Why Some Cultures Don’t Have Back Pain

Does your spine look like a C, an S, or a J? Millions of people around the world suffer pain from too
much sitting. Some have even switched to using standing desks but are still in agony. Esther Gokhale, an
acupuncturist and a posture guru, says she has the answer. She says we have forgotten how to naturally
use our bodies. And this is the reason so many of us suffer from neck pain, back pain, and other
repetitive injuries. Gokhale says that many people slump over too much into the shape of a C. Other
people push their stomachs and chests forward while their backs and butts are pulled back. When
looked at from the side, their spine is shaped like an S. While the C shape might feel more relaxed and
the S shape feels tenser, she says that both are unnatural and a recipe for back pain. Gokhale says that
many indigenous cultures do not suffer from back pain at all, and it is because of the shape of their
spine, which is straight from the top and curves at the bottom. When looked at from the side, it is
shaped like the letter J.

She originally started her research into posture after having back pain herself as a young mother. She
described her pain as excruciating. She couldn’t sleep at night and couldn’t even pick up her baby. After
getting surgery, she got some relief, but the pain returned. After hearing she would need surgery again,
she knew the answer was not conventional medicine. She needed to think outside the box. After
reading medical studies showing that traditional cultures didn’t have these modern problems, she
decided to study them firsthand. She traveled the world, exploring villages from Africa to Ecuador,
studying how people stood, sat, moved, and worked. Despite having very physically demanding lives,
they were mostly pain-free.

Gokhale has written a book and made videos teaching proper standing and sitting techniques. And in
Silicon Valley, she has become a posture guru to tech company executives. She has taught the CEO of
Youtube and given classes at tech companies like Facebook and Google. While many medical
professionals in California send their patients to Gokhale for posture coaching, not everyone is
convinced. One California doctor believes that it may not be the J shape of the spine that is causing
people from indigenous cultures and students of Gokhale to have less pain. He says it could be stronger
stomach muscles that people from indigenous cultures naturally have and that Gokhale’s students learn
through her exercises
Get Paid to Quit Your Job
Do you periodically wake up on the wrong side of the bed, dreading the inevitable reality of
having to go to work? If your company were to offer you a lot of money to quit your job, would
you do it? Every year, workers at Amazon each receive a memo with the headline “Please Don’t
Take This Offer.” And the offer is plain and simple: If you want to quit, they’ll pay you in cash to
walk out the door and never come back. Employees in their first year are offered $2,000, and
that number increases by $1,000 every year until it reaches a maximum $5,000 payout to those
who decide to leave. Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos claims it makes employees stop and ponder
what is it they really desire. If an employee isn’t truly hungry for success, then Bezos doesn’t
want them to be there. He says, “In the long run, an employee staying somewhere they don’t
want to be isn’t healthy for the employee or the company.” Out of the many thousands of
people employed at Amazon, only 2~3% choose to take the money and run. The thinking goes
that people who are most likely to take this offer are the ones who are most likely slacking off.
This weeds out the folks who are not a good fit and further motivates those that refuse the
offer.
Author Daniel Pink also has a counterintuitive theory about money and motivation. He cites a
study where two groups of people were asked to solve a problem that required a creative
solution. The first group was offered no reward and was used to establish an average time for
solving the problem. The second group was told they would get paid for finding a solution to
the exact same problem. The top 25% to finish the task would get $5, and the fastest person
would get $20. You would think those who were incentivized would work faster, but that
wasn’t actually the case. It took them three-and-a-half minutes longer than the first group of
people, who weren’t offered any money. Why is this? Pink asserts that incentives work well for
narrow tasks because they limit our focus, but not for those tasks that require creativity. People
who focus on time, money, or competition are less creative problem solvers. Money may make
people work harder, but not necessarily smarter, more intuitively, or more creatively.
Pink says the carrot or the stick approach to external motivation doesn’t suffice. Better overall
work performance requires intrinsic motivation, for people need to feel that what they are
doing is meaningful to be successful and motivated. What do you think about all this? Is
purpose the key to motivation? And is Amazon on to something by paying employees who
don’t want to be there to leave?

Vocabulary
Hangry for something: Strongly desire for something A good fit: someone who is well suited to a job

In the long run: over a long period of time in the Carrot or the stick: reward a punishment
future
One to something: correct or going in the right
Slaking off: being lazy, not working very hard direction

Weed out: remove unwanted people or thing

Email Addiction
Meet Michael. Michael is an addict. He is hopeless against his addiction and will do absolutely
anything to get a fix. You might not even be able to tell that someone like Michael has a
problem just by looking at him. He doesn’t look homeless or like he hasn’t bathed in days as
some addicts do. He has a respectable job that he goes to every day. Michael isn’t addicted to a
traditional drug; Michael is addicted to email. He can’t stop checking his email, no matter how
hard he tries. When he doesn’t check his email, the FOMO is strong. Once he sees the “new
mail” notification pop up on his screen, a wave of excitement rushes over him. Michael won’t
feel any better until he gets to check his email, which he does every 5 or 10 minutes. Some of
his emails contain good news and others bad. Just like a slot machine or any game of chance,
the uncertain rewards are difficult to resist. While some of his emails are personal, many of
them are work-related, but that doesn’t mean he is efficient at his job. All of these work-relate
d emails actually keep him distracted from doing his work.
Many companies encourage employees to stay on top of email without realizing it causes a
drop in productivity. Every time an email distracts us from our daily tasks it takes an average of
64 seconds to get back on track. Michael is a professor of psychology at the University of
Toronto and has researched self-control. He has gotten a handle on his addiction by turning off
notifications and limiting his email checking to twice a day. He is not alone in his struggle or the
solution he has found.
It’s gotten so bad that many German companies have restricted email use after hours.
Companies like BMW, Volkswagen, and Puma have stopped sending emails to their employees
after work hours. Their employees also can’t be punished for not replying to emails after work
or on the weekends. Their goal is to give their workers maximum free time in order to prevent
burnout and keep them happy in their jobs. Nowadays many companies use internal instant
messaging software to communicate, which ca n be worse than email since the notification
sounds and popups can be never ending. One international company has tried to defeat the
distractions by not only banning email, but also IM notifications. According to one report, they
have “recovered 25% of their work time and increased customer satisfaction and efficiency by
30%.”
Vocabulary
Get a fix: satisfy an addiction Get a handle on: to begin to understand something
difficult or complex
FOMO: fear of missing out
Burnout: a state of exhaustion due to prolonged
Stay on top of something: be in control and aware
work or stress
of what is happening with something

