Category: Science

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Crying Is a Sign of Emotional Intelligence and It’s Necessary

We have this strange idea that crying, or letting people see us upset, somehow diminishes us in their eyes.

That it makes us weak, like someone who can’t take care of themselves or handle what life throws our way, and I don’t know how this idea began or why it became so engrained, but it’s wrong.

Totally, 100% wrong.

One of my favorite quotes is from Charlotte Bronte:

Image Credit: Pixabay

“Crying does not indicate that you are weak. Since birth, it has always been a sign that you’re alive.”

We are human, and actually, a crying when you feel like it is a good way to “reset” both your body and your mind, to free yourself of negative emotions, and focus on what caused them and how to avoid the situation in the future.

Roger Baker, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Bournemouth University, has further thoughts about why we cry, and why it’s necessary.

Image Credit: Pixabay

“Crying does help us process faster than if we don’t cry at all, but it’s not the only thing – it’s part of a package of expressing it. If your father died, your natural reaction would be to cry.”

He adds that it’s not the passage of time that eases pain, but how quickly and honestly we’re able to look at and process the emotions that go along with it.

And Dr. Judith Orloff agrees that crying plays an important role in human life.

Image Credit: Pixabay

“Crying makes us feel better, even when a problem persists.

In addition to physical detoxification, emotional tears heal the heart. You don’t want to hold tears back. …Try to let go of outmoded, untrue, conceptions about crying. It is good to cry. It is healthy to cry. This helps to emotionally clear sadness and stress.

Crying is also essential to resolve grief when waves of tears periodically come over us after we experience a loss.”

In short, you don’t need to feel badly or apologizing for expressing the full gamut of human emotion. It happens to everyone, it’s totally normal – and healthy. We should also keep this in mind the next time someone cries in front of us and tries to say they’re sorry.

Assure them there’s nothing to be sorry for, then maybe give them a cookie.

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This Tumblr Thread Depicts Prehistoric Males as the Coolest of Dudes

No one knows for sure what prehistoric humans acted like – were they mostly like us, were there big differences, or (most likely) were they a little bit themselves and a little bit what they would one day become?

It’s fun to think about all of the possibilities, which is exactly what this really funny Tumblr thread did when they asked themselves…what if prehistoric dudes were just dudes?

It all began with a facial reconstruction done of a Homo sapien and a Neanderthal man who honestly, looks like he just needs a hug (and maybe a joint).

And then, someone got really into it, creating a whole world and society just based on one man’s potential face.

What sort of music would he like?

Would he appreciate your jokes?

We may never know for sure…

This man’s hair made an appearance because, well, it slaps. And so does that smirk of the guy below.

And then this child, who is objectively adorable, plus bonus Lucy and other species.

You cannot argue this is a face with a soul.

These images are actually beautiful, as is the fact that humans now can look at them and see ourselves in their eyes.

I’m honestly a little choked up about it and I’m not sure why.

Maybe I should look into that.

The post This Tumblr Thread Depicts Prehistoric Males as the Coolest of Dudes appeared first on UberFacts.

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For the First Time, Penguins Have Been Documented Using the Same Speech Patterns as Humans

It seems like there have been more and more reports of different animals displaying increasingly human characteristics, like making and developing tools, but most of the instances have been in our closer genetic relatives.

So it feels a bit off to say it’s not monkeys, but penguins, whose speech patterns could closely mirror those of people.

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African Penguin – nearly adult

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Historically, a normal penguin call ranges from a gently peep to a cringe-y squawk, but even though they don’t use words, researchers have found that they’re officially the first non-primates to use the same patterns of speech as human beings.

Scientists studying the songs of African penguins have learned that they use shorter sounds for “words” and longer vocalizations with more syllables when communicating more complex messages, both of which are linguistic principles of human speech around the world.

Zipf’s Law of Brevity postulates that the more often a word is used, the shorter it will be, and vice versa, due to selective pressures to communicate accurately and efficiently.

The Menzerath-Altmann Law says that the longer a word or sentence, the shorter its components will be.

Both principles have been documented in humans and non-human primates, but the penguins are a first.

The authors write in Biology Letters,

“Our results provide the first evidence for conformity to Zipf’s and Menzerath-Altmann laws in the vocal sequences of a non-primate species.”

