Heroes
What Did People Do When They Saw A Vending Machine Selling Dirty Water? They Put Money In It.
Hundreds of millions of people still use unsafe drinking water. So why not put it in a vending machine?
05.05.14
People who fail are more likely to die in six years.
A woman sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat
Everyone wants to know how long they will live and there are many indicators that can show whether someone is thriving or on the decline. But people have yet to develop a magic formula to determine exactly how long someone should expect to live.
However, a doctor recently featured on the "Today" show says a straightforward test can reveal the likelihood that someone aged 51 to 80 will die in the near future.
NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar was on the "Today" show on March 8 and demonstrated how to perform the simple “sit to stand test” (aka sit-rising test or SRT) that can help determine the longevity of someone between 51 to 80.
The test is pretty simple. Go from standing to sitting cross-legged, and then go back to standing without using any parts of your body besides your legs and core to help you get up and down. The test measures multiple longevity factors, including heart health, balance, agility, core and leg strength and flexibility.
You begin the test with a score of 10 and subtract points on your way up and down for doing the following:
Hand used for support: -1 point
Knee used for support: -1 point
Forearm used for support: -1 point
One hand on knee or thigh: -1 point
Side of leg used for support: -1 point
A 2012 study published by the European Society of Cardiology found a correlation between the SRT score and how long people live. The study was conducted on 2002 people, 68% of whom were men, who performed the SRT test and were followed by researchers in the coming years. The study found that “Musculoskeletal fitness, as assessed by SRT, was a significant predictor of mortality in 51–80-year-old subjects.”
Those who scored in the lowest range, 0 to 3, had up to a 6 times greater chance of dying than those in the highest scores (8 to 10). About 40% of those in the 0 to 3 range died within 11 years of the study.
Azar distilled the study on "Today," saying: "The study found that the lower the score, you were seven times more likely to die in the next six years.”
"Eight points or higher is what you want," Azar said. "As we get older, we spend time talking cardiovascular health and aerobic fitness, but balance, flexibility and agility are also really important," she stressed.
One should note that the people who scored lowest on the test were the oldest, giving them an elevated risk of death.
Dr. Greg Hartley, Board Certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist and associate professor at the University of Miami, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that we should take the study with a grain of salt. “Frailty, strength, muscle mass, physical performance—those things are all correlated to mortality, but I would caution everybody that correlation doesn’t mean causation,” he said.
And of course, the test doesn't take into account injuries or disabilities that may make doing the test impossible. But one of the study's authors says that the study is a call to take our mobility seriously.
“The more active we are the better we can accommodate stressors, the more likely we are to handle something bad that happens down the road,” Dr. Claudio Gil Araujo, told USA Today.
This could save the life of you or someone you love.
Know the signs of a domestic abuser.
Most abusers don't start their relationships by hitting their partners. That's why early warning signs are vital to recognize.
I know two women who recently left abusive partners. Both men seemed sweet and likable—even gentle—each time I saw them. Both had some lovely qualities as people and even as partners. And both turned out to be controlling, increasingly abusive partners behind closed doors.
Abuse usually comes on gradually, with plenty of opportunity to manipulate and forgive and justify the water getting warmer. That's why many stay in abusive relationships far longer than they should.
Rob Andrews is a domestic violence counselor in Australia. He told ABC News that he advises people to use what he calls the "No Test" to identify potential red flags early on in a relationship.
"The No Test is basically to watch out for the way your partner responds the first time you change your mind or say no," Andrews said.
"While expressing disappointment is OK, it's not the same as annoyed. Annoyed is 'how dare you,' a sign of ownership or entitlement."
Ownership, entitlement, control—these are red flags that often lead to increasingly abusive behavior. And though women can definitely be abusers, the reality is that women are much more likely to be the victims of domestic violence and male abusers tend to be more dangerous to their partners.
"A lot of the women who will present to services will see themselves as part of the problem," Andrews said. "They'll ask themselves why they're always attracted to abusive men, blame themselves for not being assertive enough, blame themselves for pushing their partner's buttons, causing their anger."
"With the No Test, we're not trying to give women knowledge that they didn't already know," he said, "but when they see it in black and white in front of them like that, they realize they of course have the right to say no, that they aren't to blame."
Andrews said that some people erroneously tell women that they should just be more assertive with their partners, letting them know they won't stand for controlling or abusive behavior, but that's not always the best tack to take.
"Being assertive with a man who's threatening to bash you is not a very good idea," he said. "It almost comes from what I'd call 'deficit thinking,' that somehow these women need to be trained up so that the people won't abuse them. The only person who can stop the abuse is the person who is doing the abusing."
