You've probably heard people say that you need to drink at least 8 glasses of water daily. But while there is clearly a benefit to keeping yourself hydrated, there is, unfortunately, no definitive rule on how much the recommended daily water intake is.

In an attempt to shed light on how much water the average person needs, researchers conducted a metabolism experiment on over 5,600 people from 23 countries. These participants were given a 5% "doubly labeled water" — a type of water with an unusual isotope of hydrogen called deuterium. This water, which is 10% heavier than regular water, is used in experiments to determine how fast chemicals move through the body.

The study found that water turnover (the total amount of water input and output) varied depending on factors such as age, sex, and body size, to name a few. Men aged 20-30 had the highest water turnover level, and this decreased after age 40. On the other hand, women aged 20-55 had the highest water turnover levels, and levels decreased after 65. The study noted that newborns had the highest water turnover, which is 28% daily.

To sum things up, the research states that "one size does not fit all for drinking water guidelines."

More about this study over at ScienceAlert.

(Image Credit: congerdesign/ Pixabay)

This is Golfi. As you can see, it is a robot, and as you can infer from its name, it is something related to golf. Golfi is, indeed, a robot designed for golf. Well, currently, only for mini-golf.

From its features, like its wheels and the putter that sticks out from its side, one could tell that this robot is made to try and putt a golf ball into a golf hole. So, can it putt? The answer is yes. Yes, it can. And like a professional, even.

With a Microsoft Kinect 3D camera, Golfi can create a depth map of the putting field. This depth map is then sent to a physics-based model. The model then calculates the factors involved in the swing, such as the turf's rolling resistance, the ball's weight, and its initial velocity. Based on the calculations, some 3,000 random shots are then simulated. These make Golfi swing like a professional golfer.

(Image Credit: IEEE Spectrum/ YouTube)

Some 270,000 miles from Earth, NASA's Orion — the spacecraft currently used in the Artemis moon-orbiting mission—quietly observes the Moon. Of course, our planet can also be seen from the spacecraft's point of view. As it flies in a path opposite the Moon's (called a retrograde lunar orbit), Orion sees both heavenly bodies glide. And Orion's not the only one who can see this happen. We can see it, too, because NASA is streaming live footage captured from the Orion cameras. The live views of the moon mission can be seen in real-time through this link. 

This is not the first time a spacecraft has broadcast from that region in space. The Apollo missions also did that decades ago, like the special Christmas broadcast from Apollo 8 on Dec. 24, 1968. This recent broadcast, however, is said to be the highest-definition live view to date.

The photos and videos captured by Orion will be used as a knowledge base for the Artemis programs that will follow the current one (Artemis I). As in NASA's timeline, Artemis 2 is expected to launch and loop around the Moon in 2024. Artemis 3, on the other hand, is expected to land people on the Moon's surface in 2025 or 2026.

(Image Credit: NASA)

Kitchen appliances that do one thing only have to be very useful to stick around for hundreds of years. The waffle iron is an exception. Sure, we can do without waffles, but who doesn't love the taste of hot fried batter with extra crust and little spots that hold syrup? Waffle irons were a part of medieval kitchens long before the use of electricity. People found it well worth the effort to heat up a heavy iron device over the fire for a plate of waffles. The oldest known waffle recipe was recorded in 1393, although we have found waffle irons that are even older. Today we are just as likely to pop waffles into a toaster as to mix up the batter ourselves. Or even order them at a restaurant. Atlas Obscura takes us behind the scenes to explain three different aspects of waffles: the history of the waffle iron, how Eggo waffles came about, and the origins of San José’s delicious green waffles.

(Image credit: Georg Flegel)

It would be nice to have some oversized Christmas decorations for your yard that aren't the same as everyone else's, but that means spending a lot of money. Unless you make them yourself! Jen and John Yates of Epbot created a variety of decorations that turned their neighbors' home into a giant gingerbread house! The gingerbread man you see here is cut from a panel of pink foam insulation, and his eyes and buttons are tree ornaments cut in half. They also explain how they made peppermint stick columns, a giant mint lollipop, starlight mints, and these huge wrapped candies, which ended up in a tree.

The wrapped candies are the easiest to make, requiring only a trip to Dollar Tree and a few minutes to assemble, plus you can take them apart and reuse them next year. The rest of the projects involve some painting, but nothing that requires specialized power tools or a workshop. See a video of the finished house here. The process of making all these decorations is explained and illustrated at Epbot.

