cheaper than buying them already packaged. (Just beware heavier spices, as sometimes those can be just as expensive as jarred. Definitely worth comparing, though.) Borrow and barter When times are tough, getting by becomes a community effort, but there's no reason we have to wait for an actual economic depression to help one another out or scratch one another's backs. We all have things that sit around not being used much of the time that others might like to borrow, from tools to books. Trading services can be an excellent way to save money in a win-win way. Growing your own food can save you money. Photo credit: Canva Grow a garden During the pandemic, many people started growing WWII-style "victory gardens" simply because they could, but gardening can be a great way to save on produce and herbs. If you can start early in the spring and grow from seed, even better. Though learning to keep a garden thriving can be a little trickier than it looks, the savings can be impressive. For instance, one tomato plant can harvest 10 to 20 pounds of tomatoes, so even if you spend $5 on a starter plant, you can save a ton compared to produce section prices at the store. No yard? Gardening in containers works, too. Clean with vinegar and baking soda It may seem like a small thing, but lots of small things like cleaning products add up. Buying vinegar in bulk and diluting it 50/50 with water makes a great basic cleaner, and baking soda in bulk can help you scour surfaces as well. Vinegar smell doesn't last long, but you can always add a little essential oil to the mix to add some scent. You might need a stronger disinfectant for certain cleaning jobs, but for a basic cleanser, vinegar gets the job done. Biking is free. Photo credit: Canva Drive less Americans love to drive and many of us do it far more often than we need to, spending more on gas than necessary. And even though gas prices have come down most places, it still isn't cheap. Combining trips or making a once a week "errand day" can help us cut down on driving. So can carpooling or biking or walking more. Buy used Thrift store shopping can save a ton of money, especially if you shop around to various thrift shops to find the ones that actually have good stuff at low prices. Clothes especially can be a much better deal used than new, and no one will ever know the difference. Furniture is also a fraction of the cost used vs. new, and often older furniture is better quality anyway. Check Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and other online markets for used items before running to the store or buying something new online. Public libraries are treasure troves of free items to...

خلاصہ: A NASA engineer let bed bugs bite him so we can all sleep better. Here's what he learned.Every parent has said the line: "Good night! Sleep tight! Don't let the bed bugs bite!" This sing-song rhyme that has been around for centuries alludes to the fact that bed bugs were prevalent in the past. After a significant decrease post-WWII , however, the sneaky pests have been making a comeback. Since the 1990s, bed bug infestations have risen dramatically , leading people to look for ways to avoid and get rid of the blood-sucking little buggers. Unfortunately, a lot of the information about how to do that is flat-out wrong . Popular YouTube science communicator and former NASA engineer, Mark Rober invites viewers to forget what we think we know and go on an educational journey with the leading bed bug researchers at Rutgers University's urban entomology lab. Not only did Rober subject himself to bed bug bites on purpose to see what happens when they feed, but he also conducted a series of experiments in the lab to find out what is actually effective at killing them and what is not. Bed bugs have a reputation for being nearly impossible to get rid of, which isn't really the case, according to Rober. When you know what works, it's actually a fairly simple process to kill an infestation. And the good news is that it doesn't entail any toxic chemicals—in fact the pest control chemicals sold for bed bugs don't work at all, according to Rober's tests. A person in gloves inspecting for bed bugs. Photo credit: Canva In the process of learning about bed bugs, Rober shared a few "super wild" facts about the infamous creatures. Fact #1: Bed bugs can live 3 to 10 months without feeding. Eek. No wonder it seems like it's impossible to get rid of them. Starving them doesn't work. They can live in the resting stage for three to six months, and if the environment is cold enough, they can survive around 300 days, or 10 months, without eating. Fact #2: Bed bugs don't transmit disease Some good news here: Unlike blood-sucking mosquitoes, bed bugs don't carry or transmit disease. The bad news on the front is that because they don't pose a disease threat, only an annoyance, there's not a big incentive to fund research to eradicate them. Fact #3: Bed bugs are attracted to vertical objects In one of Rober's experiments, he placed a dish with a cylindrical vertical column inside it and a dish without a column, and nearly all of the bed bugs in the enclosure ended up in the dish with the column. "If you think about it, humans sleep at the highest elevation any given room. So their logic is just crawl up any vertical surface you see until you eventually find a warm-blooded meal at the top." Part of how they find humans is by smell, which is why certain strong-smelling items can act as a deterrent for bed bugs. In Rober's experiment, Bounce dryer sheets, moth balls, baking soda, and essential oils all seemed to repel bed bugs (as opposed to ultrasonic pest repellants, which appeared to have no effect). However, none of those things did anything to kill them. Fact #4: Before 1950, one in three homes had bed bugs Yikes. Even with the resurgence, we're still nowhere near those numbers, thank goodness. - YouTube www.youtube.com Fact #5: The way bed bugs mate is weird The term used to describe it is called "traumatic insemination," and really, you should just let Mark Rober explain it with his visual metaphor. Start at minute 11:30. Two things work well to kill bed bugs—diatomaceous earth and heat @scibodytherapy You only need three things to get rid of bed bugs. 1.) Heat. Steam specifically. This will be used to treat all of your soft line surfaces (pillows, clothes, mattresses etc 2.) Diatomaceous earth. This natural powder etches the insects exoskeleton and casues death via dehydration. 