Blogs Archives

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An Italian shoe designer has found a way to do the impossible — fusing the ugliness of Crocs with the discomfort of stiletto heels. Balenciaga’s Spring 2022 collection spotlights a knee-high Croc-boot as well as the three-inch heeled Crocs, both of which come in black and eye-popping lime green. So much for pandemic comfort wear. (Complex)

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You can now tell the world how you feel about getting back in the swing of post-pandemic life without saying a word. A growing number of businesses and gathering places are handing out color-coded wristbands modeled on traffic lights to explain your vibe. According to the Wall Street Journal, places like Chesterfield, Virginia’s Chamber of Commerce are using Red to mean “no contact” with “no exceptions.” Yellow to mean “elbow only,” as in stick to the elbow bump, pal. Folks wearing a green band are letting you know that “hugs are welcome.”

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Lightning does strike twice. A man in Massachusetts won his second $1 million lottery – 21 years after he won his first million. Michael Rocca of Pittsfield chose to take the full amount, for a payment of $650,000. But the first time he won, he chose annual installments for the $1 million – and he received his final installment last May. (UPI)

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Cicadas aren’t just keeping you awake all night, one is now being blamed for a car accident. A driver in Cincinnati says one of the bugs flew into the window of his Chevy Cruze and got up in his face. It freaked him out so much, he ended up crashing into a utility pole. The driver wasn’t hurt and we can pretty much assume the cicada is dead somewhere.

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Well, this will get you running to a mirror. A new study claims that people with large eye pupils are more intelligent than those with small pupils. Pupil size was monitored by an eye-tracking device while participants ran through different tests and activities. The people with larger pupils performed better in attention, memory, and reasoning tests, which the researchers think comes from better regulation of brain activity linked to intelligence and memory.

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A new survey found that 69% of respondents said they can’t sleep if they know there’s a bug in their home, and 60% have even gone so far as to say that they want to burn their home down if they came across a bug. And which bugs, in particular, do people hate? 39% said they can’t stand cockroaches, followed by spiders (37%), ants (29%), mosquitos (28%), termites (28%) and ticks (25%).

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Next time you’re planning on a few summer cocktails, you may want to add some asparagus to your pre-drink routine. According to new research, asparagus may prevent hangovers and even protect your liver. Your pee may smell like asparagus all night – but it seems like a small price to pay for no hangover. (Well and Good)

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There’s new hope for the overweight. On Friday the FDA approved a diabetes drug as a treatment for obesity. It’s called Wegovy and it contains a synthetic gut hormone that curbs appetite. Study participants using it lost 15-percent of their body weight when combined with diet and exercise. No word yet on the cost. More than one in three Americans are considered obese.

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Stubble is sexy … as long as it’s the right kind of stubble. A study from New Zealand wanted to know what facial hair on men women found most attractive. The answer: Women found men with heavy stubble on their faces the most attractive. But not all stubble is equal – the women in the study found men with light stubble to be the least attractive. Men who were clean shaven and had full beards were found to be the second most attractive, according to the study. And this is interesting … men with beards were perceived to be better parents. (Best Life)

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We’ve talked about “revenge bedtime procrastination” before … but as a refresher, it’s the phenomenon of staying up late looking at TikTok videos, scrolling through Twitter, playing Words With Friends, etc. – even though you’re tired – because you want to recapture some “me time” after a long day. Well, it seems the problem is getting worse – especially as many people working from home have been working more (and longer) hours. It seems the phenomenon has become so prevalent, experts have actually identified three components that must be present to qualify your behavior as “revenge bedtime procrastination”: 1) Staying up late has to reduce your total sleep time; 2) You can’t be up late for an external reason (like taking care of a baby or because you’re not feeling well); and 3) You have to understand that staying up late will lead to negative consequences. (Self)

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They’re loving. They’re adorable. And it turns out that puppies can understand you from a very young age. A new study says that by eight weeks old, they’re willing and able to lock eyes with people they don’t know and take visual cues, like if you point to their food bowl. And they can do it without any training — which suggests that they are born with innate social skills. Maybe this explains why they’re just so stinkin’ irresistible … even when they pee on the rug. (NBC News)