There is a certain joy in petting animals, and a certain wave of relaxation once we get to pet them during stressful periods. This is a “coping method” for students in universities, where organizations would set up a petting booth for students. Sometimes even the university administration would set up support pets to help students out during their hectic semesters. 

It is an accepted fact that interacting with animals can make someone happy or relaxed, but is there an actual scientific backing to this? Well - researchers from Washington State University studied the psychological benefits of petting animals on campus,  as Science Alert reports: 

"We already knew that students enjoy interacting with animals, and that it helps them experience more positive emotions," says human development researcher Patricia Pendry from Washington State University.

"What we wanted to learn was whether this exposure would help students reduce their stress in a less subjective way."

Using salivary cortisol levels as an indication of academic stress, the study focused on 249 college students, who were randomly split into four groups during a real university animal visitation program.

This suggests that just 10 minutes of petting time can have a significant impact on a student's physical stress levels. And the authors are hopeful that this could assist universities in determining the best type of interaction and dosage for their animal intervention programs.

image credit: wikimedia commons

In a trending reddit post, reddit user u/hoobody shared a screenshot of himself playing 2048, wherein the game stopped him from scoring any further. His highest block was numbered at 1048576. His score reached 20 million. 

That feat is amazing, sure - it’s hard enough to reach the 2048 block itself, so you can imagine how difficult it was to get the 1 million block. Although a lot of people in the comments pointed out that what the original poster played was a different version of 2048, with 64 columns and an undo button - it's still an admirable achievement.

Congratulations on that 1 Million block, hoobody! 

image credit: u/hoobody

Not everyone can bring their parents to their graduation. However, this Filipino student went his own way to bring his late mom to his graduation. 

In a viral tweet, Paulo Alinsog shared a photo of himself and a life-size cutout of his late mother with the caption, “To my most beautiful mother! Ma, your eldest has graduated I hope you’re happy in the presence of God. I finished school because this is what you wanted. I love you very much.”

Alinsog shared to Coconuts Manila that he had the standee made because it was his dream to graduate with his mother, Carmen, by his side. Carmen passed away in August 2016 due to complications from pneumonia. 

“I ordered the standee two weeks ago because I’ve always wanted her to accompany me on my graduation day. When the standee was delivered to me, I cried because I thought it was real. I thought it was beautiful and creepy at the same time,” he said.

“I had that standee made so that I could at least feel my mom’s presence on graduation day because my graduation from college was our dream.”

(via hitz.com)

image credit: Paulo Alinsog via hitz.com

It all started with the University of Western Australia obstetrics and microbiology researcher Lisa Stinson, who stumbled upon a hilariously-titled research paper. She shared her findings online, saying , "I just found the world's best paper title". Stinson attached a screenshot of the research paper, which was titled, "Fantastic yeasts and where to find them: the hidden diversity of dimorphic fungal pathogens". 

Who knew that the formal, dry, serious, and jargon-heavy field of academic writing can bring forth such gems? Apparently, other scientists can as well! Following the footsteps of Stinson, other researchers and scientists share other well-crafted titles :

pic.twitter.com/osXNJvagYO

— Kim Madden (@KimMaddenPhD) July 9, 2019

Now that’s something to take note of for your next academic writing - maybe your reviewer would find it amusing as well!

(via Science Alert)

When police in Santa Carina, Brazil, raided a factory that specializes in making fake luxury goods, they didn’t stop the production of fake handbag or clothes - instead, they stopped a family business who specialized in making luxury cars.

The bootleg factory was owned by a father and son, who offered the replicas through social media. Santa Carina Civil Police officers managed to seize eight semi-assembled replicas of Ferraris and Lamborghinis, as reported by CNN: 

Police said the replicas were being offered through social media for between 180,000 Brazilian reals ($48,000) and 250,000 Brazilian reals ($66,000), a fraction of the list price for an original vehicle. According to motoring website motor1.com, the starting price for a Ferrari is around $215,000.

Tools, molds, fibers and frames used to manufacture the cars were also seized during the raid, police said.

The father and son pair are now arrested and will face criminal charges for falsification of commercial property. In addition, police officials also believe that the pair are the largest manufacturers of bootleg luxury vehicles in Brazil.

image credit: via CNN

Kim Draper of Springfield, Illinois recently received a postcard in her mailbox. But there’s something unusual about this postcard: it was sent 26 years ago. The (super) late postcard started Draper on a hunt for its original sender and intended recipient, she told The State Journal Register.