3.) Time. This is a battle that can be won, but it may take a month ir more to completely eliminate an infestation. # #bedbugs # #parasitecleanse # #diy ♬ original sound - Josh Cottle In testing chemical sprays, foggers, and other items marketed for killing bed bugs, Rober found a "superstar" in a natural, non-toxic substance. Diatomaceous earth —pulverized fossilized remains of tiny aquatic organisms called diatoms—was the most effective at killing the buggers with a 90% mortality rate after 10 days as opposed to 12% with the Hot Shot bed bug spray. Diatomaceous earth is mostly silica, which absorbs moisture, and when the silica dust sticks to the bed bugs as the walk through it, it dehydrates them. A light dusting of diatomaceous earth around all the cracks and crevices of a room is one way to kill off an infestation, though that process can take days. The other way to kill bed bugs is heat. Steam kills bed bugs, as does heating up a room to over 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Temps over 122 degrees kills bed bugs instantly, and as Rober points out, there's no way for them to build immunity to this kind of treatment. So steamers and clothes dryers set to high are the average person's best bet for killing off bed bugs if they have them. The "nuclear option" is to have a pro come in with big heaters and cook your home for a day. How do you avoid getting bed bugs in the first place? - YouTube www.youtube.com An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that's true for bed bugs especially. Avoiding an infestation if there's already one in your apartment building is trickier, but a lot of people inadvertently bring bed bugs home from hotel stays. Checking the underside of a hotel mattress as soon as you enter the room is a good habit to practice. Bed bugs poop a lot, and there will be spots along the edges...

خلاصہ: 24 kids trashed a party they never RSVPd for. Now parents are debating birthday etiquette.Kids birthday party culture is definitely a source of major strife in the current zeitgeist. For one thing, parties have become outrageously expensive. Renting a lane at the bowling alley and getting some pizza for a dozen kids used to be the cheap party. Now that same experience will probably run $500 or more. If you tack on custom desserts (unless it's a Costco sheet cake ), goodie bags, and a premium venue like a trampoline park or arcade, you could be looking at a bill of close to $1000! That's madness! RSVP etiquette is in crisis, too. Social media is rife with stories of no one RSVPing, RSVPers no-showing on the day, and others sorts of rude or bizarre behavior from parents that turns parties sour and, sadly, ruin kids' birthdays. One parent's story of a birthday party gone horribly wrong, though, definitely takes the cake. A bad birthday party can really hurt the birthday boy or girl. Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash "My son's birthday was recently and we decided to throw him a party at a local place that was kid focused and amazing," the parent writes in a Reddit post . Due to classroom rules and wanting to pass the invitations out through school, the family invited all 24 kids from their child's class. "Not a single parent RSVP'ed. Not a single one. My name, my phone number, AND my spouse's phone number was on the card. I'm literally staring at one ... that I handwrote and this was included on the invite. I handwrote every card so I know for a fact what was on there," they say. Not wanting to cancel the birthday party (and traumatize his son), the parent began inviting kids from other branches of their network. Friends' kids, coworkers kids. Basically anyone with a warm body so that they could throw a proper party. In the end, the family planned and paid for 15 kids to attend the party, including a resounding zero from class. And then everything went haywire. A lot can go wrong if you don't get the birthday invitations just right. Photo credit: Canva "Party was yesterday night. ... We get there, get settled in, and start seeing kids come in. A few of his classmates began showing up. I was fine with that and was excited kids started showing up for him. And then more kids started showing up. One family brought 7 kids total; 3 teens, 2 slightly older kids, a girl from his classmates, and their cousin. Another family brought their son AND one of his friends because 'they didn't know if their son would know anyone there so we wanted to make sure he had a friend to play with'. So many of them brought siblings." The numbers quickly got way, way out of hand. Organizers at the venue told the parent they were going to have to pay for all the extra kids that showed up. So the OP unfortunately had to tell anyone who brought uninvited kids, or failed to RSVP, that they would have to pay their own way for all the crafts and activities available at the venue. A few families apologized and ponied up, but... "I had multiple parents tell me that they didn't know they couldn't bring their other kids and promised to pay before they left. Some asked for my Cashapp/Venmo/Zelle so they could reimburse me later since they couldn't afford it right now. Some just left, a few taking their presents with them." With so many kids running amok, the party took an unfortunate turn. Kids started being mean to an animal that was brought out for entertainment and its handlers had to put it away. Trash went flying everywhere. Kids climbed on tables and got kicked out. It was pandemonium. In the end, the parent had to pay an extra cleaning fee, pay for damage done to the venue, and pay for all the extra kids who showed up whose parents left before chipping in. Worse yet, their son was devastated at how the party turned out. "I was in tears. My son is really upset that there were so many mean kids. He said this was the worst party ever and asked to not have a party for next year." The obvious question coming out of this story: Why are people so awful?! Stories like this one sadly aren't rare. The cynical take is that parents are ruder and more self-absorbed than ever, that our chronically disconnected society has diluted our sense of community and obligation to be kind to each other. The (slightly) more optimistic and probably more accurate take is that today's parents are completely overwhelmed and have their hands full coordinating handfuls of events that are months away, responding to dozens of daily emails from school and teachers and daycares, being engaged and hands-on in every aspects of their kids lives, etc. So RSVPs sometimes slip to the bottom of the list and get forgotten. The behavior in this parent's story is appalling, but probably not intentionally malicious. Still, social media users were furious on behalf of the child and his parents in the story. "This is unacceptable behavior," wrote one commenter. "People suck and kids parties bring out the worst in people!" added another. "manners have gone out the window lately I don't know why anyone would do this, its so unbelievably rude," someone wrote. "Upside: I feel like you're raising a kid that's going run circles around these folks later in life," another person added optimistically. Parents were distraught after kids who never RSVPd trashed the party. Photo by Malachi Cowie on Unsplash Whatever the cause, there are a few ways you can protect yourself and your kids from birthday party catastrophes like this one. Don't include the specific location on the invite. The best way to stop people who didn't RSVP...

