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Above, apes laugh, too. Photo source: abc.net.au

Are you laughing with me? Not all laughter is warm and fuzzy.

September 5, 2022

Some laughs warm the cockles of one’s heart, while others scare or embarrass with their more sinister or snarky tones—but overall, more than 95% of our conversations contain laughter, reports Psychology Today.

People laugh for various reasons: to express amusement, agreement, or congeniality. Laughter also can signal intention.

Although classifications vary, there are three general types of laughter derived from theories in the literature, according to a study  published in Joseph Wharton Scholars:

  • Affiliative laughter expresses mirth, social bonding, and cooperation. Such laughter represents a sign of social acceptance.
  • De-escalative laughter relieves discomfort and dissipates the stress in the room. For instance, laughing at an inappropriate joke signifies that no offense was taken and is meant to assuage social interactions. It also signifies to others that it is okay to laugh, and  that the environment is non-threatening.
  • Power laughter is an expression of superiority. It reinforces the power dynamics of social interactions and conveys mockery. Bosses often use this type of laughter with employees who are less powerful.

There is much variation in the vocalization of laughter, with sounds made being highly heterogeneous. Laughter changes—based on pitch, production methods, and articulation effects.

Research examining acoustic differences is limited. One framework considers laughter as either vowel-oriented or fricative:

  • Vowel-oriented laughter is usually of longer duration and employs song-like properties. This laughter typically begins with a “ha/he/ho”
  • Fricative laughterinvolves friction from the throat, with strong consonant sounds and grunts or pants.

Some experts hypothesize that the acoustics of laughter elicit emotional responses and direct the behaviors of others. Vowel-based laughs are seen as more positive than are fricative ones. Vowel cues can help the listener interpret pleased/relieved (i.e., positive) emotions versus anxious/embarrassed (i.e., negative) ones.

Positive laughter tends to be longer in duration and higher in energy. In particular, affiliative laughter is louder and uses less voicing.

In a study published in PLOS ONE, University of Wisconsin researchers in part examined the sex differences of laughter. They noted that the sound of laughter was not only influenced by sexual dimorphism (traits that differ consistently between men and women), but also by societal expectations.

Spontaneity and reward, which are exhibited via affiliative laughter, were of higher pitch and decreased voicing in both women and men, with male-specific semitones.

Female laughter was perceived as being more spontaneous when it had a higher pitch, less voicing, and was of longer duration. This finding could support observations that women are expected to be more restrained in their social interactions and speech, thus they laugh longer only after losing control, according to the authors. Meanwhile, men are free to laugh as long as they want sans assumption by others.

In other differences, louder affiliative laughs were associated with appeasement and non-threatening intentions in men but not women. Again, this could be because women are expected to be restrained, whereas men are rewarded for lack of inhibition. Women could be perceived as friendlier when their laughs are quieter.

Laughs perceived as highly dominant (i.e., power laughs) versus those viewed as spontaneous/rewarding were only similar in one aspect: the longer duration of the laughter. More dominant laughs have greater ranges in pitch in both men and women.

On a related note, researchers publishing theJournal of Experimental Social Psychologyfound that more dominant laughs were linked to greater social status.

Their research involved fraternity pledges (i.e., “low status”) and fraternity members who had been active for two or more years (“high status”). In the study, low-status participants who laughed in a dominant manner were perceived as being of higher social status. Moreover, low-status participants were more flexible to assume the role of aggressor and utilize a dominant laugh.

Research contact: @PsychToday

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged Affiliative laughter, Aggressor, De-escalative laughter, Dominant laughs are longer and have greater ranges in pitch, Fricate laugher (friction from throat), Joseph Wharton Scholars, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, PLOS ONE, Power laughter, Psychology Today, Sexual differences, Social status, Societal expectations, Study, University of Wisconsin, Vowel-oriented laughter (ha ha ha), Women are more restrained on September 2, 2022 by Poll-Vaulter.

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Why the ‘ludicrously capacious’ bag on Succession was such a faux pas for the very wealthiest

March 31, 2023

If you are a Succession fan—or even if you aren’t—we need to talk about the scathing attack that Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) makes on an interloper’s fashion sense during episode one of the HBO superseries: In particular, a handbag that he deems “ludicrously capacious,” reports The Guardian’s Chloe Mac Donnell.

The handbag at the crux of Tom’s lecture is from Burberry and costs over £2,500 (US$3,092) at retail. It’s carried by Bridget, Cousin Greg’s (Nicholas Braun’s) unexpected date to Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox’s) birthday party.

Logan’s assistant Kerry immediately makes it clear that “Bridget Randomf*ck” is an unwelcome guest. As she reminds Greg, it’s an intimate party at the home of one of the richest men in the world, “not a fucking Shake Shack.”

But it’s Tom who really captures the family’s issue with Bridget. Her clothing—and worst of all her “monstrous” bag – signifies that she is not part of their world. “What’s even in there?” Tom laments. “Flat shoes for the subway? Her lunch pail? It’s gargantuan. You could take it camping. You could slide it across the floor after a bank job”.

Bridget’s excess baggage hints at everything she lacks, and everything the Roys and their ilk are accustomed to. Bridget lives in a world where she has to schlep. The Roys simply glide.

The world of schleppers is, of course, full of bags. Filled with last night’s leftovers for lunch, trainers for the commute, reusable water bottles, makeup, gym gear, the list goes on. Sometimes you even need a second one: Bridget definitely has a reusable tote with a Girl Boss slogan on it buried at the bottom of that Burberry.