To come to these conclusion, the researchers studied the calls of 28 adult African penguins, collecting and analyzing 590 display songs during a single breeding season. They found that a sequence of three distinct sounds made up the songs – the first two, a short croak and a longer, exhaled noise that occurred most often, and a third, inhaled vocalization of varied length.

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#bemyvalentine

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The scientists theorized that the first two were simply announcing their presence and availability, while the longer one was some kind of argument about why they were the fitter partner.

“As predicted, we found that the duration of the syllables was inversely correlated with the frequency of occurrence.”

The conclusions seem to point toward language laws not being intrinsically about semantics and syntax, but about the fundamental need to communicate efficiently.

Which means that, if we apply their findings across the board, it may be more likely that we can truly understand what’s being communicated between members of many species.

I can’t wait until we can divine what our cats are thinking. What a day that will be!

The post For the First Time, Penguins Have Been Documented Using the Same Speech Patterns as Humans appeared first on UberFacts.

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Here’s Your Ultimate Guide to Loading a Dishwasher Correctly

Did you know nine out of ten marriages end because SOMEONE feels the need to unload and reload the dishwasher after someone else already loaded it?

I exaggerate only because I’m defensive.

The fact is, fights between couples over loading the dishwasher the correct way are fairly common.

Photo Credit: Pixnio

As someone who is unfairly accused of being a dishwasher loading dud, I’ve found an expert guide on how to do this stupid chore the right way.

It turns out everyone’s wrong. Even you. So read this, get on the same page with your honey, load the dishes, then you can both go see a movie.

First, cups and small bowls should be placed on the top rack upside down. Lean them if water tends to collect on the bottoms.

Photo Credit: Pxhere

Chef and blogger at Home Kitchen Land, Heloise Blaure, says, “All plastic items should go on the top rack, too, because the heat comes from the bottom and can warp plastics.” Large utensils like spatulas and ladles should lie flat on the top rack to get properly cleaned as well.

The bottom rack gets all the plates, large bowls, pots and pans, with the biggest pieces along the sides.

Spoons and forks go in the utensil holder handle end down. Knives go in blade down (but it’s much better to hand-wash kitchen knives).

Photo Credit: PublicDomainPictures.net

That’s all sort of common sense, but there are also important ways to load dishes that do prevent everything from getting properly cleaned.

Avoid overloading. According to Whirlpool, anything nesting will not get clean.

Do not put large flat items against the door. Baking sheets and platters should be in the rack so that detergent can get out of the door and reach the rest of the washer.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Don’t lay pans face down on the bottom rack if your machine doesn’t have an upper spray arm. Items placed like this and not on their side in the rack blocks water from getting up top.

Before closing the door and starting the dishwasher, give the upper rack spray arm a spin to see if it hits anything. Rearrange your items until the arm spins freely.

Also – and this is key – water comes from the center of the sprayer, so point your dirty dishes toward the center instead of placing them all facing the same way.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Melissa Maker, host of the YouTube channel Clean My Space, says to go ahead and remove bits of food from your dishes before loading, since etoo much food waste can sit in your washer and mold. But don’t go crazy on pre-rinsing. That just wastes water.

Don’t use your dishwasher to clean cast iron pans, non-stick pans, fine china, metal finishes, wood utensils and cutting boards, or your cooking knives. All the water running through the machine will ruin these items. Also, check other items for labels that show they are hand wash only.

To keep your dishwasher running properly, keep it clean by checking for left-over food bits and by running a cycle with vinegar once a month.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Pre-heat the water by running your hot water faucet so your washer doesn’t start with cold. And you can save energy by not using the heated dryer cycle.

This isn’t just a guide for cleaner dishes, folks. This is a guide for happier, healthier marriages.

Also good for roommate and parenting situations.

The post Here’s Your Ultimate Guide to Loading a Dishwasher Correctly appeared first on UberFacts.

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A YouTuber Builds an Impressive “River Table” With Thousands of Colored Pencils

Nick Zammeti calls himself an “artist, woodturner, maker,” though I’d probably go with “crafting wizard.”

He handmakes everything from beaded-bowls to Baby Yodas to Borg cubes and shows off the creations on his youtube and instagram.