خلاصہ: Unfortunate woman reveals the funny reason she can't have monogrammed clothingAccidents happen, of course, but it’s fair to blame parents if they give their child a name and the initials spell out something unseemly or embarrassing. They should have considered this before naming the child. However, you can’t blame someone with funny initials after getting married, because no one will reject the love of their life for having a last name that starts with the wrong letter. A woman shared that she can’t stand her initials because she can’t wear monogrammed clothing . " are the bane of my existence, and I can never have traditional monogramming (first, last, middle) without it being a sandwich." Yes, her initials, in the traditional monogram form, are BLT. They are a tasty option for lunch, but probably not something you’d want on a fancy necklace or bathrobe. She also refuses to eat the sandwich. "Raw tomatoes are disgusting to me personally,” she adds. What is traditional monogram form? Why is it that in traditional monogram form, a married woman’s initials are different than if she was writing them first, middle, and last? “A monogrammed gift for a woman should include her first, middle, and last initial or, if she is married, her first, maiden name, and married name initials. Traditionally, a woman's monogram is presented in first, last, and middle initial order,” The Monogram Merchant writes. For example, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy would have a traditional monogram of JKB. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy greets guests before a reception for the Wives of American Society of Newspaper Editors Members. via The U.S. National Archives/Wikimedia Commons To make the woman feel better, some commenters shared their initials, and many were worse than BLT. "My friend's is AIDS, so dont worry, i remember in secondary school having to sew our initials on pillows for home economics. I felt bad for her." "I’m D.M.B. - all I’m missing is the U." "Mine are TB.... just as unappealing haha." "My initials are BS, so don't feel bad. I get cracked on all the time." "Hubs initials are ET. Cue 'ET phone home,' circa the '80s, from all his so-called friends at work." My initials are RAD, lol." "I knew a girl with the initials PMS, I think food is better than that." "Mine happen to spell 'ELF', and I hated it as a kid. Now I embrace it, lol." "My brother’s are R.A.T. He kinda embraced it, an animal lover and all." "I'm APE lol." A gorilla walking on its knuckles. via Canva/Photos "Upon reflection, I should have considered this more when naming my daughter, her initials are - AHO. If we had hyphenated then, AHOG." "My brothers are R.A.T. He kinda embraced it, an animal lover and all." "After I get married next year, my initials will be the biggest white supremacy group in the US, so it could always be worse." "MGM, I am a company." Are unfortunate initials bad for your health? It was once believed that having unfortunate initials meant more than suffering the occasional embarrassment—they could take years off your life. In 1999, a study found that men with positive initials, such as WOW or JOY, lived 4.5 years longer than those with neutral initials, while those with negative initials, such as DIE or ROT, died 2.8 years later. The idea was that people with negative initials subconsciously think less of themselves, which could lead to an unhealthy lifestyle compared to someone with positive initials. However, six years later, that study was debunked by a subsequent study that found there is “no persuasive biological theory of how longevity should be significantly affected by initials." Pamela Redmond Satran, author of Baby Names Now , says we should still consider initials when naming children. "Every conventional naming book gives the guideline, 'Don't forget to look at the initials,'" Satran said, according to CBS News. "Even if the second study contradicts the first, and having bad initials is not going to shorten your life span, it could make what there is of your life less pleasant. And who wants to foist that on innocent children?" This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.Source InformationPublisher: UpworthyOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Teacher stirs 'controversy' by being brutally honest with students about their reading levelRemember in school when the teacher would split the class into different reading groups? One was always, clearly, more advanced, while the other went at a slower pace. But the groups usually weren't labeled as such out loud. One teacher , at least, says maybe they should be. The results from 2024’s National Assessment of Educational Progress found that the slide in American students' reading abilities has only worsened. The percentage of 8th graders with “below basic” reading skills was 33%, the lowest in the exam’s three-decade history. The percentage of fourth graders “below basic” was the largest in 20 years at 40%. “Our lowest performing students are reading at historically low levels,” said Peggy Carr , commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the NAEP exam. “We need to stay focused in order to right this ship.” A big reason for the drop was the disruption in education caused by the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but educators are looking to see if there are other causes behind the drop in competency. “This is a major concern — a concern that can’t be blamed solely on the pandemic,” Carr said. “Our nation is facing complex challenges in reading.” Alarmed by the drop in reading scores, a high school teacher named Amber, who goes by @Amber.Maree44 on TikTok, is considering telling her students the grade level in which they read in hopes that it