Thanks to a team of heroes, a southern ground hornbill, belonging to Amsterdam’s Artis Zoo, is now flourishing with a brand-new prosthetic beak. The bird received two 3D-printed prostheses, as both the upper and lower portions of his natural beak were broken. In a press statement, Artis penned that, while other birds have been the happy recipients of prosthetic beaks, “As far as is known, this is the first time in the world both parts of a bird’s beak have been restored in this way.”
Courtesy of Artis
While the young bird of honor valiantly managed to persist adequately enough in his everyday life prior to the surgery, the zoo confirmed that his behavior was restricted, and he couldn’t care for himself all that well. Obviously, the southern ground hornbill relies on its beak for purposes as preening and foraging, thus he had trouble picking up certain pieces of food.
Fortunately, the bird began using his new beak the very same day it was attached. Before continuing with the article, you can see below that the heartwarming medical miracle means that he’s already back to grossing some of us out by preying on mice.
This Bird Got a Brand-New 3D-Printed Beak, and He’s Already Putting It to Work
The life-altering procedure was performed by Artis, Utrecht University, UMC Utrecht, and Amnovis. The artificial beak was developed with the help of a CT scan and preserved sections of the bird’s original beak. Both plastic and titanium elements were incorporated. The NY Post adorably applauded the “im-peck-able performance.”
Of course, Artis is keeping an eye both on the bird and his female partner in order to make sure that all continues to go swimmingly, though they are prepared to step in if any issues occur.
Now, watch the complex procedure for yourself! Warning: Although it’s unbelievable, it just might be a bit disturbing for animal lovers to see the anesthetized bird.
Have you noticed that healthy eating doesn’t always leave you feeling full of those vitamins and minerals that translate into energy and glowing skin? According to a report from Deep Science Ventures, many fruits and vegetables available for purchase are half as nutritious as they were 60 years ago.
Thus, consumers often have to eat twice as much to receive the same levels of minerals as magnesium, potassium, and copper. The 20-50% drop in key nutrients and minerals extends to other crops like wheat and foods in general. Your breads won’t have the same iron, zinc, and magnesium that your grandparents’ loaves had in the 1960s. It is no wonder that so many of us suffer from micronutrient deficiencies.
Declining soil quality is a key factor to blame. Also, as global demand has increased, the focus on high-yield crop varieties and farming practices hasn’t always been conducive to health. In addition, you might have noticed during your last trip to (even to a supposedly upscale) grocery store that many of the products felt and looked as though they had been stored for ages. We are all moreover aware of the horrors of genetically modified foods, and now there are all the fears surrounding lab-grown options.
A New Report Suggests Some Foods Have Lost Up to Half Their Nutritional Value
It can be difficult to tell which of our healthy habits need improvement these days. For example, even our berries can seem like little carcinogens: Driscoll’s CEO stepped down at the end of August amid complaints about pesticides. With all the causes for paranoia, even concerning supposedly organic foods, my admiration grows for those among us who rely upon themselves, opting for homesteading.
Obviously, farmers who use ethical practices should be supported. Yet, they often are not… Thus, our French farmer friends, for instance, have demonstrated their grievances by heading into town and spraying government buildings and more with manure — proof of their ingenuity.
In various respects, Denmark, which is often referred to as one of the happiest countries in the world, has long set a most excellent example for other nations to follow. Again, as of late, Denmark has become a topic of discussion internationally, but we’re not yet sure that it is for the right reasons this time. If all goes according to plan, teachers will be allowed to physically restrain and remove disruptive primary-school students from August 2027 onward. Granted, the final bill won’t be presented until February 2026, and many have already stepped up in protest.
The original proposal was drafted this past autumn by now former Minister for Education and Children Mattias Tesfaye (a man who, in blaming the effects of bad parenting for aggravating the environment in classrooms, used foul language himself). Denmark has not allowed the application of physical force in schools since 1967, when corporal punishment in schools was banned nationwide. Within the US, for example, there are still some states that allow corporal punishment in institutions of learning.
Let it be understood, Denmark’s new bill is not a green light to be cruel. On the contrary, it clarifies that force is only to be used only as a last resort. It should be “gentle and short-lived as circumstances allow.” For example, a student may be held in place or guided out of the room. Parents will be notified if force is used against their child. Reasons for physical intervention include instances in which a student harms themselves, others, or poses some sort of threat; damages property; disrupts lessons in a significant way; etc. I find the notion of physically correcting those disruptive students who aren’t causing bodily harm problematic, as it presents a significant gray area.
It could prove a good way to emotionally scar children, whether diagnosed or yet to be diagnosed, with special needs. In addition, sorry if I say so, but it just isn’t natural to make little balls of energy sit still for so long, thus it’s understandable that they are going to be wiggly and obnoxious. (If you ask me, too many children are on ADHD medication simply because authorities don’t always understand the difference between a genuine problem and what is arising from external circumstances that aren’t conducive to a normal child’s health and programming.)
Denmark Wants to Let Teachers Physically Restrain Disruptive Students, Sparking Debate
The general idea behind the proposed law is that teachers must not be left in doubt as to their rights when they can clearly see that a situation is escalating, or before the chair flies through the air, to repeat an example given by the vigilant Danes. It comes as a response to the reported increase in violence in Danish schools — in 2025, physical violence among students was recorded at least once in 55% of classes, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education. One in three teachers refrained from physical contact out of fear of the repercussions. The Danish Working Environment Authority found that in one of five classes, teachers themselves become the targets of violence.
At the end of the day, not having such a bill will inevitably lead to harm, as, again, not all teachers will instinctively do what’s right without its protection out of fear of losing their jobs and more. On the other hand, even if the majority of my elementary-school teachers were angels, I, for one, can attest that I was definitely subjected to a fair number of screwballs as a pupil. In other words, while many teachers are nothing short of heroic, we can all agree that some, like a share of those belonging to any profession, suffer from judgment issues, and this obviously becomes especially dangerous since children are involved.