One of his recent projects went viral for its novel concept and satisfying build process.

Behold the Colored Pencil River Table!

“What’s a colored pencil river table?” you may ask.

It’s pure whimsical goodness, is what it is.

Nick encased thousands of colored pencils in a clear epoxy, and shaped it into a sort of suspended liquid design perfectly slotted into the table and spilling out onto the floor.

It’s the sort of thing most of us would never even think of, much less have the skills to pull off.

It’s dirty work, but by golly, it’s gotta be done.

Check out the full build video from his channel:

What’s the thing you’ve made that you’re proudest of? I’m sure there’s something, right? Right???

Let us know in the comments!

The post A YouTuber Builds an Impressive “River Table” With Thousands of Colored Pencils appeared first on UberFacts.

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NASA Animation Shows Oceans Draining and What’s Beneath the Sea

Approximately three-fifths of the planet’s surface lies beneath our vast oceans, including Earth’s longest mountain range and the land bridges early humans used to travel from one continent to another.

Recently, planetary scientist James O’Donoghue remade a 2008 NASA video to show what could be revealed if all ocean water drained.

From the Japanese space agency, JAXA, where he works, O’Donoghue, a former NASA scientist, took the video created by NASA physicist and animator Horace Mitchell and tweaked the timing. He also added a tracker to show the amount of water draining in animation.

As the water drains, you can see the underwater edges of the continents first. These are known as the continental shelves.

O’Donoghue told Business Insider,

“I slowed down the start since, rather surprisingly, there’s a lot of undersea landscape instantly revealed in the first tens of meters.”

The continental shelves also make up some of the land bridges humans used to cross to other continents. Our ancestors, from tens of thousands of years ago, were able to traverse from Europe to the U.K., and Siberia to Alaska, by land.

Early inhabitants of Australia could even walk to what are now islands surrounding the Australian continent.

O’Donoghue explained that water frozen at the poles during the last ice age melted and created the continents we know today while enclosing the humans where they were.

Earth’s longest chain of mountains, called the mid-ocean ridge, appears once the sea levels drop 2,000 to 3,000 meters, revealing its 37,000 global stretch. More than 90 percent of the range is underwater.

Volcanic mountains can be seen between the Earth’s tectonic plates. Most of the planet is revealed at 6,000 meters, with the Marianas Trench needing another 5,000 meters before totally emptying.

The video really does showcase how interesting the topography of the Earth is underneath the oceans and the chapters of our earliest existence.

What do you think about this revealing video? Let us know in the comments!

The post NASA Animation Shows Oceans Draining and What’s Beneath the Sea appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

NASA Animation Shows Oceans Draining and What’s Beneath the Sea

Approximately three-fifths of the planet’s surface lies beneath our vast oceans, including Earth’s longest mountain range and the land bridges early humans used to travel from one continent to another.

Recently, planetary scientist James O’Donoghue remade a 2008 NASA video to show what could be revealed if all ocean water drained.

From the Japanese space agency, JAXA, where he works, O’Donoghue, a former NASA scientist, took the video created by NASA physicist and animator Horace Mitchell and tweaked the timing. He also added a tracker to show the amount of water draining in animation.

As the water drains, you can see the underwater edges of the continents first. These are known as the continental shelves.

O’Donoghue told Business Insider,

“I slowed down the start since, rather surprisingly, there’s a lot of undersea landscape instantly revealed in the first tens of meters.”

The continental shelves also make up some of the land bridges humans used to cross to other continents. Our ancestors, from tens of thousands of years ago, were able to traverse from Europe to the U.K., and Siberia to Alaska, by land.

Early inhabitants of Australia could even walk to what are now islands surrounding the Australian continent.

O’Donoghue explained that water frozen at the poles during the last ice age melted and created the continents we know today while enclosing the humans where they were.

Earth’s longest chain of mountains, called the mid-ocean ridge, appears once the sea levels drop 2,000 to 3,000 meters, revealing its 37,000 global stretch. More than 90 percent of the range is underwater.

Volcanic mountains can be seen between the Earth’s tectonic plates. Most of the planet is revealed at 6,000 meters, with the Marianas Trench needing another 5,000 meters before totally emptying.