will motivate them and give them a reality check on their performance. @amber.mariee44 Please give your feedback I can’t tell if this is a good idea or not #teacher #teachersbelike #teachertok #teacherlife #teachersoftiktok #highschool #literacy “I'm starting to think that we need to be more straightforward with students about their progress and where they're at academically,” Amber said. "I think they need to know what grade level they're performing at." Amber’s perspective may also be helpful to parents. A 2023 study revealed a significant gap between parents' perceptions of their child's performance and their actual standing compared to grade-level standards. Nearly nine out of ten parents thought their child was at grade level, while about half were below grade level nationally. “I'm hesitant to do this because I know that we don't want students to feel bad about themselves, and I know that we don't want to discourage students by showing them their deficits. So I think, for a lot of students, having a real reality check like that where it's like, 'Hey, you're in high school. But it looks like you're reading at a fifth-grade level,' I think some students need that in order to push themselves to actually try in school," she continued. A teacher helping a student. Canva/Photos Amber’s suggestion runs counter to some in education who believe that if children are told they are below grade level, it will discourage them from reading . Students may not challenge themselves by attempting to read above their level, or they may become discouraged. This may further deter their progress, and it is far from an imperfect process to determine where a child is with their reading skills. "To the people saying 'oh but only tell the parents' no, the kid needs to know. The parents can't read for them, or do the work for them. also some parents don't care, or don't get it," one person wrote in the comments. "I’m a teacher. I did this for years, and I would tell my students iif you aren’t at a level you’re proud of, I want you to know it’s NOT your fault. But if you choose not to fix it, it will be,'” another added. Reading can be a challenge for many students. Canva/Photos Amber believes that a big reason why 54% of adults cannot read at a fifth-grade level is that no one told them, so they don’t know they need help improving their reading skills. To combat the literacy crisis, Amber was considering having her students take an online literacy test to determine their grade level; she doesn’t need to know the results because she already knows where they are from previous tests. Then, so no student feels singled out, she can have a dialogue with her students who have fallen behind about how they can improve their skills. This approach strikes a happy medium, allowing students to learn where they are without shame from their teacher, while also providing them with options to enhance their skills. This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.Source InformationPublisher: UpworthyOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Linguists explain why people often say 'is is' even though we'd never write it that wayThe English language is bizarre, littered with inconsistent rules, surprising pronunciations and subtle quirks in phrasing that we often overlook. With that in mind, what is "is is"? For starters, it’s a pretty common grammatical pet peeve . Beyond that, it’s also a strange repetition that you might find yourself saying out loud even though you’d never write it. Before we go any further, let’s give some examples. You might encounter "is is" in sentences like "The problem is, is that we don’t have time for dinner" or "My point is, is that rock music is best experienced on headphones." You might read both of those sentences and think, "I’d never say that." But read them out loud, using those commas for intentional pauses, and the concept should crystalize. (Next time you listen to your favorite podcast, keep this front of mind—it might now become your pet peeve. You’re welcome.) @wordsatwork When it comes to English grammar, the weird thing is is that we can use "is" two times in a row - but how? And why? Let's talk about it! #language #linguistics #english #grammar #learnontiktok #education #fyp You might call it the "is-is hiccup" This isn’t just the stuff of online griping—linguists do have technical names for it. One common term is a "double copula," and an excellent article from the website GrammarBook.com uses the way catchier and more accessible "is-is hiccup." "Often these are statements made by sophisticated and qualified spokespersons," their author writes, distinguishing between real examples of this verbal flub ("The fact of the matter is, is that…") and others that are clunky and unorthodox but are technically correct (" comedian from North Carolina named Andy Griffith once made America laugh with 'What It Was, Was Football,' his monologue about college football from a country boy’s perspective.") So, why do we do this anyway? In 2013, Slate 's Alyssa Pelish spoke to linguists and presented an educated guess. At one point, they ask readers to consider the following sentence as spoken out loud: "The thing is we are all out of pickles." They explain, "If the speaker places a definite stress on is, the rest of the sentence is likely to be followed by a pause, no? Linguists like Patrick McConvell at Australian National University and Laura Michaelis-Cummings at the University of Colorado have found that the stressed is , coupled with the break immediately after, sounds awkward to speakers’ ears, since it’s unlike the general patterns that stresses and pauses typically follow in English." The resulting "is is," according to Michaelis-Cummings, is something of a "workaround." Teachers explain grammatical rules. Photo credit: Canva , Pressmaster (left, cropped) / pixelshot (right, cropped) If you say "is is," you probably have good intentions In other words, you’re probably using "is is" for the sake of clarity—even if some find it annoying. Speaking of which: One user created a thread about this topic in the r/grammar subreddit , and multiple people replied by theorizing about the concept. "The unnecessary 'is' comes from the fact that people often don't speak grammatically, but often speak in sentence fragments, especially when they're still figuring out what they want to say," one Redditor suggested. "I used to have to transcribe recordings of conversations, and it really struck me just how much people tend to stammer, use filler words, or change tacks in mid-sentence." Others chimed