Another issue I’ll raise is that many primary school students can already be quite strong, so I would hope that, if the proposal goes into effect, Denmark would train their teachers in how to disable someone posing a risk in a minimally harmful manner. Granted, in an ideal world, that shouldn’t ever be a teacher’s concern, but their jobs are becoming increasingly intolerable, as the appreciation they receive seems to be decreasing…
In the US, a recent report by the Walton Family Foundation, Gallup, and the Mattering Institute confirmed that one in four public-school educators said they are likely to quit within the next year. Maybe you’ve seen videos of teachers crying after their little antagonists have left for the day? That said and while acknowledging that sometimes it’s simply impossible, it would be great if teachers could command respect by way of their words and strength of character, rather than by force.
Traveling is so much fun, in large part, thanks to the characters you meet on the road. During a recent trip to Fiji, a Russian travel blogger named Olga Bavykina, whom you may also call Zabotkina, encountered one adorably enthusiastic shop employee, whom I’m sure she won’t forget. She aptly captioned her video of him, «Когда очень гордишься наследием предков», or “When you are really proud of your ancestors”…
The charismatic man indeed embodies healthy pride, as he shows off the kinds of tools his ancestors used for cannibalistic purposes — unique souvenirs to bring back to your loved ones. Our informative friend exclaims, “We eat people for the power.” I want to know more about his people’s current practices, as even without having consumed human flesh himself, he still exudes more charisma than your average protein-shake-clutching, yoga-mat-lugging American health nut.
Fijian Shopkeeper Goes Viral for Showing Tourists His Ancestors’ Cannibalism Tools
Our cultural emissary demonstrates the manner in which a brain might be extracted in order to give to a chief so that he might absorb wisdom, lending new meaning to the term brainiac; warriors become tough from partaking of the muscle, he explains. The taste of victory is sweet, isn’t it? He further clarifies that the ritual of cannibalism was upheld for religious reasons, not to satisfy hunger.
Bavykina roughly penned thus on Telegram:
“He explained that the Fijians didn’t exactly sit around waiting for their enemies to float their way. Instead, about 400 warriors would board each drua and set off to fight the Tongans. The Tongans would meet them in similar vessels. Right there in the sea, they would fight.
The distance between Tonga and Fiji is near 1,000 kilometers.”
Needless to say, it is clear that the man of whom we’ve been speaking is very “metal” and could certainly serve as a conceptual and lyrical advisor to a band or two. Naturally, many of our forebears observed traditions that might not be viewed as acceptable within the rigid moral framework of today, so he causes us all to reflect upon our cultural heritage.
Researchers in a study published in the journal Diabetes found that feeding mice a little olive oil before a carbohydrate-rich meal reduced blood sugar afterward, showing that the order in which you eat could affect blood sugar levels.
Olive oil and a big bowl of pasta usually cause your blood sugar to spike, but scientists at Kyoto University found that downing a shot of olive oil 15 minutes before eating glucose-rich carbohydrates blunted post-meal blood sugar spikes.
This happens because of a weird quirk of the digestive system. When you chug a tiny pre-meal shot of olive oil, it triggers a series of gut hormones, including the now-famous GLP-1 (the one powering weight-loss drugs like Ozempic), and signals your vagus nerve. This biological chemical combo slows a process called “gastric emptying,” forcing your stomach to release glucose into your intestines at a slow, manageable pace instead of one big burst.
Olive Oil Before Carbs Reduced Blood Sugar Spikes in Mice, New Study Finds
Other fats produce the same result, like flaxseed oil and good old-fashioned delicious lard, but olive oil was the most effective. The researchers even found it worked just as well in diabetic mice with impaired insulin production, suggesting their bodies didn’t even need a fully functioning pancreas to reap the benefits of eating in the right order.
The instinct now for someone managing blood sugar after reading all that is to chug some extra virgin olive oil before chowing down on a baking sheet of lasagna, but remember, this entire article has been explicitly about an observable reaction in laboratory mice. Mice are used as test subjects because we share many genetic and biological similarities, but it’s not a one-to-one comparison. So don’t start taking shots of olive oil before a glucose-heavy meal until researchers run human trials to see if they get similar results.
Yes, it’ll be very nice if something as simple as meal sequencing helps you manage your blood sugar, since it costs relatively little and it’s really more of a habit you have to develop, but pump the brakes for a little while longer, knowing that maybe one day all you have to do to make your life just a little bit easier is knocking back a couple of smooth shots of olive oil.
The idea that women are more emotionally intelligent than men is kind of a no-brainer, unless you’re some kind of weirdo men’s rights/manosphere influencer type guy. You don’t really need a scientific study to know this, but a team of researchers conducted one and published their results in the journal Emotion. The results were mostly unsurprising, except that the gap in emotional intelligence between men and women is a bit smaller than you’d imagine.
Analyzing data from 609,278 people across 76 countries, researchers from the University of Limerick and the University of Zurich found that while women score higher overall, the divide is relatively small. The real difference is in whose feelings they manage. Women far outpace men in reading, understanding, and regulating other people’s emotions. When it comes to managing their own emotional baggage, men scored higher, but only slightly.
Scientists Studied 600,000 People to Find Out Who Has Higher Emotional Intelligence
The study’s funniest detail is best summed up by one of the lead researchers, Jochen Menges: “Women are emotionally intelligent. Men think they are.” The team gleaned this insight from testing: on performance-based tests, women had a clear advantage, while on self-reported tests, men way overestimated their abilities and women underestimated their own.
Researchers suggest that the gap isn’t hardwired into our biology. It narrows in younger generations, suggesting it’s learned through social practice; since girls are taught to handle everyone else’s feelings, they eventually become women saddled with heaps of unpaid emotional labor at work and at home. Men, meanwhile, get to coast on a ton of unearned confidence while staying blind, and frankly probably completely indifferent, to their own emotional shortcomings.
You’ve probably seen it with your own eyes before, but a research team that published its findings in the journal Science says it noticed it at an epigenetic level: big dogs age faster. Chihuahuas, for as obnoxiously yappy as they are, seemed to last forever, while Great Danes, those big lovable galoots, give you about a decade before they cross the rainbow bridge.