Get back on track: return to original plan

Love and Money
Fighting over household chores and responsibilities is one of the most common arguments in
an y marriage or relationship. One couple has a unique way to settle those arguments – cold
hard c ash. Daniel Reeves and Bethany Soule are a happily married couple with two children.
They attribute their happiness to not fighting about chores, but instead paying each other to
shoulder the responsibilities they don’t want to do themselves.
Bethany might pay Daniel $20 to put the kids to bed one night. And Daniel might receive $4
from Bethany to walk the dog when it’s raining outside the next day. These numbers aren’t just
random, though. When a task needs completing, they will both write down the number (in
dollars) they’d be willing to perform the task for on a piece of paper. They then show each
other the number. The one with the lower number is then paid by the other to complete the
task. The things this couple will do for cash don’t stop at just household chores, though. Daniel
paid Bethany $30,000 to have each of their two children. They also used this system to decide
what to name their children. The person who chose the name had to pay for the privilege.
Many couples can’t imagine using such a system, but Daniel and Bethany say it works great. The
y say some couples are fine with a simple hug to show how grateful they are. Daniel and
Bethany need something a little more tangible. Cash seems to work well for them. It keeps
them from being at each other’s throats, and things get done around the house. Some people
believe that marriage is difficult enough without trivializing everything with a dollar amount.
There’s also the fact that men tend to earn more than women, giving them more bargaining
power. And then there are the children to consider. While they are young, they might not
understand the situation, but eventually, they will. How will they feel knowing that one of their
parents had to pay the other to put them to bed?
Unsurprisingly, this unconventional couple also co-founded an unconventional business that
help s people commit to goals through staking money with their online goal tracking app.
Whether your goal is losing weight or learning English, they believe the key to success is money.
Their business is called Beeminder because they give you goal reminders but with a sting if you
fail. Bethan y explains it simply, “You pledge money to stay on track towards your goals, and if
you go off track, we take your money.”
Vocabulary
Cold hard cash: simply cash, not credit or checks Key to success: something important that helps you
to be successful
Shoulder something: to endure something difficult,
painful, or troublesome Stay on track: to continue to make progress as
planned
Be at other’s throats: to argue or fight aggressively
or persistently
Food Is Free
In some cultures, such as in the US, having a front yard of green grass is not only considered
beautiful, it’s also a status symbol. In fact, it’s so important that some towns actually make it
illegal not to grow grass. But what if we were to use this land for something more useful? What
if we s aw the land in our communities as a resource that could provide free food to everyone?
One household in Austin, Texas had this very idea and started something called the Food is Free
project. They took old, recycled materials like pallets and used political signs and created a
small garden in front of their home. They then put a sign out front, telling their neighbors what
they were doing. The sign said that the food was free and that the neighbors should write down
their contact info if they wanted help building their own garden. The sign also explained that
these small gardens are easy to build and even easier to maintain. It didn’t take long for the
neighbors to take an interest in what they were doing. They saw them g rowing fresh fruits and
vegetables and wanted to get involved. Not only did this kick start their project, it helped them
get to know their neighbors better.
Soon, most of the households in the neighborhood had their own mini garden out front. This
instantly made the neighborhood greener and more beautiful. It also meant that nobody had
far to g o if they wanted free food. Some people grew tomatoes; others grew leafy greens.
Whenever someone needed vegetables, they just went and asked their neighbors. What was
once just empty space or grass became a valuable asset to the neighborhood. Everyone
pitching in made it so there was always enough to go around. This is only one neighborhood,
but the project’s goal is to get people all around the world involve d. Look around you and
notice all the empty space that’s available. Imagine if that space could be used to grow food to
feed the people who live near you.

Vocabulary
Status symbol: something people display that shows Kickstart: to make something happen or being more
others their wealth or social position quickly

Take an interest in (something): to become curious Pitch in: to help out or assist with an activity
about or concerned with
Enough to go around; plenty available for everyone
Get involved: to become associated with or an to share
active part of something
What Separates Humans from Animals?
What separates humans from animals? The more we research animal intelligence and behavior,
the more we see that we are not so different. At one time, communication was thought to be
the main differentiator, but research into chimpanzees, dolphins, and even prairie dogs has
found that these animals are also capable of complex communication. The use of tools was also
once thought to be the main difference, but that too has been prove n wrong. Chimps use sticks
and rocks to find and eat food. Dolphins trap fish by making rings of mud. Even crows use their
environment intelligently as a tool. In Tokyo, crows use the flow of city traffic as a nut-cracker.
They purposely drop nuts onto the street so that the passing cars will crack the nuts. They then
wait for the traffic lights to turn red an d collect their ready-to-eat food.
One area where humans do appear to be unique is our ability for higher thought. As far as we
know, only humans have the ability to think about the past and the future. This ability allows us
to plan and improvise like no other species. Our imagination also knows no bounds. That being
said, thought is not something we always enjoy. In fact, according to research at the University
of Virginia, many people seem to find thinking unpleasant. In one study, people were put in an
empty room with just a table and chair and told to think about anything they wanted for
between 6 and 15 minutes. Afterward, they were asked to rat e how much they enjoyed the
experience, and most of them rated it negatively. The researchers believe that we have become
so used to constant stimulation that when we are left alone with no TVs, no cell phones,
nothing to write with or read, and not even a window to loo k out of, we quickly become
uncomfortable.
In a second experiment, people were put in the same distraction-free room and again told to
thin k of anything they wanted, but this time they were given one possible distraction. They
were left with a battery that they could choose to shock themselves with, and many of them
did. Earlier in the experiment, some participants said they would pay money to avoid being
shocked, but once boredom set in, that idea went out the window.
Surprisingly, two-thirds of the men and a quarter of the women preferred mild physical pain to
be alone with their thoughts. One man strangely shocked himself 190 times over the short time
period. Why anyone would prefer an electric shock to being alone with their own thoughts is a
mystery. Perhaps the discomfort of boredom is what truly separates humans from animals.

