“Five years ago, I stopped showering.” This was the bold confession that James Hamblin, physician and staff writer at The Atlantic, wrote in his book titled Clean: The New Science of Skin. 

“At least, by most modern definitions of the word,” he clarifies. 

“I still get my hair wet occasionally, but I quit shampooing or conditioning, or using soap, except on my hands,” Hamblin continues. He has also stopped using products that he had always associated with “being clean”, such as exfoliants, moisturizers and deodorants. This just might be one of the most shocking revelations a person can tell you. But he doesn’t recommend this practice to everyone.

In polite company, Hamblin’s confession tends to land like the Hindenburg, which reveals just how obsessed we’ve become with surface notions of cleanliness — and how reluctant we are to disavow them. But Hamblin thinks the sensible-sounding idea that we should scrub up regularly is both simplistic and wrongheaded. When you take a soap-slathered loofah to your greasy pelt, he says, you’re actually destroying an interdependent microbial universe, or microbiome, on the surface of your skin.

“When we clean ourselves,” Hamblin writes, “we at least temporarily alter the microscopic populations — either by removing them or by altering the resources available to them.” By chasing that born-again post-shower rush, in other words, we stymie one of evolution’s best strategies to shield us from disease and keep out invaders.

Hamblin may have stopped showering, and he may have stopped using beauty products, but it doesn’t mean that his skin and hygiene has gotten worse. In fact, it has become better. He states that his skin has become less oily, and he has got fewer patches of eczema.

That’s why Hamblin plans to continue his shower-free routine for now— as long as his odor doesn’t send others fleeing from the room. It hasn’t so far, he reports: “I didn’t smell like pine trees or lavender, but I also didn’t smell like the oniony body odor that I used to get when my armpits, used to being plastered with deodorant, suddenly went a day without it.”

Know more details about Hamblin’s revelation over at Undark.

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With the recent release of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2, foldable smartphones are slowly becoming mainstream. This foldable feature is also slowly making its way to e-readers.

The E Ink Corporation, the company behind the digital paper tech found in the majority of e-readers, is trying to make it happen. The firm’s R&D lab has been developing foldable e-ink screens for a while, and its latest prototype clearly demonstrates the idea’s potential.

[...]

The overall concept is intriguing. As with folding smartphones, a foldable e reader promises more screen real estate in a smaller package. There’s also the pleasing familiarity of the folding format, making the device more like a book or notepad. Add in the capacity to take notes and sync reading material and you’d have an extremely useful bit of kit.

The concept, however, currently has lots of room for improvement. It would probably be years before this technology overtakes the pen and paper.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: GoodEReader.com/ The Verge)

In 2008, locals were surprised to find a group of beavers on their River Otter. These creatures were said to have died out in England around 1550 because of hunting. But instead of relocating the beavers, the Devon Wildlife Trust decided to observe the beaver population “to see how it would interact with the local environment.”

The beaver group currently living on the River Otter likely originated with either an accidental or unauthorized release. When local authorities discovered the beavers were breeding in 2014, they intended to relocate them to protect the local ecosystem. The Devon Wildlife Trust proposed an alternative: Allow the population to live on the river undisturbed for five years, and only remove them if they were proven to cause harm by the end of the trial.

Unsurprisingly, the beaver group did not cause harm in the local environment. Even better, they also made the area better than before.

The population, which now consists of 15 family groups, constructed 28 dams throughout the river system. These dams helped slow water flow during floods and contained water during droughts that would normally dry up riverbeds. The beaver-engineered habitat also allowed an increase in the number of water voles, fish, and amphibians.

And so,...

When the trial officially ends on August 31, the beavers will become permanent residents of Devon in the eyes of the government.

This is good news indeed!

(Image Credit: Ray Scott/ Wikimedia Commons)

Jellyfish may be considered one of the oldest creatures that survive on our planet. For at least 500 million years, they have swam across the waters and have reproduced and have thrived. This feat probably is thanks to their strange physical features.