A mini bag, or even better no bag at all, is the norm for Logan’s invited guests. They use their phones to check in with their wealth managers, not to create Instagram content, another faux pas Bridget makes.

But it’s not just the size of Bridget’s bag that jars. Although logo-less, its vintage check print makes it instantly recognizable. This is a logoless logo that has a long and somewhat complicated relationship with class prejudice.

Burberry is a luxury brand. but it’s not a brand that is part of the Roy’s wardrobe roster. Their aesthetic is quiet luxury. It’s stealth wealth, exemplified by Gwyneth Paltrow this week in the courtroom in her £1,500 cream knitwear. It murmurs money, like a whispered recommendation for the best masseur amongst one percenters.

It’s old money rather than a nouveau aesthetic. Heritage luxury brands such as Loro Piana, Max Mara, and Brunello Cucinelli epitomize it. Their pieces allow their wearers to go incognito; on first glance Logan’s quarter zippers and cozy cardigans could be from M&S. It’s only those in the know that will recognize they are, in fact, a silent signifier of his wealth.

Bridget’s bag, meanwhile, is loud luxury. A cry for attention. It shouts “look at how much I spent”. It’s also the type of bag that is quickly duped and illicitly sold on Canal Street.

What makes the scene even more cutting is that this observation of conspicuous consumption comes from Tom, the original Roy family interloper. An aspiring scion-in-law who used to wear red chinos and, at one stage, found himself berated for wearing a branded Moncler vest to a Davos-esque media conference. “Nice vest, Wambsgans,” quipped Roman (Kieran Culkin). “It’s so puffy. What’s it stuffed with, your hopes and dreams?”

The fact that Tom now can recognize a Burberry bag as an accessory of a social climber says a lot about his own ascent towards the moneyed world he now sits in.

Tom’s comments are not only a burn to Bridget’s character but to Burberry too. A paparazzi image of Eastenders’ Danniella Westbrook taken in 2002—clad head to toe in Burberry check; her baby daughter dressed up to match while Westbrook pushed a coordinated pram—continues to haunt the brand. Since then, the company has worked hard on damage limitation. This season, the trademark check in its tan, red and black colorway was nowhere to be seen in the debut collection from new creative director Daniel Lee.

In the marketing blurb for the bag Bridget carries, its design is credited to Lee’s predecessor, Ricardo Tisci. “It’s a future classic that’s set to star as the headline act of countless ensembles,” it reads. No doubt the headlines caused by its role in Succession were not the type Burberry had in mind, says Mac Donnell.

Research contact: @GuardianUS

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged 'Ludicrously capacious', Brunello Cucinelli, Burberry handbag costs US$3092, Chloe Mac Donnell, Cousin Greg's (Nicholas Braun's) unexpected date, Eastenders' Danniella Westbrook, GuardianUS, Gwyneth Paltrow, HBO superseries, Logan Roy's (Brian Cox's) birthday party, Loro Piana, M&S, Max Mara, Roman (Kieran Culkin), Succession, The world of schleppers, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Mcfadyen), Tom: What's even in there? Flat shoes for the subway? Her lunch pail? It's gargantuan.' on March 30, 2023 by Poll-Vaulter.

Above, this man's big dogs barely fit on his bed. (Photo source: The Wonderous)

Study: Having a pet may take a toll on your sleep

March  30, 2023

Your beloved pet may be interrupting, or impairing the quality of, your sleep, research conducted at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee has found, reports NBC News.

Although pets can have many positive effects on health, pet ownership was linked with poorer sleep, according to the study results, published the journal, Human-Animal Interactions on March 24.

The researchers looked at data from the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which asks questions on a variety of health topics. They adjusted for factors that could affect sleep—including race, income, age, gender, and BMI—and focused on whether a person owned a cat or a dog.

Sleep quality was measured by looking at reported bouts of snoring or snorting at night; being diagnosed with a sleep disorder; having trouble sleeping or falling asleep; waking up during the night; waking up too early; feeling unrested; not getting enough sleep; needing medication to sleep; or having leg jerks or cramps. Taking longer than 15 minutes to fall asleep and regularly getting fewer than six hours of sleep were also indicators of poor sleep.

The findings showed that having a dog was associated with a greater chance of having a sleep disorder or, overall, having trouble sleeping; while having a cat was associated with having a higher chance of leg jerks during the night.

The study was observational, meaning the researchers could not say for certain the pets caused poor sleep, but the results were consistent with previous studies that found that pet ownership negatively affected sleep quality.

Lead study author Lauren Wisnieski, an assistant professor of Public Health and Research at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, noted that the study didn’t look at where people’s pets slept. For example, is a dog taking up all the space on the bed? Is a cat curling up right next to the pet owner’s head?

That would be a good direction for future studies, she said, “to ask owners more about where their pets sleep and how those pets are disrupting their sleep.”

Lieve van Egmond, a sleep researcher at the Uppsala Sleep Science Laboratory in Sweden, noticed that her sleep changed when she got her kitten, Bacco. She looked into the relationship between pets and sleep quality while earning her doctorate. She was not involved with the new study, but did lead a separate study that also used self-reported data to examine how pets may affect sleep.

In that study, published in 2021, van Egmond and her team  found that having a cat was associated with a shorter night’s sleep, but having a dog was not linked to changes in sleep. Still, she noted that more research would need to be done to establish whether the findings were a coincidence, or if pets were truly causing sleep issues.

