Summer is probably my least favorite season out of all the four, with winter following its heels. Some people may love summer because of the warm, nice weather which allows them to go out, frolic, and maybe go to the beach to take a dip in the water.

As someone who has lived in a tropical country for majority of my life, my body has loathed the heat and the humidity, and when I lived in a country with a more temperate climate, I acclimated pretty well especially with spring and fall. I even started to grow fond of winter, despite experiencing below-zero temperatures, ice-cold showers, and very slippery streets due to snow. But summer is a different beast altogether wherever you may be. And the general rise in global temperatures doesn't help at all.

I have also spoken with friends I've met and they too preferred winter over summer. Perhaps, it's the feeling of lethargy brought about by the suffocating humidity, whether you're inside or out. Not to mention the effects of UV rays on the skin. Then again, these come from the perspective of someone who has lived under the sun, the heat, and the humidity for most of their life. It may be different if, for example, you spent majority of your life living in frost and tundra, without seeing much of the sun for most of your days. In that case, maybe you would find summer to be such a refreshing season to frolic in the meadow and bathe under the sunlight.

That may exactly be what comes to mind for some classical Russian writers. Where winters can be as long as five months a year, it might be good for both the mind and body to spend several moments, if not, months under the sun. But alas, summers in Russia may not always be what one would expect. There may be instances when instead of bright sunshine, what greets you when you look outside the window are dark clouds and downpours. So, here are some of the thoughts of Russian writers about summer.

Lazing around

Chukovsky writes that summer is the best time to go out for a walk, if the weather is good, that is. He further indicates that it is such a temptation that draws one from their work, in that, instead of writing a book, they would rather just go out, enjoy the weather, and take a lazy stroll. Tolstoy echoes this sentiment admitting that when summer comes, he'd just enjoy life and do almost nothing else.

Going on vacation

As with the rest of us, the Russian writers associated summer with making vacation plans and wiling their time away on the sea, at a distance village somewhere, or deep within the Caucasus. Dostoevsky even writes how he would consider it such a disaster and loss of life if he were not able to swim in the sea during the summer. He would lament such a tragedy to the point that he would become sick over it.

Unexpected weather

Then, there are those summers which you just can't seem to predict the weather. Chekhov complained how one nasty summer they never had a day without rain, which is quite an abysmal state indeed. As much as I hate the terribe heat and humidity of summer, I'd prefer having the sun out instead of rain clouds.

Best time of the year

Tolstoy recounts in his diary a time when he was 17-years-old, spending a summer night, and the charm brought about by such a setting. And both Paustovsky and Bunin shared how summer is quite a fleeting season, it passed just as quickly as it arrived, not having enough time to do everything you had planned or wanted. And alas, it's fall again.

(Image credit: Ethan Robertson/Unsplash)

When reading a book, article, journal, or other scholarly or academic writing, we might notice the small superscript numbers attached to certain words or phrases, which lead us to the fine print at the bottom of the page, i.e. the footnotes. For a moment, we glance at what the short citation says, and then, proceed to read the rest of the article or journal.

It has become such a mundane or trivial aside that we often might not even take notice of the footnotes at all, especially when we merely want to extract the main idea of the text, or to skim through the salient points of each section in the article or paper. But, for anyone working in academe or doing scientific research, or for those in the publishing industry, footnotes are an integral part of their work. It is the standard practice for any scholarly work. After all, readers would want to assess and investigate for themselves the credibility of the sources which the authors used to make their conclusions, and to try and understand the framework which the authors used to interpret those sources.

The question is, "When did the practice of adding footnotes to publications begin?" In general, the person cited to have established source-based history and thus, the use of footnotes, was Leopold von Ranke, a German historian who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, despite championing modern source-based history and influencing Western historiography, Ranke's footnoting was subpar. Moreover, the practice of citing sources had already been used by historians and theologians in late antiquity, albeit in varying forms.

The structure of modern-day footnotes may be traced back to the 17th century with Pierre Bayle's Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697). Initially written to comment on errors and omissions in Louis Moreri's Grand Dictionaire historique (1674), Bayle also used the dictionary to critique the religious authorities of his time who persecuted him to exile, and thus, promote his anti-authoritarian view of faith. Most entries included in the dictionary described people with some section devoted to religious beliefs and philosophies. Where the footnotes proved to be useful was as a means of hiding away the more controversial ideas he wanted to promote, often slipping them into articles on seemingly uncontroversial topics.