Vocabulary
As far as one knows: to the best one’s knowledge Set in: to begin and start growing, usually something
harmful or unpleasant
Knows no bounds: to have no limit
Out the window: : rejected, forgotten or discarded
(with) that being said: used to disagree with a statement
that was made before (similar to using however)
Smell of Death
When Oscar the cat visits with a patient, everyone knows that death is just around the corner. Oscar
was adopted as a kitten by the Steere House Nursing Center in Providence, Rhode Island. He has the
mysterious ability to predict death among the patients. According to Dr. David Dosa, “Oscar is not a cat
that is friendly to the living.” He rarely spends time with staff and sometimes hisses at patients. He
usually likes to be alone, but he seems to care deeply for those who are about to pass away. When a
patient is at death’s door, Oscar somehow knows. He curls up in bed with the man or woman and purrs.
Like clockwork, within 2~4 hours, that person passes away.

This is not some old wives’ tale. Oscar has successfully predicted the deaths of more than 50 patients
and has been written about in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. The doctors and nurses
working there have seen Oscar over and over again lie down in bed with patients until they die and then
quietly leave. Dr. Dosa believes that Oscar is comforting the dying people during their final hours. On
rare occasions when patients’ family members have locked Oscar out of the room, he waits outside the
door crying and walking back and forth.

So how does Oscar know that death is near? Is there something supernatural about Oscar’s ability?
Some people think he may be reading the body language of the doctors and nurses that are treating the
dying patients. This is possible, but sometimes Oscar has identified dying patients before the doctors.
According to Dr. Dosa, the staff sometimes first learn about a patient’s imminent death from watching
Oscar.

Another theory is that Oscar is able to smell biochemical changes that happen before death. According
to researchers, there are a number of different medical conditions that can be identified by smell.
Apparently, diabetes smells like nail polish remover, liver disease smells like raw fish, and Rubella smells
like freshly plucked feathers. Researchers are studying new ways in which electronic sensors and even
dogs can be used to identify the smells of different diseases and medical problems. In the future, smell
might be a valuable tool for medical diagnosis.

Vocabulary
Around the corner: very near, coming soon Like clockwork: regularly or exactly as planned

Pass away: to die Old wives’ tale: a traditional belief or story that is
not based on a fact
At death’s door: about to die soon
Frozen Future
Maybe death is just another disease that doctors will one day cure. That was the dream of Professor
Robert Ettinger, who is the godfather of cryonics. First dreamed up by Ettinger in the 1960s, cryonics is
the freezing of bodies in the hopes of one day being able to bring them back to life i n the future. Of
course, there is no guarantee that this will ever happen, but the dream is that medical science will
advance to the point where this will be possible. Perhaps the idea is not so far-fetched considering that
scientists have already revived a small microscopic animal in Siberia after being frozen for 24,000 years.

Key to the cryonics process is to quickly lower the temperature of the recently deceased to preserve
their bodies. At the Cryonics Institute in Michigan, patients are put into containers with liquid nitrogen
that freezes them at -130 degrees Celsius. The problem with freezing is that the human body is made up
of about 70% water. When water freezes, it expands, causing damage to the body’s cells. To prevent
this, the blood in the body is replaced with chemicals that remove much of the water in the body before
freezing.

The first person to be cryonically preserved was Dr. James Bedford, who was frozen in 1967. Currently,
there are over 250 cryonics patients and a few dozen pets patiently awaiting a new life in the future.
And there are over a thousand who have signed contracts to be frozen upon death. Most of these
patients are in the US, but Kryo-Rus is a cryonics center in Russia that cares for twenty frozen patients
and ten pets. There are also plans for cryonic centers in Australia and Switzerland.

Some people think that cryonics is something that only the rich can take a chance on, but others use
affordable life insurance to pay for their procedure. The prices are not cheap but vary from p lace to
place. At the low end, you can have just your head frozen if you are hoping to receive a ne w and
improved artificial body in the future. On the high end, the Alcor Life Extension Foundation charges
$250,000 to freeze and care for your body until some unknown day in the future. Professor Ettinger died
in 2011. He now sits frozen in the Cryonics Institute, waiting for medical miracles down the road. Will
this take 50 years, 100 years, 200 years, or is it all just a pipe dream?

Vocabulary
Godfather/godmother: someone who invented or Take a chance on: trust in something or someone
started something that is risky

Key: essential or important part of something Down the road: in the future

A pipe dream: a fantasy that will never happen

Perfect Memory 201
How well do you remember yesterday? Do you remember what you wore, what you ate, or
what you watched on television? If you’re like most people, you do. But you probably don’t
remember what you wore, ate or watched on TV on the third Wednesday of January, six years
ago. One woman can. Marilu Henner, star of the hit 1970’s television show Taxi, has what is
known as hyperthymesia, or a “perfect memory.” It is a condition that affects only a small
percentage of the population, and causes an individual to have an almost superhuman
autobiographical memory.
Henner, along with the other twenty five individuals who are confirmed to have hyperthymesia,
describe remembering past events that happened decades ago as something they just “see.”
It’s almost as though they were watching a movie of that day. Imagine remembering a random
day in your past, as though you were transported there yourself, in complete and total detail. It
sounds far-fetched, but for those few who live with this condition, it isn’t. While some enjoy
impressing their friends or winning trivia games with their accurate memories, others feel
trapped and unable to escape the past.
It’s easy to see how a great memory would help in everyday life situations. Never missing an
appointment, remembering the names of everyone you meet, and being able to recall critical
details at the drop of a hat could certainly make life easier. Higher education would become a
piece of cake, and in many fields, a superior memory would make you an excellent candidate
for career advancement. But for some, having a perfect memory would be an albatross around
your neck. The inability to dismiss negative experiences from your mind, or recalling painful
events as though they occurred yesterday could quickly become overwhelming. It even has the
potential to create psychological issues like severe anxiety and PTSD. What do you think? Is a
superior autobiographical memory a help or a hindrance? Would you want to be able to
remember every day of your past in perfect detail? For some, it could be a pleasant trip down
memory lane, but for others a heavy cross to bear.

