Category: Health
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Why pirates wear an eye patch
An eye patch, a parrot, a wooden leg, and a limp; these iconic attributes paint the picture of a pirate in popular culture. However, there’s more to the eye patch than meets the eye—quite literally. Contrary to common belief, famous pirates didn’t wear an eye patch due to a missing eye. Instead, it served a…
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There are different types of tears
Did you know that we shed different types of tears based on our emotions? Far from simple expressions of sadness or joy, tears are a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. Each tear type is composed of unique chemicals — mainly salt, water, and lysozyme — that give them their variable structure. Three Types of Tears There…
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Santiago Ramon y Cajal: The father of neuroscience was also an amazing artist
More than a hundred years ago, the father of modern neuroscience, Santiago Ramón y Cajal demonstrated that information is the output of messy internal wiring provided by the brain’s chemical synchronicity. Cajal was an artist trapped in a laboratory. He used his trained skills as an artist to draw masterful sketches of the brain. In…
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Iceland invites the world to scream out its lockdown stress
The COVID-19 pandemic got you stressed? Iceland’s government, in partnership with the country’s tourist agency Promote Island, will allow anyone in the world to scream into an app and broadcast it into the nation’s vast wilderness. Let it all out on a speaker in Iceland All one needs to record a loud scream, wail, or…
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Giant teddy bears enforce social distancing in Paris cafe
While the world remains alert and anxious over the spread of COVID-19, a bookshop owner in Paris has been trying to lighten the mood. Philippe, owner of the local bookstore, has been buying up giant bears and distributing them to his local neighborhood of Les Gobelins, Paris. The teddy bears first appeared in cafes, restaurants,…
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Natural light prevents myopia
A report issued in Nature reveals that staying inside is the leading cause of myopia. The finding refutes the myth that nearsightedness is the result of intense reading sessions and screen activity. Myopia is prevalent in East Asian countries, where the focus on studying means staying indoors rather than benefiting from the outside environment. According to another…
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Beautiful apples from around the world
William Mullan is a photographer who specializes in taking pictures of rare apples from around the world. The golden Knobbed Russet, the star-shaped api etoile, hard red Black Oxford apple — these are just a few of the varieties that appear in Mullan’s 200-page photo-book, Odd Apples. Writes Atlas Obscura on how Mullan’s fascination with…
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The treadmill was originally a torture device
Treadmills were originally torture devices, meant to break the mind, body, and spirit of English prisoners. Two hundred years ago, the treadmill was invented in England as a prison rehabilitation device. It was meant to cause the incarcerated to suffer and learn from their sweat. Groups of prisoners were forced to walk 6 hours a…
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The best representations of “social distancing”
Given the paramount importance of social distancing to impede the spread of the coronavirus — everything from sitting nearly 7 feet apart or shopping 7 feet apart — we’ve collected some of the most compelling illustrations across the web. The reality is that the longer people don’t comply with social distancing or space/physical distancing, the…