Andrews works with men who are struggling with their own behavior and want to change. He has them think about what kind of man they really want to be and work with them to align their behavior with that vision.
"I hear a lot of people saying how it's so hard for men now, it's all so confusing," he said. "It's very easy to be a man. Just be polite and respectful to people, it's not that difficult really."
"But in saying that," he added, "we are to some extent dealing with 2,000 years of history of women being a second-class citizen. That's the nut of the problem and we've got to keep chipping away at it."
This article originally appeared on 02.11.19
Here are 19 of our favorite responses.
Jimmy Fallon of the Tonight Show.
High schools are a perfect breeding ground for weirdness. First of all, you have a bunch of teenagers who are starting to deal with adult problems but they don’t have the experience or the brain development to figure out how to navigate complex feelings and relationships.
Then you add sex, drugs, learner’s permits, the stress of trying to get into college and really bad facial hair to the situation and you have all the ingredients for people and situations to go completely sideways.
Then there are the teachers. High school teachers tend to be a bit more eccentric than those in the younger grades because they are hired as specialists in a given field, such as history, math or science. Whereas teachers in younger grades have to be nurturing and have a more holistic approach to child development.
Also, hindsight makes a lot of things that seemed normal at the time begin to seem a bit strange. As we get older and have a firm grasp on the realities of being an adult, there are some things that we can’t believe we lived through as teenagers in high school.
When I was in high school we had a drama teacher that sat in the gym and chain-smoked while we rehearsed the play and we didn’t think anything of it. I’m pretty sure my home economics teacher hit the cooking sherry during lunchtime, and we got a day off from school due to the L.A. riots in 1992.
Everyone dealt with some amount of weirdness while they were in high school, so Jimmy Fallon asked his “Tonight Show” audience to share their stories with #MyHighSchoolWasWeird and he read some of his favorites on his show.
We took a look at the hashtag and picked some of the responses we liked the most. Here are 19 of them. Why was your high school weird? Tell us in the comments on Facebook.
It\u2019s\u00a0Hashtags\u00a0time! Tell us something weird or funny about your high school, and tag it with #MyHighSchoolWasWeird. Could be on the show!— jimmy fallon (@jimmy fallon) 1643049328
My chemistry teacher would give us an example a day of how to kill your mother in law with chemical compositions #MyHighSchoolWasWeird— Liisa Spink (@Liisa Spink) 1644342578
We had a kid nicknamed Johnny Appleseed ( JohnA for short) who placed marijuana seeds in any available place they could grow. Our school had pot plants popping up so often they had to get rid of all the potted plants in classrooms and offices . #MyHighSchoolWasWeird— OldHippie (@OldHippie) 1643055449
#MyHighSchoolWasWeird\nOne teacher\u2019s bathroom pass was an actual toilet seat that you had to carry with you to the restroom. pic.twitter.com/tesVLEpKe9— Robin Smith (@Robin Smith) 1643063750
My high school was across the street from a another high school #MyHighSchoolWasWeirdpic.twitter.com/iPXC7SQx7b— Timmy Stotlar (@Timmy Stotlar) 1643056920
This is the mascot at the high school i went to. \nPart anthropomorphic sugar beet part food processing machinery. \n\n#MyHighSchoolWasWeirdpic.twitter.com/2R42p5zCYu— omicrust prime (@omicrust prime) 1643070771
#MyHighSchoolWasWeird because we had free periods during the day where we would sleep or hang out in the halls.pic.twitter.com/UCYxZPz4Dv— nikki\u2728 (@nikki\u2728) 1643061702
#MyHighSchoolWasWeird because Grimace won every student vote by a landslide. If you weren\u2019t writing in Grimace on your ballots you were a narc. You\u2019d think Mayor McCheese would make more sense, being an actual politician, but I guess enough kids couldn\u2019t spell it or something.pic.twitter.com/N6CrLw4v7r— Mike-o Neill (@Mike-o Neill) 1643060956
The mascot was a literal mop #MyHighSchoolWasWeirdpic.twitter.com/ypvheLGnZ2— Courtney (@Courtney) 1643089724
One time a swim meet was canceled at my friend's high school because the pool “caught on fire.” Still have no idea how that’s possible. #MyHighSchoolWasWeird
— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) January 24, 2022
My high school had the mayonnaise bandit who would put mayo on the under side of the stair railings from the cafeteria making them useless or risk getting a handful of slimy mayonnaise on your way to class #MyHighSchoolWasWeird
— Rachel Lambert (@rlambert1201) January 24, 2022
My high School was called Start. The student motto for it was Start High Stay High#MyHighSchoolWasWeird