Vocabulary
Far-fetched: unbelievable A trip down memory lane: remembering past
events, especially happy one
At the drop of a hat: without hesitation
Cross the bear: an unpleasant situation that one
An albatross around (one’s) neck: a heavy burden or
must accept and deal with
curse

PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Love at First Sight 200
‘Love at first sight’ is an English expression that means to fall in love with someone instantly
after just looking at him or her for the first time. Whether you believe this is real love or just
shallow desire, it’s a familiar scene in today’s books, movies, and television shows. According to
this old idea, falling in love is a matter of fate. Love can strike in the blink of an eye, leaving us
helpless to control our feelings. Indeed, according to some modern brain research, seeing an
attractive person can jolt your brain. This shows up on MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
scans. But what does that jolt really mean?
In one British study, volunteers wore special helmets that scanned their brains as they looked
at photos of strangers. When a person they found attractive seemed to be looking right at
them, the part of the brain called the “reward center” lit up. This might not mean much. That
same area lights up when you expect any kind of reward, such as food when you’re hungry.
Researchers said that the response could be based on an evolutionary adaptation for choosing
healthy-looking mates. Today it might only mean a shallow desire to associate with attractive
people for social status.
Another study at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, also measured brain activity in volunteers
looking at photos. Researchers found that an area called the prefrontal cortex lit up while
looking at certain photos. That part of the brain is important for mature decision-making. Later
those volunteers met and talked with the people in the photos. About 63 percent of the time,
they found the same person attractive. But the two people made plans to see each other again
only 10 percent of the time.
Clearly, there is a connection between seeing an attractive stranger and feeling a jolt of
excitement, but maybe we shouldn’t trust those hair-trigger attractions. Research says that the
jolt that runs through your body is usually not really love, and it’s not at all likely to last in the
long run. Finding the love of one’s life is a time-consuming process for most. What do you
think? Have you ever felt ‘love at first sight?’ And what about all the other types of first
impressions you make about others? You might not fall in love, but sometimes you instantly
feel comfortable around someone for no clear reason, and other times you feel like you want to
get as far away as possible. Do you trust your gut instincts?

Vocabulary
In the blink of an eye: suddenly, instantly Time consuming: taking a lot of time

In the long run: over a long period of time Gut instinct: strong emotional feeling about
something without rational explanation
Love of one’s life: greatest love in one’s life
Tongue Twister
Have you ever heard of a tongue twister? Tongue twisters are English sentences that are designed to be
hard to say. Try saying this five times fast: She sells seashells on the seashore. Any native English speaker
will have learned this tongue twister as a child, but what many people don’t know is that it is based on a
real person. Who is this woman who sells seashells on the seashore? It’s Mary Anning, the unsung hero
of modern Paleontology.

Mary Anning was born to a poor family in the year 1799 in the southern English coastal town of Lyme
Regis. She and her brother Joseph were the only two out of their ten siblings to survive through their
childhood years. Mary almost didn’t survive her childhood either. According to local legend, Mary
almost died while being held in the arms of a local woman when that woman was struck by lightning.
While the woman holding her died, Mary survived. The local doctor said her survival was a miracle, and
people often said that Mary gained her intelligence and curiosity from that lightning strike. During Mary
Anning’s lifetime, many locals in Lyme Regis went to the coastal cliffs, collected fossils, and then sold
them to tourists. This was an incredibly dangerous occupation, as the waves were rough, and the cliffs
were unstable due to landslides. These landslides almost killed Mary and did kill her dog in 1833. Though
dangerous, landslides also uncovered curious-looking rocks, now known as fossils.

When Mary was 12, she and her brother were fossil hunting when they discovered a giant skull sticking
out of the cliff face. Mary uncovered the rest of the skull, and in the process, discovered sixty vertebrae
of what she thought was a crocodile. She removed the skull and vertebrae, sold them to a private
collector, and earned her family a little extra money. This ‘crocodile’ turned out to be a dinosaur and
was later given the name, Ichthyosaurus, or “fish-lizard.” Mary went on to discover more specimens of
Ichthyosaurus, as well as a complete fossil skeleton of a Plesiosaurus and a Pterodactyl.

Since she was born to a poor family, she had little education, but she managed to teach herself anatomy
and geology. Throughout her career, famous scientists would visit her for advice, but she never got full
credit for many of her discoveries. To most people today, she is only the unnamed seller of seashells in a
children’s tongue twister.

Give your tongue a workout with the full version:

She sells seashells on the seashore.

The shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure.

For if she sells seashells on the seashore

Then I’m sure she sells seashore shells

Vocabulary Get credit for (something): to be recognized or

praised for accomplishing something
Unsung hero: an unrecognized hero

Turn out: to result or end up as

A Hidden Tribe of Superathletes
What if a hidden tribe in Mexico holds the secret to health, happiness, and long-distance
running? A tribe of super-athletes lives hidden in caves along the cliffs of northern Mexico.
Men, women, and even young children often run the cliff ledges for sport. Sometimes they run
for days, covering hundreds of miles without more than a snack break. They are called the
Tarahumara which means “The Running People”, but they prefer the name Rarámuri which
means light footed. When the Rarámuri learn to walk, they also learn to run. Fifty-year-olds
often outrun teenagers.
Throughout history, this tribe literally ran from invaders. They hid in nearly inaccessible caves
where they successfully avoided conquest. Not only have they survived, the Rarámuri have
thrived. Without technology or modern medicine, they report living longer and happier lives
than the average Joe. The tribe of around 130,000 is cancer-free, heart disease-free, and their
communities experience little to no crime. In fact, a Rarámuri runner who won Colorado’s 100-
mile ultramarathon was 55 years old. He beat several of the United States’ best runners
wearing only sandals he made himself. So what’s their secret? How are they so healthy, happy,
and running so far regardless of age?
There are many clues. For starters, the Rarámuri see work as important, but ‘matters of the
soul,’ or spiritual practices, come first. Instead of a monetary system, they barter or use a kind
of universal sharing called kórima. With values like these, it makes sense that their communities
are healthy. But how are they able to run longer than the best professional athletes on earth
and without injury? According to physiology expert Ken Mierke, because the Rarámuri run
wearing only thin sandals, the muscles and tendons in their feet are long and strong. Modern
athletic shoes often cause muscle tissue to atrophy and tendons to shorten due to too much
support.
Their stride is also out of the ordinary. The Rarámuri land first on the ball of the foot rather
than the heel. One observer remarked that they look like they are riding invisible unicycles.
They do not lean forward, instead running with their hips and shoulders and head in vertical
alignment. This helps them to avoid injury and conserve energy. But some suggest the secret
goes deeper. One anthropologist remarked that the Rarámuri accomplish extraordinary things
because they believe they can. Their special techniques are top notch, but confidence and
optimism are also key.