Researchers at Arizona State University analyzing DNA from nearly 900 dogs in the Dog Aging Project finally know why big dogs don’t last as long. It all has to do with rogue “jumping genes.”
Scientists Say ‘Jumping Genes’ Could Explain Why Big Dogs Have Shorter Lives
Inside dog DNA, a specific class of “jumping” genes called LINE1s exists. Normally, a biological process called DNA methylation stamps chemical tags onto these genes to keep them locked down, but as big dogs age, that regulatory process falls apart and LINE1s start shaking loose, jumping between chromosomes, shredding DNA apart in the process, thus causing instability in the cells, triggering inflammation and cancer.
This happens to all dogs, but in big dogs it happens catastrophically and early. Giant breeds shed roughly 35 percent more LINE1 methylation per year than smaller dogs that fit in a purse.
Or, to put it less scientifically: there’s just too much dog for their bodies to keep up with. Humans specifically bred big dogs for their rapid growth, but that early growth leads to a genetic mess later in life, as their biological clocks essentially run twice as fast as a smaller dog’s.
The researchers think these out-of-control jumping genes could be a universal mammalian aging mechanism, and that learning more about them could eventually help us learn a little about ourselves, too, since dogs get a lot of the same age-related diseases that we do, largely because we share environments.
Can you imagine a dating trend more evil than ghosting? Unfortunately, “cloaking” takes the cake on this one.
This dating trend was coined by Rachel Thompson “after a truly terrible dating experience.” In a video for Mashable, she defined cloaking as “being stood up—but extra.”
Here’s how to spot the common yet hurtful behavior in your own dating life, and why it’s becoming so common today.
What Is the ‘Cloaking’ Dating Trend?
According to Dr. Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, Harvard-trained clinical psychologist and relationship expert at Hily Dating App, “[cloaking] is when a person decides to sever all connection with you.”
“It often occurs after they stand you up for a date,” she adds. “Instead of maintaining ties, and potentially dealing with the consequences of their actions, they block you on the app where you initially met.”
As someone who actually has a heart and good communication skills, you might be wondering: Why do people engage in this avoidant behavior?
“Most often this results from self-protection after negative past experiences,” Dr. Romanoff explains. “If you’ve had a history of someone bombarding you with angry messages, trying to dox your account, posting about your wrongdoings online, or trying to report you, it makes sense why you might be inclined to cloak away from the harm and avoid the consequences of your actions.”
Cloaking Vs. Ghosting
Cloaking is similar to ghosting in that it involves cutting all ties with a connection. However, it’s actually much more sinister in nature, backed by malicious or self-serving intentions.
“Ghosting is a step below cloaking in intent and energy level as ghosting is a much more passive response,” says Dr. Romanoff. “Ghosting is when a person is conflict-avoidant and keeps you in the grey space-wondering if they will ever reach out again. The window is still open when it comes to ghosting, whereas cloaking is intentional, deliberate, and final. It’s much harsher and often a response to them avoiding the embarrassment of the consequences of their actions.”
Are You Being Cloaked?
If you’re even wondering whether someone might be “cloaking” you, it’s probably a sign to distance yourself from them. When someone cuts ties without any communication—while simultaneously removing your access to them—they’re making their disinterest painfully clear.
“It’s glaringly simple, which sometimes can be the hardest thing to accept,” says Dr. Romanoff. “If they make a plan, no show, and then remove any connection or trace you had of them on the app where you originally connected, you’ve been cloaked.”
And look, I get it: many of us crave a conversation, closure, or even some form of justice after being disrespected and discarded by another person. But your best bet is to shake off the rejection, knowing it has nothing to do with you, and pour your energy into healthier connections.
“The automatic pull is to feel wounded and to want to win them over,” Dr. Romanoff explains. “It’s essential that you shift, instead, to disgust and feel turned off. This isn’t how your life partner would treat you or make you feel. This person lacks accountability or thoughtfulness. You just aren’t a match long term.”
And if they try circling back in a few months, hit them with the same behavior by blocking them in return. You don’t need that selfish, cruel energy in your dating life.
If you’re online at all today, you likely know there’s a label for just about everything, from dating patterns to friendship dynamics. Recent examples include “filler friends” and “floater friends,” which can be incredibly offensive depending on the context.
Here’s what you should know about these friendship “types,” the potential downsides of categorizing yourself and other humans, and how to reject the label while focusing on healthy connections.
What Are Filler Friends?
According to Dr. Kelly Whaling of Prosper Health, “A filler friend is someone who feels like a backup option in a friendship or social group.”
“They might only be contacted when other people are unavailable, receive last-minute invitations, or feel that their efforts to maintain the friendship aren’t reciprocated,” she explains.
This label is offensive to most people, as it essentially devalues the individual and poses them as a temporary fill-in.
What Are Floater Friends?
On the other hand, “A floater friend is someone who moves between different social circles without necessarily belonging to one central friend group,” Dr. Whaling explains.
While lacking a go-to group of friends might seem lonely, many people believe it’s more natural and fulfilling to develop individual friendships with people from various walks of life.
“They might have friends from work, school, hobbies, and other activities, but those groups rarely overlap,” she continues. “Some people find this isolating, while others enjoy having a variety of social connections. Research suggests that both close friendships and interactions with more casual social connections, sometimes called weak ties, can contribute to well-being.”
The Problem With Labels
Obviously, for whatever reason, today’s younger generations are obsessed with labels. But can they actually do more harm than good?
“I think these terms can be useful for describing social experiences, but I would caution against treating them as fixed identities or psychological categories, because they aren’t established terms in psychological research,” says Dr. Whaling. “Friendship research suggests that the quality of our relationships and whether we feel supported and valued are important considerations, not just the size of our social circle.”
“I also worry that these labels can encourage people to interpret ordinary social experiences, like missed invitations or delayed responses, as personal rejection,” Dr. Whaling continues. “Friendships naturally vary in closeness, and having different types of relationships isn’t inherently problematic, particularly when we consider differences in social preferences, including among neurodivergent people.”