— Kelly Reads (@ReaderofBook) January 24, 2022
I graduated from North Pole High School in Alaska. We had to answer letters to Santa for an English grade. #MyHighSchoolWasWeird
— Nancy J. (@LifeboatSinger) January 24, 2022
My Junior year of high school there was a competition for one of the teachers to kiss a cow. Of course the most disliked teacher ended up kissing the cow. #MyHighSchoolWasWeird
— Edward Schmidt II (@edwardschmidtii) January 24, 2022
There was this kid that would run around during highschool and hiss at people. He was really smart but he would just randomly hiss lol #MyHighSchoolWasWeird
— The Zelda Corner (@ZeldaCorner) January 24, 2022
Got a new principal in my senior year who decided to enforce the dress code with bright orange “Dress Code Violator” t-shirts. They became badges of honor instead of the intended punishment… 🤦♀️ #MyHighSchoolWasWeird
— Kelsey K 켈시 (@krklemm) January 24, 2022
Our cafeteria’s chicken fries were such a rare and glorious experience, once people GRADUATED, they would still come back to buy them. #myhighschoolwasweird
— EmmyAnn (@EmmyAnn412) January 24, 2022
#MyHighSchoolWasWeird because we had a bring your tractor to school day, those who brought one in got to skip all classes and just talk with others about their tractors. It always causes traffic delays because there was one main road into the school.
— Mary Olmsted (@MaryOlmsted13) January 25, 2022
My science teacher was convicted of a double murder during summer break. I wish I was kidding!
— Mike Bennett (@MikeBennett11) January 24, 2022
Weird Al graduated from my high school. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Suge Knight also graduated from my high school. #MyHighSchoolWasWeird
— Cindy Price (@Cinderella1976) January 24, 2022
If you look back at how you acted, dressed and behaved in high school and have a little bit of shame, that’s probably a good thing. If you cringe a little when you think about your former self, that shows that you’ve grown as a person.
But wouldn’t it be great if you could go back to high school knowing what you know now? How much easier would it be to approach that special person you wanted to ask to the dance but couldn’t muster up the courage? How much more would you appreciate those carefree days when all you had to worry about was a bio test or who had a crush on whom in homeroom?
Personally, if I went back to high school I’d have a lot more appreciation for my teachers knowing just how hard of a job they have. Now that I’m an adult I have a lot more sympathy for what we put them through and I can totally understand why teaching at a high school can turn someone a little weird.
Here's Jimmy Fallon reading off some of his responses to #MyHighSchoolWasWeird.
This article originally appeared on 02.09.22
A scientific breakdown that explains why it's so hard to take a good selfie.
Usually the greatest fear after a wild night of partying isn't what you said that you might regret, but how you'll look in your friends' tagged photos. Although you left the house looking like a 10, those awkward group selfies make you feel more like a 5, prompting you to wonder, "Why do I look different in pictures?"
It's a weird phenomenon that, thanks to selfies, is making people question their own mirrors. Are pictures the "real" you or is it your reflection? Have mirrors been lying to us this whole time??
The answer to that is a bit tricky. The good news is that there's a big chance that Quasimodo-looking creature that stares back at you in your selfies isn't an accurate depiction of the real you. But your mirror isn't completely truthful either.
Below, a scientific breakdown that might explain those embarrassing tagged photos of you:
Although we're the most comfortable and familiar with the face staring back at us while we brush our teeth in the morning, the mirror isn't really the real us. It's a reflection, so it shows how we look like in reverse. Because we're so used to seeing the reverse version of ourselves, seeing how we look in pictures can be jarring. And unless you're blessed with a perfectly symmetrical face, the photo version of yourself can be even more wonky.
"We see ourselves in the mirror all the time—you brush your teeth, you shave, you put on makeup," Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Center, told The Atlantic. "Looking at yourself in the mirror becomes a firm impression. You have that familiarity. Familiarity breeds liking. You've established a preference for that look of your face."
Scientists call this the "mere-exposure" effect. Basically, it's a behavior concocted by psychologist Robert Zajonc that says people react favorably to things they're most familiar with. So, when you see a flipped version of yourself, you immediately hate it or even find it grotesque because it's the opposite of what you're used to.
So although we think we look better in a mirror, we're more psychologically inclined to feel that way even if we truthfully look better in photos. Weird, huh?
