Month: November 2016

The next time you’re throwing a party, give your guests something to really talk about. Namely, a gigantic inflatable unicorn that looms over everyone with a smile.

This new creation from Firebox is as good as it gets for anyone who loves magic and rainbows. The durable, vinyl creature is 7 feet tall and will probably dwarf anyone who comes to visit (unless you know some basketball players). It’s perfect for mythical ragers, scaring neighbors, and unseasonable pool parties.

You can get your own giant friend for $65 on Firebox. With giant blue eyes and flowing rainbow mane, it’s sure to be a hit with all your guests—just don’t invite Voldemort over.

As any resident of New York or Tokyo could tell you, a lot of people can squeeze into some small bits of land. While some countries have rather dense populations, others offer a bit more breathing room. To better illustrate the populations of different countries, Imgur user JPalmz decided to scramble the world map so that each country’s population was reflected by its corresponding mass of land. That means China, the most populated country, has been moved to the largest land mass, Russia.

You can see how all the different countries have found new homes that better accommodate their size in the map above. Interestingly, the United States, Yemen, Brazil, and Ireland didn’t have to move at all because their land size and population rankings matched.

“All of the data is publicly available on Wikipedia, I just wanted to make it more visually presentable,” the creator told indy100.

[h/t Amazing Maps]

The Afternoon Map is a semi-regular feature in which we post maps and infographics. In the afternoon. Semi-regularly.

If you’re looking to lose weight, a fad diet can be incredibly seductive. Couching their claims in scientific-sounding terms like “ketogenic” and “toxins,” some of the most popular methods promise immediate, lasting results. But is there really evidence that these things work?

No. The answer is no.

Check out the video below from ASAP Science for the science—and pseudoscience—behind some of the biggest diet trends out there today. You’ll learn why “cleanses” can turn your tongue white, what the Atkins diet can do to your digestion, and why “going paleo” can give you especially odiferous farts.

And hey—while the diet industry would love for us to think otherwise, body weight is not the be-all, end-all of health or happiness. Every body is different, from the way it processes food to the way it fills out a bathing suit, and no body is wrong. Studies have also found that weight is a pretty poor indicator of health. If it’s better fitness you’re after, talk to your doctor about small, sustainable changes you can make to your eating and exercise habits.

Your morning routine is like setting up a string of dominoes: You line everything up for success, but one false move can cause it all to come tumbling down. In order to set the right tone for the rest of your day, experts say you should adjust the following seven habits.

1. HITTING THE SNOOZE BUTTON

It’s tempting to steal a few more minutes of sleep, but hitting snooze has a negative impact on your physical and emotional well-being, says Joanna Kleinman, owner of The Center for Extraordinary Relationships. “Physically, hitting the snooze button actually sets you up to be groggy and less productive because you are repeatedly waking yourself out of a deep sleep,” Kleinman says. “Emotionally, you set yourself up to be late, rushed, and stressed in the morning.”

The obvious solution, Kleinman says, is getting out of bed right away (even if it seems impossible). “If we listen to our minds telling us what we feel like doing, we will never be able to make the positive changes we need to,” Kleinman says.

2. CHECKING YOUR PHONE

Doing this first thing in the morning stimulates self-criticism and judgments in your mind, Kleinman says. “Your emails and texts are all about things to do, things to buy, things to add to your to-do list,” she says. “This amounts to either the stuff that other people want you to be paying attention to, or what your mind says you should be paying attention to.”

Even if you leave your inbox alone and stick to Instagram, you can do harm to your psyche because social media causes you to compare yourself to other people. Bottom line: Checking your phone first thing can awaken your inner critic. To stop yourself from opening Twitter immediately after turning off your alarm, charge your phone in another room. Begin your day instead with a self-affirming habit like journaling or meditation.

3. PLANNING YOUR DAY

If you wake up and have no idea what’s on your schedule, where you have to be, or what you’re going to wear, then your day is already off to a frantic start. Psychologist and Certified Master Coach Joel Ingersoll recommends organizing your day the night before. This way, you’ll feel refreshed and ready to go in the morning.

4. DRINKING WATER…

You may be craving a cup of coffee as soon as your feet hit the floor, but what your body really needs is a glass of water, Ingersoll says. Since you haven’t had any liquids in your system for at least six (or hopefully eight) hours, your body is dehydrated. You can have the coffee (see below), but your body will function better—you’ll have fewer headaches, less fatigue, and smaller bags under your eyes—if you down a glass of water first, Ingersoll says.

5. …AND COFFEE

Don’t feel guilty about reaching for the coffee pot after you’ve had your water—it is actually good for your body, too, says Ilyse Schapiro, a Registered Dietitian and Certified Dietitian/Nutritionist. “Coffee is a great source of antioxidants, and it can increase energy as well as help to stabilize our moods,” Schapiro says. “It can also help keep our brains healthier and our minds sharper.”

Too much coffee isn’t going to do you any favors, though. Stick with one or two cups a day, and be consistent with how much you drink, or else you’ll start getting headaches and withdrawal symptoms.