You might be wondering whether you’re a filler friend or floater friend, but Dr. Whaling warns against fixating on these labels.
“Rather than focusing on the label, I’d encourage people to ask whether their friendships feel reciprocal, whether they have people they can confide in and rely on, and whether they’re satisfied with their social connections,” she says. “Look for consistent patterns rather than isolated incidents, since a canceled plan or missed invitation doesn’t necessarily indicate rejection.”
Building Fulfilling Friendships Without the Need to Label
As Dr. Whaling points out, you can better assess a friendship based on how you feel in it, not the apparent role you play.
“If you want closer friendships, try initiating plans, communicating your needs, and investing in relationships where there’s mutual interest and effort,” she says. “It’s also important to recognize that casual friendships have value, and not every relationship needs to become a close friendship.”
Additionally, everyone has different needs, preferences, and expectations in their friendships.
“Some people have little or no desire for friendships, others prefer a small circle of close friends, and others thrive with a large, lively social network,” Dr. Whaling states. “There’s no one right way to have a social life, and our needs and preferences can change over time. What matters is finding the kinds of connections, or amount of solitude, that feel fulfilling to you.”
All these “dating trends” are enough to make even the most hopeless of romantics want to lock themselves away for a life in solitude—and today’s is no exception. While it certainly doesn’t need a label, the dating/breakup tactic called “fizzling” is an incredibly common and hurtful way to end a relationship. In fact, the term describes a pattern that’s been around for a long while.
Here’s what you should know about the “fizzling” in dating, and why it’s so casually cruel.
What Is the ‘Fizzling’ Dating Trend?
The fizzling dating trend is essentially a cowardly (yeah, I said it) way of steadily backing out of a relationship without confrontation or discussion. Rather than being upfront about their disinterest or wavering feelings, these partners choose to pull away at an agonizingly slow pace.
“Fizzling is when someone gradually fades away with communication, effort, and affection, which essentially initiates a ‘non-breakup’ without having an explicit conversation about it,” says Julie Nguyen, a certified dating coach at Hily Dating App. “Instead of directly ending the relationship, they slowly distance themselves.”
While fizzling is essentially the complete opposite of ghosting (which involves cutting all communication and ties to a partner without any conversation), it can be just as—if not more—painful. If ghosting is quickly ripping off the band-aid, then fizzling is slowly pulling it from your skin, so you feel every tug, rip, and tear—all while questioning what’s actually happening.
“Fizzling keeps someone in limbo and uncertainty, which makes them question their reality and connection with themselves,” says Nguyen. “The person offers mixed signals while slowly cutting the other person out of their life, which leaves you holding onto hope and confusion about where you stand.”
Why Someone Might ‘Fizzle’ Their Way Out of a Relationship
There are many reasons someone might choose to “fizzle” their way through a breakup, ranging from immaturity and cowardice to poor communication skills and fear. Though they might not have malicious intent, the negative impact is just the same.
“People fizzle because they want to avoid conflict, have avoidant tendencies, are not the most direct communicators, and don’t want to hurt the person, so they feel like this is the best action,” Nguyen explains. “They might believe that pulling away is less hurtful than having an uncomfortable conversation, but it can create more confusion and pain.”
Is Your Partner ‘Fizzling’ You?
As you settle deeper into your commitment, you might notice your partner slowly disengaging or putting less effort into maintaining your connection. But are they fizzling, or are they just growing complacent? Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to spot the difference.
“If you feel like someone is fizzling, you will see the signs that they’re still in the relationship while acting like they don’t have any responsibility for maintaining it, such as slowing down communication, shortening their responses, and making less effort to connect,” says Nguyen. “You’re the only one making plans, initiating conversations, and putting in the effort to keep the connection going.”
To understand whether this is fizzling or just mere laziness, call your partner out on their behavior. Opening the door to communication can help encourage honesty and transparency.
“If this is happening to you, I would suggest being upfront about what you’re noticing and asking them to have a direct conversation, because someone who is fizzling is often avoiding being upfront themselves,” Nguyen says.
If you’re into spirituality at all, you might have heard the term “mystic” thrown around from time to time. These individuals are believed to have a direct connection to the divine, be it God, source, the universe, or whatever higher power you believe in.
“A mystic is someone who has lived experience with the divine,” says Bridget Marie, an Intuitive coach specializing in Astrology and Tarot. “Deeply spiritual and intuitive, mystics are old souls who are attuned to the unseen.”
Wondering whether you’re one of the gifted individuals on this earth? (I have an inkling we all are, to an extent.) In honor of the autumn season—the time of year when the veil between the physical world and the spirit realm begins to thin—here are five signs you might be a mystic.
1. You Notice Signs
According to Marie, if you regularly spot signs from above, you might be a mystic.
“For example, you might notice white feathers on your path, a sign from your higher self that you are protected,” she says.
Many people also notice repetitive angel numbers, symbols in their dreams, or even highly requested signs they’ve prayed for come to fruition right in front of them. These little “winks” from the universe might indicate your connection to the divine.
2. You Feel Divinely Protected
According to Marie, mystics are believed to be divinely protected. If you sense someone is watching over you, be it a higher power or ancestor, you might be a mystic.
“For example, something might happen that, from the outside, looks like bad luck but ends up for your highest good,” she explains.
Have you noticed that any time someone does you wrong, your life ends up getting exponentially better while theirs seems to spiral out of control? Or maybe you’ve been saved from what could have been a life-or-death situation. This is a clear sign you’re being protected and guided.
3. Your Intuition Is Sharp
A strong intuition is one of the most obvious signs of a mystic. For some, this means intuitively reading symbols, like the ones on tarot cards or the astrological glyphs, Marie says. For others, it might simply be having a sense of knowing without even understanding why.
“You know things without knowing how, whether it is a bad feeling about someone who turns out to not have your best interests at heart or prophetic dreams,” Marie says.
4. You’re Empathetic
Empathy is one of the most beautiful qualities to possess. Mystics can usually use their sensitivity to tap into empathy, deepening their connections to other living beings and the world around them.