She said the association found in the new study likely has more to do with owning a pet—and the many different factors tied to that unique cat or dog—rather than where those pets sleep.

“The age of the pet has a big influence on whether or not they keep you up at night,” van Egmond said. “If you have multiple pets, they can egg each other on.” 

With dogs, she said, it depends a lot on the breed and the activity level it needs. Making sure a pet gets plenty of physical activity and mental stimulation during the day and working with its natural instincts can help animals — and their owners — get better rest. 

Unlike dogs, cats tend to have bursts of energy at night, van Egmond said. That was certainly the case for Bacco, who would run circles around her apartment and, even if her bedroom door was shut, would wake her up by scratching at it to be let in, she said.

She eventually consulted a cat behavioral specialist and learned that if she played with Bacco before she was ready for bed, she would activate the cat’s hunting instinct. By being fed after that, Bacco would feel that he had successfully hunted his food and was rewarded with a nice meal in return. His natural instinct after that was to groom himself and go to sleep—just as van Egmond was getting ready for bed herself.

The new study “indicates that pets can influence your sleep, but we have to really take into account that pets are much more than a facilitator or inhibitor of sleep. They are part of the family,” she said.

Still, people can use this information to evaluate why they may not be getting enough rest, she said. “If they have pets and they have poor sleep, they should look at where this is coming from,” van Egmond said. If it is the pet, “see where the bottleneck is and how you can make it so the cat or dog will not interrupt you when you are sleeping.”

Research contact: @NBCNews

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Depends on age and physical activity, Exercise and feed cats before bed, Human-Animal Interactions, Lead study author Lauren Wisnieski, Lieve van Egmond of Uppsala Sleep Science Lab in Sweden also did a study, NBC News, Pet may be interrupting or impairing your sleep, Study conducted at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, Taking longer than 15 minutes to fall asleep or regularly geting less than six hours of sleep on March 29, 2023 by Poll-Vaulter.

Above, fake photos generated by artificial intelligence software appear to show Pope Francis walking outside the Vatican in a designer puffer coat. (Photo source: CBS New)

Pope prank: Fake photos of the pontiff in a puffer jacket go viral, conveying the power and peril of AI

March 29, 2023

It was a cold wind that blew through St. Peters Square at the Vatican over the weekend; but that didn’t deter Pope Francis from taking a stroll outside to greet the faithful, as he often does. When images appeared online showing the 86-year-old pontiff dressed to fight the elements in a stylish white puffer jacket and silver bejewelled crucifix, they soon went viral—racking up millions of views on social media platforms, reports CBS News.

The picture, first published Friday, March 24, on Reddit along with several others, was, in fact, a fake. It was an artificial intelligence rendering generated using the AI software Midjourney.

While there are some inconsistencies in the final rendered images—for example, the pope’s left hand, which is holding a water bottle, looks distorted and his skin has an overly sharp appearance—many people online were fooled into thinking they were real pictures.

Some Twitter users were shocked and confused. “I thought the pope’s puffer jacket was real and didn’t give it a second thought,” tweeted model and author Chrissy Teigen. “No way am I surviving the future of technology.”

The “pope in the puffer jacket” was just the latest in a series of “deepfake” images created with AI software. Another recent example: pictures of former President Donald Trump that appeared to show him in police custody. Although the creator made it clear that they were produced as an exercise in the use of AI, the images, combined with rumors of Trump’s imminent arrest, went viral and created and entirely fraudulent but potentially dangerous narrative.

Midjourney, DALL E2, OpenAI, and Dream Studio are among the software options available to anyone wishing to produce photo-realistic images using nothing more than text prompts—no specialist training required.

As this type of software becomes more widespread, AI developers are working on better ways to inform viewers of the authenticity, or otherwise, of images.

CBS News’ Sunday Morning  reported earlier this year that Microsoft’s Chief Scientific Officer Eric Horvitz, the co-creator of the spam email filter, was among those trying to crack the conundrum—predicting that, if technology isn’t developed to enable people to easily detect fakes within a decade or so, “most of what people will be seeing, or quite a lot of it, will be synthetic. We won’t be able to tell the difference.”

In the meantime, Henry Ajder, who presents a BBC radio series entitled The Future Will be Synthesised, cautioned in a newspaper interview that it was “already very, very hard to determine whether” some of the images being created were real.

“It gives us a sense of how bad actors, agents spreading disinformation, could weaponize these tools,” Ajder told the British newspaper, i.

There’s clear evidence that this is happening already. Last March, video emerged appearing to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling his troops to lay down their arms and surrender. It was bad quality and quickly outed as a fake, but it may have been merely an opening salvo in a new information war.

So, while a picture may speak a thousand words, it may be worth asking who’s actually doing the talking.

Research contact: @CBSNews

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged 86-year-old pontiff dressed to fight the elements in a white puffer jacket and silver bejewelled crucifix, Ai software Midjourney, An AI fake, BBC radio series entitled The Future Will Be Synthesised, British newspaper, CBS News, CBS News Sunday Morning, Chrissy Teien, DALL E2, Dream Studio, Eric Horvitz, Henry Adjer, I, OpenAI, Pope Francis, Reddit, The Vatican, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Went viral on March 28, 2023 by Poll-Vaulter.

Above, new mom Megan Ferro of South Carolina said she experienced 'pregnancy nose.' Photo comparison from March 2022 (left) to December 2022 while in labor. (Photo source: Megan Ferro)

‘Pregnancy nose’ has expectant moms in a dither—and is going viral on the Internet

March 28, 2023

Many women experience a variety of symptoms during their pregnancies—among them, nausea, fatigue, swollen feet, and what’s now being referred to as “pregnancy nose,” reports Fox News.

