Sunday, May 5

TOP FOUR

A Closer Look At Britain’s Obsession With The Hot Water Bottle
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CULTURE, TOP FOUR

A Closer Look At Britain’s Obsession With The Hot Water Bottle

A brief history of Britain’s obsession with the hot water bottle. Last winter, UK retailers reported record sales of water bottles as consumers look to cut their heating costs as the average household energy bills soared. Boiling a kettle to fill a hot water bottle uses less energy than an electric blanket or turning on the heating and so is the cheapest option to keep you warm, according to consumer insights publication Which?. This year, bottles have been spotted on the London runway as even luxury brands are cashing in on their popularity. Feeling the chill ourselves, we have dug into the history of the hot water bottle as part of a large research project on the global history of Boots The Chemists. The first hot water bottles Hot water bottles have been around in various forms for ce...
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The Strange And Unusual Effects Of Alcohol On Your Poo
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HEALTH & WELLNESS, TOP FOUR

The Strange And Unusual Effects Of Alcohol On Your Poo

Why does alcohol make my poo go weird? As we enter the festive season it’s a good time to think about what all those celebratory alcoholic drinks can do to your gut. Alcohol can interfere with the time it takes for food to go through your gut (also known as the “transit time”). In particular, it can affect the muscles of the stomach and the small bowel (also known as the small intestine). So, how and why does alcohol make your poos goes weird? Here’s what you need to know. Diarrhoea and the ‘transit time’ Alcohol’s effect on stomach transit time depends on the alcohol concentration. In general, alcoholic beverages such as whisky and vodka with high alcohol concentrations (above 15%) slow down the movement of food in the stomach. Beverages with comparatively low alcohol concentrations (su...
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The Holidays Can Be A Time To Reflect And Find Meaning In Loss For Those Suffering With Prolonged Grief
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HEALTH & WELLNESS, SELF, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

The Holidays Can Be A Time To Reflect And Find Meaning In Loss For Those Suffering With Prolonged Grief

For many who are suffering with prolonged grief, the holidays can be a time to reflect and find meaning in loss. The holiday season is meant to be filled with joy, connection and celebration of rituals. Many people, however, are starkly reminded of their grief this time of year and of whom – or what – they have lost. The added stress of the holiday season doesn’t help. Studies show that the holidays negatively affect many people’s mental health. While COVID-19-related stressors may have lessened, the grief from change and loss that so many endured during the pandemic persists. This can cause difficult emotions to resurface when they are least expected. I am a licensed therapist and trauma-sensitive yoga instructor. For the last 12 years, I’ve helped clients and families manage grief, depr...
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What Can Police Officers Do To Prevent Domestic Violence Killings?
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SOCIETY, TOP FOUR

What Can Police Officers Do To Prevent Domestic Violence Killings?

Police officers can help prevent domestic violence killings by asking the right questions, research shows. For help, call 800-799-7233, or text “START” to 88788 for the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline. Last week, Andreae Lloyd’s family marked the second anniversary of her death. Just after midnight on December 7, 2021, police say, Xavier Johnson, Lloyd’s boyfriend, knocked on the door of the Miami-area group home she managed, where she was working an overnight shift alone. A surveillance camera captured what police say happened next: Johnson beat her, dragged her into his white Honda Civic and drove away. Police say he confessed to the crime. His trial begins in January. Intimate partner violence and domestic violence killings are a serious public health problem, according to the ...
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The Link Between Domestic Violence, Trauma And Social Isolation
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HEALTH & WELLNESS, TOP FOUR

The Link Between Domestic Violence, Trauma And Social Isolation

Why do some men commit domestic violence? Trauma and social isolation may play a role. Support for survivors of domestic violence is important, but to end domestic violence once and for all, society needs to understand the people who perpetrate it and how to successfully intervene. Domestic violence is very common in the United States. Nearly half of women and men in the U.S. experience sexual or physical violence, stalking or psychological harm or coercion in a romantic relationship during their lifetime. Domestic violence is also experienced unevenly across the U.S population. Young people are most vulnerable, with nearly three-fourths of female victims reporting that their first experience of domestic violence occurred before age 25. People of color and LGBTQ+ people also experience con...
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With The Hollywood Writers And Actors Strikes Over, What’s Next For Organized Labor, The Creator Economy?
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TOP FOUR, WORK

With The Hollywood Writers And Actors Strikes Over, What’s Next For Organized Labor, The Creator Economy?