According to Marie, you might be a mystic if “you are highly empathetic, and animals and children love being close to you.”
5. You Crave Solitude
Because mystics are sensitive to energy and tend to carry heavy emotions and truths, they often need space to process. Usually, this occurs within nature.
“[Mystics] regularly need alone time and like to spend time in nature to recharge [their] batteries,” says Marie.
As we dive into lore this October, National Geographic TV recently took to Instagram to remind us of the myth-enshrouded Blåkulla, or “blue hill” when translated from Swedish. (It’s identified with Småland’s very real Blå Jungfrun, meaning “blue virgin” — this newer name came about because superstitious sailors wanted to avoid accidentally summoning evil spirits.) Witches were thought to gather in this area and meet with the Devil himself on Skärtorsdagen, or Maundy Thursday; these hags would sometimes fly over with abducted children. They didn’t only use broomsticks and the like as modes of transportation, but they additionally rode animals, upside-down cows, for instance. Their mischief has been captured in church art.
One of Nat Geo‘s experts, Professor Louise Nyholm Kallestrup, clarified, “The Blåkulla descriptions differ from other Sabbath stories. It’s the idea that this is also a bright place.” The dancing, eating, drinking, acceptance of gifts from the Evil One, and overall revelry eventually give way to a harsh reality, however. As another intellectual, Professor Ronald Hutton, informs us, “[…] the food and drink turns to ashes or leaves you hungrier and thirstier than before.” Let that be a lesson not to fall for Satan’s temptations. In the words of the late and great Ronnie James Dio, who didn’t even believe in “Heaven and Hell,” “The Devil is never a maker.” Rather, he’s a known deceiver.
That said, before I become even more moralistic, I’ll note that some of our Swedish friends would like you to know that their pagan folklore has been reinterpreted through a Christian framework, which, in their belief, has distorted it. This explains why it was thought that evil activity peaked during Holy Week, as the memory of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus persists.
Witches, the Devil, and Flying Cows: The Bizarre Legend of Sweden’s Blåkulla
During Holy Week in Sweden, children still participate in a tradition similar to Halloween. They dress up as the påskkärring, or “Easter witch,” with headscarves, aprons, and dresses/skirts while painting their cheeks rosy with freckles. Adorable Swedish munchkins may drag along twig brooms, coffee pots, and baskets. They go from door to door in search of sweets, often handing over a påskebrev, or personally made card for the occasion.
Unfortunately, historically, Scandinavia was home to brutal witch hunts, as explored by Nat Geo. Norway’s Vardø Trials were especially gruesome. In Scandinavian lore, musical abilities and associated ecstatic states are frequently linked to the Devil. Today, there are, in fact, plenty of self-proclaimed witches in Nordic lands, including groupies attached to the international musical phenomenon known as black metal. While most members of the black metal community are normal tax-paying and contributing members of society, some of its artists famously burned churches and committed other devilish crimes.
You can watch Nat Geo‘s full episode on the legend of Blåkulla above.
The 36th Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade took place yesterday, and there were some adorable photos to show for it. It was clear that the human participants absolutely adored their canines. However, it is important to remember: Our idea of fun might not quite align with our pets’. Retailers love to sell consumers on cuteness, but chances are that your pet is cute enough as is. Animals can bite, scratch, and bark, but they don’t have the ability to say no to hideous, annoying, and possibly dangerous attire. Humans aren’t the only ones who can experience sensory overload, and some of their fashion choices could give any sentient being a heart attack…
Buy your pet an appropriate treat instead of subjecting him to the upcoming Halloween rituals that might be harmful. That means do not feed your animal candy. Give him a quiet space in case all the new and unfamiliar invading presences trigger fear. Also, keep away any decorations that could be chewed through, especially wires.
Now, so that your quadrupedal friends stay healthy this October, here are 5 reasons why the scrooge I am suggests keeping them costume-free.
1. DistresS
You might think your pet looks content, but he might very well feel uncomfortable and humiliated. Although he may be attempting to tolerate the hands that feed him, again, he probably didn’t give you his consent to be the butt of the joke, meaning dressed as Tinkerbell or a donut. Animals have dignity, and we all know just how brilliantly they can discern our emotions, even if your tradition of taking Instagram photos proves utterly baffling to them, as it should. If you treat them like cheap entertainment at their expense, they won’t trust you.
2. Risk of Swallowing
Most of us are aware that animals aren’t always great judges when it comes to what should go in their mouths. Especially if they’re trying to rip off the annoying getup you’ve placed them in, they could swallow elements of it. Think of all the different, sometimes toxic materials and embellishments that could pose choking hazards. A badge, a bell, a pom-pom, or a plastic accessory could become dangerous.
3. Overheating
Yes, your animals can easily become overheated. If you were already wearing a fur coat, would you want to have someone load you with even more gear? That devil dress may quite literally be hot as heck.
4. Too restrictive
Your furry companion may end up at the vet if you choose to put him in clothing that is too tight around the chest or throat. Costumes can restrict your household protector’s movement as well as his ability to communicate with you (making it harder for you to read his discomfort) and process his surroundings. Anything that interferes with the eyes, ears, and tail will be cause for anxiety. When it comes to cats, for example, even the whiskers must be left alone. When animals feel restrained, they can accidentally harm themselves. Similarly, elements of their outfits might trip them; those shoes you picked out might not fit those ultra-sensitive paws as well as you think. While many animals may be able to wear costumes without any damage and even seem to enjoy them, why would you risk a potentially negative outcome?
5. Allergies & Skin Agitation
Halloween looks are often incredibly cheaply made, and, accordingly, your animal just might be allergic to the horrors in which you’ve so brazenly decided to drape him. The mere act of allowing certain fabrics to rub against your pet’s skin can cause rashes, which, in turn, will make him scratch the affected area.
A gynecologist points to the head of a fetus in an ultrasound image. | Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images
We live in an era of endless optimization. Fitness trackers help us measure our lifespan, people are consuming piles of protein in an attempt to be their best selves, and there’s even an urge to maximize our morality. In a world of constant self-improvement, it’s no wonder that journey has reached our attempts at reproduction.