Vocabulary
Average joe: used in north America to refer to an Make sense: to be understandable
average person
Out of the ordinary: unusual
Little to no: very little; almost none
Top notch: of excellent quality
For starters: said of something first in a list of items
Life Without Sleep
Sleep is not optional. After a long enough period of being awake, our brain starts to produce
signals that we are tired. As these signals increase in strength, our brain becomes impaired. We
all know what it’s like to feel tired to the point of exhaustion. We are less aware, unfocused,
and more likely to have accidents. If we become too exhausted, we may even fall asleep on the
spot. And when we chronically don’t get enough sleep, our health will suffer. While most of the
mechanism s of sleep remain a mystery to science, it’s common knowledge that everyone
needs to get some shuteye, and we need to do it on a regular basis.
Well, almost everyone. Very rarely, cases are found of people who stop needing to sleep. One
peculiar case was that of a Hungarian soldier named Paul Kern. He fought during the First World
War and was hit in the he ad by a Russian bullet. The bullet penetrated the frontal lobe of his
brain, but Paul miraculously survived. He woke up in a hospital in Budapest, and from that
moment on, Paul never slept again. Over the course of his life, many doctors examined Paul in
an attempt to find the cause of his condition. However, in spite of having numerous x-ray
examinations of his skull and brain, the exact cause of his condition was never fully explained.
Even more incredibly, Paul did not exhibit any of the signs that are commonly present among
people who suffer from insomnia. He was alert and aware, and his only complaint following the
injury was the occasional headache. Paul went on to live without sleep for forty years following
his injury, and when he finally died, it was of natural causes.
To this day, what happened in Paul’s brain remains a total mystery. It highlights how little we
know about the human brain and its inner workings. Some believe that the bullet ripped
through the part of his brain that needed sleep. Others say that despite his claims to never
sleep a wink, he might have been unaware of falling asleep for mere seconds multiple times a
day. While others have made claims of not needing sleep, Kern’s was the first and only case
that was extensively studied. The jury is still out on what if anything was different about Kern’s
brain, but perhaps one day, the secret will be uncovered, freeing us all to live an extra eight
hours a day.

Vocabulary
On the spot: immediately, without any delay Not sleep a wink: to not sleep at all

Get some shuteye: get some sleep The jury is still out: it is still undecided

On a regular basis: consistently, regularly

Birdbrained
Birds aren’t usually the first animal that people think about when they think about smart
animals. In English, calling someone birdbrained means that they are stupid. And saying
something is ‘for the birds’ means that it’s trivial or worthless. However, these expressions
couldn’t be more off base. Some birds, particularly crows, can be amazingly smart. In fact, their
problem-solving abilities are as good as those of a seven-year-old child.
In one experiment, a crow worked out how to solve a complex three-step problem using tools.
The crow was given a short stick hanging on a string, a long stick out of reach in a box, and a
piece of food also out of reach in an even deeper box. The crow removed the stick from the
string, then used that short stick to reach the longer stick, and then used the longer stick to
reach the foo d in the deeper box. Crows not only use tools, they are also the only non-primate
animals to make tools. In another experiment, crows were given a straight piece of wire and
food that was out of reach in a tube. Unable to remove the food with the straight wire, one
crow was recorded bending the w ire to make a hook. Even more amazing is that crows seem to
use language. Researchers at the University of Washington began capturing crows for
identification. However, after the first few times, the scientists found that catching new crows
was becoming harder.
The crows were learning to recognize the face of the person that captured them and then
telling other crows that that person was a threat. To test how well crows could do this, the
scientists started wearing a rubber mask when they captured crows. Soon after, the crows were
sending off warning cries whenever anybody with that mask approached. Later, the scientists
observed that crows that had never been captured were giving the same warning cries in
reaction to people wearing the mask. Over the months that followed, they reported that
eventually, 89% of the crows, most of which had never been captured, were attacking anyone
wearing the mask. It appears that news of the mask-wearing threat was spreading by word of
mouth or, in this case, word of beak.
What do you think? If tool use and language is a sign of intelligence, is it possible that, given a
few hundred thousand more years, crows might develop human-like intelligence?

Vocabulary
Birdbrained: stupid, not very smart Work out: to solve through reasoning or calculation

For the birds: said of something trivial or worthless Word of mouth: communicated through

Off base: incorrect, wrong

Blue Is for Boys; Pink Is For Girls 195
The very mention of the gang’s name, The Forty Elephants, sent shivers down the spines of
shop owners all over London. A mere glimpse of a member sent chaos exploding through a
store as cashiers and shoppers ran. But this fearsome gang wasn’t your run-of-the-mill pack of
villainous men. The Forty Elephants was a young, all-female gang of thieves in the early 20th
century. They were called the Forty Elephants because they came from a part of London named
‘Elephant and Castle.’ Their most infamous leader was 20-year old Annie Diamond. Her gang
called her the queen, but the police called her Diamond Annie because she punched people
with a handful of diamond ring s. The Forty Elephants carried out some of the biggest
shoplifting crimes Britain has ever seen. Many said that they were tougher and faster than the
strongest male thieves at that time. The Forty Elephants aren’t the only group of people who’ve
turned gender stereotypes upside down.
In North-East India, there is a matrilineal tribe called the Garos. Traditionally, in this society, a
wo man pops the question to the man, but before accepting the proposal, the groom-to-be is
expected to run away. The bride’s family is then supposed to “capture” him and return him to
his potential bride’s village. He then has another opportunity to accept or reject the proposal.
Many things that we might think of as naturally male or female, like certain colors, are products
of social conditioning. We often think of blue as a color for a male, while pink is seemingly more
feminine, but this wasn’t always the case. In 1918, it was concluded that pink was a stronger
color more suitable for the boy, while blue, which was more delicate and dainty, was prettier
for the girl.
Even the idea that women are more emotional than men is one that can change depending on
the culture. In ancient Greek culture, men were expected to cry as a sign of true manliness to
protect their family’s honor. That’s why in many Greek dramas and plays, the male character
often she ds a few tears during the show. In society, there’s often pressure to be “manly” or
“ladylike,” but this might be less innate and more cultural than we think.