From that point, scholars had emulated Bayle's model and started using them in their own works. Historian Anthony Grafton even cites a footnote which may very well be the longest one in history: a 165-page long citation found in John Hodgson's 1840 History of Northumberland. Meanwhile, Edward Gibbon's footnotes on his work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, may be considered the most ironic with Gibbon adding snarky comments on the footnotes, perhaps to add his own personal flavor, humor, or opinion on the events being described in the text.

Critical analysis of texts these days has become easier with footnotes. They give us the source from which the author takes certain ideas, concepts, or passages and expounds from them. At the same time, they give us an idea of the interpretative framework by which the author asserts their own point. So, if you're reading a book, article, journal, or research paper, take time to look at those footnotes. You might just learn something new or even look at the sources from your own lens, because there might be something there that you notice which others may not. - via Strange Company

(Image credit: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash)

Ed Wood's 1957 film Plan 9 From Outer Space is often cited as the worst movie of all time, mainly because it was shot in a few days on a budget of $60,000, which was far too little for the grandiose special effects in the storyline. The resulting movie was full of obvious shortcuts, like non-actors in roles beyond their abilities and cheap miniatures. Yet there were a lot of B-movies made the same way in the 1950s. Plan 9 From Outer Space got its reputation as a stinker from Harry Medved and Michael Medved who trashed it in their book The Golden Turkey Awards. The book brought renewed interest that made the film a cult favorite.

But is it really so terrible? If you look past the production values and special effects that resemble a homemade fan film, the story is surprisingly compelling. Its original title, Grave Robbers from Outer Space, gives away a significant plot point. Inverse looked at the movie's themes and overall story and found a study in grief, the specter of a government coverup, mankind's inherent selfishness, and the fear of nuclear annihilation. Read about the ideas behind Plan 9 From Outer Space, and you may look at the movie differently.        

(Image: Public Domain)

Here's a little tunr that confirms what we've always known, but rarely admit: the beat is the most important thing in a song. The latest mashup by Bill McClintock (previously at Neatorama) just dropped today. This work of art combines the hard rock of Drowning Pool and their song "Bodies" with the 1978 disco hit "Get Off" by Foxy. That's not all, because the bridge is from the song "Strutter" by Kiss. McClintock calls this "Let the Bodies Get Off" by Drowning Fox. While the title may sound dirty, the song isn't. I'm sure you will enjoy it, and it might inspire you to dance. 

Still, when mixing rock with disco, the undisputed champion is this song.

There was a time when the hundreds of thousands of condoms handed out at the Olympic games would have been a scandal, but that doesn't even make the cut anymore. Since the modern Olympics began in 1896, the international sporting event has seen plenty of cheating, injuries, politics, fighting, terrorism, drugs, and one-upmanship. Some are news stories we'll never forget if we are old enough to remember, like the Israeli hostages taken during the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Others you've never heard of, or else you'll say, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that one." And these scandals are just from the summer games, so you won't hear about Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. But you'll relive the awful moments in ten historic Olympic scandals of the summer games at Mental Floss. The opening ceremonies for the 2024 Olympics in Paris are this Friday, but some qualifying events start tomorrow.

Imagine if aliens landed on earth to find out what residents of this planet were all about. It would be easy for them to figure out that humans are the dominant species, even though we've seen jokes that say otherwise. If a guy in a flying saucer were to land at a ballet school, he would probably enjoy the experience, but would leave with a skewed view of humanity. Before you know it, there would be green men pirouetting across the galaxy. Would that be such a bad thing? But the bigger question is, has there ever been a science fiction ballet before?

Tutu Academy is an ad produced by Dean Alexander Productions and ad agency Design Army for the Hong Kong Ballet. It's only two minutes long, followed by a long list of credits. A lot of people put a lot of work into this! -via Nag on the Lake

We know that the world's first computer program was written by Ada Lovelace in 1848. It would have run a theoretical computer called the Analytical Engine designed by Charles Babbage, but he never actually built the computer. However, computer programs are made up of data, flow charts, and calculations. People understood those things, at least some smart people did, long before the algorithms they produced were usable.