6. SKIPPING BREAKFAST

Have you been told to eat a good breakfast before? That’s because it’s important, says Bruno LoGreco, life coach and author of Stop Sabotaging Your Life. “Eating a healthy breakfast consisting of nuts, fruits, and oats will satisfy your brain to get you through a tough day at the office,” LoGreco says. It’s best to skip the doughnuts and croissants, though, as these will give you a sugar high and set you up for a crash just as you reach your desk.

7. RISING EARLY

A study published by the American Psychological Association found that early risers are happier and more successful than those who go to bed late. They tend to be more proactive, get better grades, and better anticipate and minimize problems.

It only takes a few minutes for a Keurig machine to brew a fresh cup of coffee, but every second counts during the morning rush. Soon, you might not need to choose between getting your caffeine fix and making it to work on time: As Real Simple reports, a company called AnyCafé has created a travel mug that brews single-serve pods on-the-go.

The BPA-free, battery-powered Travel Brewer works similarly to a K-cup machine: Simply open the lid, pour in some water, and stick a coffee pod inside. Then, close the mug’s lid and press a button. Voila—instant, fresh coffee. And if your beverage gets cold, the travel mug can reheat your brew for you.

The Travel Brewer, which is looking for funding on Kickstarter, holds nearly 10 ounces and is compatible with most K-cup brands. It also works with tea bags. (In the future, the company wants to create an eco-friendly mug that uses coffee grounds or loose tea leaves.) The dishwasher-safe mug does need a charged battery to work, however, so your alacrity in the morning depends on a bit of foresight the night before.

[h/t Real Simple]

Every four years, people talk about the oddness of the Electoral College. And just like in 2000, the last time there was a popular vote/Electoral College mismatch, some citizens have decided to attempt to flip electors from Donald Trump to either Hillary Clinton or a third candidate (if enough electors go to the third candidate, the House would then have to choose from among the top three).

Which leads to the question: can the Electoral College actually change the results of the election? It’s an awkwardly worded question for a very specific reason, and the answer is no. But for the question people think that they’re asking—could the Electoral College reverse the results of the election?—the answer is yes, although it’s profoundly unlikely.

The reason it’s an oddly worded question is that the November election is not a vote for president. The vote is for a set of electors who will then go and vote for the president in December. Therefore, the electors cannot change the results of the election since they’re the ones being elected. In one of the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton explained the reasoning for forgoing direct democracy, as well as why they avoided letting politicians just make the decision. Largely, the problem was that neither the public nor the politicians could be trusted. Hamilton wrote:

“The Executive should be independent for his continuance in office on all but the people themselves. He might otherwise be tempted to sacrifice his duty to his complaisance for those whose favor was necessary to the duration of his official consequence. This advantage will also be secured, by making his re-election to depend on a special body of representatives, deputed by the society for the single purpose of making the important choice.”

There were other issues the founding fathers were trying to avoid as well, such as the risk of a smorgasbord of regional candidates. As historian Jack Rakove told Stanford News in 2012, “it would become truly difficult to produce a popular majority with a field of favorite sons.”

More controversially, the founding fathers faced the issue of slavery. Because slaves couldn’t vote, a direct popular vote would weaken the power of the South. Thanks to the three-fifths compromise, however, the slave states had greater power under an electoral system than under a direct voting system, because slaves couldn’t vote but did count for the number of representatives. And more representatives meant more electors (the number of electors equals the state’s number of representatives plus the number of senators). As James Madison said in 1787:

“There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of the Negroes. The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to fewest objections.”

But objections to the elector’s powers appeared as soon as races got competitive. In 1796, Pennsylvanian Samuel Miles became the first known faithless elector when, despite being chosen as a Federalist, he voted for opposition candidate Thomas Jefferson. In a letter to the Gazette of the United States, a disgruntled Pennsylvania voter asked, “What, do I choose Samuel Miles to determine for me whether John Adams or Thomas Jefferson shall be President? No! I choose him to act, not to think.”

SO WOULD IT WORK?

As we have written about before, in about half the states plus Washington, D.C., electors are required to vote for their state’s popular vote winner—some states to the point that any attempt to defy this would forfeit the elector’s position. They’re extreme, but in the controversial 1952 Ray v. Blair case, the Supreme Court ruled that requiring pledges from electors to vote for a particular candidate was constitutional. But the question that remains unanswered is whether any punishment for breaking those pledges is constitutional. It’s never mattered, but would quickly become a critical issue if electors defected en masse.

Others say that because Hillary Clinton has already conceded, this strategy wouldn’t work. But there’s no requirement that an elector vote for a viable candidate. In 1976, one of the electors voted for Ronald Reagan, who hadn’t even won his party’s primary. In 1956, another elector voted for a local circuit court judge rather than Adlai Stevenson.

A stronger issue standing in the way is how electors are chosen. Generally, in spring and summer, each state’s political parties nominate a slate of electors from a list of party faithful. Any attempt to get defections would require electors to go against a party that chose them specifically for their loyalty.

The Ray v. Blair decision gave one of the most famous dissents in Supreme Court history, where Justice Jackson wrote, “No one faithful to our history can deny that the plan originally contemplated, what is implicit in its text, that electors would be free agents, to exercise an independent and nonpartisan judgment as to the men best qualified for the Nation’s highest offices.” While it would be considered highly irregular and is highly unlikely, the possibility is there. And will remain there until January 6, 2017, when the votes are officially counted before a joint session of Congress.

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