This latter—a very odd and unusual symptom—is known to change the shape, size or width of a woman’s nose during a pregnancy. The term has been trending on TikTok, with more than 24 million views on videos discussing the topic.

One video posted by user Reece Wood (@tyreecewood1) received 15.9 million views after she showed photos of her face before and during pregnancy.

Wood, who is based in Minnesota, told Fox News that the change in her nose came as a “huge shock.”

“No one warns you about it and just overnight my nose doubled in size,” she said.  “I couldn’t breathe[for] the remainder of my pregnancy!”

The video stirred conversation on the app, with many users sympathizing with Wood while also wondering how “pregnancy nose” happens in the first place.

“A lot of women have thanked me for my video because it made them feel seen and that’s really important to me,” Wood said, adding, “I wish I would’ve had that while I was going through it.”

Dr. Lauren Demosthenes, senior medical director at Babyscripts, a virtual maternity care company, told Fox News via email that a spike in estrogen causes the dilation of blood vessels—including mucous membranes of the nose.

“This may cause the nose to be a little bit swollen,” said South Carolina-based Demosthenes.

“Also, pregnant women can begin to have some facial swelling later in pregnancy, which may cause the nose to look a little larger,” she added.

Liesel Teen, a labor and delivery nurse and founder of Mommy Labor Nurse, an online resource for expectant parents, told Fox by email that, while pregnancy nose is not an actual medical term or condition, the symptom can be “pretty darn noticeable” in some pregnant women.

Teen, of Raleigh, North Carolina, reiterated that elevated hormone levels during pregnancy lead to increased blood flow, sometimes showing up in the nose.

“Pregnancy affects each person differently,” she said. “No two pregnancies are exactly the same, so the same person might have totally different experiences in different pregnancies.”

She continued, “There are dozens (or more) symptoms that women can experience during pregnancy, but it’s uncommon for someone to experience ALL of them.”

Teen explained that everybody “responds differently to hormones, so not all women will experience this lovely phenomenon during pregnancy.” She said that pregnancy nose most commonly tends to show up toward the end of a pregnancy, as blood volume and overall swelling increase; it generally resolves post-delivery.

Demosthenes also said that pregnancy nose is a “temporary condition,” which will normalize along with estrogen levels. “It’s hard to say exactly when, but during the first weeks postpartum, things should return to normal,” she said.

Nosebleeds may also be a common symptom for pregnant women due to hormones, Teen mentioned.

“Hormone changes and increased blood flow to certain places in your body during pregnancy put you at an increased risk for nosebleeds during pregnancy,” she said.

“The blood vessels in your nose (just like the ones throughout your body) expand during pregnancy because of the additional pressure from an increased volume of blood,” she continued.

“Blood vessels in your nose are fragile and break easily—this coupled with increased blood flow makes nosebleeds pretty common,” she added.

Although there is no way to prevent pregnancy nose from occurring, there are several methods to reduce the swelling should it occur. These include staying hydrated by increasing water intake, limiting sodium consumption, and keeping extremities—especially legs and feet—elevated.

Pregnant women should take breaks from standing for long periods of time, or wear compression socks and comfortable footwear if they need to stand for a long period of time.

Research contact: @FoxNews

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged 'My nose doubled in size', @tyreecewood1, Babyscripts, Caused by dilation of blood veesels including mucous memberane of the nose, Dr. Lauren Demosthenes, Estrogen causes dilation, Fox News, Goes away by a couple of weeks after childbirth\, Increase water intake, Keep legs and feet elevated, Liesel Teen, Limit sodium consumption, Mommy Labor Nurse, More than 24 million videws, Nose gets much larger the closer to childbirth the woman becomes, Odd and unusual symptom of pregnancy, Pregnancy nose, Trending on TikTok on March 27, 2023 by Poll-Vaulter.

Above, 90-year-old Mr. Pickles now has earned a reputation as a 'stud.' (Photo source: Houston Zoo)

Baby boom: A 90-year-old tortoise becomes first-time father to three at the Houston Zoo

March 27, 2023

At 90 years young, Mr. Pickles is the oldest animal at the Houston Zoo—and has now become the wildlife park’s most senior first-time father, the zoo reports.

Radiated tortoises—which can live as long as double Mr. Pickles’ age—are a rare species native to Madagascar. The three Pickles offspring that hatched recently are a big deal (big dill?) for radiated tortoise genetics, as their father, Mr. Pickles, is the most genetically valuable radiated tortoise in the Association of Zoos and Aquarium (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP).

Mr. Pickles has been at the Zoo for 36 years and has been with his companion, Mrs. Pickles, since she arrived in 1996.The new tortoises have been named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño and will remain behind the scenes in the Reptile & Amphibian House until they are big enough to safely join their parents.

Above, meet Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeno. (Photo source: Jackelin Reyna/Houston Zoo)

The new hatchlings came as a surprise when a herpetology keeper happened upon Mrs. Pickles as the female tortoise was laying her eggs at closing time at the zoo. The animal care team quickly went to work uncovering the eggs and getting them to the safety of the Reptile & Amphibian House. The soil in Houston isn’t hospitable to the Madagascar native tortoises, and it’s unlikely the eggs would have hatched on their own if the keeper hadn’t been in the right place at the right time.

