Researchers from the University of Southern California, in partnership with the San Francisco-based non-profit Miracle Messages, wanted to study the effects of giving homeless people a monthly stipend to see where the money would go and what would happen to the homeless people afterwards.

They gave $750 to 103 homeless people in San Francisco and Los Angeles for a year. What they reported was that most of the money went to food, which was about 36.6% of the total monthly spending, then housing at 19.5%, transportation at 12.7%, clothing at 11.5 percent, and healthcare at 6.2%. The rest went to "other expenses".

Despite the stereotype that homeless people use most of the money they can scrounge to fueling their substance addictions, that wasn't the case based on what the researchers observed. Only 2% of the monthly stipend went to drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. From that portion, most actually went to cigarettes.

Furthermore, the researchers indicated that after six months, the number of people spending time unsheltered had decreased from 30% to just under 12%.

Another initiative was also launched by Denver, wherein they gave 800 homeless people a monthly stipend, from $50 to $1,000, and saw many of those participants getting jobs, paying off debt, and getting housing among other results.

Stockton, California did a similar study and it also resulted in positive outcomes.

(Image credit: Jp Valery/Unsplash)

I used to charge my phone overnight because it's a bit of a hassle to wait for it to reach 100% before going to sleep, but then I started to realize that my phone's battery gets quickly drained after just a few hours. Now, I don't charge overnight, but I still charge them to 100%, which we shouldn't do apparently?

The reason for this is that it chemically ages the phone's battery, which means that it will be less efficient, and it will last for a shorter period of time than when it was new.

Tyler Morgan, a tech expert, has been sharing these tips on TikTok, which have since been viewed over 14 million times. Apart from not charging your phone to 100, he suggested to close your background apps and to turn off location services on the iPhone.

Other "hacks" include turning down the brightness of your screen, turning off bluetooth, shutting off automatic updates, and clicking 'Reduce Motion' on your iPhone's accessibility settings, which also helps save the battery.

(Image credit: Lasse Jensen/Unsplash)

I bet we have all had some embarrassing and hilarious family photos through the years. Many of which we probably won't willingly share with the public, but the website Awkward Family Photos has compiled more than 9,000 family photos which apparently have been shared by families across the US.

It probably has something to do with the communal effect of seeing a bunch of other awkward family photos that people are encouraged to upload theirs as well. It's just the thing about humans sharing common experiences with others that we become open to revealing even some of the funniest parts of our lives.

In any case, with such a collection in their hands, the website has been doing a traveling museum exhibit, taking over 200 photos from their collection and displaying it across the country. Currently, it is at The Columbus Museum in Georgia.

Of course, they're not simply showing the photos for people to have a good laugh. They also provide backstories for them as well as why the families decided to take the photos.

Obviously, this is one of the reasons why anyone would take such awkward photos. But there is value to capturing a candid moment, where nobody is trying to look good, and they are simply being real. It's a great talking point as well and a way of keeping memories intact and alive.

(Image credit: Awkward Family Photos)

Joseph Kittinger was a US Air Force pilot who made history by being the first person to make the highest skydive at 102,800 feet in 1960. Of course, he wasn't just an adrenaline junkie looking for a thrill and a world record.

The story behind his death-defying jump was that NASA wanted to find an emergency escape option for pilots in case they needed to abandon their aircraft at very high altitudes. Furthermore, his record-making jump wasn't the first time he attempted such a feat. It was his third and final jump.

Before that, however, he almost died when on his first jump, at a height of 76,400 feet, his gear malfunctioned and the only way he survived was when his emergency parachute released and saved him from a death fall.

Despite the initial threat to his life, he managed to jump twice more for Project Excelsior, and went down in history as the first person to jump at the highest altitude. It was broken in 2012 by Swiss balloonist Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from an altitude of 128,100 feet.

(Image credit: US Air Force/Volkmar Wentzel/Wikimedia Commons)

Different people have their traditions and preferences on what to do on New Year's Day. Some people may simply want to rest at home after a busy holiday week, but others may want to get the ball rolling and get active right away.