With the end of the Hollywood writers and actors strikes, the creator economy is the next frontier for organized labor. Hollywood writers and actors recently proved that they could go toe-to-toe with powerful media conglomerates. After going on strike in the summer of 2023, they secured better pay, more transparency from streaming services and safeguards from having their work exploited or replaced by artificial intelligence. But the future of entertainment extends well beyond Hollywood. Social media creators – otherwise known as influencers, YouTubers, TikTokers, vloggers and live streamers – entertain and inform a vast portion of the planet. For the past decade, we’ve mapped the contours and dimensions of the global social media entertainment industry. Unlike their Hollywood counterparts...
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The Impact Of Music On Memory Manipulation
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TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

The Impact Of Music On Memory Manipulation

How movies use music to manipulate your memory. Around one in five American adults manage to squeeze in watching a movie on a daily basis. It’s a great way to escape the daily grind and unwind with loved ones. But, what can you actually remember about last night’s film? You may be able to remember the title, the rough story outline or the Hollywood star who acted in it. But dig a little deeper. How easily does a specific movie sequence come to mind right now? And more importantly, can you hear or recognise the film’s musical score? Filmmakers have long used music to try to make movies, scenes and characters more memorable. Now psychological research has started to uncover the science behind this process. Music is so closely ingrained in our cinematic experience that we sometimes end up ...
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Exploring The Benefits Of Visiting A Museum For A Healthy Life
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HEALTH & WELLNESS, TOP FOUR

Exploring The Benefits Of Visiting A Museum For A Healthy Life

Could visiting a museum be the secret to a healthy life? It’s Saturday morning. You are barely awake, with a cup of coffee in your hand, and your gaze wanders to the window. It’s raining. So you make up your mind. This afternoon, you will go to a museum. But what if, without realizing it, you just made a good decision for your health? That’s the hypothesis put forward by the Association des Médecins francophones du Canada in 2018, when it launched the museum prescriptions program in partnership with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The project, now completed, has enabled thousands of patients to get a doctor’s prescription to visit a museum, either on their own or accompanied. The aim of the prescription was to promote the recovery and well-being of patients with chronic illnesses (hypert...
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So Few People Are Born On Christmas, New Year’s And Other Holidays, Why?
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IMPACT, TOP FOUR

So Few People Are Born On Christmas, New Year’s And Other Holidays, Why?

Christmas and New Year’s are days of celebration in many parts of the world when people gather with family and friends. One thing many typically don’t celebrate on those days is a birthday. That’s because Dec. 25 is the least popular day in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand to give birth. In England, Wales and Ireland, it’s the second-least popular, behind Dec. 26, when Brits celebrate Boxing Day. So why do people have fewer babies on holidays like Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s – the second-least popular birthday in the U.S.? I am personally interested in the question because my wife was a New Year’s Day baby. And as an economist, I find these data puzzles fascinating. Least and most popular birthdays All of the least-favored days in the U.S. are tied to holidays, whether it’s Ch...
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How To Get Through The Holiday Craze!
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HEALTH & WELLNESS, TOP FOUR

How To Get Through The Holiday Craze!

I'm the first to admit I have some strong opinions, some of which have been wildly popular, and others absolutely not. That could be because we have been indoctrinated into a modicum of agreement on what's polite, etiquette or even appropriate when it comes to giving unsolicited advice. Or (my suspicion is) we are simply afraid of the truth. However you look at it, the consequences for such straight talk can be stringent; tribal ostracization, social paralysis or, worse, no one likes you and you die alone. Yet somehow the threat of becoming such a pariah doesn't stop me from trying to penetrate the unconsciousness that most of us suffer from. I think I may quite seriously be genetically incapable of keeping my mouth shut under certain circumstances; either that or I have an emotional st...
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