The new brood will help support radiated tortoises in their native homes off the East Coast of Africa. A portion of each zoo membership and admission goes toward helping the zoo’s partners in Madagascar replant wildlife habitats to save animals in the wild.

Research contact: @houstonzoo

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged 90-year-old radiated tortoise who lives at Houston Zoo, AZA, Dill and Gherkin and Jalapeno just hatched, He and Mrs. Pickles are first-time parents, Mr. Pickiles is the oldest animal at the Houston Zoo, Mr. Pickles, New hatchlings came as a surprise to herpetology keeper who happened upon the three eggs at zoo closing time, Radiated tortoises live to be over 180, Rare species native to Madagascar, Reptile & Amphibian House, Species Survival Plan (SSP) on March 24, 2023 by Poll-Vaulter.

Image source: The Daily Beast

A Harvard physicist is racing to prove this meteorite is an alien probe

March 24, 2023

The world’s top alien hunter is about to embark on his most ambitious—and potentially, historical—mission yet, reports The Daily Beast.

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb is organizing a $1.5-million expedition to Papua New Guinea to search for fragments of a very strange meteorite that impacted just off the coast of the Pacific nation in 2014.

There is compelling evidence that the half-meter-wide meteorite, called CNEOS1 2014-01-08, traveled from outside our solar system. And that it’s made of extremely hard rock or metal—a material that’s hard and tough enough to prove the meteorite isn’t a meteorite at all. Maybe it’s an alien probe.

It’s a long-shot effort. After years of work, Loeb and his team have, with a big assist from the U.S. military, narrowed down CNEOS1 2014-01-08’s likely impact zone to a square kilometer of the ocean floor, nearly two kilometers underwater. But the fragments themselves are probably just a few millimeters in size. It’s worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. Loeb is basically preparing to look for big sand in a square-kilometer patch of small sand.

It’s worth the risk, Loeb told The Daily Beast. Any fragments the team recovers could turn out to be “technological”—that is, clearly manufactured and thus strong evidence of the existence of aliens. Or maybe they’re not artificial, but are made of some super-strong material that we’ve never observed until now. A rare metal forged in the hearts of neutron stars, for example.

In any event, “we will learn something new,” Loeb said.

The expedition is almost ready to depart for Papua New Guinea. “We have a boat,” Loeb wrote in on a post on Medium on January 27. “We have a dream team, including some of the most experienced and qualified professionals in ocean expeditions. We have complete design and manufacturing plans for the required sled, magnets, collection nets and mass spectrometer.

“And most importantly,” he wrote, “today we received the green light to go ahead,” referring to the approval of Papua New Guinea’s for the mission.

The plan, Loeb said, is to deploy a variety of custom sand-sifters—some with magnets, others like huge sieves—and methodically search the seafloor for two weeks. The main reason it’s taken eight years to organize the mission is that, first, Loeb and his team had to figure out where the meteorite’s fragments came down to Earth.

It was easier said than done, since no single instrument precisely captured CNEOS1 2014-01-08’s journey to the seafloor. But if anyone was motivated to try, it was Loeb. While these days more and more scientists are coming around to the idea that we’re probably not alone in the universe, Loeb was banging that drum even when it was unpopular.

When a very odd, shiny, football-field-size object streaked across then out of the solar system in 2017, Loeb was among the first scientists to say out loud what others may only have been thinking: This object, which scientists later named ’Oumuamua ( Hawaiian for “scout”), might be an alien probe.

And Loeb isn’t afraid to put his money—well, his donors’ money—where his mouth is. In addition to studying strange interstellar objects such as ’Oumuamua, Loeb through his Galileo Project is painstakingly building humanity’s first global network of small telescopes , which will scan the sky for alien craft, or at least the remains of alien craft.

To narrow down CNEOS1 2014-01-08’s impact zone, Loeb needed data from two sets of instruments. The first set was from U.S. military missile-warning satellites that, thanks to their sensitive infrared sensors, tend to also detect meteorites while scanning for missile-launches.

These satellites can not only provide at least a vague indication of where a meteorite is heading; they also capture images of the fireball that results from a meteorite’s fast, hot trip through Earth’s atmosphere. The timing and intensity of a fireball can tell us a lot about a meteorite’s composition. Basically, the longer it takes for the atmosphere to ignite a meteor, the tougher the meteor is.

After much wheedling, Loeb convinced the Pentagon to release the full fireball data for CNEOS1 2014-01-08. They indicated the 2014 meteorite might be the hardest meteorite on record.

The second set of data Loeb needed was much more precise telemetry for the meteorite’s path than the military could provide. So, he checked on nearby earthquake sensors. “We found that the blast wave from the meteor explosion generated a high-quality signal in a seismometer located at Manus Island,” which is part of Papua New Guinea, Loeb wrote at Medium.

Armed with the two data sets, Loeb and his team were able to narrow the likely impact zone from 100 square kilometers to just one square kilometer. “This reduction in the geographic uncertainty of the … fireball improves the search efficiency in the forthcoming ocean expedition to recover its fragments,” Loeb and company wrote in a study, not yet peer-reviewed, that appeared online on March 13.

After having arranged funding and manpower, narrowing the search zone, and getting the Papua New Guinean government’s approval, Loeb and his team are now putting the finishing touches on their special sand-sifting equipment for recovering magnetic meteoritic debris from the seafloor.

Once it’s all ready, hopefully this summer, Loeb and his team will set sail.