With the latter, Texas state park officials have been encouraging their residents all over the state to go out hiking with their family and friends. They offer both ranger-guided and self-guided walks as well as other activities like bike rides, paddling trips, and polar plunges.

However, since they have seen so many visitors coming for their First Day Hikes, state park officials suggest to reserve day passes in advance so that they can still get in as some state parks will be expected to reach capacity.

It's a great way to start the new year and a great tradition to provide perspective and a refreshing of the mind and the body.

(Image credit: Joe Forget/Unsplash)

Many people love coffee and the bursts of energy it gives. For those whose professions are highly stressful and sometimes requires people to work very long hours and sleepless nights, coffee is their best friend.

We have all heard the benefits and risks of caffeine consumption, such as having a lower risk of developing chronic illnesses for those who drink coffee regularly. It keeps us alert and increases our concentration. The downsides include a higher likelihood of developing insomnia, headaches, anxiety, and chest pain.

There hasn't been a lot of studies, however, looking at its effect on decision making and other "higher" cognitive functions like risk-taking, judgment, and problem-solving. Although many bright minds have probably taken large doses of caffeine each day, and whether that helped or hindered their pursuits is something we cannot definitively say.

A team of researchers have recently attempted to look at the impact of caffeine on decision making. In conducting the study, they recruited a group of soccer players, aged 16 to 17. These teenagers were also moderate caffeine users, had no history of medical conditions, and didn't smoke or use any other drug.

The researchers had the players take two soccer tests a week apart, once with coffee and another with placebos. What they found was that the caffeinated players performed more accurately with their passes. However, their performance declined in the decision-making test.

Of course, this doesn't run the gamut of all the different scenarios coffee drinkers around the world face. So we cannot generalize and say that caffeine negatively affects people's decision making. Further studies would be needed to make any definitive conclusion, but it does bring this angle to the caffeine debate.

(Image credit: Nathan Dumlao/Unsplash)

There's almost 8 billion people in the world and in the US, there's over 300 million people. The chances that one person will have the same birthday as someone else in the same neighborhood, town, or city, for example should be astronomically small, right?

Actually, the birthday paradox says something a bit different. When there is a group of 23 random people, the chances that two people will have the same birthday is 50%. Not only that, the probability increases by adding more people into the group. What are the odds?

So, with this tidbit in mind, you may be wondering, what is the most common birthday in the US? That would be September 9th. A couple runners-up to it are both from the same month, September 19th and 12th.

You may wonder why this is the case. If we count backwards nine months before, well, that would bring us to December, wouldn't it? And generally, apart from bringing merry good cheer to all people around during the season, it brings even merrier cheer to people in romantic relationships.

Some celebrities who were born on September 9th include Adam Sandler, Hugh Grant, Michael Bublé, Zoe Kazan, Constance Marie, and Michelle Williams. Now, although September fills the top ten list of most common birthdays, it's not actually the most common birth month.

That title belongs to August, and then July comes after, and then September. The three least common months are November, April, and February.

On the other hand, the rarest birthday, excluding February 29th, since that only happens every four years, is surprisingly December 25th. Now, what are the odds of that?

(Image credit: Robert Anderson/Unsplash)

There has been a long-held belief that sports teams playing in their home court experience better performances which could be one of, if not the deciding factor in winning the game. This effect on the psyche has been termed "home-field advantage" and it's an oft-used, well-known sports term. However, science now wants to shed some light on the phenomenon to give some empirical evidence and analytical understanding to it.

Two researchers, Dávid Zoltán Szabó from Corvinus University of Budapest and Diego Andrés Pérez Ruiz from the University of Manchester, looked into historical data from the National Football League since 1970. They paid particular attention to the pandemic years as this provides a relevant comparative point to see the impact of "home-field advantage".

From their study, they saw a marked difference between teams' performances during the pandemic when no spectators were allowed inside the stadiums and how they usually performed under normal circumstances.

Of course, they didn't consider other factors that may have affected the teams' performances but this leads us to believe that "home-field advantage" is not simply an imaginary concept, but that, it has real psychological implications to the team and even to the audience.