For example, if you had enough data, you could forecast the weather. British mathematician Lewis Fry Richardson compiled the necessary data in 1913 and worked out how to calculate the weather of the future. The problem was that the calculations took so long that the "forecast" had passed before it was predicted. If he had a computer, it would have worked much better. Various people worked out the same types of algorithms for playing chess, tabulating the census, and generating random numbers. They worked, but not well, because human calculation just isn't fast enough. Read about the algorithms that predated the computers that would make them work at Cracked.

National Geographic gives us a film about the wolverine. It is the largest member of the weasel family, but that's about all we learn about it, because the narrator got bored, and so the film is unexpectedly short. He does give us some hints about they way a wolverine smells. The narrator is Deadpool, or actually Ryan Reynolds, who plays Deadpool. Is this really an ad for Deadpool & Wolverine, which opens this weekend? That would explain why the subject is a wolverine, but this was really released by National Geographic. It turns out this is an ad for a National Geographic show, and the Deadpool & Wolverine movie was just a convenient opportunity for a collaboration that people would actually watch. If you ever get an opportunity for Ryan Reynolds to write your advertising copy, go for it. -via Geeks Are Sexy

Jose Romero has been a dishwasher at the Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado for twelve years. He's also responsible for unpacking newly arrived lobsters. The Pueblo Chieftain reports that, on July 12, Romero spotted an orange lobster. Romero and his coworkers had never seen or heard of that coloration before.

They named the lobster "Crush" after the formidable defensive line of the Denver Broncos during the late 70s. The team decided that Crush had to be saved. They donated him to the Downtown Aquarium in Denver on July 17, where he can spend the rest of his days. His rare mutation, which can be found in only 1 in 30 million lobsters, will make him a draw.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: Red Lobster

Throughout history, there have been many methods of meting out justice depending on the severity of the offense. The Romans invented perhaps one of the most, if not the most cruel form of physical punishment for heinous criminals: crucifixion. In the witch hunts that took place from the 15th to 18th centuries, the accused were burned at the stake or drowned.

Even in fiction, particularly, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, we were introduced to the walk of atonement which forced the accused to strip naked and walk through the streets of King's Landing. In the case of Cersei Lanister, one of the devout followers of the High Sparrow, Septa Unella accompanied the Queen Mother and repeatedly shouted "Shame!" as Cersei went through the punishment and public humiliation.

Along these same lines, there was another brutal form of punishment and public humiliation that was implemented in 16th and 17th century medieval England, prevalent in Christian culture at the time. The contraption that was used in this public spectacle was called "The Ducking Stool". Other names for it were tumbrel, cucking stool, and choking stool.

As depicted in the picture above, it shows a wooden chair hanging from a pole, or some kind of lever-pulley system, above a body of water and the accused will be forced to sit on the chair while being dunked into the water. Depending on the severity of the crime, they may be dunked multiple times until they have learned their lesson.

Mainly, this form of punishment was invented to castigate scolds — women who were considered as excessively argumentative or disruptive. Since people took the submissive ideal of women espoused in Christian teaching to the extreme, any woman who was too loud or considered subversive would be subjected to this punishment. The idea being that the executors of this punishment will force the women to conformity by shaming them in a public spectacle.

Apart from insubordinate women, the ducking stool was also later used as a punishment for witchcraft, adultery, and failing to adhere to trade regulations for brewers and bakers. Records have also shown that this form of punishment was an institutional one and quite widespread, with one document chastising inhabitants under the jurisdiction of the Manor of Edgeware for their neglect of using the ducking stool.

As time passed by, thankfully the practice faded gradually, most likely due to opposition to the practice as well as a shift in societal attitudes toward punishment and public shaming.

(Image credit: Public domain/Wikimedia Commons)

Have you ever experienced tossing and turning in your bed because the sweltering heat and humidity makes it difficult for your body to cool down and be comfortable enough to fall asleep? Experts suggest that the most conducive temperature for sleep is around 65 degrees Fahrenheit (or around 18.3 degrees Celsius), but when the room is saturated with moisture, our body becomes unable to cool down and it feels stuffy inside the room.