in while also playfully using "is is." This comment wins the thread: "What the meaning of 'is is' is is not so clear." In response to one breakdown, someone replied, "This is very clear and actually helpful," highlighting the key difference between the written and spoken word. (But as another person noted, some examples in the thread are grammatically correct, and others aren’t. Confusing stuff!) In summary: The thing is, is that words are weird. - YouTube www.youtube.comSource InformationPublisher: UpworthyOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Amid ICE crackdown, this Minneapolis sex shop has transformed into a donation center for neighbors in needSmitten Kitten has become a hub to gather food, personal essentials, and more, for distribution to community members in need.Source InformationPublisher: Good Good GoodOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Inspired by Asthma Attack, New Delhi Teens Recycle 2 Million Pounds of Waste Across 14 Indian CitiesYouth comes with gifts: one of them is the inability to recognize when you should be intimidated. When two teenagers in New Delhi wanted to do something to improve the city’s waste collection, age and experience would have told them that they were out of their minds. Yet just a few short years later and The post Inspired by Asthma Attack, New Delhi Teens Recycle 2 Million Pounds of Waste Across 14 Indian Cities appeared first on Good News Network .Source InformationPublisher: Good News NetworkOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Millennials are hilariously bonding over their '90s obsession with 'psychic' Sylvia BrowneIf you lived through the '90s and early aughts and happened to watch The Montel Williams Show or Larry King Live , you probably remember their "resident psychic ," Sylvia Browne. With her flaxen blonde hair and very short bangs, Browne claimed to be a medium for "angels" and purported to be clairvoyant when audience members asked her questions. Of course, it wasn't just Millennials watching. Many members of previous generations would, often secretly, enjoy her segments with abandon like a sci-fi zombie B-movie. It wasn't until we had a little hindsight that we could measure her extremely confident-sounding statements and understand that...many of them simply were not true. Near the end of last year, people who grew up in this era began making compilations of some of Browne's most outrageous, inappropriate, and often laughably wrong predictions. The trend went so incredibly viral that it has picked up steam again, and these clips continue making the rounds. See on Instagram In one montage of clips, we see person after person bravely stand up and ask Sylvia questions. Often they'll ask about someone who has gone missing. Browne's answers are curt and to the point. "He drowned" seems to be a big one. To one woman who asked about her father, Sylvia matter-of-factly states, "He's alive. He's in Florida." A common question Montel often asked after Browne's declarations was, "Does that make sense?" Usually the answer was, "No, but thank you," as the audience member gingerly took their seat. The best part of watching these clips continue to go viral is the communal joy it's bringing to the comment sections (not to mention the nostalgia and the jokes). One person writes that their life schedule was dependent on whether or not Browne was booked as a guest that day. "If Sylvia was on, I'd skip school." Amanda Seyfried in a scene from the movie Mean Girls. Giphy , Paramount Pictures This person jokes after seeing the woman who was told her father has been in Florida for decades: "Her dad in Florida watching this: Darn it!" Another acknowledges Browne's go-to answer. "Sylvia, I forgot my middle name…." "It drowned." "Okay, thank you." And here's another spin on it: "5 years ago my father went missing while climbing Mount Everest I was wonde....." "He drowned in the Titanic." "Thank you." Over on Threads, @Robbylernan posted quite a few Browne clips , claiming, "I went down a Sylvia Browne rabbit hole last night and I laughed my a-- off for an hour." See on Instagram One person on the thread reminisces about their favorite Browne moment: "The best one was when she told that reporter that the girl in the picture was kidnapped and dead and the reporter said, 'That picture is me.' And she looked at the woman and said, 'You weren't kidnapped?' BRUHHH." Note: Her predictions weren't all completely wrong. In fact, The Daily Mail recently shared a Browne prediction that went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic. Browne reportedly stated, "In around 2020, a severe pneumonia-like illness will spread throughout the globe, attacking the lungs and bronchial tubes and resisting all known treatments." That said, skeptics debunked her claims for years. In a piece for TV Insider , freelance entertainment Martin Holmes reminds readers of the time "Browne told Louwanna Miller her missing daughter, Amanda Berry, was 'not alive,' explaining to the distraught mother, 'Your daughter's not the kind who wouldn't call.'" Holmes adds, "Berry was found alive in 2013 after she escaped years of captivity." In 2010, Skeptical Inquirer Magazine noted, "Despite her repeated claims to be more than 85 percent correct," a study reported that "Browne has not even been mostly correct in a single case." Wrong or right, it's the wrongness that seems to bring the most delight to those who are dipping into the nostalgia. Even Saturday Night Live got in on the fun. Amy Poehler spoofs Sylvia Browne on SNL. www.youtube.com , Saturday Night Live, NBC Universal (function(){if(window.instgrm)window.instgrm.Embeds.process()})()Source InformationPublisher: UpworthyOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: People on LinkedIn are inventing nonsense business idioms, and they're too good not to useIt seems that the higher up you ascend in your career, the more you grow to love a good business catchphrase, buzzword, or idiom . Working in an office will have you saying things like "let's kick this off," "let's circle back on this," and " let's not boil the ocean here " in no time. Idioms , while they can get annoying when overused (especially in the workplace), do serve a helpful purpose. They're a sort of fun shorthand, conveying a lot of meaning in a few words. While idioms act as analogies or metaphors that give more context to a situation, they also come with a lot of history: when you hear one, you remember all the times you've heard it before or even used it yourself. It instantly contextualizes what's going on and