If you're wondering why the post is titled "part 2," it's because part 1 is about decorating the same house last year.

Ah, the joy of dancing as you rapidly try on a series of toupees. Yeah, and you thought at first this guy was wearing tribbles on his jacket. It's astonishing how good each of these toupees look, even when slapped on in a hurry. Sure, it's advertising, but it's also fun to watch! Stay with it; there's a surprise later in the video. This is asiantoupeedude, also known as asianwigman on TikTok. He has an extensive gallery of videos showing how he helps people have hair where was was no hair there, including himself. He is not bald, but shaves his head to make these demonstrations easier. That hairless spot sure makes it easier to change styles every few seconds! The fact you can dance in them is another selling point. He says he is working on launching an online store. In case you're wondering, the song is 家财万贯 (DJ版). That's "Rich Wealth" in English.  -via reddit

Live the life of a rich landlord in Scotland– that is if you have $2 million on hand. 

Compared to the prices of lavish mansions and luxurious real estate properties in cities, getting a castle, along with its vast lands is quite a good bargain for that amount of money. It turns out that the Isle of Vaila in Scotland is looking for its next owner for that price! 

The isle is one of the 100 islands in the Shetland Islands archipelago near Scotland. The property on sale once belonged to Richard Rowland and his wife for about 30 years. He shared that it is now the right time for new people to follow their dreams on the beautiful island. 

The most eye-catching aspect of the property is the 17th-century manor house that was built to mimic a caste. It is a 6-bedroom unit, with modern amenities for the ultimate comfort. Aside from that, the home also has some secret areas, such as hidden gardens and rooms, perfect for mystery lovers at heart. 

Future tenants of the property will also get to tend an entire flock of sheep that comes with the home. If you also want to own a whale skeleton, then this area is the perfect match for you, as the bleached remains of a 42-foot sperm whale are on the island. 

Learn more about the beautiful property here! 

Image credit: Savills

Well, it looks like tourists will have to allocate more money for their museum visits. One of the most well-known locations in the world, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) will be raising its ticket prices by $5. 

This means that entry will now cost $30 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $17 for students. The museum previously had a “pay-as-you-wish” policy for their tickets until 2018. They did introduce strict entry fees after that. 

According to the museum, the $5 increase is modest for out-of-state and international visitors, seeing that it is the first price hike in 11 years. “For out of state residents, the Museum is always seeking a balance between ensuring we are providing as wide access as possible, and generating critical support for our programming,” a Met spokesperson shared in a statement regarding the price increase. 

The Met now joins Seattle’s Chihuly Garden and Glass museum ($30 admission) and London’s Churchill War Rooms (approximately $31.60) as one of the most expensive museums in the world. 

Image via Wikimedia commons 

Here are more fun hole covers to be installed all throughout Japan! 

The Pokemon Company, in collaboration with the Japanese government, is set to install more manhole covers as part of their Pokemon Local Arts. This project is an initiative that was started in 2020 by the company to boost tourism across the country. 

Pokemon manhole covers are not a new addition in the country. There have been various covers in other regions in Japan that feature that specific area’s Pokemon ambassador. 

The new set will be installed in the Fukushima prefecture in December 2022, featuring the region’s mascot Chansey. The pokemon will be accompanied by Swirlix, Rillaboom, Vanillish, Grotle, Swanna, Lilligant, Wooper, Talonflame, Blissey, and Roserade!

Check out the design of the new set of manhole covers here! 

Image credit: the Pokemon Company via Nintendo Soup

If you’re aspiring to finally finish that novel or original work you’re aiming to publish online or even submit to the printing press, then you might be interested in visiting some pubs where popular writers visited for that extra burst of creative energy. 

While drinking alcohol might be counterproductive to the writing process, some authors in history did tend to get a pint of beer while writing books, short stories, and poems. Matador Network shares some of the top literary pubs you could visit for your next literary journey.

One of the suggested pubs in their list is The Eagle and Child in Oxford, UK. This is where Inklings, a group of writers that included J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis met. Fans of these authors can also find photos of the writing group in the location’s Rabbit Room. 

So whether or not you’re just looking for a historical pub to visit or a good place that was once frequented by writers, these pubs can be your next destination. Check the full list here. 