Expectations are running high. But Loeb said he’s bracing for disappointment. “There is a chance it will fail,” he said of his expedition. Even success could be something of a letdown, if the team recovers fragments, but those fragments turn out to be natural in origin rather than artificial.

It’s important to frame even that secondary discovery as a major advancement, Ravi Kopparapu, an astronomer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, told The Daily Beast. “This could give us more confidence on the nature of the interstellar meteor—and could point to whether this meteor is unique or a new class of meteorites.”

Maybe Loeb and his team will go to all that trouble to find the remains of CNEOS1 2014-01-08, only to confirm it isn’t an alien probe. But don’t expect a setback like that to cause Loeb to give up his search for evidence of extraterrestrials. He said he understands how convincing the proof needs to be, and how hard it might be to find it. “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” he said.

Research contact: @thedailybeast

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged CNEOSI 2014-01-08\, Evidence meteorite traveled from outside our solar system, Expedition to Papua New Guina, Fragments of very strange meteorite, Galileo Project, Hardest meteorite on record, Harvard physicist Avi Loeb, Made of extremely hard rock or metal, Maybe it's an alien probe, Medium, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, Ravi Kopparapu, The Daily Beast, World's top alien hunter on March 23, 2023 by Poll-Vaulter.

Above, Joel the cockatiel is now back to his normal routine at home in Myrtle Beach. (Photo source: Christine Iturrino)

A pet cockatiel escaped. A Billy Joel song helped return him to his owner.

March 23, 2023

Christine Iturrino got home from the supermarket in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and was about to bring her groceries into her house when she suddenly and unexpectedly saw Joel, her pet cockatiel. He flew out of her open front door and landed on her shoulder as she stood outside.

She gasped.

“In a panic, I tried to grab him, which you’re not supposed to do with birds,” said Iturrino, 58. “That freaked him out and he flew away toward the ocean, screaming all the way. I was heartsick,” she told The Washington Post.

Iturrino had adopted Joel from a bird rescue group 18 months earlier and loved having him as her sidekick around the house. The two got along quite well and were happy in their routine of sharing breakfast and listening to ’80s pop music, she said.

Iturrino spun into action, quickly printing colorful LOST BIRD notices emblazoned with “Parrot alert” and REWARD REWARD REWARD. She tacked them up all over her beachside neighborhood that weekend, Feb. 25.

She took two days off from her job as a regional transit bus driver to dedicate her time to finding Joel. She posted photos of the bird on social media, handed out additional fliers and looked tirelessly around the neighborhood for him.

Joel was a rescue cockatiel, and she didn’t know how old he was, but she figured he had many more years to live as her bird companion. Cockatiels in captivity typically live up to 20 or 25 years.

Joel has the run of the house, she said, and usually only spends time in his cage at night.

“He loves music, especially [Billy Joel’s] ‘Uptown Girl,’ and whistling,” Iturrino posted on Facebook, explaining how she believes the rescue bird acquired the name Joel.

“Most important, please, please keep him safe,” Iturrino added in her post. “I had promised him that and I’ve let him down.”

She was kicking herself for not being more careful as she brought in her groceries.

“He’s very people friendly, so I had a lot of hope,” Iturrino said. “But I was still pretty upset, especially as more time passed. I began to worry I’d never see him again.”

Then on March 6, nine days after Joel flew away, Iturrino was driving a bus when she took a quick break at a stop and glanced at her phone.

She had a text from an employee at SkyWheel Myrtle Beach, a 200-foot ferris wheel with 42 enclosed gondolas. The SkyWheel is a popular tourist attraction on Myrtle Beach’s boardwalk and is located about two miles from Iturrino’s house.

The text said: “I work at the beach — I think we found your bird.”

The employee, Theresa Glazer, added a photo of Joel perched on her shoulder inside the SkyWheel ticket booth.

Iturrino could hardly believe it. “I started shouting out to the passengers, ‘They found my bird!’” she said.

Glazer said she’d keep Joel with her for the day, then bring him to Iturrino’s house that evening. When Iturrino came home from work, Glazer came over with Joel wrapped in a towel. It was an emotional reunion for Iturrino, and perhaps for Joel as well, but a bird’s emotions are harder to assess.

“He squawked at me, then flew over to my shoulder,” Iturrino said. “I kept telling him how much I’d missed him, and what a brave boy he was. It really was a series of miracles that brought him home.”

Glazer told Iturrino the story of how her cockatiel was found: Glazer’s co-worker, Gavin Scire, was about 100 feet up a ladder attached to the Ferris wheel for a morning safety check on March 6 when he heard some loud chirping and noticed Joel hopping around on the bars in the middle of the wheel.

“Everyone at SkyWheel calls [Gavin] their Spider-Man because of all the climbing he does,” Iturrino said. “When he held out his arm, Joel flew right to him.”

It was unclear how much time he’d been there.

“There’s no telling how long Joel was up on the SkyWheel, but he definitely wanted to come down,” she said, explaining that the cockatiel was likely frightened to fly down from such a high perch.

Because cockatiels can survive only 24 to 48 hours without food, Iturrino said Joel probably found some nuts, seeds and greens to eat during his flyaway adventure.

Scire and Glazer declined to be interviewed for this story. But Sean Bailey, marketing manager at SkyWheel Attractions, said Scire told him that the bird seemed happy to see him and walked up his arm to nestle inside the hood of his sweatshirt.

“Joel was clearly happy to see Gavin and wanted to be rescued,” Bailey said, noting that it took about five minutes for Scire to climb down the ladder with the bird inside his hoodie.