The video really does showcase how interesting the topography of the Earth is underneath the oceans and the chapters of our earliest existence.

What do you think about this revealing video? Let us know in the comments!

The post NASA Animation Shows Oceans Draining and What’s Beneath the Sea appeared first on UberFacts.

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Fireflies Might Become Extinct Due to Light Pollution

If you’re from a part of the world where fireflies go hand-in-hand with the warm feelings of a summer evening well-spent, well, there might be bad news on the horizon.

Popular Science reports that firefly species from around the world are at risk because of many of the same threats to other bugs – pollution, pesticides, destruction of the environment – but there’s another, more particular human-made problem that’s a problem for them: light pollution.

The research team out of Tufts University was led by biology professor Sara Lewis, and the truth about firefly decline was published in BioScience. The team surveyed other scientists, conservationists, and other experts working in different parts of the globe, the compiled the research to reach their conclusions.

And though habitat loss, along with insecticides, were cited as huge issues around the world, light pollution was also brought up as a concern by almost everyone involved.

The way a firefly lights up isn’t just for show – it’s essential to the survival of their species. The flicker of bioluminescence is how they attract mates when the time is right, and with so much man-made light out there, fireflies are struggling to see each other’s courtship signals.

No mating, no new fireflies, and if that goes on long enough, the decline in population will be disastrous.

Right now, more than 23% of the world’s fireflies are experiencing some degree of light pollution.

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Generally, being left in the dark isn't a good thing. Unless you're one of the 60% of invertebrates that are #nocturnal and depend on the darkness! ? This includes many #insects like fireflies, certain moths and beetles, and even a handful of bee species. ??? Artificial outdoor lighting at night has negative impacts on the habitats, foraging activity and life cycles of these nocturnal species — but we can help them by simply turning off our lights. ??⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ If a total "lights out" approach isn't possible, here are three easy ways to reduce the amount of illumination:⁠⠀ ? Use motion-activated lights.⁠⠀ ? Use directional covers on lights.⁠⠀ ? Use amber (not white or blue) bulbs.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Visit the @smithsonianmagazine link in our bio to learn more about the role #lightpollution plays in insect decline. ? Bonus: many of the things we do to reduce light pollution will also help us increase energy efficiency! #winwin⁠ . . Repost from @xercessociety using @RepostRegramApp – Did you know? Fireflies have more abilities than just bioluminescence! They can produce odor and sticky substances to repel predators, for instance. Although adult fireflies often don’t feed, larvae are voracious. In fact, they help to control populations of many crop pests, including slugs and snails! This means they are counted among the ranks of beneficial insects—predatory insects that serve as an alternative to pesticides.⠀ •••⠀ ?: Bryan E. Reynolds⠀ •••⠀ #didyouknow #firefly #fireflies #lightningbug #lightningbugs #glowbugs #beetles #lampyridae #bioluminescence #beneficialinsects #naturalpestcontrol #pesticidealternatives #conservationbiocontrol #biocontrol #conservation #environment #biology #invertebrateconservation #xercessociety

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Experts believe that even curbing land development and backing off on insecticides might not be enough to save the dwindling population; if you want to help, try reducing your usage of artificial outdoor lights.

If we did this on a larger scale, scientists believe that many species who thrive in the darkness would benefit beyond explanation.

Will you turn off the lights at night? Please think about. For the fireflies sake…

The post Fireflies Might Become Extinct Due to Light Pollution appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Fireflies Might Become Extinct Due to Light Pollution

If you’re from a part of the world where fireflies go hand-in-hand with the warm feelings of a summer evening well-spent, well, there might be bad news on the horizon.

Popular Science reports that firefly species from around the world are at risk because of many of the same threats to other bugs – pollution, pesticides, destruction of the environment – but there’s another, more particular human-made problem that’s a problem for them: light pollution.

The research team out of Tufts University was led by biology professor Sara Lewis, and the truth about firefly decline was published in BioScience. The team surveyed other scientists, conservationists, and other experts working in different parts of the globe, the compiled the research to reach their conclusions.

And though habitat loss, along with insecticides, were cited as huge issues around the world, light pollution was also brought up as a concern by almost everyone involved.