So if your reflection isn't the real you, does that mean your ugly selfies are your "true self"? Although mirrors show a flipped version of yourself that tones down the harshness of your asymmetries, the myth that "pictures never lie" isn't true either. After all, most people take more than one selfie before they find their most flattering one, and usually it takes a combination of angles, lighting, and duck lips before landing one that's Instagram-worthy.
But the problem might not be your angles, it could be lens distortion. Because of the proximity of your face to the camera, the lens can distort certain features, making them look larger than they are in real life. Pictures also only provide a 2-D version of ourselves. Depending on your features, if you have a soft, round face, photos can flatten your features and further distort the "real" you.
For example, just changing the focal length of a camera can even change the width of your head. As Gizmodo writer John Herrman pens, the fancier the camera, the better you'll look in the picture:
"Telephoto lenses are usually seen as more flattering, giving the impression that the subject is flattened, and slightly compressing the width of your foremost features, like your nose or breasts. So you might want to think twice before fleeing the pesky paparazzi and their fancy zoom lenses; it's the tourist with the pocket cam whose snaps will make you look fat on the Internet."
And because cameras don't show the 3-D version of you, it's easy to "trick" cameras to present a reality that's not even true. Professional models have perfected this, which is why people can do photo sorcery like this by merely tweaking their angles:
istock
Although good lighting is the key to all flattering photos, a harsh flash from your iPhone can actually make you look a lot worse, especially if it's taken in a dark room. In fact, according to OKCupid, harsh camera flashes add seven years to your face.
In addition to making you look shiny and greasy, cameras can't adjust to lightness and darkness the ways our eyes naturally can. Cameras can only focus on highlights or shadows, and sometimes that can result in lighting that can be less than flattering. A good rule of thumb is to stick to natural or outdoor lighting instead.
iStock
Everyone knows what it's like to pose for an awkward photo, like a driver's license or a passport. The photos never turn out looking nice, and they hardly look like our natural smiles. When you're looking at yourself in the mirror, you're relaxed, confident, and more likely to smile and act naturally.
If someone shouting "Say cheese!" at you makes you feel self-conscious about your unphotogenic reputation, obviously you're going to tense up and have a photo that looks different and foreign from the version you see in the mirror. It's best to relax when taking pictures and try to focus on something else. That tense, forced awkwardness will always translate to a bad photo.
But no matter how many factors you want to blame for your crappy pictures, it all boils down to psychology. Perhaps the reason you look different in pictures is because the version of yourself you like best is a figment of your imagination.
According to a 2008 study, people tend to think they're more attractive than they really are. In the experiment, researchers photoshopped pictures of participants to make them look more attractive and then mixed those with photos of strangers. Next, they asked the subjects to pick their picture out of a line-up. People were quicker at picking photos where they looked more attractive, concluding that "attractiveness" was the version of themselves they were most familiar with.
However, other experts have also said the opposite, that people tend to think they're less attractive than they really are. Whatever the case, if you're beating yourself up about why you look different in mirrors and pictures, there's a good chance that all your fear and anxiety is just in your head. It's sort of similar to how people hate the sound of their own voice. Perhaps the key to looking better in pictures is taking as many selfies as you can to help familiarize yourself with both the "mirror" and "camera" version of yourself.
"People who take a lot of selfies end up feeling a lot more comfortable in their own skin because they have a continuum of images of themselves, and they're more in control of the image," Pamela said. "Flipped or not flipped, the ability to see themselves in all these different ways will just make them generally more comfortable."
Or, you know, just download FaceTune. Might as well fight science with science.
This article originally appeared on 7.21.21
Digital portraits as magical as the Madrigal family.
Where is the live action movie already?
What do you get when you mix artificial intelligence with editing software?
Mind-blowing images, apparently.
Brazilian digital artist Hidreley Leli Dião creates ultra realistic portraits of beloved cartoon characters as well as historical figures.
The magic is in a unique blend of Photoshop, FaceApp, Gradiente and Remini, according to his contributing article on Bored Panda. Using this formula, even The Simpsons characters feel like real people you would pass on the street.
Some of Dião’s latest works include the characters of Disney’s “Encanto,” like:
I think the song will change to “Everybody Is Talking About Bruno” after seeing this picture.
It’s like he could hop out of the frame and start shapeshifting in real life. Wow.
As a fellow redhead constantly trying to keep emotions at bay, this one was my personal favorite.