Kristen V. Brown is a journalist and author of the forthcoming book The Immortal Womb: The Centuries-Long Quest to Control the Female Body and Hack Human Reproduction. As the title suggests, she writes about all of the ways people are trying to exert more control over the process of having children.
“I think that what we’re seeing right now is that people will do anything they can to have the healthiest baby possible,” she told Vox. “So much is out of your control, and people are just trying to figure out, how do I get more control? How do I skew the odds in my favor?” She says that one way people try to get more agency is through a technology called PGT-P, or preimplantation genetic testing for polygenic risk.
“If you go through IVF, very often they’ll have you do a basic genetic screening that can detect things like Down syndrome. This screening takes that up a notch,” Brown said. “It uses that same preimplantation genetic testing to look for the likelihood of complex genetic conditions — stuff like heart disease, like diabetes — in order to, quote, ‘let people have the healthiest baby.’”
But what can potential parents do with that knowledge? How far can this technology go? And what are the ethics of using it in the first place? We discuss that and more on the latest episode of Explain It to Me, Vox’s weekly call-in podcast.
Below is an excerpt of my conversation with Brown, edited for length and clarity. You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you’d like to submit a question, send an email to askvox@vox.com or call 1-800-618-8545.
What other things are they testing embryos for?
For conditions that are only impacted by one gene, like Huntington’s disease, it’s very easy to say, ‘Does this embryo have it or not?’ with a pretty good degree of confidence. But that’s not how this technology works. Something like heart disease, for example, is impacted by hundreds of genes. Also, something like heart disease is not only genetic. It’s affected by environment and lifestyle.
I think that what’s motivating most people is the health aspect. But a lot of these companies are marketing these tests, saying they can also look for height. They can look at eye color. Some of them are promising IQ. How do you even define intelligence, let alone how do you define the genetics of intelligence? Alzheimer’s disease, longevity, which embryo is going to live the longest life. So it’s already gone beyond disease into some of these more aesthetic concerns.
Do we know how many people are doing this?
I think it’s a very small number of people at this point. But I think that we’re seeing more and more companies in the space, and we’re seeing more and more support from fertility doctors.
I want to emphasize that most mainstream medical societies are against this. Most of the IVF doctors I know do not think this has value. Most people in the genetic space do not think this technology has value either for embryos or for adults, but I think we’re seeing support growing.
I think that a lot of people in the fertility space are already envisioning a future where this does become more mainstream because the idea is just so appealing, even if the technology has flaws.
What about embryo editing? Is that something we’re seeing? Can people go in and change things around?
Not right now. Embryo editing is very much illegal in the United States. It is illegal in most countries. How can you be sure enough that it’s safe? Because you won’t know for sure until an embryo grows up into an adult whether anything went awry.
Right now it is illegal, but there is growing interest as the technology has gotten better. Most of the support right now for embryo editing is for disease. The argument for it is that, let’s say you are a carrier for Huntington’s disease or you have Huntington’s disease. Right now, there is something that you can do. You can use polygenic screening to select the embryos that don’t have the disease, but in IVF, even if you don’t have a terrible disease hiding in your DNA, it’s hard to get a lot of embryos.
You have these situations where couples have to do rounds and rounds and rounds of IVF to get one or two embryos that aren’t carriers for a harmful variant, right? And so the argument for it is, let’s give these people a better shot.
But I imagine there are people out there who aren’t looking into editing simply for making children more resistant to diseases. They are looking at those things like eye color and height.
There’s actually a name for that. This tech executive called Brian Armstrong coined this term, the Gattaca stack, [named] after the movie. The vision is to use a suite of fertility technologies to make the perfect human.
The first thing they want to use is this technology called in vitro gametogenesis, which is where you take a skin cell and you turn it into an egg and a sperm, and then you make an embryo with it, so women don’t have to go through rounds of IVF.
The idea is that you can get tons and tons and tons of embryos, and then you can use PGT-P to then screen for the best ones, and then you can use an artificial womb to incubate and grow them.
This brings to mind a certain E word, and that word is eugenics. What are the ethics here?
Because on one hand, I can understand that there are parents who are like, “I just want to have a healthy baby. I want to bring a child into this world. I just want to put my best foot forward with this human that I’m going to bring to Earth.” And then on the other hand, it gets a little weird.
It gets weird fast. In some ways, we’ve already gone down that slippery slope. Right now, even if you don’t go through IVF, we screen against Down syndrome early in pregnancy. Down syndrome is a condition in which you have a disability, but you can live a full, happy, healthy life. For a long time, parents of kids with Down syndrome have argued that already selecting and screening against Down syndrome pregnancies is a form of [eugenics].
As technology gets more advanced, we see that same question applied to more and more conditions. I think that one of the things that we don’t talk about enough is that the genome is complicated. You can’t actually just go in there and be like, ‘I want a tall baby with blue eyes and a great laugh.’
I think that becoming a parent is an exercise in giving up control, and that’s easier for some people than others. I have so much sympathy and empathy for people who are trying to stack the deck. But I think there are just so many variables when it comes to human reproduction that we are never going to be able to fully control the process, as much as we might want to and as appealing as that might sound.
As the self-proclaimed most anxious person in this world, I have faced just about every type of anxiety known to man. But one type that caught my attention online this morning was purpose anxiety, aaka the anxiety experienced when you feel a lack of purpose in life.
I spoke with a therapist about her opinion on this form of anxiety—and how we can all find purpose in our own lives.
What Is Purpose Anxiety?
Purpose anxiety is exactly as it sounds: anxiety about your perceived purpose in life—or lack thereof.
“Purpose anxiety is the discomfort felt about living a life without meaning or strong conviction around what you want to accomplish,” says Dr. Ayla Ludwig, Ph.D., Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Certified Career Counselor. “It can create a sense of existential dread where a person fears that their life is worthless and nothing they do matters.”