These creatures have no special organs for respiration or excretion. They have no head, no brain, no skeleton and no true circulatory system. This allows them to be highly adaptable and to survive in even the harshest conditions.

Sometimes, jellyfish are unwanted visitors, especially to humans. They can clog cooling intakes of power plants, destroy fishing nets, and spoil catches. For other creatures on the planet, however, they prove to be a great help.

They are indicators of oceanic circulation patterns, play a rather large role in the mixing of oceanic nutrients and also help control pelagic fish populations (those that inhabit the water column, not near the bottom or the shore). It was recently discovered that jellyfish even provide microhabitats where other marine species may live and survive.

Jellyfish are creatures truly worthy of study, and that’s just what this team of researchers from South Africa is currently doing.

More about this over at The Conversation.

(Image Credit: Pixabay)

The “Outstanding Move” meme template is often used to praise an action for its ingenuity and uniqueness. Bored Panda compiles what they believe are the funniest outstanding move stories that can be found on the Internet.

Learn more about the real context of the image, and view Bored Panda’s compilation, over at the site. For now, here are two photos.

(Image Credit: Bored Panda)

Phosphorus is one of the key ingredients in making life possible. But compared to other elements which life on Earth depends on — namely, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur — phosphorus is less abundant than these elements. And so, scientists were really surprised when they discovered a new type of star, one that is rich in the aforementioned element. Currently, scientists do not know exactly what type of stellar process paves the way to the creation of phosphorus, which is why they were so puzzled with this recent discovery.

What happened to these stars that made them so rich with phosphorus?

“The paper is all about exploring all possibilities and ruling out all of them,” said Masseron. “Basically, the answer is we don’t know.”

Check out the story over at Vice.com.

(Image Credit: FelixMittermeier/ Pixabay)

People tell us that the key to being more productive is doing more things while spending less time. A support trainer from a remote company named Zapier, says something different, however. For him, doing more things while spending less time quickly leads to burnout. With that in mind, he suggests another method to be more productive, and that is by doing tasks and looking for ways to improve yourself, one step at a time.

Check out his helpful advice over at Fast Company.

(Image Credit: Pixabay)

When Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng (previously), in his character named “Uncle Roger”, criticized the egg fried rice video from BBC Food, he made a follow-up video on his Instagram account, showing how to cook rice the Asian way. And the Asian way? Cooking rice with a rice cooker. “World War II is over, use technology!” he remarked.

Thanks to the power of modern technology, we can now cook the perfect rice through the use of rice cookers. But rice cookers aren’t as great before, and many Japanese companies have raced to invent the perfect rice cooker.

Know more about the history of rice cookers over at Atlas Obscura.

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Melissa first met Oliver, a golden retriever, when he was still five years old, which was nine years ago. It was the day when Melissa moved into the neighborhood. Fast forward to this day, the now 14-year-old Oliver still visits Melissa’s house everyday, usually coming at around seven in the morning at the gate.

“He’s like a wandering old grandpa,” describes Melissa.

Oliver’s mother, Sue, has no problem with Oliver wandering around. 

“From a puppy on, he’s just had this spirit where he’s wanted to kind of wander. And we’ve let him kind of do his thing because, at the end of the day, he always comes home,” says Sue.

More about this wholesome story over at The Dodo. 

(Image Credit: The Dodo)

When photographer Christian Spencer was taking pictures of the local wildlife in Itatiaia National Park in Brazil, he noticed something in the hummingbirds, particularly their wings. Apparently, their wings can bend light, much like how prisms work.

While observing the hummingbirds, Spencer noticed that if he shot them with the sun directly behind him, a prism-effect appeared on their wings, showcasing a full-range rainbow.

Spencer then took photos of these little creatures with the prism-effect in their wings, and these photos can be described as nothing short of being majestic.

