Imagine if you could see what you exhale every time you took a breath.
Pretty cool/creepy, huh? GIF from "Racing Extinction."
Turns out, it's actually possible. Award-winning filmmaker Louie Psihoyos teamed up with the Oceanic Preservation Society to create a camera that lets you do just that.
You might be thinking, "OK, that's cool, but why in the world would someone bother to make a camera that shows your breath?"
Well, he thinks it's important for us to really see the carbon dioxide we put into the air.
The carbon dioxide — the gas we exhale into the atmosphere — could actually kill us.
I know, I know. It's a little confusing because carbon dioxide is everywhere. I mean, you're exhaling some right now as you're reading this, but your body's natural function to keep you alive isn't the problem.
The problem is with the other things we do in our day-to-day lives that put a dangerous amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
It looks so innocent. But don't be fooled. Image by Jynto/Wikimedia Commons
Right now, the amount of CO2 — that's carbon dioxide in science talk — in our air actually isn't bad in and of itself.
What is bad are the sharply increasing levels of CO2 in the air.
The important nuance is this: Yes, our planet has seen higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere before, but the real problem isn't the amount — it's the rate of increase which is unlike anything the Earth has never seen before. Not by a long shot.
Scientists have been trying to warn us about this for decades, but we haven't been listening.
It's been kinda easy to ignore the threat since we can't actually see this potentially harmful gas in the air all around us.
"La la la, I can't hear you!" says the world to the scientists. Image by 6SN7/Flickr.
So scientists took a FLIR SC8300 thermal imaging camera and put a special filter on it so they could capture really cool footage of our carbon dioxide emissions.
Whether it's from the leaf blower you use every fall:
GIF from "Racing Extinction."
Or those motorcycles you and your buddy bought during your mid-life crises:
We all deal with aging differently. GIF from "Racing Extinction."
Practically everything that we do — whether it's driving to work, doing outside chores, and even breathing — puts CO2 into our atmosphere.
Why is this important? Carbon dioxide and mass extinction are like BFFs — they're attached at the hip, so to speak. Psihoyos hopes this footage will help kick our collective butts into gear and do something about these carbon emissions.
"My entire career OPS is all built on this notion that we can show something to people that they haven't seen before in a way that they have never visualized it," he says.
And more ominously: "This should be frightening."
Maybe now that we can see the thing that is hurting our planet we'll take some action.
Our lives depend on it.
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain. Photo by 
Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."