According to Ludwig, “Viktor Frankl, the father of logotherapy, famously said, ‘He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” Having a sense of purpose is incredibly powerful and can build fortitude, tolerance, and drive in life.
“Feeling like your life has purpose is immensely beneficial,” says Ludwig. “It contributes to resiliency and general life satisfaction. It is often the foundation for goal setting, connection with others, and having something that drives you forward throughout your life.”
How to Find Your Purpose
While having a sense of purpose is important, it’s not always easy to find your own, which can contribute to purpose anxiety.
“Finding a sense of purpose comes down to intentionally choosing to discover meaning in your life,” says Ludwig. “This is cultivated through being curious about your experiences and investigating the personal meaning you find as you connect with other people, contribute to the world through art of volunteer work, or recognizing adversity and acknowledging how you choose to bear it.”
Your purpose doesn’t have to be some life-saving, heroic role you step into each morning. No matter how “small” or “insignificant” it might seem, if it matters to you, that’s all that counts.
For example, I find purpose in writing my fiction novels, poetry, and even articles like this one. Is that as impactful as, say, curing cancer? Of course, not. But if I help even one person—including myself—feel more connected, inspired, or understood in this world, then I’m living out my purpose.
“You can cultivate meaning on your own by asking yourself: What creative gifts do I have that I can offer others?, What experiences have I received from encountering others in relationships?, and What values have I realized since taking a stance on situations or circumstances?” Ludwig notes. “By answering these questions, you can begin to put together a sense of meaning guided by your life experience.”
And, of course, if you experience crippling purpose anxiety, consider therapy to help address your concerns or lack of fulfillment.
“If you find yourself navigating purpose anxiety, I recommend connecting with a therapist who practices existential or logotherapy,” Ludwig shares. “They will be an excellent guide as you work your way towards discovering meaning in your life.”
For the past several months, I’ve been writing my second novel—a story that means more to me than I can put into words (and that’s coming from an author). There’s something indescribably fulfilling yet cripplingly vulnerable about crafting an entire world, fit with complex characters and achingly relatable plots, from the depths of your own soul.
It’s an experience I wish everyone could have at some point in their lives, and one that isn’t reserved for just the “professionals.” If you’re interested in writing a book, follow these tips for a more seamless process.
1. Treat Each Book Like a Marriage
While writing my current book, I’ve been tempted to trash the entire manuscript a handful of times. In fact, over the last few years, I’ve started, discarded, and restarted a few different novels, making little progress on any projects due to my lack of commitment. You can’t write a book when your focus is divided among countless other pursuits.
Writing a book is much like tying the metaphorical knot: you must commit to one idea and find a way to see it through. Sure, there will be plenty of other tempting concepts out there. Some might tease a simpler path, while others might test your loyalty along the way. Choose the story that lights your soul on fire—and prove your dedication until you have nothing else left to give it.
2. Create a Writing Ritual
Sometimes, I feel as though ideas land in my brain from somewhere above—God? The Universe? My higher self who knows exactly what narratives I need to dive into?—and I’m just the conduit for them. When I enter a flow state, words pour out of me so forcefully that it’s difficult for my fingers to keep up. They tip-tap their way across my keyboard as the emotion builds in my chest, seeking its final, poetic escape.
For me, writing is a spiritual experience—and I treat it as such. I have specific candles that are dedicated to novel-writing sessions, curated playlists with songs for each scene, and meditative practices that help me transition back into the world I’m creating. Whatever you need, be it a steaming cup of coffee, a moody environment, or a dozen scattered papers with scribbled notes covering your desk, honor your unique writing ritual.
3. Experiment With Method Acting
Many actors use method acting to improve their performance. This technique helps the artist get into the mind of their character to better understand their thoughts, feelings, perspectives, and quirks. Writers can engage in the same practice.
For example, maybe your main character is an edgy, daring individual, while you—the writer—are cautious and reserved. Challenge yourself to “try on” your character’s traits. Maybe this looks like embracing a bolder style, taking kickboxing, or getting out of your comfort zone in some way. You might be surprised what you learn—both about yourself and your character.
4. Lean Into Passion When You’re Feeling Discouraged
Writing it isn’t always pretty. It takes real guts and grit to be a writer—to transmute your pain for all to witness. And, of course, there are the more logistical aspects of penning a novel: the relentless editing, fact-checking, researching, proofreading, storybuilding…
Not only do you need discipline to keep you in line, but you also need passion and love for your story to carry you through the inspirationless nights. Think back to the marriage metaphor from earlier: If you were in a long-term relationship, you (hopefully) wouldn’t walk away at the first sign of trouble. Instead, you’d choose your person day after day, leaning into your love for them to get through tough times.
Life is filled with uncomfortable, unflattering, and downright defeating moments. When writing becomes too overwhelming, remember why you started in the first place. The world needs your story.
Shark week has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t squeeze in a few more shark stories before the year is up.
According to a study published in Marine Biology and detailed by ScienceAlert, scientists analyzing thousands of drone flights off Australia’s east coast discovered that dozens of young scalloped hammerhead sharks are just chilling in the shallow waters right next to popular swimming beaches. The beachgoers are likely just a tiny bit more concerned about the hammerheads than the hammerheads are about the beachgoers.
While reviewing more than 20,000 drone flights for Queensland’s SharkSmart program, researcher Maddison Cross and her team spotted swarms of up to 100 juvenile hammerheads hanging out at tourist hot spots like Burleigh Beach and Noosa Main Beach. These are roughly three-and-a-half-foot-long teenagers.
Why Young Hammerhead Sharks Are Gathering Just off Popular Australian Beaches
The young aquatic predators cluster in shallow surf zones during Australia’s autumn months as scientists suspect that these coastal cluster hangout spots were kind of like a combination safe haven and food court for the sharks, allowing the juveniles to feed on prey that hang out at nearby reefs while offering protection via their safety-in-numbers approach.
Beachgoers are probably worried about shark attacks, but the sharks themselves were the ones in real danger, as these gathering spots overlap with Queensland’s shark control programs, which are often lethal. Shark nets and baited drum lines are responsible for killing over 600 scalloped hammerheads between 2000 and one in 2024; rather unfortunate considering that it’s a critically endangered species.