So, according to Matthew R. Ebben, an associate professor of psychology and clinical neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine, and Rafael Pelayo, a clinical professor at Stanford University's Sleep Medicine division, the best ways to get good, comfortable, deep sleep during the summer when temperatures and humidity can stay high even at night, are: 1) to make your room cool, and 2) to cool your body as much as possible.

Making the room cool can be as simple as having an AC in the room and turning it on while you sleep. Keeping the temperature at around the high 60s and low 70s would be the best setting to ensure that you will have the right room temperature throughout the night, helping you to have deep and uninterrupted sleep.

Of course, in keeping with energy efficiency standards, some experts suggest to set the AC temperature to around 78 degrees, and simply add some fans and wear light clothing to save on energy consumption while still making the conditions suitable for your body to cool down and get some good REM sleep.

To keep your body cool, it is best to take a cool shower one to two hours before your intended time to go to bed. For those who prefer working out in the evenings, it would be a good idea to do so at least three hours before bedtime, since it would slow down the process of lowering the body temperature. Drinking water before going to bed is also a good practice.

Despite the concern that one might suddenly wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, Pelayo says that healthy sleepers typically don't get up to urinate. However, there may be some underlying reason or external cause for people who frequently get up during the night, outside of the need to go to the toilet.

Finally, you may also want to check out cooling pillows or a cold compress placed around your neck to aid in your body's cooling process. If you still find it difficult to sleep even after doing all of these things, you may have to speak to a doctor since it is possible that something like thyroid disease or sleep apnea is causing your heat intolerance and inability to sleep comfortably.

(Image credit: Isabelle Fischer/Unsplash)

Let's pause for a moment and have a light-hearted discussion on which among the zodiac signs have the most knack for comedy, according to this ranking created by Reader's Digest with some help from astrologers Liz Simmons and Meghan Rose.

I would like to preface this list by saying that comedy, to an extent, is subjective in that, some people find certain topics, concepts, or even comedic styles funnier than others. There are certain types of comedy that polarize audiences, and similarly, certain types of content may make one side of the crowd squirm or feel awkward, while there are those which everybody no matter on which side of a certain persuasion or issue they stand, will find hilarious. Furthermore, there are cases when the personality of comedians themselves carry the performance, despite the content not always hitting the mark or not being agreeable to everyone. It's just that their delivery of certain jokes or punch lines induce people to laugh at the jokes.

This is to say that I don't completely agree with the ranking done by Reader's Digest, but the insights they present for each of the zodiac signs are quite interesting. Personally, I find dark, dry, sarcastic, witty, and thought-provoking humor relevant and resonant with me. I like comedians who look at issues from all different angles but still retaining their personal flavor and view on a subject. What makes a person funny is a confluence of different factors ranging from their delivery, content, structure, personality, and style.

Having said that, the infographic above shows how Reader's Digest ranked the different zodiac signs from most to least humorous, with Gemini being at the top and Pisces at the bottom. Under each of the signs, they have included which type of humor those signs are inclined to espouse.

The kind of humor that I like can be found on both sides of this list. But that doesn't mean that the other categories of humor are no longer appealing to me. As I said, it depends on the context in which the jokes are being delivered, who is delivering the joke, and how they are delivering it.

Expounding on each of the signs, they described the different characteristics each zodiac sign possessed, and why they ranked the zodiac signs in that order. So, for example, Gemini is at the top because they have great comedic timing and a quick wit. Being verbally fluent, these people are great communicators and excel at wordplay. They also included in these descriptions some examples of comedians under each zodiac sign. For Gemini, we have Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, and Joe Gatto.

Looking at the way they created this ranking, I can only surmise that their primary criteria for ranking is whether the type of humor in which the zodiac signs specialize can make the most number of people laugh. That is, if the type of humor that a certain zodiac sign does or the kind of personality trait that they evoke is niche, then they would rank lower on the list. Which is fair, since it's their list. However, if we're simply going by consensus, then it would probably be more reasonable to look at which comedians throughout history have been considered by the most number of people to be the funniest.

In the US, typically people would say that some of the GOATs of comedy are Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, Joan Rivers and Jerry Seinfeld among others, although this is not an exhaustive list. Granted, several of these comedians with the exception of Eddie Murphy populate the top five of the ranking, so perhaps they are on to something.