The way a firefly lights up isn’t just for show – it’s essential to the survival of their species. The flicker of bioluminescence is how they attract mates when the time is right, and with so much man-made light out there, fireflies are struggling to see each other’s courtship signals.

No mating, no new fireflies, and if that goes on long enough, the decline in population will be disastrous.

Right now, more than 23% of the world’s fireflies are experiencing some degree of light pollution.

View this post on Instagram

Generally, being left in the dark isn't a good thing. Unless you're one of the 60% of invertebrates that are #nocturnal and depend on the darkness! ? This includes many #insects like fireflies, certain moths and beetles, and even a handful of bee species. ??? Artificial outdoor lighting at night has negative impacts on the habitats, foraging activity and life cycles of these nocturnal species — but we can help them by simply turning off our lights. ??⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ If a total "lights out" approach isn't possible, here are three easy ways to reduce the amount of illumination:⁠⠀ ? Use motion-activated lights.⁠⠀ ? Use directional covers on lights.⁠⠀ ? Use amber (not white or blue) bulbs.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Visit the @smithsonianmagazine link in our bio to learn more about the role #lightpollution plays in insect decline. ? Bonus: many of the things we do to reduce light pollution will also help us increase energy efficiency! #winwin⁠ . . Repost from @xercessociety using @RepostRegramApp – Did you know? Fireflies have more abilities than just bioluminescence! They can produce odor and sticky substances to repel predators, for instance. Although adult fireflies often don’t feed, larvae are voracious. In fact, they help to control populations of many crop pests, including slugs and snails! This means they are counted among the ranks of beneficial insects—predatory insects that serve as an alternative to pesticides.⠀ •••⠀ ?: Bryan E. Reynolds⠀ •••⠀ #didyouknow #firefly #fireflies #lightningbug #lightningbugs #glowbugs #beetles #lampyridae #bioluminescence #beneficialinsects #naturalpestcontrol #pesticidealternatives #conservationbiocontrol #biocontrol #conservation #environment #biology #invertebrateconservation #xercessociety

A post shared by Beesponsible (@beesponsible) on

Experts believe that even curbing land development and backing off on insecticides might not be enough to save the dwindling population; if you want to help, try reducing your usage of artificial outdoor lights.

If we did this on a larger scale, scientists believe that many species who thrive in the darkness would benefit beyond explanation.

Will you turn off the lights at night? Please think about. For the fireflies sake…

The post Fireflies Might Become Extinct Due to Light Pollution appeared first on UberFacts.

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A Newly Discovered Weed Compound Might Be 30 Times More Potent Than THC

This is great news for anyone who’s ever used cannabis and thought to themselves, “Boy, I wish I was 30 times higher.”

A newly-discovered cannabinoid called THCP could potentially be over 30 times more potent than THC, according to recent reports.

Photo Credit: iStock

THCP stands for tetrahydrocannabiphorol. It was discovered alongside another previously unknown compound called CBDP. The latter compound seems to be a “cousin” to CBD, another popular cannabinoid that is often used for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticonvulsant effects.

There are almost 150 cannabis compounds, and not all of them cause a psychoactive effect (or in other words, get you high). THC does, while CBD does not. Those are the two most-studied compounds in cannabis.

Photo Credit: iStock

It hasn’t yet been determined whether THCP creates a psychoactive effect in humans or not.

But in the lab, THCP has been shown to be 30 times more potent than THC. This is because it has a longer alkyl side chain, which is “the driving force behind a cannabinoid’s effects on humans,” CNN reports. While most cannabis compounds (including THC) have a five-atom chain, THCP has a seven-atom one.

If this new compound does have the ability to get you high, then that might explain why some strains of weed are stronger than others — more-so than can be explained by THC alone.

Dr. Cinzia Citti, lead author of the research, told CNN,

“In cannabis varieties where THC is present in very low concentrations, then we can think that the presence of another, more active cannabinoid can explain those effects.”

Cannabis compounds can be hard to isolate and study — not to mention all the legalization stuff. So it’s unlikely you’ll see THCP for sale anytime soon.

Still, the research is fascinating and promising!

What do you think about this news? Let us know in the comments!

The post A Newly Discovered Weed Compound Might Be 30 Times More Potent Than THC appeared first on UberFacts.