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If you're planning a road trip soon, avoiding drowsy driving could help keep you safe.

In May 2016, a semi-truck veered off the road in Wyoming, tipping onto its side and releasing its cargo: millions of bees .

Bees. Fun in a hive. Bad on a drive. Rouf Bhat/AFP/Getty Images.

A few days later, a similar accident happened in North Carolina, spilling 50,000 pounds of potatoes .

Potatoes. Fun in a stew. Bad on a ... uh ... let me get back to you on this one. Photo from iStock.

In both cases, the crashes happened because the drivers fell asleep at the wheel.

Photo from iStock.

Truck drivers are often under ridiculous pressure to deliver their goods as fast as possible, which can result in people pushing their bodies and chances further than they really should.

It's not just truckers who are sleep deprived, though. The CDC says that 1 in 25 adult drivers have admitted to nodding off at the wheel in the last month.

And That number is based on people who were actually willing to admit to such a thing in a survey — in reality, the number may be higher.

Photo from iStock.

Sleep deprivation is a serious problem. A third of all American adults don't get enough sleep, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says drowsy driving is responsible for about 83,000 crashes, 37,000 injury crashes, and 886 fatal crashes per year on average.

The human body needs sleep. In fact, staying awake for 24 hours straight has the same effect on the body as being drunk.

A study in the 1990s suggested that being awake for 24 hours straight was the equivalent of having a blood alcohol level of 0.10% . That's equivalent to about three to four drinks and well above the legal limit to drive .

Photo from Maya83/Flickr .

In extreme cases, your body will force you to sleep whether you want to or not.

The scariest part? You might not even notice.

Photo from Jim Schwoebel/Wikimedia Commons .

If you become seriously sleep-deprived, your body can override your will to stay awake and will start snatching sleep anywhere it can get it. These episodes, known as microsleep , can last from a few seconds to two minutes and can happen without you even realizing it.

If this happens at your desk, that's bad. If it happens when you're behind the wheel of a car, it can be a catastrophe .

At the end of the day (literally), the best thing is being proactive about getting a good night's sleep.

You may have heard some of these before, but practicing good sleep hygiene often does work.

Especially if you know you have a long car ride coming up, doing things like avoiding caffeine, alcohol, food, and computer or TV screens right before bed; setting a sleep schedule; and getting some exercise can actually save you a lot of exhaustion once you hit the road.

Too much screen usage before bed can disrupt sleep. Photo from iStock.

If you've got time to plan ahead, it's also a good idea to bring a friend along for the ride and take turns napping in the passenger seat.

Photo from iStock.

You can’t always predict why you’ll be on the road for hours at a time, but by respecting how dangerous driving drowsy can be and taking steps to avoid it, we can all stay a bit safer on the road.

If all else fails, just remember that a hotel stay is probably a lot cheaper than a hospital bill.

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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friendship
Education

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

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education
Family

Mom’s blistering rant on how men are responsible for all unwanted pregnancies is on the nose

“ALL unwanted pregnancies are caused by the irresponsible ejaculations of men. Period. Don't believe me? Let me walk you through it."

Gabrielle Blair/Twitter

Mom has something to say... strongly say.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, are a conservative group who aren't known for being vocal about sex.

But best selling author, blogger, and mother of six, Gabrielle Blair, has kicked that stereotype to the curb with a pointed thread on reducing unwanted pregnancies. And her sights are set directly at men.

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women
Family

Dad takes 7-week paternity leave after his second child is born and is stunned by the results

"These past seven weeks really opened up my eyes on how the household has actually ran, and 110% of that is because of my wife."

@ustheremingtons/ TikTok

There's a lot to be gleaned from this.

Participating in paternity leave offers fathers so much more than an opportunity to bond with their new kids . It also allows them to help around the house and take on domestic responsibilities that many new mothers have to face alone…while also tending to a newborn.

All in all, it enables couples to handle the daunting new chapter as a team, making it less stressful on both parties. Or at least equally stressful on both parties. Democracy!

TikTok creator and dad Caleb Remington, from the popular account @ustheremingtons , confesses that for baby number one, he wasn’t able to take a “single day of paternity leave.”

This time around, for baby number two, Remington had the privilege of taking seven weeks off (to be clear—his employer offered four weeks, and he used an additional three weeks of PTO).

The time off changed Remington’s entire outlook on parenting, and his insights are something all parents could probably use.

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parenting
Science

She tattooed half her face and you'd never know it. Her skills are just that good.

This incredible medical tattoo technology is giving renewed hope to burn victims.

All images via the CBS/YouTube

Basma Hameed runs a tattoo shop, of sorts...


Meet Samira Omar.

The 17-year-old was the victim of a horrific bullying incident.

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Education

8 changes that were made to a classic Richard Scarry book to keep up with the times. Progress!

All the misogyny and racism you may not have noticed are now gone.

Images via Alan Taylor/Flickr , used with permission.

Updating the kitchen.


Remember those beloved Richard Scarry books?

Books from when you were a kid?

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Education

Voice recordings of people who were enslaved offer incredible first-person accounts of U.S. history

"The results of these digitally enhanced recordings are arresting, almost unbelievable. The idea of hearing the voices of actual slaves from the plantations of the Old South is as powerful—as startling, really—as if you could hear Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee speak." - Ted Koppel

Library of Congress

When we think about the era of American slavery, many of us tend to think of it as the far distant past. While slavery doesn't exist as a formal institution today, there are people living who knew formerly enslaved black Americans first-hand. In the wide arc of history, the legal enslavement of people on U.S. soil is a recent occurrence —so recent, in fact, that we have voice recordings of interviews with people who lived it.

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history
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