Whether one's inclination to comedy is written in the stars or not, I think still depends on a variety of factors, and I would argue requires a good mixture of different types of humor. They need to have the flexibility to use their full arsenal and continuously hone their craft through experience, observation, and empathy. 

Something that struck me as odd is that Pisces, the lowest ranking zodiac sign, was placed at the bottom because of their tendency to be deeply sensitive and empathetic. And perhaps, they have a point in that, since comedy tries to bring to the surface certain ideas, concepts, or issues that some people might find offensive, they choose not to engage in those conversations. But I do believe that comedians are quite empathetic people, and at the same time, they are courageous enough to talk about challenging, awkward, or even taboo subjects. They do so not to be mean-spirited about it, to ridicule those who subscribe to certain values or believes, or to push a certain agenda. Rather, they do so to highlight the absurdity of a certain line of thinking or behavior, or the human foibles on both sides of an issue.

Humor and levity are part of the human experience. It touches every aspect of our lives from the deeply significant and consequential to the trivial, mundane things that we do every day. And I wouldn't say that just because a person ranks at the bottom of this list, that they should give up on their dream of becoming a comedian. There are several people who are at the bottom five who have had successful careers in comedy. Comedians like Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, or Kate McKinnon have zodiac signs at the bottom of the list, but that didn't define their comedic careers.

As with anything, even if somebody has a knack or a talent for a certain field or endeavor, that talent still needs to be polished. We need to make an effort and work hard to hone our craft, and all of these comedians, whether they be at the top five or the bottom five of this list, have worked very hard to become successful in comedy. So, this list definitely gave some insights, but it shouldn't discourage anyone to pursue a career in comedy. All the more, it should be a motivation that would fuel those people to work hard to run after their dreams.

(Image credit: Reader's Digest)

Rolling Stone published a list of the 50 worst albums covers of all time. For young folks, an album cover was a 12-inch square cardboard sleeve that covered a vinyl recording of songs. The artwork on the cover was very important, and often involved a team of designers trying to make a statement that would sell records. But sometimes that design went very wrong. The music may have been wonderful. The album may have sold millions of copies. Or it might have tanked and ended up in the discount bin because the cover art looked so bad.

Rolling Stone didn't bother with small town studios or self-published album covers, which can be hilariously bad. No, these are from major record labels, featuring at least some artists you know well. Some of the selections seem like a case of laziness. Others are trying too hard, or the aesthetic was off-putting, or an idea they though was edgy turned out to be just plain silly (it could have been the drugs). The examples above are from the list, but they are far from the worst. I don't want to make anyone queasy if they decide not to see the entire list.  -via Metafilter

No, these aren't the latest jeans from a luxury fashion house selling for thousands of dollars, but considering some we've posted before, you would be forgiven for thinking so. About six years ago, the fashion reseller behind Darn Vintage came across a unique pair of jeans at an estate sale. Click to the right to see them from all angles. From the Instagram thread we learn that they had been left outside for twenty years and all the organic material (cotton) had degraded and left nothing but the metal zipper and the synthetic fibers. It's amazing what people will save and sell. A textile artist believes these are the Lycra or spandex fibers left behind in stretch jeans.

It's somewhat ironic that 100% natural fiber jeans last longer/wear harder than synthetics but also break down completely whereas synthetics lose their elasticity quickly but last 100+ years in a landfill.

@darnvintage tells us that the Wrangler company bought these and is keeping them in their historical archives. -via Nag on the Lake

Less than a week to go until the opening ceremonies for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, and fashion is at the forefront. The stunning uniforms that the team from Mongolia will be wearing at the opening ceremonies have gone viral for their opulent elegance. Designed by Michel & Amazonka, it took 20 hours of work to craft each uniform, but the result caught the eye of the world already. Get a closer look at the details.



Take a look at what a few other countries will be wearing at the opening ceremonies. The USA is going with Ralph Lauren, as usual, with red, white and blue blazers over blue jeans. Britain's uniforms look like a 1950s sock hop. And the French uniforms are very French, although I don't understand why the women are wearing blazers with no sleeves. Vogue give us their picks for the best Olympic uniforms from a fashion designer's perspective, not limited to the kits for the opening ceremonies.