Sharks generally mind their own business and will scatter if a human comes near, as evidenced by the fact that paddleboarders and snorkelers occasionally pass through these hang-out clusters, causing the groups to temporarily break up before reforming once the coast is clear, but if you’re planning on a trip down under to take in some of Australia’s gorgeous beaches, just know that there might be hundreds and hundreds of adolescent hammerhead sharks floating just beneath your feet.
A New Zealand bank is at the center of one of the weirdest freedom of speech debates likely happening in the world right now, as it’s trying to remove sexually explicit memes from the internet depicting its cute mascot, Buck the Sheep.
Kiwibank unveiled a new cartoon mascot named Buck, an adorable sheep with vibrant green wool, kind of giving it the look of a My Little Pony spinoff character. The internet, being the perv freak show that it is, immediately turned Buck into a sexual icon, thirsting over the animated livestock, posting various sexually explicit things about Buck’s alluring looks.
Kiwibank panicked and started dishing out copyright takedown notices to anyone posting anything it deemed too horny in regards to its green cartoon sheep. The company scrubbed images of its prized sheep from social media outlets, leaving behind messages that read “this media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.”
A Bank’s Cute Sheep Mascot Is Now at the Center of a Free Speech Fight
In a perfect example of the Streisand effect in full effect, Kiwibank’s attempt to silence the Internet’s horniness only brought the whole thing more attention, eventually garnering the attention of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight, inspiring thousands of more users to flood their respective social media feeds with even more degenerate fan art.
New Zealand’s Free Speech Union has released an open letter accusing Kiwibank of illegal censorship. The group argues that using copyright law to squash parody, commentary, and memes violates fair use principles. “Copyright protects creative work from being copied,” the union said, “not brands from being laughed at.”
Kiwibank seems to have taken a different tactic, scrubbing Buck from all recent marketing materials rather than going after the memes, in an apparent attempt to kill the source rather than the memes themselves.
I don’t know how to do this in this article, so I’ll just copy and paste the final line from this CTVNews.ca article about this story, because it’s exactly the way that you would imagine a news outlet would awkwardly end a news story about people sexualizing a green cartoon sheep bank mascot: “New Zealand has long been known for having more sheep than people, with a ratio of 4.5 sheep to every person as of 2025.”
Over the past year or so, I’ve covered a lot of Neanderthal-related discoveries. The biggest takeaway from it all is that they weren’t too dissimilar from us, which is in itself a revelation given that for so long we made their very name synonymous with stupid and out of touch. A new study of Neanderthals published recently in Scientific Reports follows that trend of revealing the humanity of the Neanderthal, and it’s all thanks to a stabbing.
Researchers were looking at a 75,000-year-old partial skeleton nicknamed Shanidar A, named after where they found it, the Shanidar Cave in Iraq. It had a circular 15-millimeter puncture on the left shoulder blade. Speaking to Reuters, study lead author Dr. Emma Pomeroy of the University of Cambridge says that the fatal wound was likely caused by a downward thrust from a wooden spear that punched through the chest, into the lung, and through the heart before exiting the back.
Rough stuff. One could even call it distinctly Neanderthal behavior, assuming it was the result of some kind of clash among rivals, even though it could’ve just as easily been an accident.
This Neanderthal May Have Been Killed by a Spear. His Other Injuries Tell a Different Story.
The suggestion of a violent act also reveals a distinctly human, maybe even kind of touching reality upon closer examination: this Neanderthal experienced a degree of empathy. Not in the stabbing that punctured lungs and heart, but in other features. Shanidar A had severe but healed facial trauma that included a mouth of mangled teeth, an injury that the researchers theorize Shanidar A could’ve only survived with communal help since they probably couldn’t properly chew their food.
As Pomeroy said, “The pain would have been extreme, and basic needs like eating and drinking would have been difficult, perhaps meaning Shanidar A needed food mashing and being able to rest. It’s likely that Shanidar A did need some care from members of the group for some basic needs during recovery.”
Neanderthals had some real bad PR, but the more we find out about them, the more we realize they weren’t a bunch of stupid brutes that forgot to branch off into higher intelligence like the rest of us. They were violent, but they were also caring, and they knew how to keep their communities alive and thriving, even if, in time, Homo sapiens came out on top.
Few, if any, doctors out there will recommend it, but plenty of people use marijuana in some form or another to help them get to sleep. Especially if they suffer from insomnia. But is there even any hard scientific evidence to suggest that weed can help you knock out when you’re physically unable to? Or is everyone just firing up a blunt or downing an edible on a hope and a prayer?
A newly released Cochrane Library review on medical marijuana’s use for insomnia reveals that… nope. It doesn’t actually do a whole lot to help you put to sleep or stay asleep.
Scientists at the University of Manitoba and the Universidad Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires reviewed nine randomized clinical trials involving 537 participants. They found zero reliable evidence that medical-grade weed produces clinically meaningful improvements in total sleep time, sleep quality, or daytime functioning compared to a placebo.
Weed Might Make You Sleepy. Does It Actually Help With Insomnia?
Instead, users mostly gained mild side effects like dry mouth and dizziness, aka common weed side effects, and the kind of stuff you probably don’t want to be experiencing when you just want to fall asleep.
Speaking with Gizmodo, lead author Dr. Lucia Varela points out this doesn’t necessarily prove cannabis is useless for sleep, but rather, the existing pool of research is kind of a mess of small sample size studies that are rarely long-term looks at marijuana use for insomnia and are studies in which the type of weed product being used (joints, tinctures, edibles, etc.) varies wildly.
There’s a lot more work to be done, more studies to be conducted before the broader scientific community can make a judgment call on marijuana as a sleep aid, particularly as a magic bullet for insomnia.
If you’re smoking it or eating it to help you catch some Z’s, you are essentially running your own unsupervised scientific experiment, and probably one that is longer-running than some of the actual studies that have been conducted.
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