Interesting tidbits I’ve picked up lately:
1. You’ll sleep better at night if you get sunshine first thing in the morning. Early morning light is like “eating lunch at a regular time to prepare your body to be hungry for dinner at a predictable time,” said Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona.
2. The latest craze among 20 somethings is “mewing.” This is a completely non-scientific exercise of putting your tongue on the roof of your mouth many times in succession. It’s rumored this will re-sculpt your jawline and improve breathing.
3. Harvard recently removed human skin from the binding of a 19th century book. Apparently, a med student took the skin from the back of a deceased female psychiatric patient in the 1800’s and it’s been sitting in their library ever since. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/03/30/harvard-human-skin-book/.
4. These big, fat, adorable tapirs sound surprisingly like birds when communicating with each other.
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5. Half of ALL pregnancies in the world are ‘unplanned.’ Women were given “the right” to the birth control pill by the supreme court in 1965. 60 years later, and there’s still no male birth control pill in 2024? This, despite the fact that men produce 1,000 sperm a second. Just sayin’.
6. Rats giggle when tickled. https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/eavesdrop-on-ultrasonic-rat-giggles/ One of the few species, besides us and the monkeys, that are capable of laughter.
7. So do bonobos:
8. As do kookaburras from my native Australia:
9. Melting polar ice is slowing the earth’s rotation and affecting time. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/melting-ice-slowing-earth-rotation-may-affect-time-rcna145009?utm_source=recommendedreads.com.
10. We average about 35,000 decisions a day, so if you forget a few things, it’s quite understandable.
11. We breathe about 24,000 times a day and never have to give it a second thought.
Share something you’ve learned this week with someone you know. It’s a beautiful way to experience the world we’re lucky to be living in.