At some point, Iturrino said she hopes to get a harness for Joel and take him back to the SkyWheel to personally thank Scire and the others for rescuing him.

“I’ve joked that I should come by and pay for all of Joel’s free rides,” she said.

Bailey said no payment is necessary.

“We’ll give them both a ride,” he said. “And we’ll be sure to play ‘Uptown Girl’ for Joel, so he can rock out to it.”

Research contact: @washingtonpost

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged Christine Iturrino of Myrtle Beach, espcially [Billy Joel's] 'Uptown girl', Facebook, Gavin Scire was about 100 feet up on ferris wheel when he saw and rescued Joel, He loves music, Joel was riding on SkyWheel but wanted to be rescued, Pet cockatiel Joel, Posted reward all over town, SkyWheel Myrtle Beach, The Washington Post on March 22, 2023 by Poll-Vaulter.

Above, a terrifying clown face. (Photo source: markspearsart on Instagram)

Fearsome, not funny: Why are we so scared of clowns?

Mrch 22, 2023

Are you scared of clowns? You are not alone. Coulrophobia, or the fear of clowns, is a widely acknowledged phenomenon. Studies have found that this fear is present among both adults and children in many different cultures. Yet it is not well understood due to a lack of focused research, reports The Conversation.

While numerous possible explanations of the phobia had been put forward in academic literature, no studies have specifically investigated its origins. To do so, The Conversation devised a psychometric questionnaire to assess the prevalence and severity of coulrophobia. The Fear of Clowns Questionnaire was completed by an international sample of 987 respondents, aged between 18 and 77.

More than half of the respondents (53.5%) said they were scared of clowns at least to some degree, with 5% saying they were “extremely afraid” of them. Interestingly, the percentage reporting an extreme fear of clowns is slightly higher than those reported for many other phobias, such as fear of animals (3.8%), blood/injection/injuries (3.0%), heights (2.8%), still water or weather events (2.3%), closed spaces (2.2%), and flying (1.3%).

What’s more, higher numbers of women are afraid of clowns than men. The reason for this difference is not clear, but it echoes research findings on other phobias, such as the fear of snakes and spiders. The researchers also discovered that coulrophobia decreases with age, which again matches up with research into other fears.

Origins of this fear

The researchers’ next step was to explore the origins of people’s fear of clowns. A follow-up questionnaire was given to the 53.5% who had reported at least some degree of clown fear. This new set of questions related to eight plausible explanations for the origins of this fear, as follows:

  • An eerie or unsettling feeling, caused by the clowns’ makeup, which makes them look not-quite-human. A similar response is sometimes seen with dolls or mannequins.
  • Clowns’ exaggerated facial features convey a direct sense of threat.
  • Clown makeup hides emotional signals and creates uncertainty.
  • The color of clown makeup reminds us of death, infection, or blood injury; and evokes disgust or avoidance.
  • Clowns’ unpredictable behavior makes us uncomfortable.
  • Fear of clowns has been learned from family members.
  • Negative portrayals of clowns in popular culture have affected our viewpoints.
  • A frightening experience with a clown.

Intriguingly, we found the final explanation, of having had a scary personal experience with a clown, had the lowest level of agreement. This indicates that life experience alone is not a sufficient explanation for why people are afraid of them.

By contrast, negative portrayals of clowns in popular culture represented a much stronger contributing factor towards coulrophobia. This is understandable, the  researchers say, since some of the most prominent clowns in books and films are designed to be scary— such as Pennywise, the creepy clown from Stephen King’s 1986 novel It. (This character most recently featured in two films, in 2017 and 2019.)

However, some people are afraid of Ronald McDonald, the fast food chain mascot— and he is not meant to scare you. This suggests there might be something more fundamental about the way clowns look that unsettles people.

In fact the strongest factor we identified was hidden emotional signals, suggesting that for many people, a fear of clowns stems from not being able to see their facial expressions due to their make-up. We cannot see their “true” faces and therefore cannot understand their emotional intent.

So, for example, we don’t know whether they have a frown or a furrowed brow, which would indicate anger. Not being able to detect what a clown is thinking or what they might do next makes some of us on edge when we are around them.

Research contact: @TheConversation

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged 5% said they were 'extremely afraid' of clowns, 53.5% said they were afraid of clowns ot some degree, Coulrophobia or the fear of clowns, Exaggerated facial features, Higher numbers of women than men, International sample of 987 respondents between the ages of 18 and 77, Learned from family members, Makeup hides emotional signals and creates uncertainty, Pennywise, Scared of clowns' makeup, Similar to fear of dolls or mannequins, Stephen King's 'It', The Conversation, The Fear of Clowns Questionnaire on March 21, 2023 by Poll-Vaulter.

Above, the extremely rare Serpens Catus. (Photo source: Jeff Kamara/Twitter)

Not ‘fur real’? Amazon ‘snake cat’ photo goes viral and mystifies Internet

March 21, 2023

This unbelievable photo of an “Amazon snake cat” might be just that—unbelievable. A photo of the so-called “Serpens Catus”—a feline with black and neon-yellow stripes resembling a snake—went viral on Tuesday, March14, in social media posts, claiming it was the “rarest species of feline on Earth,” reports the New York Post.

“Serpens catus is the rarest species of feline on Earth. These Animals live in hard-to-reach regions of the Amazon rainforest and, therefore, they are relatively poorly studied,” a Twitter user claimed. “The first images capturing the snake cat appeared only in the [year] 2020. Weighs up the 4 stone [56 pounds].”