Vocabulary
Send shivers down someone’s spine: make Turn something upside down: put into
someone scared or excited complete disorder

Run out of mill: ordinary, not special Pop the question: ask someone to get married

Carry out something: perform an action or task

‘You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks’ Idiom Proven Wrong 194
If you ever thought that you were too old to learn a language or some other skill, you probably
never heard the remarkable story of Kimani Maruge. Some people say you can’t teach an old
dog new tricks, but Kimani first entered elementary school when he was 84-years-old. In Kenya,
where Kimani resided, elementary school wasn’t available to all. Parents had to pay school fees
for the privilege of enrolling their children. While the tuition might seem modest to a lot of us
today, they put school out of reach for a lot of families in Kenya, including the Maruges.
When the Kenyan government introduced universal elementary education in 2003, Kimani
jumped at the opportunity. He sold his goats, bought a school uniform, and registered himself
for the first grade. At the ripe old age of 84, he became the oldest person ever to have enrolled
in an elementary school. He simply wanted to learn to read, but some people were taken aback
that Kimani, an old man, was permitted to enter elementary school. They criticized him for
taking a spot that a child should have. Some even threw rocks and threatened him as he walked
to school in the morning, but Kimani refused to be intimidated or let anything stand in the way
of his education. He was determined to keep on studying and learning no matter what the cost.
Kimani led a long and fascinating life. When he was young, he belonged to a group of Kenyan
freedom fighters battling for their country’s independence from Britain. The right to education
was one of the things he fought for. And in 2005, he spoke at the United Nations about the
importance of free primary schooling and of giving poor people the opportunity of an
education. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he was undeterred. He was dedicated to
continuing his education even while bedridden. He brought in instructors to work with him at
home right up until his death a few months later. Before he died, he stated, “even if you don’t
see it through to the end, you will still have achieved something.”
Kimani didn’t start his education as an octogenarian to get a better job or make more money.
For him, the journey of learning more about how the world worked was the true reward.
Kimani was an inspirational person who truly exemplified the saying ‘it’s never too late.’ Some
people think they are too old to go back to school or to learn a new language, but people like
Kimani Maruge show us that you can achieve anything if you’re willing to work hard and
persevere.

Vocabulary
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks: an idiom that Taken aback: surprised about something in a
means you cannot learn new things when you are negative way
old
stand in the way of: prevent, block
Out of reach: unable to achieved
keep on: continue:
Ripe old age: a very old age
Idiom: Falling in Love
The English expression ‘to fall in love’ suggests that love is something that you can’t control. Love
consumes us, overcomes us, and renders us powerless. Like gravity, we can’t resist it. And sometimes,
we even ‘fall head over heels in love’ when we meet that special someone.

Common wisdom says that love is a mystery. Either we have some indescribable chemistry, or we don’t,
but what if there was a recipe to create love? Some people think there is and point to the research of
Dr. Arthur Aron to back it up. Dr. Aron is the head of the Interpersonal Relationships Lab at Stony Brook
University. In 1997, Dr. Aron and his colleagues created a 36 question survey that is designed to quickly
make strangers bond and even fall in love. They tested their questions by partnering up complete
strangers in a laboratory experiment. After only 45 minutes of answering the 36 questions, the couples
reported feeling unusually close to each other. One couple even fell in love and married just six months
after the experiment concluded. The whole lab was invited to their wedding ceremony.

These 36 questions start off being fairly casual and amusing, but they gradually become more and more
personal. According to Aron and his colleagues, these types of personal questions force people to be
increasingly open and vulnerable. And this vulnerability is one of the necessary ingredients for intimacy
and love. The questions start out casual and relaxed, asking what famous person you would like to have
dinner with, but they quickly become more personal. You can find all 36 questions online, but here is a
quick roundup of some of the more meaty questions that get even strangers to open up.

For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last
60 years of your life, which would you want?

If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most
regret not having told someone?

Why haven’t you told them yet?

There is one more step to this 36 question recipe to create intimacy. Partners end by staring into each
other’s eyes for 4 minutes. According to one English expression, ‘the eyes are the windows to the soul.’
What do you think?

Is there really a 36-step recipe to love, or is love simply a wonderful mystery?

Vocabulary
Fall head over heels in love: suddenly and deeply fall How you know when you have chemistry: have
in love with someone a mutual attraction; feel instantly comfortable
Common/conventional wisdom: generally accepted with another person
beliefs held by the group Back up: support,
Meaty: full of substance or interest
Start off/out: begin doing STH in a certain way
that might change in the future
: A Dog Eat Dog World?
When we think of the animal kingdom, some of us imagine ferocious beasts hunting their prey.
Wild animals constantly at odds with each other in a survival of the fittest may be the norm, but
it’s not always a dog eat dog world. Sometimes unlikely friendships form between surprisingly
different types of animals.
Take Bubbles and Bella, an African elephant and a black dog who met at an animal park in
South Carolina. Bella and Bubbles couldn’t be more different. Bubbles is an elephant who
weighs in at over four tons and stands nine feet tall. She was adopted by the animal park after
her parents were killed by poachers. Bella the dog, on the other hand, is smaller than Bubbles’
entire head and is a South Carolina native. Most of us would never expect these two polar
opposites to get along. And yet, Bubbles and Bella are as thick as thieves. They can be found
together day in and day out, playing fetch, splashing in the water, and snuggling up to each
other.
The bonds between animals can even go beyond friendship. At Haller Park, in Kenya, a 130-
year-old tortoise named Mzee has ‘adopted’ an orphaned baby hippo named Owen. After
Owen was orphaned, Mzee took him under his wing and tended to the baby animal as if he
were his parent. Elsewhere in Kenya, a wild lioness adopted a baby antelope after killing its
mother and has since adopted five more little antelopes as her own.
So how is it possible for elephants and dogs, or lions and antelopes to build bridges between
their very different species? According to some scientists, the answer might lie in the fact that
animals aren’t so different from us after all. It turns out that animals, like humans, have a
strong desire for companionship and interaction. The reason animals form interspecies
friendships, these scientists say, is simple and visceral: the universal desire to connect with, play
with, and learn from another being. After all, we all need a friend sometimes, no matter how
wild and exotic that friend may be.
Vocabulary

