I see a few issues with this, from the city's POV -- 1. Those high parts are screaming to be climbed on, and slid down and maybe even jumped (between rows) -- isn't this a liability nightmare? 2. Cities usually go out of their way to avoid having any way for the homeless to lie down or sleep -- this seems like it would be a magnet for people who have nowhere to rest. (Not saying that I'm anti-homeless people, just that it's a reality in most cities.)

Actually pretty impressive. Did they have to audition for a job as well as interview?! Unless they did some serious dubbing or auto-tuning, there's some pretty good singers there, not to mention dancers! On the other hand, is this just a product of their PR department as a promo for the company?

Funny, my first take in looking at the sculpture was, "Cool, reading before they're even born."

Ha! That last comment belittles the alleviation of temporary pain -- something no one who's ever had debilitating back pain would ever dream of. As for "without ever pointing to the cause of the pain" -- well neither do doctors! (Most doctors just prescribe rest and/or pain pills for back pain, which is a whole set of issues in itself.) I've been to chiropractors over the years when I was literally in agony when I tried to move, walking twisted and bent into the office, and upright and pain-free out of it. Yes, dealing with the root cause of stress would be ideal but for people with already over-packed lives, time out to meditate or whatever, just isn't going to happen.

Yes, it is that, but Japan also has a falling marriage rate -- when traditional ideas about what constitute the "right" way to be a woman contrast with modern ideas, many Asian women have decided that marriage in that society isn't all that attractive an option.

OMG, please don't let Trump see this. It's exactly the kind of thing he'd start commanding be done. (He's gagging to use a nuke.)

First, there are plenty of people who are of Chinese heritage who live in/are citizens of Australia (including my daughter in law) -- I'm kind of surprised that people there are at all suspicious of Chinese students, but, then again, some people will always be xenophobic. Secondly, my kid spent 4 years at a boarding school in New England that is known for its international scope -- and a huge proportion of its international students (well, not huge in actual numbers; it's a smallish school) are from China and become very Americanized very quickly. (I heard one Chinese boy talking about how he wanted to be a rapper.) I've started to wonder (with some concern) how these kids are going to go back to an increasingly rigid China once they've gotten used to the more-flexible US (or for that matter Australia, for those there.) Certainly being fluent in English will be a plus for them in their job market, and having some first-hand knowledge of other countries is always useful, but I wonder if they will chafe at the more rigid hierarchical structure of home once returning there.

Well, I just fell down the Tom Scott rabbit hole for a while! (And it was fascinating, even though I'm a life-long lover of words and not much was a surprise.) But, funny, I don't find "No problem" a problem. "You're welcome" is traditional but it doesn't make any more sense -- it's a bit over the top response when you think about it. I mean, it doesn't even make much sense when you try to use a dictionary definition of "welcome" -- and as a figurative one, it's kind of silly -- seriously, just try. "No problem" is more or less equivalent of the Spanish "de nada" -- "It was nothing." What surprised me more is the spread of the previously Australian-centered, "No worries." I was used to it because of an Australian daughter-in-law but in the last few years, I've been hearing it more and more in the US.

If a word-change is enough to throw you so far off balance that you're irrational, perhaps the planet would be a better place without you. There are no delusional fantasies here. Our language is a constantly evolving thing -- and making single-sex labels more accurate in the 21st century is not that big of a deal. This isn't anything new. It's been going on for some 40 years! It's why we say flight attendant now, not stewardess and most Thirty-somethings have grown up saying fire fighter, not fireman. Manhole is a ridiculous name. It doesn't even describe what it is accurately! It's a hole for all men? No, it's a hole for maintenance access. The new name is far superior. Similarly, the name for our species SHOULD be humankind, not mankind. That's just more accurate. So, how about you get a grip? Why is it that it's always the conservatives who are having meltdowns but they call other people snowflakes? Projection I guess.

In certain periods (e.g. the 1950s/60s) when women were supposed to be sweet and submissive, many women's voices were intentionally higher pitched and breathy but I'm kind of surprised about the fact that this was true in the 1940s -- I thought many women in movies in that era had pretty "earthy" voices (e.g., Bette Davis, ) I do know that early sound equipment was very bad at picking up deeper or more-bass notes (a lot of men's voices sounded higher or more reedy in recordings) -- maybe that plays a role.

I'd like to see the metrics for this poll -- some red flags right off the bat are that 18-34 year olds are either often partying/dating, are trying to climb the ladder at work, and/or have babies or young children . . . all of which are sleep-killers. Whereas, over-55 year olds are probably not partying as hard, are past the ladder-climbing stage, and have grown children -- they may even be retired! Not to mention that, as people age, they need fewer hours of sleep. It seems to be a ridiculous premise to suggest that their sleep habits should somehow be the same.

This calls for a call out to McMansion Hell -- https://mcmansionhell.com/ - It's strayed a bit from its original purpose (to call out the nightmare that is the average McMansion) but it's amusing to wander through -- I believe she coined the term "lawyer foyer" (which you can probably figure out is one of those overly grand ones.)