Super-flexible woman can look at her own butt from behind
Belgian man has been receiving pizzas he never ordered for years, sometimes several times a day. “I cannot sleep anymore. I start shaking every time I hear a scooter on the street.”
at least 42.7% of adult women have experienced orgasm during sleep
On average, women are more sexually disgusted than men
women fantasized more so than did men about sadomasochistic fantasies, but men fantasized more than did women about intimate, exploratory, and impersonal sexual fantasies [...] higher frequency of sexual fantasy were predictive of higher levels of infidelity intentions among men [...] women who fantasized more frequently about exploratory fantasies were less likely to engage in physical infidelity
Results showed that bisexual individuals reported higher levels of openness than homosexual individuals, who in turn, reported higher levels of openness than heterosexual individuals. Bisexual individuals also report lower levels of conscientiousness than both heterosexual and homosexual individuals. Sex moderation effects showed that homosexual men scored higher than heterosexual men on neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness, whereas homosexual women scored lower than heterosexual women on extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. There was also evidence that personality differences between sexual orientation categories tend to decline with age. [Taylor & Francis Online]
An executive who was paid about $18,000 a month by LafargeHolcim Ltd. to do nothing failed in his suit to force the cement maker to fire him with a payout worth more than $2 million.
only a small fraction of Americans prioritize democratic principles in their electoral choices
Black men are woefully underrepresented within VC firms at just 2%, based on the most recent data. Black women don't even rank a percentage point.
Research-based solutions to stop police violence
There’s 50 years of research on violence at protests, dating back to the three federal commissions formed between 1967 and 1970. All three concluded that when police escalate force — using weapons, tear gas, mass arrests and other tools to make protesters do what the police want — those efforts can often go wrong, creating the very violence that force was meant to prevent. [FiveThirtyEight]
There were only 27 days in 2019 where people did not kill someone
Russia urges the U.S. to ‘observe democratic standards’ and respect Americans’ right to protest
Spanish porn star arrested after man dies during 'mystical' toad venom ritual - the amphibian releases a venom called 5-MeO-DMT, which is known to have hallucinogenic effects
Self-driving cars could only prevent a third of U.S. crashes: study
The most common reason for contact with the police is being a driver in a traffic stop and In the early days of the automobile, the Court created an exception for searches of vehicles
What nudists do during a lockdown
Prior research has suggested a link between communal naked activity and positive body image [...] Fifty-one participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups in which they interacted with other people either naked or clothed [...] as expected, participants in the naked condition reported more body appreciation
We hypothesize that pollen may explain the seasonality of flu-like epidemics including COVID-19. [...] We conclude that pollen is a predictor for the inverse seasonality of flu-like epidemics including COVID-19, and solar radiation is a co-inhibitor. The observed seasonality of COVID-19 during Spring, suggests that COVID-19 may revive in The Netherlands after week 33 [mid-August].
dogs can detect a person infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus
How readily can playing instruments transmit the virus?
Nobody knows exactly what will happen as communities open up. The most likely scenario is that virus cases will continue to surge and fall around the globe for the foreseeable future. [5 Rules to Live By During a Pandemic]
It looks as if the low German fatality rate is not due to their superior testing capacity, but rather to the fact that the average German is less likely to get infected and die than the average Brit.
“Japan, I think a lot of people agree, kind of did everything wrong, with poor social distancing, karaoke bars still open and public transit packed near the zone where the worst outbreaks were happening. But the one thing that Japan did right was masks.” [NY Times]
Two-meter distancing might halve infection risk compared to one meter
Covid-19 can last for several months in some people
Nearly Half of Coronavirus Spread May Be Traced to People Without Any Symptoms -- Another concern is that the virus may be damaging the bodies of asymptomatic in other, silent ways.
First Human Trial for COVID-19 Antibody Drug Begins -- The antibody was discovered in a recovered patient’s blood using microfluidics, machine vision, and big-data tools
The coronavirus shutdowns reduced traffic, but faster driving led to an uptick in fatality rates.
Facial expressions can still be detected when obscured by a face covering. In the study, observing the area around the eyes was usually enough to recognize someone else’s feelings. We examined this question with scarves, niqabs and masks. Confusion only occurred for fear and surprise. [Scientific American]
Coronavirus Lockdowns May Raise Exposure to Indoor Air Pollution -- levels of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) increased by 15 to 30 percent in more than 1,000 homes across several European countries.
Is the Worst of the Coronavirus Behind Us Now? Italy, Germany and Spain have also avoided serious flare-ups in cases and deaths as restrictions are eased. It’s similar in Austria and Denmark, which lifted lockdowns back in April. Weekly confirmed cases show the continuation of a declining trend.
Iceland never imposed a lockdown. Only a few types of businesses—night clubs and hair salons, for example—were ever ordered closed. Hardly anyone in Reykjavík wears a mask. And yet, by mid-May, when I went to talk to Pálmason, the tracing team had almost no one left to track. During the previous week, in all of Iceland, only two new coronavirus cases had been confirmed. The country hadn’t just managed to flatten the curve; it had, it seemed, virtually eliminated it. [New Yorker]
things we think we know about coronavirus and things that scientists and public health officials have yet to understand
How Coronavirus Will Change Board Games (7 Guesses)
The impact of COVID-19 on the UK fresh food supply chain
Walmart uses Everseen [AI software] in thousands of stores to prevent shoplifting at registers and self-checkout kiosks. But the workers claimed it misidentified innocuous behavior as theft and often failed to stop actual instances of stealing. [Ars Technica]
Repetitive negative thinking is associated with amyloid, tau, and cognitive decline -- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurological disease. In early stages, AD is characterized by the aggregation of amyloid beta (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau proteins in the brain and worsening memory. [...] Repetitive negative thinking (also termed perseverative cognition) is a behaviorally measurable cognitive process that encompasses future‐ (worry) and past‐ (rumination) directed thoughts.
As soon as an observer opens their eyes, they have the immediate impression of a rich, colorful experience that encompasses their entire visual world. Here, we show that this impression is surprisingly inaccurate. In the most extreme case, almost a third of observers failed to notice when less than 5% of the visual display was presented in color. More: How much color do we really see?
In a famous ongoing experiment started in 1960, scientists turned foxes into tame, doglike canines by breeding only the least aggressive ones generation after generation. The creatures developed stubby snouts, floppy ears, and even began to bark. Now, it appears that some rural red foxes in the United Kingdom are doing this on their own. [Science]
Fenn, 89, told the Santa Fe New Mexican that a treasure hunter located the chest a few days ago. [...] Fenn posted clues to the treasures whereabouts online and in a 24-line poem that was published in his 2010 autobiography The Thrill of the Chase. Hundreds of thousands have hunted in vain across remote corners of the US west for the bronze chest believed to be filled with gold coins, jewelry and other valuable items. Some have said it was a hoax and pursued lawsuits. Many quit their jobs to dedicate themselves to the search and others depleted their life savings. At least four people are believed to have died searching for it. [The Guardian]
An Occult Psychogeography of Hawksmoor’s London Churches
Aircraft detection before radar
Electrocortical Activity in a Pianist Playing 'Vexations' by Erik Satie Continuously for 28 Hours
For years, Nepal and China have sparred over the height of the Mount Everest straddling their shared border, specifically whether or not the official number should account for the snow atop it.