I don’t know of anyone who thinks a nightmare can be a good experience. It’s been a long time (fortunately) since I’ve had one, although I tend to have dreams where I either have to go somewhere or do something and I never quite make it. But if you’re unlucky enough to be haunted by
I have never been married (which is a whole another story), but I’m fascinated by some of the impacts being so close to another person for so long can have. The latest is an article entitled “Being Married for Decades Means That Your Bodies Become Biologically Alike” on the May 26th, 2016 edition of the
We’ve been discussing medical care a lot in this country in recent years. But while catching up on reading over Memorial Day, I found a basic flaw in our healthcare system that everyone needs to know about. Let’s start with a question — how well do you know your doctor? What got my attention was
Recently we passed a major milestone of Western civilization — the birthday of the table knife was May 13, 1637. According to The Writers’ Almanac of that date (this year, of course), its father is considered to be Cardinal Richelieu of France. (http://writersalmanac.org/page/16/) The Cardinal ordered his kitchen staff to file off the sharp
Every once in awhile, I read something that gives me pause. The latest was on the New York magazine’s “Science of Us” page on its website. An article entitled “Tears Are a Luxury Item” discusses recent research on an unlikely topic — why we cry. http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/03/tears-are-a-luxury-item.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Science%20of%20Us%20-%20May%2013%2C%202016&utm_term=Subscription%20List%20-%20Science%20of%20Us%20%281%20Year%29 This question goes back to Charles Darwin. He tried
I recently ran across a more positive way to look at immigration. Viewing this from the perspective of the individuals who are making the journey, many are girls and young women who are vulnerable to exploitation along the way. But there is an organization that’s trying to protect them. The Tahirih Justice Center, named after
Spring is always a bad time for tornadoes in the Midwest. I remember the devastating storm that hit Xenia, Ohio in the 1970s. Which is why a feature in the May 19th edition of EarthSky News caught my eye. I’m copying the basic information here. The complete article can be found at http://earthsky.org/earth/4-basic-questions-about-tornadoes? The photo
On April 20th, I wrote about the challenges of having to feed at least two billion more mouths by 2050 in “A Simple Way to Feed the World.” That way was cutting down on food waste. Here’s another. Granted, any topic dealing with eating bugs is a sure turn-off for most people, but an article
Last time I wrote about the origins of Friday the 13th. This leads to another subject — fears, or phobias. Fear is actually a normal protection, to keep us from doing really dumb things. The Psychology Today website puts it this way — Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn’t
I trust everyone has survived Friday the 13th? I’ve never been very superstitious, but I’ve been wondering how we got to fear this particular day. So I dug out the book An Uncommon History of Common Things (National Geographic, 2009, page 118). As one might suspect, the answer isn’t very straightforward. First, the Friday component.