Here is Mirabel’s mother Julieta, giving off major Aunt Voula vibes from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”
I think it’s safe to say even if Dião doesn’t have a magic door like the Madrigal family, he’s got superpower: digital wizardry.
But of course, this is not Dião’s first Disney deep dive. Feast your eyes on some of these:
Are you more of a history buff than a Disney nerd? Never fear. Dião’s work has something for everyone.
One collection includes what certain celebrities that met an early death might look like today, such as:
Another reimagines what historical figures might have look like in modern times:
Hidreley Diao uses AI to capture what historical figures would look like if they were modern people.
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
George Washington: pic.twitter.com/Wh5bi9FAgL
Ben Franklin pic.twitter.com/7p5U61olrl
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Napoleon pic.twitter.com/lDmWpYs5KX
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Leonardo da Vinci pic.twitter.com/lpFzsZDMun
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Mozart pic.twitter.com/rAc2wZwgYP
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Beethoven pic.twitter.com/A5dpNfVilV
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Newton pic.twitter.com/Ah6EBBorrF
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Shakespeare pic.twitter.com/qPKWICC1EY
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Van Gogh pic.twitter.com/h0QR4Uy41y
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Marie Antoinette pic.twitter.com/PY6SmIvJiV
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Cleopatra pic.twitter.com/r21AbkRHFF
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Alexander the Great pic.twitter.com/DXxjbpBlXR
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
The Statue of Liberty pic.twitter.com/m9dY8VEvt0
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) February 20, 2022
Thank you Hidreley for giving us some genuine wonder to peruse through on the internet. If you’d like to see more of Hidreley's work, you can follow his Instagram here.
This article originally appeared on 04.25.22
Take a trip down memory lane.
TikTok about '80s childhood is a total Gen X flashback.
As a Gen X parent, it's weird to try to describe my childhood to my kids. We're the generation that didn't grow up with the internet or cell phones, yet are raising kids who have never known a world without them. That difference alone is enough to make our 1980s childhoods feel like a completely different planet, but there are other differences too that often get overlooked.
How do you explain the transition from the brown and orange aesthetic of the '70s to the dusty rose and forest green carpeting of the '80s if you didn't experience it? When I tell my kids there were smoking sections in restaurants and airplanes and ashtrays everywhere, they look horrified (and rightfully so—what were we thinking?!). The fact that we went places with our friends with no quick way to get ahold of our parents? Unbelievable.
One day I described the process of listening to the radio, waiting for my favorite song to come on so I could record it on my tape recorder, and how mad I would get when the deejay talked through the intro of the song until the lyrics started. My Spotify-spoiled kids didn't even understand half of the words I said.
And '80s hair? With the feathered bangs and the terrible perms and the crunchy hair spray? What, why and how?
In some ways, that era was simpler. We weren't bombarded with information and opinions about every issue in the world 24/7 and had the freedom to just be kids. At the same time, I personally have no desire to go back. (My straight, fine hair was not made for the '80s.)
However, one dad is bringing full-on nostalgia to millions of Gen Xers with a viral TikTok he made about sharing his '80s childhood with his 8-year-old son. Justin H (who goes by @shadyraro on TikTok) included photos and descriptions of things all '80s kids will recognize and it's like hopping into a time machine.
Like, the unwound cassette tape struggle was genuinely real. Grab a pencil, start winding and pray. "The A-Team"? Totally. Streetlight curfew? Yep.
@shadyraro The 80’s was the best decade #80s #80skid #oldschool #genx #parents #funny #family #foryou #fyp
The video has been viewed more than 10 million times this week, with commenters neck-deep in their feelings about their childhood flashbacks.
"I miss them days, technology has taken away so much," wrote one commenter.
"Miss the 80s era but unfortunately us kids were the remote control," wrote another. (So true. Changing the channel was exercise.)
"The 80's cannot be explained...it was an experience...a complete vibe all its own...and if you missed it I'm so sorry for you!" wrote another.
And if you feel like there were some things missing, no worries. There's a Part Two:
@shadyraro The 80’s was the best decade Part 2 #80s #80skid #oldschool #genx #parents #funny #family #foryou #fyp
The ashtray in the back of the car seat! The phone booth! The Walkman! The overhead projector. So my childhood. I can practically taste the Tang and Twinkies.
Kids today will never know the ugly beauty of growing up in the '80s, but someday they'll have their own tales to tell their kids that they'll look on with fondness and nostalgia. "We used to spend hours building things with little digital blocks in Minecraft…"
There's never been anything like the '80s and there never will be again. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Justin H.
This article originally appeared on 05.21.22