Yukio Iwamasa was only about five or six years old when authorities barged into their home and told them they needed to evacuate. They had to sell all their things and live not knowing what would happen to them.
This was midway through World War II and he described how difficult it was to have your home and possessions stripped from you suddenly without prior notice and be subsequently brought into cramped barracks with two other families.
This is a story of remembrance, of losing one's place in the world, and of trying to rebuild that in the aftermath.
Over the UK's history, politics has been a bloody battleground of ideals, words, and just all around banter. It still persists today and perhaps, we might see even more.
But the tides have shifted from when Britain's illustrious yet slightly infamous former PM Winston Churchill was at the height of his premiership all the way to Thatcher's rollercoaster government known for its strict and pragmatic rule.
Which begs the question, what could have happened if these politicians hadn't become the most powerful person in the land? We will try to look back at the top ten would-have-been British PMs had circumstances been slightly different or had they not abruptly died.
Leonardo da Vinci was truly an inventor and someone way ahead of his time. He left some great masterpieces for the world to behold like the Mona Lisa and a treasure trove of ideas which he recorded in his notebooks. And though it has been 500 years since his death, a pair of impersonators keep his memory alive.
This is standard fare for artistic impersonators Valter Conti and his daughter Elena Pinori who masquerade as Italy’s majestic painter and his most famous subject. At least three days a week, Conti spends two hours dressing to look like a statue of the artist that stands outside the Uffizi Gallery.
A great picture of a faraway place can inspire you to plan a vacation there. However, with the rise of Instagram and its "influencers," often sponsored by tourism boards, more people flock to those beautiful places than ever before. Luckily, these everyday tourists also take pictures and post them on Instagram. Both pictures here were taken at Terme Di Saturnia in Manciano, Italy.
The best images are carefully staged and framed, taken at 6AM, or possibly on a day when the public doesn't have access to the site. So, before you get all excited about an inspiring getaway, check out what other people have posted about your potential destination. There likely is a good supply of more realistic pictures you could check out. And check out 10 Tourist Sights Around The World On Instagram Versus Reality at Buzzfeed.
Hold your junk foods at bay, children, because researchers from the University of Naples have discovered that junk foods are linked to food allergies. The study observed children aged 6-12 and separated them into three groups: those with (a) food allergies, (b) respiratory allergies, and (c) healthy controls. The study found the following:
"..a significant correlation between subcutaneous levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and junk food consumption,
“ that children with food allergies presented with higher levels of subcutaneous levels of AGEs than those children with respiratory allergies or no allergies at all.
“ the research team found compelling evidence relating to the mechanism of action elicited by AGEs in determining food allergy. "
The article further explains what AGEs are, following the mention of it from the results of the study:
AGEs are proteins or lipids that become glycated after exposure to sugars and are present at high levels in junk foods - deriving from sugars, processed foods, microwaved foods and roasted or barbequed meats.
Having established a correlation between AGEs and junk food consumption, and how children with food allergies have higher levels of AGEs than the rest of the groups observed - do you think that there’s a chance that eating your favourite amount of junk food would give you a food allergy?
Image: Bill Branson/National Cancer Institute/Wikimedia
The title of this video is a bit of a misnomer, since these "outtakes" are not mistakes. Robin Williams only followed a script to a certain extent. The real magic was in his riffs, where he extemporaneously ad-libbed and free-associated to his heart's content. It was best just to let him do his thing, and then select the funniest version for the finished film. That left a lot of still-funny lines on the cutting room floor, or in Williams' case, a treasured vault of recordings. Disney artists even provided illustrations for the impressions that didn't make the final cut for the animated movie Aladdin. Be aware that you'll want to watch this at least twice to catch all the humor. -via Digg
There are various ways in which culture spreads from one place to another. There are missionaries who use religion to spread their influence. There is the military which subdues other groups with might and conquest.
And perhaps, the most convenient of them all and least menacing, the merchants who trade wares and goods as they travel to various places. Along with the products they sell, these merchants also bring with them words which are unique to their own culture. Through their interactions with other merchants, they get to share their language and exchange ideas.
The map shown above illustrates only a few of the words that have been taken from their native languages and how they were adapted by other languages.
When Rachel Palma came down with symptoms like hallucinations, disorientations and confusion when dealing with everyday tasks and objects, her doctor diagnosed her with brain cancer.
Indeed, a brain scan revealed a small lesion in the left frontal lobe, and Palma went in for a biopsy to see if the tumor was malignant.
Then things went weird … really weird.
