Five Celebrities Who Hold Advanced Degrees

by Bennett Kleinman Interesting Facts    From Oscar winners to Hall of Fame musicians and world-class athletes, there are some celebrities whose accomplishments in the classroom are equally impressive as the talents that brought them fame.     Many of these well-educated A-listers have put their advanced degrees to use, juggling careers in the world of …

Just Your Everyday Sweet-Smelling Blog Post

by Kevin Burton    Just what does teen spirit smell like anyway? You know, people have put some thought into this.    Really.    This is from Nica Rodriguez, writing on http://www.thought.is:    “For starters, the smell of a new book should ring a few bells. There is no denying that a new book smells …

Every Dog (Eventually) Has His Day On Page 7

by Kevin Burton    If I said today’s post represented equal time for dog lovers, you’d say “surely your definition of equal is skewed.”    You’d say “seems to me in your world, cats are more equal than others.” You could say this is more like throwing dog lovers a bone.    You would be …

‘Miracle Tree’ Removes Plastics From Water

by Angela Symons  Euronews.com    A millennia-old purification technique could be the cure for Europe’s microplastic-riddled drinking water.    In a recent study, seeds from the ‘miracle’ moringa tree were found to match or outperform their chemical counterpart in filtering out aged PVC microplastics – one of the most harmful plastic types for human health. …

Wartime Innovations We Can’t Live Without

by Dictionary Scoop    War is hell said the soldiers of old. But it’s also the mother of invention. Conflict and the urgent necessities of war have driven rapid innovation.    Many everyday products trace their origins back to military needs. Here are ten objects with surprisingly martial origins. 1-Nylon    Now a ubiquitous fabric …

Tricks Businesses Don’t Want You To Know

by Dictionary Scoop    Ever had the feeling that something about everyday life was just a little off? That’s because in many cases, it is.    From grocery store layouts to casino carpets, clever minds are shaping what we see, smell, and even how we move without us realizing it. Let’s pull back the curtain …

MIT Study Finds Seeds Can “Hear” Rain

by Good News Network    Seeds may come alive to the soothing sound of rainfall, sensing the drops while they are still beneath the surface, suggests a new study.    A series of experiments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology demonstrated that rice seeds sprouted faster to the sound of rainfall.    The sound of …

The Case Against Daylight Savings Time

By Morgan Coulson Johns Hopkins University    On Sunday, most of the US will advance their clocks one hour for daylight saving time (DST). The change means disruptions in the sleep patterns of over 300 million people—the effects of which will doubtless be felt and seen nearly everywhere.     Surveys from the American Academy of …

The Science Behind Our Human Emotions

by Dictionary Scoop    For most people, recognizing and managing emotions isn’t easy. And even if we think we know ourselves well, human emotions are a whole world waiting to be explored.    From how long they typically last to how they show up in our interactions with others, science has given us fascinating insights. Join us …

Weather Talk, Mark Twain, Raining Diamonds

by Kevin Burton    “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”    That quote isn’t original with me and it’s not original from Mark Twain either, according to some sources.    The quote actually came from Twain’s friend Charles Dudley Warner, according to quoteinvestigator.com and brainyquote.com.    Never knew that.    …