The postcard, which was dated July 8, 1993 was addressed to a Leena and Muhammad Ali Kizilbash from their father. For a postcard that stayed in the mail system for around 26 years, Draper was amazed that it managed to retain its quality.  

Associated Press has picked up the story and added that the postcard will be reunited back to its original recipient:

With the help of social media, Draper learned that Kizilbash’s son, Mohammad Kizilbash, now lives in suburban Chicago. A reunion with the postcard is planned.

“I thought that was really gracious of her, she went out of her way to track us down,” Mohammad said. “I’m looking forward to getting this postcard. This is one to keep.”

image credit: Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via Associated Press

Meet Alex (@alexthehonkingbird), a 20-year-old cockatiel from Brisbane, Australia. This cockatiel is unlike any other - he’s a rockstar. 

Alex loves headbanging to rocking tunes, as videos taken by the bird’s owner Annika Howells clearly show. The videos have now gone viral, and Alex is a legit avian celebrity.

View this post on Instagram

Been working on my music during the break. It’s important to take time for your hobbies outside of work.

A post shared by AlexTheHonkingBird (@alexthehonkingbird) on Apr 25, 2019 at 5:19pm PDT

“I never expected thousands of people all around the world would become fans of my birds,” Annika tells Instagram as they feature Alex for #WeeklyFluff. Fluff and continue to rock on, Alex!

image credit: @alexthehonkingbird on Instagram

Watching a movie or a TV show together often brings people closer to one another. But it seems that bonding over a shared watching experience is not limited to just us humans - chimpanzees and bonobos also get that same sense of bonding, as shown by a new scientific study.

The study, published by the Royal Society, placed chimpanzees and bonobos in front of a screen to watch a video. “Chimpanzees watching a video together get the same sense of bonding and closeness that humans can feel from watching a movie or TV show together”, study co-author Wouter Wolf of Duke University told CNN: 

Pairs of chimps were monitored as they watched videos - and psychologists found an increased sense of closeness between them in a way previously thought to be unique to humans.

Eye-trackers were used to make sure the apes were watching the film and fruit drinks were used to encourage them to stay relatively still and in the same place.

Researchers say it shows the "deep evolutionary roots" of the heightened emotional impact of watching something with someone else.

It also raises questions about what is lost when there are fewer shared experiences - such as if families stop watching television together and are separately plugged into social media or using their own mobile phones.

image credit: via wikimedia commons

Ever had the problem of bringing too many or too few things on your trip? Looking for some tips on how to become an efficient packer? Vogue’s Elise Taylor relays a story of how professional organizer Faith Roberson helped her to be a more efficient packer. 

The rules for efficient packing  that Roberson laid down for Taylor might help you pack your luggage for your next trip: 

Leave the shoes

On my next trip, I was to wear shoes that I’d also use at my destination, not just in transit. And I should cut my shoe baggage in half. “Be selective!” Faith urged. “Reflect on past trips and see which shoes you gravitated towards. Pack only those.”

Invest in a duplicate toiletry bag

Faith advised me to invest in a “duplicate bag”: a small case filled with must-haves that would never leave my suitcase (also ensuring I could never forget it). “If you travel often, especially for work, there is no reason why you should have to unpack and repack essentials. Ideally, you should be able to pack without removing a bobby pin from your bathroom,” Faith said.

Consider each day

“pack for each day, take the time to select each outfit for the day. Knowing what you’re going to wear for that week for events in the day will eliminate the stress of not being prepared, and will save you space.”

image credit: VideoPlasty via wikimedia commons

Tompkins Square is a park in Lower Manhattan that maintains the vibe and aesthetic of Old New York. Known for being a hub for skateboarders, this park is the only spot in the neighborhood that provides flat, open ground and space to learn skateboarding for first timers. 

A new proposal by the city, however, aims to remove Tompkins Square - but the skateboarders aren’t taking it lying down. They’re rallying against the authorities to save their beloved training spot.

Paper Magazine has the details: 

Now, the New York City skateboarding community and their allies are rallying to "Save Tompkins" after the City's Department of Parks and Recreation approved a proposal to replace the asphalt at the training facility with synthetic turf in 2020. The Parks Department's decision was made in order to accommodate those who would normally use the fields at the East River Park, which is set to undergo a $1.45 billion flood-protection plan that will take more than three years.