Despite performing poorer than usual when no crowds were present, teams had actually performed on par when there's even a limited number of spectators in the bleachers. Even if there was only 25% capacity in the stadium, teams noticeably performed better than when there were no spectators at all.

Not only this, but the researchers also found that having no spectators in the stadium, and instead using CGI to simulate crowds and the sounds they made, had negatively impacted the experience of TV audiences and their willingness to watch games.

This is one of the reasons why the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB saw double-digit declines in viewership during the pandemic era when teams fought in an empty venue.

So, home-field advantage is a real thing and it's mostly attributable to psychological factors for the team as well as crowd effects, referee bias, and a self-perpetuating belief from the players of its existence.

(Image credit: Ashton Clark/Unsplash)

In a few days, we'll be ushering in the new year with some fireworks displays, lots of noise, and good ol' merriment with family and friends. Except for our pets, who will probably be searching for shelter or some place insulated from all the hubbub.

Any pet owners know how sensitive dogs and cats can be to loud sounds like thunder or fireworks, and it causes them a lot of stress and anxiety. But there are ways to help our pets cope with the commotion.

Jacqueline Boyd, an animal scientist and canine consultant, suggests five ways to bring some comfort to pets during fireworks displays.

These ways include shielding the pets from the noise, distracting them by bringing their attention to other things, using medication, or training them to become used to loud noises.

I think it would be best to try and shut out the sound by keeping your pet inside the room and drowning out the noise outside with some other sounds like music or TV.

If possible, sound-proofing might be a great idea, not only for the pet, but also if you are thinking of doing some music or streaming projects, having a soundproof room can be useful. An anxiety vest and some noise-cancelling ear muffs might be useful too.

(Image credit: freestocks/Unsplash)

The world population hit 7 billion on October 31, 2011, more than a decade ago. This past year, estimates have shown that the world population grew by 75 million people, and by New Year's Day, the US Census Bureau says that we are poised to hit 8 billion.

The global growth rate for 2023 stood at around 1%, and in the United States, it was just about half of that at 0.53%. If the trend continues, the Census Bureau states that this might be the slowest-growing decade in the history of the US.

With the current numbers, in the US, there is about one birth every 9 seconds, and one death every 9.5 seconds, which somewhat balances things out. However, the US population won't be seeing a decline anytime soon, as international migration will continue to add more people, netting one person every 28.3 seconds.

On New Year's Day, the US population will be at around 335.8 million people, a 1.7 million increase from last year.

(Video credit: WQAD News 8)

A little bit of backstory on Mamoru Samuragochi, who had once been dubbed as Japan's "digital-age Beethoven" as he claimed to have been totally deaf and was credited for composing music for video games such as Resident Evil: Dual Shock Ver. (1998) and Onimusha: Warlords (2001).

For 18 years, Samuragochi had lived as the miracle composer, from around 1996 until 2014 when it was revealed that he wasn't in fact completely deaf, neither was he the one composing the music that had been credited to him.

His ruse had been exposed during an interview with a reporter who had noticed several inconsistencies about his being totally deaf and the behavior he had exhibited throughout the interview such as answering questions before the sign language interpreter had finished and answering the door when the bell rang.

Later on, when he performed his first symphony, another composer Takeo Noguchi noticed the similarities it had with other works like that of Gustav Mahler, which further caused suspicion about his story.

Then, in 2014, he confessed to lying about his deafness and his compositions, which were actually ghostwritten by composer Takashi Niigaki, a music professor, who had written all the previous music credited to Samuragochi, but didn't out him because Samuragochi bribed him with a lot of money.

Several years after the public admission, Samuragochi has changed his look and has also started to compose his own music. The video above is titled "MM Sakura Overture".

(Video credit: Malleus Maleficarum/Youtube)

Oliver Muensterer had a job interview for which he had to travel a few hours away from his home in Leipzig, Germany. Having packed all his essentials, he left and arrived the evening before his schedule.