At odds with: in a state of disagreement with Day in and day out: continuously over a long
period of time
Dog eat dog: ruthlessly competitive
Take SB under one’s wing: to protect, teach,
Polar opposite: complete opposite
and for someone younger and less experienced
Thick as thieves: having very close and friendly
Build bridges: to connect and improve
relationship
relationship
Where There’s a Will, There’s A Way
In heavy boots and a big winter coat, 56-year-old factory worker James Robertson doesn’t look
like much of an athlete. But looks can be deceiving. This Detroit factory worker walks more than
2 0 miles a day to and from work, a round trip that takes him 8 hours or more. He then has only
a few hours to sleep before he wakes up to do it all over again.
He makes this mammoth walk five days a week, and he’s done it for ten years. James began
walking a decade ago when his car broke down, and he was unable to afford a new one. He
hasn’t missed a single day of work since. He has an unbelievably perfect attendance record,
especially considering the extreme weather that he sometimes faces. He’s walked through
thunderstorms and blizzards and has yet to be deterred. When asked about how he has the will
to make such a long walk, James credits faith, determination, and loyalty to coworkers. He says
his boss and coworkers are like family to him. His manage r’s wife cooks “phenomenal” dinners
for James before he makes his long journey home, arriving around 4 in the morning.
On his route, James passes through dangerous neighborhoods; in these moments, he relies on
faith to keep going. A few years ago, James was mugged and roughed up pretty badly on his
walk. Though he doesn’t like to talk about the incident, he didn’t let it stop him from getting to
work. James says, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and that’s something I never forget.”
Another of his favorite lines is something his father used to say, “It might be tough, but tough
times don’t last — tough people do.” Ten tough years later, James just might be leaving the
tough times behind.
When James’ story first made headlines, it inspired 19-year-old Evan Leedy to create a
crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a car for James. He began with the goal of raising
$5,000, but within a few days, donations skyrocketed and now have passed $300,000. More
than 11,000 people donated to the cause in less than four days. And after ten years of walking,
James can now drive to work instead of hoofing it. Why? A local car dealership donated a brand
new car to James. It goes to show that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. And
when people are given an opportunity to help someone in need, they step up and do their part.

Vocabulary
Looks can be deceiving: STH can be very Step up: to take action in a time of need
different from way it appears to be
Do one’s part: to do one is responsible for
Rough up: treat violently doing, especially in relation to a larger group
effort
When the going gets tough, the tough gets
going: when things become difficult, strong
people take action to deal with situation
Sailing with The Sun, Moon and Stars
Imagine crossing thousands of miles of wild seas without a single map or compass, destined for a tiny
island you’ve never been to before. Courageous people called Wayfinders navigated the seas in their
canoes, using little more than the stars and songs shared by elders. Anthropologists say that Polynesian
wayfinding was a far cry from today’s navigation. It was based on more than science. It was an art and a
spiritual practice.

Wayfinders fell into a wordless meditative state so that they could detect even the subtlest of
navigational clues. They watched the sun, the moon, and the stars very closely. They had to memorize
how the sky looked when they first set sail and how it changed each day after, keeping continuous
mental notes. They remembered the changing positions of over 200 stars, along with the locations of
the sun and moon for the entire trip.

They used songs to help them remember the names of the stars. Without pens or paper, they tracked
speed, direction, and time, storing it all in their heads. They had to clear their minds of all other
distractions and focus, focus, focus. They slept less than two hours a night for weeks on end. If you were
looking for a boat’s Wayfinder in a crowd of people, sleepless bloodshot eyes would give him away.

Now, Wayfinders have all but disappeared. In fact, the last grand master, Micronesian Mau Piai lug,
passed away in 2010. On one epic voyage, Mau awoke from the middle of a deep sleep to tell the
steersman that the canoe was off course. Wayfinders like Mau knew whether the canoe was on course
or not by lying down in the hull of the canoe and “feeling” the movements of the water. Even in his
sleep, he could feel something was wrong. His skills were so fine-tuned, no living navigator claims to be
able to do what he did.

Despite their amazing talents, until the late 18th century, Wayfinders remained a hidden part of history.
In 1778, Captain James Cook and a Tahitian priest sailed from Tahiti to a Hawaiian island, 2,500 miles
away. Cook was astounded when the priest began to communicate with Hawaiian locals in his native
language. This linguistic connection spanned over 16 million square miles of ocean, including more than
1,000 islands.

Amazed, Cook asked the now-famous question, “How shall we account for this Nation spreading itself so
far over this vast ocean?” Scholars now have an answer: Wayfinders. It’s obvious that due to modern
technology, ancient arts like wayfinding are dying out. As convenient and helpful as technology is, how
many other such artistic and spiritual practices are becoming lost forever?