"We did a small dissection of the brain tissue and what we saw was a very well encapsulated, firm lesion that was ovoid," said [Neurosurgeon Dr. Jonathan Rasouli.] "It looked like a quail egg: Same size, same look, same firmness."
"Wait a second, this is clearly not a brain tumor," he recalled saying at the time.
Asked what a brain tumor looks like, he laughed: "It doesn't look like a quail egg. Most brain tumors are very soft, very mushy, they're not very well defined, they're infiltrative and it's difficult to get completely around them."
Quickly, Rasouli took the extracted lesion away from the surgical field, placed it under a surgical microscope and opened it up.
"And what came out was a baby tapeworm," he said.
Read the rest of Palma’s unusual encounter with brain tapeworm over at CNN.
The movie When Harry Met Sally opened nationwide on July 12, 1989. To celebrate the 30-year anniversary, Katz’s Deli in Manhattan is asking patrons to recreate the memorable scene in which Sally (Meg Ryan) shows Harry (Billy Crystal) how women can convincingly fake an orgasm- while they are both sitting at a table in the deli.
Katz's Delicatessen, the hundred-plus-year old Lower East Side deli in which the duo filmed an iconic scene back in 1989 is honoring the film's legacy with an entire month of When Harry Met Sally festivities.
On Friday, July 12, the restaurant will host a scene reenactment contest, in which Katz's guests can recreate the famed "I'll have what she's having" scene, sitting at the exact same table where Ryan and Crystal filmed three decades ago. Contestants of any gender can try and fake it better than the comedic actress and a panel of to be announced notable New Yorkers and special guests will judge who fakes it best.
No word yet on whether there will be a prize for the best fake orgasm, or just bragging rights. The contest is one part of Katz's month-long celebration of When Harry Met Sally, which also includes menu specials and a screening of the film at Alamo Drafthouse. -via Boing Boing
We spend our childhood laughing at farts and our older years trying to ignore them -particularly if they are our own. But with a little study and a little planning, we might be able to manage the amount of gas we share with those around us. Registered Dietician Nutritionist Angela Kuhn talks about what causes gas and what we can do about it.
There is an entire category called “gas-producing foods,” which includes things like beans and cruciferous veggies (brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower). Plus, different people have intolerances to various foods. Lactose intolerance is a common one. Lactose is the sugar in milk most adults find difficult to break down as we get older. As these foods move along our digestive tract, the bacteria in our gut digests them and produces gas at the same time. Some particles move down to the lower intestines and are not as broken down as they should be, which is what causes intestinal gas and extra fermentation to happen.
Read more down-to-earth advice about flatulence from Kuhn at Inside Hook. She even suggests specific meals you should eat before a flight, before exercise, and before a job interview if you want to minimize farts. -via Real Clear Science
Humans are omnivores, and eating meat has always been a quick way to add nutrition to our diets. At least that's been the case through most of history. In the modern world, meat is more easily and widely available than ever, and we have also eliminated a lot of other health concerns that shortened lifespans. So now we need to consider what is best to eat for a long, healthy life when we have an almost unlimited choice of food. Kurzgesagt lays out the state of research about the amount and types of meat that are optimum for human health. The meat lesson ends at 8:45, then it becomes an ad.
Frontier Communications, an Internet and phone service provider based in Utah, is calling “all smartphone addicts, social media experts, and tech geeks,” for their “1-Week Flip Phone Challenge”.
If you’re the person we choose, you’ll be responsible for using a flip phone in place of your smartphone for seven full days (that’s 168 hours!), and we want you to log your experience. We’ll have you track (don’t worry, your info stays safe with us!) how long it takes you to do basic tasks such as texting and checking email, how many times you wish you could Google something, how many hours you slept, how your productivity changed (or didn’t!), and even if you were late to appointments (after all, how does anyone get around without Google Maps?). Was your experience #TheWorstThingEver? Did you find new freedom? Either way, we want to hear about it.
Of course, you won’t have to go in blind for a week. Frontier Communications will give a survival kit to the lucky person. The survival kit consists of a physical map of the person’s city, a pocket phonebook and a notepad, and some audio CDs “to soothe [their] Spotify withdrawals.”
The closing date for entries will be on July 1st, 2019 at 5pm MST.
Will you be the lucky person? Would you survive this challenge?
Lev Grossman wrote the cover story of Vanity Fair's June issue about Star Wars. Here. he breaks down the differences between the Lucasfilm Star Wars trilogy (the original) and the new Disney Star Wars trilogy -which is not even complete yet. For some reason, the prequel trilogy doesn't get much attention here. -via Digg