quickly helps us understand what someone may be communicating . However, run-of-the-mill workplace idioms have gotten a little stale, to the point that many of them have become meaningless cliches. We could all use some new ones, and luckily, folks on social media are chiming in with some ridiculous creations of their own. It all started when an X user named Tomie shared what would go on to become a hugely viral post: "I've started saying nonsense phrases at work like 'that's neither cheese nor cheddar' just to see my coworkers nod seriously like they understand." — (@) Tomie added in another post, "Like woah there, pause the pineapples." The post received nearly 2 million views and hundreds of comments on X. Soon, it made its way to the professional crowd on LinkedIn, where people began building on Tomie's original suggestions. Daniel Berk added a few of his own: "Let's not microwave the lasagna on this one." "We might be polishing the doorknob instead of opening the door." "This feels like we're alphabetizing water." "Let's not put racing stripes on a parked car." "That's a lot of garnish for no entrée." "We're measuring the shadow, not the object." Noah Latner chimed in with: "Let's not settle in before we buy the house." "That lollipop isn't worth the lick." "You've got to put the patty on the grill before it sizzles." "This banana's got no peel to it." "Don't juice a pickle and tell me it's matcha." Sally Thomas writes, "One of my finest achievements was in a previous company where the manager was full of buzzwords. I got him to adopt 'It depends how you fold your napkin' as a favourite saying." Jennifer Connelly suggested: "Let's sauce these nugs later!" Cameron Gibbons said, "I'm not sure where it started, but one exec at Google said 'let's double click into that' and it spread like wildfire through the org." "That banana's got no peel to it." Giphy Liora Kern cooked up a few idioms that paid homage to different languages and cultures: "Dutch version: 1. That's a lot of hagelslag on a very thin slice of bread. 2. It's a three bicycles beat one car type of thing. Belgian version: 1. We're agreeing on the fries because agreeing on the sauces is harder. 2. We're arguing over the glass instead of the beer." "We’re arguing over the glass instead of the beer." Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash Here are a few more from the creative minds on X: "The last nail is the rustiest one." "Two claps and the goat's up the hill" "Let's toss this idea into the piranha bin." "I'm pulling the porcupine here." "This is all bags and boxes." "The proof is in the parmesan." "There's a rock behind every bush." "There's more to being a dog than sleeping under the porch." The funniest part about these made-up, nonsense idioms is that they kind of make sense. Some of the idioms brainstormed by random commenters are variations of existing catchphrases, or combinations of multiple different ones ("It's not exactly rocket surgery."). But many are complete gibberish, and yet our brains still seek out and manage to find some semblance of meaning in them. YouTube English teacher Aly says that "corporate English" is like its own language. Speaking the secret code with confidence, and pretending to understand it even when you don't, are key to success. In fact, one recent study found that more than half of employees regularly "pretend" to be working. So if you've ever felt self-conscious because you were in over your head at work or didn't know what the higher-ups were talking about, rest assured there's a good chance they were faking it, too. - YouTube www.youtube.com One commenter on Tomie's original post summed it up perfectly: "Office culture accepts nonsense when said confidently and calmly." Another added, "The only way to survive corporate America is to understand its 90% make believe." Delivering a totally made-up, nonsense business idiom with full confidence is one sure way to make people perk up and take notice of how brilliant you are.Source InformationPublisher: UpworthyOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Mummified Cheetahs Discovered in Saudi Arabia Show How the Country Could Bring The Cats BackBetween 2022 and 2023, scientists in Saudi Arabia began a survey of over 1,000 caves, hoping to find preserved remains of ancient animals to infer modern rewilding strategies. Whatever modest results they might have allowed themselves to hope for, they almost certainly would not have expected to find 7 naturally mummified cheetah skeletons. They had The post Mummified Cheetahs Discovered in Saudi Arabia Show How the Country Could Bring The Cats Back appeared first on Good News Network .Source InformationPublisher: Good News NetworkOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Xennials' 'hinge' position may make them better equipped to handle the current worldXennials are the micro-generation that nobody knows what to do with. Sometimes they're considered Gen X; other times, elder Millennials. Members of the micro-generation are also confused about where they belong. They're way too young and optimistic to be Gen X, but way too jaded and blunt to be Millennials. If you're part of this micro-generation, chances are you've felt like you belong to both generations . Author Kristen Shelt explains that Xennials occupy a "hinge" position between two generations, allowing them to hold two timelines at once. It's not just the fact that Xennials are a micro-generation that gives them this ability; there are several micro-generations. What makes this micro-generation unique is the time frame in which its members were born: between 1977 and 1983. Joyful moments shared over a vintage phone call. Photo credit: Canva Shelt shares in a TikTok video : "Xennials had a fully analog childhood. You rode your bike until the streetlights came on. You answered the phone without knowing who was calling. You waited a week for new episodes. You were raised in a world where boredom still existed, and then right as you entered adulthood, the digital world detonated. Email, cell phones, early internet culture, social media in its Wild West era. You went from zero connectivity to full immersion almost overnight." The author goes on to explain that the split timeline in which Xennials came of age created a "very specific internal architecture." According to Shelt, this gives Xennials the independence and cynicism of Gen X, while also giving them the reform-minded energy and emotional intelligence of Millennials. Retro computer setup in a vintage tech room. Photo credit: Canva Shelt explains: "You know