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2,000-year-old redwoods survive devastating wildfires in California

2,000-year-old redwoods survive devastating wildfires in California

Last week, as California's oldest state park erupted into flames and the historic Big Basin State Park headquarters buildings burned to the ground, people feared the worst. Would we lose the 2,000-year-old redwood trees that bring visitors from all over the world to the area?

Thankfully, now that the fire at Big Basin is under control and people are able to go in an assess the damage, it looks like most of the ancient redwoods have survived the blaze. According to ABC News, a reporter from the Associated Press hiked the Redwood Trail at Big Basin and found that most of the old-growth giants, among the tallest living things on Earth, are still standing tall. That includes Mother of the Forest, a tree that grew to 329 feet tall before its top broke off in a storm, as well as other elder trees.

Reporter from The Mercury News, Ethan Baron, also took photos of the aftermath and reported on Twitter that the "vast majority of giant redwoods in center of Big Basin Redwoods State park scorched but still standing."


"That is such good news. I can't tell you how much that gives me peace of mind," Laura McLendon, conservation director for the Sempervirens Fund, a group dedicated to the protection of the redwoods and their habitats, told the Associated Press. McLendon said the forest will regrow. "Every old-growth redwood I've ever seen, in Big Basin and other parks, has fire scars on them," she said. "They've been through multiple fires, possibly worse than this."

Fire ecologist director of science at Save the Redwoods League, Kristen Shive, told The Mercury News that redwood bark—which can be up to a foot thick—is fire-resistant. If a fire gets hot enough, it can do serious damage, but even badly burned redwoods can eventually recover.



Managing forests includes managing fire, which can be seen as both a blessing and a curse for forest habitats and humans. Not all forest fires are bad. Some trees need occasional fire to thrive, and controlled burns are sometimes used to prevent out-of-control blazes that destroy homes and animal habitats. When left alone, nature tends to create its own balance, but with climate change causing an increase in the frequency and severity of wildfires, in addition to human activity causing some fires in addition to those caused naturally by lightning, it's difficult to judge when fires are actually beneficial.

California has seen historically destructive fire seasons in recent years, and two of this summer's fires are already among the state's worst. As people are evacuated, homes and buildings are destroyed, and air quality from smoke is disrupting the lives of countless Californians, hearing some good news is a welcome breath of fresh air.


Time travel back to 1905.

Back in 1905, a book called "The Apples of New York" was published by the New York State Department of Agriculture. It featured hundreds of apple varieties of all shapes, colors, and sizes, including Thomas Jefferson's personal favorite, the Esopus Spitzenburg.






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Health

Gen Xer explains sense of 'impending doom' that seems to define the Millennial generation

Somebody finally put it into words and a lot of Millenials are feeling seen.

A woman looks to the ground in dispair.

At the end of his YouTube video “Does Anyone Else Feel Like Everything Has Changed?” self-development influencer Stephen Antonioni makes a rather haunting observation: "In many ways, the world is a better place than it was yesterday, just judging by objective measures. But I can't help share the feeling that something is off and perhaps terribly so. And therefore, I have to ask the question: Does anyone else feel like everything has changed?"

The most popular comment on the video, which was liked over 28,000 times was written by a YouTuber named Tracy Smith. Even though, at 57, she’s a Gen Xer, her thoughts have resonated with thousands of Millenials.

“I am 57. Not only does it feel like ‘something wicked this way comes’ but there is also this feeling that the whole world is holding its breath. Almost as though we are all waiting for some catalyst or sign or event that puts an end to this feeling of being put on hold,” Smith wrote. “This vague, unexplained unease we feel. Something terrible lurking just out of our field of vision but we all feel it closing in. I cannot count the number of people who have told me they wish that whatever is going to happen would just get on with it. That this waiting for the thing in the darkness is unbearable.”

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Melissa Pateras explains how dry cleaning works.


Have you ever wondered what happens at the dry cleaners? Or are you like me, who just assumed the people at the dry cleaners were wizards and never questioned their magic? Turns out, dry cleaners aren't magic and there's actually a pretty interesting explanation of how they came to be and what they do.

Melissa Pateras is known on Tiktok for her laundry knowledge. Seriously, her ability to fold laundry is hypnotizing. This time, she created a video explaining what actually takes place at the dry cleaner and the internet is aghast.

Before Pateras explained what happens in the mysterious world behind the counter of a dry cleaner, she asked a few of her friends what they thought dry cleaning was. Their answers were...interesting to say the least.

One friend surmised, "You put it in a box, right...and then you let some wind, really fast wind, blow around on your clothes and it wipes off all the dirt." The friend, whose username is @unlearn16, continued with her working hypothesis, saying that the clothes are then blasted with infrared heat to sterilize the garments. While that is certainly an interesting theory, that's not what happens.

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Joy

Doberman's blissful reaction while getting pampered at bathtime goes viral

This "scary" dog's next-level beauty routine proves there's nothing scary about him at all.

Representative Image from Canva

May this adorable video show that Doberman's don't deserve their bad reputation.

Let’s face it, Hollywood has given Doberman’s a bad reputation. So often they are depicted as the canine henchman to the evil villain, that many people assume that’s their temperament in real life.

But the truth is: like just about every dog on the planet, Dobermans are sweet, loyal and affectionate canine companions. And, much like Pit Bulls, they are not nearly as inherently aggressive as pop culture makes them out to be—especially when properly trained.

I mean, just take a look at Atlas. This goodest of good bois recently went viral on TikTok while getting a nice, relaxing bathtime session. He proved that not only are Doberman’s capable of extreme levels of chill, they can have a deep felt appreciation for some good old fashioned pampering.

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Photo by Gustavo Fring|Canva

Therapists explains being 'touched out' and gives tips to help

Just about every mother has experienced the feeling of being touched out. They may not know that's what it's called, or some may feel embarrassed to admit they're feeling that way due to fear of judgement. But when you think about it, being touched out, especially when you have younger kids seems inevitable.

The sense of your body not belonging to only you can start during pregnancy. Everything you do directly affects your developing fetus, and once the baby is born, it needs a lot of physical contact for proper brain, social, and emotional development. So babies are held a lot outside of feedings. Those babies turn into toddlers who then turn into early school agers, all of whom rely very heavily on co-regulation of their emotions and being physically near their parent to feel safe.

It's pretty much a constant state of being touched throughout much of the day. When psychologist, Dr. Raquel Martin reveals she too feels touched out in a video on Instagram, parents across the internet felt validated.

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No better time to grab a little shut eye.

For those in the military, sleep can mean the difference between life and death. But shut-eye can be very hard to come by, especially during active conflict.

According to Sharon Ackman, the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School developed a scientific method to help its pilots fall asleep. Through this technique, 96% of the pilots were able to fall asleep in two minutes or less.

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