All seemed well at this point, so the next morning, when he was getting ready for the job interview, he realized about an hour before the appointment that he had forgotten to bring a white dress shirt. Whether he had another dress shirt in a different color or had completely been remiss of a dress shirt was not mentioned.

To resolve the issue, he thought of simply going out to the nearest store to buy a shirt. Assuming that the interview was scheduled at around 10 AM, we can only guess that not a lot of stores would be open at that time. But Muensterer, in a panic, decided that this was the best course of action.

He went downstairs to the reception desk, asked the man at the counter where the nearest store was so that he could buy a dress shirt for his job interview. In the middle of his explanation to the hotel clerk, the man suggested a solution.

Instead of giving him directions to the nearest open store to buy a new shirt, the hotel clerk simply took off his own white dress shirt, gave it to Muensterer, who put it on, and promptly went to his interview.

Unfortunately, Muensterer didn't get the job as it wasn't exactly his dream job. He came back, returned the nice man's dress shirt, and went back home.

This kindness shown to him by the hotel clerk stuck with him and he has since made it a point to pay that kindness forward by showing other strangers who may need help the same willingness and openness to aid them in whatever way he can.

(Image credit: Oliver Muensterer)

Lemon Pig, Lemon Pig, Lemon Pig! 🍋 🐖🪙🥂 pic.twitter.com/kua0CzUnD7

— 🧷Wren 🔜 FurSquared🌻🪵🍄 (@Wren_the_ferret) December 27, 2023

I don't know how I missed it, but a roundup of New Year traditions at Atlas Obscura led me to a post about lemon pigs, which I'd never heard of. A lemon already looks like a cartoon pig's body, and is easily converted with the help of a few cuts and four toothpicks. The eyes can be anything from whole cloves to pushpins to googly eyes.

Happy New Year (via granniepantries) pic.twitter.com/Am7zrKecEk

— 70s Dinner Party (@70s_party) December 31, 2017

The internet went big for lemon pigs as a New Year tradition after a Tweet in 2017 referenced a 1971 book on holiday entertaining. People from all over made their own and posted them as replies, although since it was already December 31st, some of them used oranges, apples, limes, bananas, or peppers. But the idea never went away, and today people are making sure they have a lemon in the house to make a pig for the New Year. You can see more lemon pigs at Instagram.

Our first lemon piglet. The cats absolutely hate it but we love him sm pic.twitter.com/Gx0m7JW8O0

— ami 🫐🐈‍⬛ (@nebulami) December 27, 2023

The lemon pig isn't really an old New Year tradition. It is, rather, a children's activity that goes back at least to 1882. Its inclusion in the 1971 book 401 Party and Holiday Ideas from Alcoa was a stretch anyway, but who cares? People found it fun, and now they make lemon pigs to ring in the New Year. And you can, too! Read more about lemon pigs and how they came about at Atlas Obscura.

What do you do when a volcano begins to erupt on your island? You flee! But what if you are a bird couple and you have four eggs to protect? These avians do their best, but the father is a birdbrain, and the mother turns out to be not all that smart, either. Their antics are funny, but in the short film BOOM, you also get caught up in the danger. The whole island is exploding, and these birds do not seem to be able to fly. Yes, that brings up the question of how they came to be on the island in the first place, but don't spend too much time thinking about it. Will the family survive the eruption? Will any of them? This student film from the French animation school École des Nouvelles Images won quite a few awards around the world before it came to YouTube.

I AM DYING pic.twitter.com/TkX2O25H8i

— Fr. Ryan Hilderbrand (@FrHilderbrand) December 29, 2023

Dreams have long inspired the creative energies of people. Salvador Dali found much of his inspiration in unconsciousness, such as Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second before Waking. Richard Adams, the author of the novel Shardik, developed much of his story in dreams. David Burge, the inventor of the fart joke, experiences empoweringly lucid dreams.

Similarly, three months ago, Sarah F1330 developed an entirely new genre of music in a dream that she had. She imagines long car horn blasts taking leadership of musical tracks. She dubs this revolution "Love Honk." Enjoy its majesty.