Image credit: Luis Poletti/Pexels 

A new excavation found new fossils that restarted the discussions surrounding the origin of humanity. Found in the Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa, the fossils were part of a cave woman nicknamed Mrs. Ples. 

Determining the age of the skeletal remains in the caves made researchers examine not just the items in the question itself, but also the radioactive decay in rocks buried at the same time as Mrs. Ples. This new method of dating work can push the age of the fossils in human evolution research, according to Dominic Stratford, the director of research in the Sterkfontein Caves. 

Thanks to this methodology, the experts have estimated her fossils to date back between 3.4 to 3.6 million years ago. Because of this dating, scientists can now say that the hominins existed in South Africa around the same time as the oldest remains were found in East Africa. For reference, the skeleton is actually referring to Lucy, who was found in Ethiopia in 1974.

The discovery of Mrs. Ples now indicated that Lucy, who was an East African hominin, lived too late to be considered the ancestor of modern-day humans. 

Image credit: Maël BALLAND/Pexels 

In 2018, a science experiment went viral because it involved six doctors swallowing LEGO heads just to see how long they would take to pass through their digestive systems. Now the doctors involved have reunited in an article to explain their methods and motivations. Emergency physician Dr. Andrew Tagg was always interested in the many things children swallowed. The most common are coins, followed by plastic toys. There was already research in how long it took to poop out a coin, but none on plastic toys. Meanwhile, frantic parents were searching through toilets to find what had been swallowed. But there was a second motivation, shared by many research doctors- the thrill of an article that might be published in the famous December issue of the British Medical Journal, where odd and often funny studies are highlighted. That desire helped Tagg recruit other pediatric doctors. Then they had to set the parameters, agreeing on coordinating their bowel movements and their methods of searching through them. And they had to choose their toys.   

I don’t think anyone specifically went out to buy Lego heads to find which was the tastiest looking one to have. It was much more of a case of which head had the best-looking face to swallow. You want one that looks kind of shocked and scared as it goes down.

Four years on, the doctors give us the lowdown on what they went through to test the passage of the LEGO heads. You won't regret reading it. -via Metafilter

If you want to guess the Word of the Year before reading this post, the image above might be a good clue. The editors of the Merriam-Webster dictionary have selected their Word of the Year for 2022, and it's "gaslighting."
 
The use of the word has become ubiquitous in the past couple of years, although at the same time, the meaning has become more broad. The original definition is the act of getting you to doubt your own judgement or sanity in order to manipulate you. It is a reference to the 1944 film Gaslight, in which musician Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer) manipulates his new wife Paula (Ingrid Bergman) into questioning her own sanity when she finds evidence of a crime. One of the symptoms of her assumed mental illness was the dimming of the gas-powered household lights.

In 2022, gaslighting is often meant as “the act or practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for a personal advantage.” Unlike previous words of the year, the meteoric rise of the term is not tied to a specific event, but has gained everyday usage in the wake of political division and charges of bias in the news media. I love how Wikipedia warns us not to confuse "gaslighting" with "fart lighting."

Merriam-Webster also lists eight other terms that have become notable in 2002, from "queen consort" to "oligarch." -via Fark

The Bay of Fundy in Canada is famous as the place with the highest tides on earth. The way water moves around against various earth features is crazy. Rivers actually change direction twice four times a day! This powerful water movement would seem to be ripe for generating electricity. So why don't they do that? Tom Scott went there and almost froze to explain it to us. We also get to see his bathroom. The title of this video indicates that "there's just one problem," yet the real answer is that there are many problems. But people are still working on the idea, and one of these days, we will overcome them.

Here’s something that can uplift your spirits, even just for a bit. A blooper reel from 1991 showcases the fun times Robin Williams had with the popular character Elmo. 

Before the comedian’s death in 2014, he appears frequently on Sesame Street, playing different roles in the show. His most notable moment in the show is when he interacts with Big Bird and Elmo. 

In one of the clips featured in the video, Williams can be seen trying his best to make Elmo’s puppeteer, Kevin Clash break character. The comedian cracks a few jokes in his style, and you can actually see Elmo trying his best (to not make a mistake). 

The clip was actually from the 1991 episode of the show called “Big Bird's Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake.” Thanks to Williams’ brilliance, he was able to get Elmo enthralled even if he accidentally lose composure, goofed a line, and then walked off camera. When the comedian came back to continue the scene, it was Elmo’s turn to make mistake as he gets Williams’ name wrong.