Titled Winged Prism, this series of photographs by Christian Spencer shows nature’s mastery and perfection. Hummingbirds, known for the high speed in which they flap their wings, have always been a favorite for bird’s photographers. The small birds are also fast, being able to move from one spot to another at over 34 miles per hour (54.72 kilometers per hour).

Magnificent.

(Image Credit: Christian Spencer/ DesignBoom)

In order to reduce the digging up of precious metals like gold, and silver, which would also reduce the amount of electronic waste that we have, sustainable fashion brand Vollebak has created this watch made up of this type of waste. The company has appropriately named its analog device the “Garbage Watch.”

As its name suggests, the upcycled timepiece is constructed with old motherboards, microchips, and computer parts, utilizing bright electrical cords as the strap with an open face and exposed mechanisms. “We’ve taken an ‘inside-out’ design approach with the Garbage Watch, making the functional inner workings highly visible,” said Vollebak co-founder Nick Tidball in a statement to Inhabitat. “Our aim was to reframe an often invisible and hazardous end of the supply chain, and make people think deeply about the impact of treating their wearables in a disposable manner.”

While the watch does not seem to be water-resistant (and its mechanical parts are also exposed), it looks pretty cool and somewhat cyberpunk.

What do you think?

(Image Credit: Vollebak/ Colossal)

Panasonic may be known for their electronics, but that’s not the only thing that they make. They also manufacture kitchens, toilets, and other housing stuff. It is a surprise indeed.

Because people might be working from home longer than expected, this Japanese company decided to create this DIY furniture that could be a great help for those people.

Their latest offering, Komoru [which translates as ‘seclude oneself’], is a result [of] the prolonged pandemic-induced work-from-home environment. According to a company survey, 70% of people, if given a choice, prefer some form of working from home. At the same time, 50% of respondents also say that their primary work station at home is their living room.

Office cubicles, with their dull appearances and association with corporate mediocrity, have long been the butt of jokes. But there’s something to be said for semi-private space, partitioned or not, and their ability to foster concentration.

The DIY cubicle, however, will be a bit expensive, as Panasonic plans to sell it in September for ¥88,000 (around $831).

One commenter remarked that IKEA could sell something similar to the product at only around ¥20,000 (around $190).

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Panasonic/ Spoon & Tamago)

Have you ever tried pressing your nose on a window or transparent glass? This beagle named Max certainly has, and it is funny. Apparently, Max was put on the balcony by his mother while she cleaned his room, because he loves to bite the mop. Growing impatient on the balcony, the beagle decided to press his nose against the glass, as if to ask his mother, “How long will the cleaning take?”

Cute!

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With the current global situation, theme parks and other places like it have been forced to temporarily close their establishments. One such theme park is Walibi Holland in Biddinghuizen in the Netherlands. The fun, however, doesn’t stop in the place, as the theme park decided to offer their services to non-living things.

The park re-opened last May 25 with social distancing measures.

Watch the video over at CNN.

Cool!

(Image Credit: CNN)

Everyone of us has had at least one of our plans ruined due to things that are beyond our control. Some plans are just ruined worse than others.

A man named Albert Ndreu decided to fill his apartment with candles and balloons. His plan was to pick up his girlfriend Valerija Madevic, surprise her with the romantic set-up in their studio flat, and then propose to her.

But when he went out to pick up his girlfriend to bring her home for the surprise, the flat caught fire. Fire crews rushed to the scene in Sheffield, South Yorks, at about 8.30pm on Monday.

The studio flat was gutted by flames and smoke damage.

Despite the setback, Mr Ndreu got down on one knee in the charred room and asked Miss Madevic to marry him – and she said yes.

Mr Ndreu said: “Valerija always says the most important thing is the small gestures every day – but I wanted to do something special for the proposal.

“It didn’t go exactly as I thought it would but she said yes, so I think the day took an unexpected turn but ended up exactly how I wanted it to.”

Now that’s love right there.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: SWNS/ The Telegraph)