One now-deleted “Serpens Cattus” Reddit post caught the eye of several commenters who flagged the feline as not being fur real:

  • “Obvious fake No known gene can produce natural hair or fur of those (navy and bright yellow) colors,” one commenter said.
  • “Really rough attempt at a fake Latin name,” a second person chimed in. “One Google about species naming would have made this a lot less obvious.”

The Post has reached out to zoology experts to verify the authenticity of the photo.

However, the color and patterns in the photo bear a strong resemblance to the reptilian Boiga Dendrophila, which is commonly referred to as the “gold-ringed cat snake.”

According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, the snake is found in the same countries where the Amazon snake cat was rumored to be found. One viewer claimed that the species lives in Bolivia, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

“He’s in the next ‘Fantastic Beasts,’ joked one user, referencing the Harry Potter spin-off franchise.

Research contact: @nypost

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged 'Obvious fake.', Amazon snake cat, Boiga Dendrophila, Commonly referred to as the 'gold-ringed cat snake.', Fantastic Beasts, Harry Potter, Internet, New York Post, Serpens Catus, Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Twitter on March 20, 2023 by Poll-Vaulter.

Above, a new study has found that most reusable water bottles hold 20.8 million CFUs, or colony-forming units, of bacteria. (Photo source: iStock )

Reusable water bottles contain 40K times more bacteria than toilet seats, if not washed daily

March 20, 2023

Making the sustainable decision to carry around and drink from reusable water bottles might not be the cleanest choice ever, reports Fox News.

Reusable water bottles hold 40,000 times more bacteria than toilet seats do , a recent study from WaterFilterGuru of Denver has revealed. After swabbing several different reusable water bottles (and different parts of the bottles), researchers found two types of bacteria present—gram-negative rods and bacillus.

Gram-negative rods are commonly associated with hospital-acquired infections and are increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics, the study noted.

Bacillus can potentially be helpful as a probiotic—but it also can be food-spoiling and disease-causing, and can lead to gastrointestinal issues.

Reusable water bottles held an average of 20.8 million CFUs, or colony-forming units, which estimates the number of living microbes on a sample. Of all the water bottle types, those with spout-top and screw-top lids contained the most bacteria, with 30 million CFUs each, the study found.

Interestingly, researchers discovered the same number of CFUs after testing a tap water faucet as well.

The research team at WaterFilterGuru, the organization says, “focuses on the latest in water quality, pollution, and residential water treatment. The quality and safety of water varies widely by region, city, and even neighborhood.”

Bacteria is one of four pollutants that may be present in water coming out of taps, the study reported, even though U.S. tap water is considered among the safest in the world.

While comparing water bottles to sink taps, the group compared reusable bottles to other household items as well. This included toilet seats, which hold an average of 515 CFUs—that’s 40,000 times less bacteria than most water bottles were found to have. Specifically, squeeze-top water bottles had 6,000 times the bacteria of a toilet seat.

On average, reusable water bottles had 14 times the bacteria of a pet water bowl and five times that found on a computer mouse.

A spout-top water bottle had three times the bacteria of a kitchen sink—and kitchen sinks have been known to be the most germ-filled surface in many houses, the researchers noted.

After surveying 1,000 Americans, the researchers found that about 13% clean their water bottles only a few times per month, yet 88% “care deeply” about the quality of their drinking water. Members of Gen Z reportedly clean their water bottles the least, with 16% only cleaning their bottles a few times a month.

More than 60% of study respondents said they washed their bottles once or more per day.

Cleaning expert Brandon Pleshek, based in Wisconsin, told Fox News that one of the best ways to ensure that a water bottle is getting a good cleaning is by simply using Dawn dish soap and warm water. To thoroughly disinfect germ-ridden bottles, Pleshek suggested filling up the bottle with warm water and dropping in a denture tablet. After about ten minutes, the bottle can be rinsed out and is ready for use. It’s best to use this disinfecting method about once a week, he recommended.

Experts also suggest washing a reusable water bottle once a day and sanitizing it at least once a week, according to the study.

Sanitation should be increased if there is something other than water in the bottle, if it’s used while eating, or if the bottle user has been sick, the researchers noted.

Reusable water bottle users should check their bottles, if they’ve been feeling under the weather, noted the study; the culprit may be bacteria and mold build-up inside the bottle.

Says WaterFilterGuru.com, “Moist environments are breeding grounds for germs. That’s why washing a reusable water bottle you drink from every day should be part of your daily routine.”

Research contact: @FoxNews

This entry was posted in Lifestyle and tagged 14 times the bacteria of a pet water bowl, 30 million CFUs found in spout-top and screw-top bottles, 40K more bateria than toilet seats, Also drop in a denture tablet to disinfect and wait ten minutes to rinse, Bacillus can lead to gastrointestinal issues, Clean in warm soapy water once a day, Cleaning expert Brandon Pleshek, Colony-forming units of bacteria, Dawn dish soap and warm water, Fox News, Gram-negative rods are associated with hospital-acquired infections, Of 1K Americans about 13% clean water bottles a few times a month, Reusable water bottles, Squeeze-top water bottle had 6K times the bacteria of a toilet seat, Two types of bacteria are present: gram-negative rods and bacillus, WalterFilterGuru, Worst reusable water bottle are those with spout-top and screw-top lids on March 17, 2023 by Poll-Vaulter.
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