The "Save Tompkins" movement may have been jump-started by skaters, but it's about more than skateboarding, Zhu said. It's about "preserving the identity of the neighborhood," and resisting what the city calls "beautification," which locals know is just another way of saying "gentrification." As is typical of urban renewal projects (another fancy term for gentrification), newcomers may not know the history of a community, leaving OG's feeling like the changes unfolding right outside their doors are not happening with them in mind. If the history of the LES says anything it's that folks are more than willing to fight for what they believe in and in this case, that means protecting the park.

image credit: Paper Magazine

We live in today's society - where people who identify outside the gender binary live their life openly. However, as much as they have the courage and support to live their truth - some people can  be quite offensive. 

And it doesn't have to be offensive on purpose  - it can be unintentional, such as addressing them with the wrong gender pronouns. A solution to this problem is to address people neutrally. So how does one do that? Popsugar details on how to speak about and to people in a sympathetic and supportive way: 

Simply seek to be polite and as inclusive possible.

Those we spoke with for this story agreed that the singular "they" is always safe to use. "It's a gender-neutral pronoun that comes completely naturally to speakers of English," Saul said. "Think about a sentence like 'When a student arrives, they should pick up a handout.' It just rolls off the tongue and doesn't feel the slightest bit awkward."

If there is a confusion  on what to call someone politely and properly, there is no harm asking.

image credit: Flickr user Bradley Griffin via Popsugar

Ever felt tired after standing outside for a few minutes? Done nothing but stand outside, or casually lounge around in daylight - and still feel tired?  Fatigue after standing in the sun is not just 'being tired after minimal exertion', as refinery29 gave reasons to validate exhaustion after exposure to the sun: 

Your body is working hard — even if you aren't.

Your body has to work to keep your core body temperature regulated (through sweat).

You're dehydrated.

A 2012 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that even mild dehydration can be enough to alter your mood, including making you feeling fatigued.

You're red as a lobster.

In an effort to heal your sunburn, your body will divert fluid to the skin’s surface and away from the rest of the body, says Shari Lipner, MD, PhD, assistant professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell.

Something bigger is off with your body.

If you’re sweating heavily, have a rapid pulse, and feel faint in addition to feeling sleepy, those are all signs that you’re experiencing heat exhaustion, according to the Mayo Clinic.

image credit: wikimedia commons

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With coral as their primary medium, Colin Foord and Jared McKay blend science, videography and music to create educational art 🤯 with Coral Morphologic (@coralmorphologic). Explore Miami’s urban coral reefs, lay down some 🎵 tracks and head into the lab on today’s episode of #HiddenGems. 💎✨

A post shared by Instagram (@instagram) on Jul 13, 2019 at 11:09am PDT

Coral Morphologic (@coralmorphologic)  is dedicated to showcase different corals and educate people about them, through well-crafted videos and photos. This amazing harmony of science, videography and music to showcase and educate is truly a #HiddenGem.

A huge Stone Age settlement has been unearthed in Jerusalem.This large settlement, theorized to have been the home of around 2,000 to 3,000 people was discovered in Motza (3 miles near Jerusalem). Archaeologist and excavation director Jacob Vardi shared some details with CNN : 

Believed to have been inhabited 9,000 years ago, the site has yielded thousands of tools andornaments, including arrowheads, figurines and jewelry. The findings also provide evidence of sophisticated urban planning and farming, which may force experts to rethink the region's early history, said archeologists involved in the excavation.

Archeologists have since found a large collection of buildings just below the ground's surface. As well as private homes, the excavation revealed the remnants of public facilities and spaces used for rituals and burials.

Describing the site as the largest of its kind "not just in Israel but in the Southern Levant," Vardi said in a phone interview that the settlement would have been home to 2,000 and 3,000 people, adding: "In comparison to other settlements (from that time), it's like a very big city."

image credit: GALI TIBBON/AFP/AFP/Getty Images via CNN

Some countries host sport tournaments to show off their country’s athletic prowess, but not Finland. Oh no, not the Finns.

They do something much stranger: they held a heavy metal knitting championship.

The world’s first ever  Heavy Metal Knitting Championship was held in Finland last July 2019. In that strange competition, people knitted while heavy metal played. This competition might sound ridiculous to one’s ears, as performer Heather McLaren told the Associated Press:

"I think it's great. And as ridiculous as it is, everybody is behind you and enjoying themselves and everyone is cheering and getting into it. It's ridiculous but it's so much fun. Everyone should do this."

Now that’s something to try out one’s free time, right? Fancy knitting to heavy metal?