how to detach when necessary, but you also know how to name your feelings without imploding. You can fix a printer and cry in therapy in the same afternoon, and that's the Xennial frequency. Your field is interesting because you grew up in a world that taught you survival, and you came of age in a world that demanded self-reflection, so you learned how to run two operating systems at once. Don't depend on anyone and build community, or you'll drown. Two very contradictory types of realities." This split causes Xennials to feel out of place and may also help explain why researchers don't have a neat generational box for the micro-generation. Shelt says this constant in-between state is Xennials' greatest strength: "Xennials understand both collapse and creation. You watched the old systems crack, and you stepped into adulthood just as the pressure to fix them began. You carry X realism and Millennial idealism simultaneously. This makes you natural translators for the moment we're living in." @kristen1942 Xennials hold two timelines #xennials #fyp #millennial #genx #genz ♬ original sound - Kristen While some people disagree about the micro-generation's name and the pronunciation of Xennial, several TikTok commenters weighed in on how the world shifted as they entered adulthood: "'Older than your peers but younger than your responsibilities' is so spot on. 82 here and at 43 my age still shocks me, in my head I'm younger. But yet I'm everyone's tech support both older and younger around me. I can write in cursive, type proficiently and write code. I also still feel like I'm trying to teach empathy and consideration to both my boomer parents and my Gen alpha kids. We have no real guidebook on parenting as well, because many of us are trying to break the mold but when you're raise in authoritative ways, it's hard to go against all you know. You are right though - I've always felt out of place." "Many of us were also in high school when Columbine happened. (Class of '99) I watched the whole thing unfold on a TV my teacher wheeled into our classroom. We were the last generation to go to school without being afraid of a mass shooting, and then the first to experience that fear." Focused work session at the laptop. Photo credit: Canva "Witnessed the Challenger explosion in school n 9/11 as we entered adulthood. Owned a cassette Walkman, CD discman, MP3 player, iPods, n now smartphones. Played Oregon trail n had AOL account. Rode our bikes til the street lights came on n now doom scrolling." "Born in 77. This is accurate because in both my personal and professional life I have come to be known as the person that can handle conflict most effectively. And this is because my x characteristics make me understand accountability and my millennial characteristics make me able to communicate it in a kind, empathetic way."Source InformationPublisher: UpworthyOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Professional life hacker shares 13 'magic words' that are cheat codes for any situationIn the real world, there are no such things as magic words like "abracadabra" or "open sesame," but the way you phrase something can have a huge impact on how people interpret your words . Just as we can choose to be rude or polite when asking for help, we can also frame our requests to increase the likelihood of getting the response we want. Chelsea Anderson, who refers to herself as a professional life hacker, shared the "magic words" she loves to use in a recent TikTok post . The video inspired her followers to share their own, creating a treasure trove of magic words and phrases that can help us become better communicators. Anderson's magic phrase is: "Would you mind if..." @chelseaexplainsitall I love magic words!!! What are some that you know of? Totally fine to include very niche use cases ◡̈ #magicwords #lifehack #cheatcodes "The reason this is magic is because it allows people to say 'no' in order to say 'yes' to your request," she said. "Saying 'no' is a much easier thing to do than saying 'yes,' because saying 'yes' requires a lot of authority. If I ask my boss, 'Do you mind if I rearrange these slides in this deck?' It's easy for that person to authoritatively say, 'No, I don't mind,' because they know whether they mind or not." In a way, "Would you mind…" bypasses the question of whether the request is appropriate and instead asks whether the person cares. Anderson's video, which was also posted on Instagram , inspired people to share their own magic phrases, and here are 13 of the best ones. 13 of the best "magic words" and phrases "I'll remember that for next time" "'Sir, you can't bring outside candy into the movie theater.’' 'I'll remember that for next time.' Most of the time, there's no follow-up. " — Narlz "As it turns out" (instead of "unfortunately") “Unfortunately has a negative connotation." — Desert streams "What are the odds..." “For example, 'What are the odds you have a table for 2 right now?' It's so disarming and charming that it works almost always." — Angie "What would you do if you were in my situation?" "It's magic when you need customer support. It makes them think about the situation in a different way and have some empathy." — Nap "If no one objects…" "I was on our HOA board. As with any board, no one wanted to make a decision. So I would just send out emails that said 'if no-one objects, i'm going to…' and then I did whatever I wanted to. It meant that a majority would have to object in order to stop me. They weren't that organized." — Willwebstardad "I see." "When you disagree with someone but know that engaging with them in discussion would be pointless.” — StayathomedadThoughts "Is this a bad time?" "Usually, people say 'no,' and it makes them feel empowered, so then you can ask for a yes later in the conversation. ” — Lori "Are we venting or problem solving?" “When a partner or friend comes to you with an issue. Both require different responses, and I swear so many miscommunications can be avoided by asking this!" — Linda "Guess where I'm taking you?" "Instead of asking where people want to eat, etc. A guess is much more fun, and they'll always guess the place they wanna go!" — Sarah "I need a miracle and I know you can make it happen" "People jump to help make miracles happen, no matter how big or small, even me!" — Julie "I'm just visiting for the weekend." "I travel a lot and frequently say this when people try to offer me things (gym memberships, movie passes, etc.), and I've accidentally gotten so many free things by telling them I'm only visiting for the weekend. I guess people love to share kindness with visitors! So far, I've received free ice skating passes, free movie tickets, free entry to a gym, etc." — Lifts and kicks "I love the way you handled that" "When someone (partner, friend, coworker) takes the lead on solving something for me. It makes them feel more empowered, strengthens our trust and makes it easy for them to say yes next time." — Maraanddenise "Thanks" (instead of "please") "Say it at the end of a direction (mainly aimed at kids), i.e., 'push your chair in, thanks.' This stops any argument, and the direction is followed as thanks is usually what is said after the act is followed through with. A very simple and effective hack in the classroom." — Jan Ultimately, these magic phrases have something in common: they're about taking a moment to consider the other person before you speak. It's about presenting information in a way that empowers the other person rather than leaving them feeling put out by your request. It shows that taking a quiet moment to consider someone else's perspective can give you a significant advantage in life.Source InformationPublisher: UpworthyOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Want your home to be 'the house' for your teens? Mom shares her 4 tips to make it happen.I grew up in "the house." In high school , my home was the designated place where my friends gathered, sometimes in big groups, sometimes just my small core squad. My three best friends spent the night there almost every Friday and/or Saturday night for four years straight. We devoured Totino's frozen pizzas by the dozen, inhaled soda, and laid waste to any snacks or leftovers that were brave enough to survive in the kitchen. Not only that, but my house was pretty small — four teenage boys took up a lot of space in the living room (the whole thing) and made a lot of noise playing video games deep into the night. It must have driven my parents and older brothers crazy. It's a wonder anyone put up with it. Or so I thought when I was younger. When I became a parent myself, I started to understand a little more why my mom and dad were so willing to host and feed all my friends and me every single weekend. Why the outrageous grocery bill and constant chaos in the house were probably a small price to pay. Mom explains how to make your house 'the house' where teenagers hang One mom has perfectly encapsulated the value of turning your home into "the house" for your kids and their friends, and exactly how she did it for her family. Teens hanging out in a living room. via Canva/Photos Amy White shared a reel on Instagram showing her college-aged son hanging in her dining room with a group of friends playing cards. The text overlay reads "What makes your kids' high school friends want to come over, play cards & spend the night on their College Christmas Break." I think most parents can agree that we want our kids to keep coming home as long as possible! So how exactly did White pull this off? Her explanation in the caption was spot-on. First , White says that you have to start early. Become "the hang out house" in high school or even earlier. Then you have a better chance of holding onto the mantle into your kid's college years. Next , be ready to stock the house with snacks and drinks, and don't make a fuss when your kid's friends have at it. "The kids knew we had food," she writes, "BUT they also knew I didn't care what they had. They knew they could eat anything in my pantry and fridge." Third , and this is a big one, don't mistake being the "cool house" for being "the house." Some parents choose to allow their underage kids and friends to drink alcohol under their supervision, but you don't have to bend your morals and the law to lure the squad over to your place. Pizza and Coke is plenty to keep most teens happy. "We were not the house that served alcohol or even allowed the kids to bring alcohol to our house. And Guess What?? The kids still came and wanted to hang at our house!" Teenagers eating pizza. via Canva/Photos Fourth , always say Yes (as often as possible, anyway) when your kids want to have friends over. "They know my answer is 99% of the time YES," White writes. "You have to have your kids take the leadership of offering your home and if your home was 'open' to their friends in high school, they know it will be 'open' to their friends in college." As a bonus tip , White pleas with parents not to worry about the mess having friends over makes. "I love a clean house and organization, BUT I would much rather have a crazy messy house for the kids where memories are made than a quiet house with nothing going on just to keep my house 'clean.'" Should parents allow teens to drink at home? There's an age-old debate over whether parents should allow teens to drink at home because it's better than if they do is unsupervised or keep their home dry as a bone. A recent study out of the University of Buffalo found that kids who grew up drinking at home had a greater chance of having addiction problems when they got older. "A robust relationship was found between parental permission to use alcohol during adolescence and increased alcohol use frequency and quantity, alcohol use disorder symptoms, and alcohol-related harms in young adulthood," the study says. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amy White | Sports Mom | Family | CEO on the go 👟 (@hi.im.amywhite) White writes, "It's worth being 'the house', so let go of control & get to know your kids friends." Commenters agreed. White's video went viral to the tune of 8.5 million views and hundreds of comments. Parents shared their own experiences of what it's like being the default hang out house. "Our house was the high school hangout for my son and friends... every weekend... I loved it!! Miss it now that they are all college graduates and have moved away. I love seeing them when they do come home for the holidays" "A wise man once said don't be the house with the alcohol. Be the house with the food." "Amy 1000% agree!!! My house is full of teenagers on the weekends and I love every bit of it. Even though I wake up to a kitchen that looked much different from when I left it" Teenagers eating pizza. via Canva/Photos "We never allowed alcohol, drugs, bad language, always respectful, and guess what, our house was always the house where the kids hung out. First my daughter, then my son. Through grade school, high school, then when my kids went out of state for college their college friends would come spend a couple weeks during the summer. I always thought of it this way, I loved...