Vocabulary
A far cry from: much different from All but: nearly, almost

On end: continuing without stopping for a certain On course: following the intended path
period of time
Dying out: becoming extinct
Give away: to reveal a secret or show STH you are
trying to hide, often secret
How Self-Aware Are You?
On Jan 6, 1995, McArthur Wheeler boldly robbed two banks in broad daylight with no disguise.
According to an article in a local newspaper, “At 5 feet 6 inches and about 270 pounds, bank
robbery suspect McArthur Wheeler isn’t the type of person who fades into the woodwork.” He
made no attempts to hide his identity and even looked directly into the security camera and
smiled. By 11:00 at night, his picture was all over the news, leading an informant to identify
Wheeler to the police. Within an hour, he was in jail. As he was being arrested, the shocked
Wheeler said, “But I wore the juice!”
On that ill-fated day, Wheeler covered his face in lemon juice. It burned his eyes and skin, but
he was confident that it would help him pull off the crime. Two friends had told him lemon juice
would make him invisible to security cameras. He told the police he even tested this lemon
juice theory before the robbery. He covered his face in lemon juice and took a picture of
himself. He then checked the picture, and sure enough, he wasn’t in it. Wheeler probably
pointed the camera in the wrong direction, or the film in the camera might have been
defective.
Wheeler became the inspiration for David Dunning, a psychology professor from Cornell
University. Dunning found it interesting that Wheeler had a combination of stupidity and
confidence. This led Dunning and his student Justin Kruger to design tests measuring students’
ability and their perception of their ability. They found that people who are incompetent often
have very high confidence. The same lack of intelligence that causes them to be incompetent
also keeps them from knowing they are intelligent people, because they are intelligent, are able
to more clearly see when they are lacking in ability or skill. This sometimes causes intelligent
people to be overcritical of themselves. That’s something to think about if you ever feel down
about your English language skill. Perhaps your

Vocabulary
Broad daylight: used to describe STH Pull off: succeed in doing STH difficult
unexpected or surprising happening in the
Flip side: a reverse or opposite side of STH
daytime when everyone can see
Feel down: feel sad or depressed
Fade into the woodwork: act in a way that does
not attract attention; hide or disappear
Secret Language of Plants
A famous book from the 70s called The Secret Life of Plants says that plants are conscious and
even have a preference for music. In one research study, plants exposed to Mozart were
healthie r and grew faster than plants exposed to Jimi Hendrix. Some say these studies that
claim plants have a taste for music are full of holes. But there is growing research on plant
intelligence and plant communication.
Plants don’t have brains, so they can’t think in the same way as humans. But they can perceive
their surroundings. They can even communicate this information to nearby plants. Cabbages
recognize some types of danger and convey this to other nearby cabbages. Researchers in
England cut the leaves of cabbages with scissors. The threatened cabbages then produce d a
toxic gas that protects them from certain insects. Strangely, the uncut cabbages nearby also
began to give off a toxic gas. The healthy cabbages seemed to be reacting to a heads up from
their cabbage neighbors.
Pea plants have also kept their plant neighbors in the loop when in danger. Pea plants are
known to close their pores to protect themselves during periods of low rainfall. Researchers in
Israel gave water to some pea plants, but didn’t give any water to others. As they expected, the
dry pea plants closed their pores, but they weren’t the only ones. The nearby pea plants that
had plenty of water also closed their pores. The researchers believe that the pea plants were
communicating with their neighbors through their roots.
Some plants communicate with sound. Of course, plants don’t have ears, but some scientists
think they can feel vibrations. Italian scientist Dr. Gagliano recorded clicking noises produced by
corn seedlings. She then placed these seedlings in water and played them similar sounds.
Curiously, the corn seedlings grew towards the loudspeakers. Gagliano also demonstrated that
plants will grow towards the sound of water even when it is only an mp3 recording. There is no
doubt that plants are sensing their environment and communicating this with their plant
neighbors. Whether or not there is an intention to communicate is still up in the air. Whatever
the case, plants are stranger and more wonderful than we can imagine.

Vocabulary
A taste for STH: a preference desire for STH Heads up: advanced warning

Full of holes: unbelievable; flawed Keep in the loop: keep SB informed of STH

Give off: produce STH such as heat, gas, light or Up in the air: uncertain or undecided
smell
That Prairie Dog Thinks You’re Fat!
Has anyone ever told you, you could stand to lose some weight? Or maybe people have told
you you’re as thin as a rail. Either way, it might not just be other people judging you on your
looks. Prairie dogs have a complex language, and they are not only talking about people, but
also calling them fat, skinny, tall, or short. Prairie dogs are very social animals and live in
underground towns. These towns are usually about one square kilometer in size, but the largest
recorded prairie dog town was 65,000 square kilo meters and had 400 million members. That’s
about 50 times the number of people in New York City.
Con Slobodchikoff is a professor at Northern Arizona University and an expert in animal
behavior. He has studied prairie dog communication for over 30 years. Prairie dogs make a
squeaking noise that sounds like this. They make these squeaking noises to give each other a
heads up that d anger is on the way. Prairie dogs have many natural enemies, including
humans, dogs, coyotes, and hawks. Slobodchikoff learned that the prairie dog has a different
squeak for each of these animals and can describe their size, shape, color and speed. He
learned this by secretly recording the squeaks each time one of these predators passed through
the prairie dog town.
Slobodchikoff learned that the prairie dog language goes deeper than just simple nouns. He
analyzed the recordings and realized that the prairie dogs were making different squeaks for
different people. He came up with an experiment where four people walked through the prairie
dog tow n four times. Each time they would change the color of their shirt from blue to yellow
to grey to green. Slobodchikoff again recorded the squeaks and found that the prairie dogs
have different words for the different colors. They were not just saying, “There is a human
coming.” They were saying “there is a green-colored human” or “a yellow-colored human
coming.” Slobodchikoff then tested whether there were different squeaks for other adjectives
and found that they also use words for tall, short, fat and skinny when talking about humans.
Slobodchikoff is working on creating a computer program that will allow him to not only
translate prairie dog speech, but also to talk to them. He believes that one day in the future, we
will have machines the size of our cell phone that will allow us to talk to our dogs and cats. He
hopes that “down the road, we will be forming partnerships with animals, rather than
exploiting animals.”

Vocabulary
SB could stand to do STH: SB should do STH Pass through: visit for a short time on the way
to somewhere else
Thin as a rail: very skinny
Heads up: advance warning
Come up with: think off, produce, suggest
Down the road: in the future
Christmas Truce
During WWI, many of the British, French, and German soldiers lived, fought, and died in
trenches that snaked thousands of miles through the countryside. These trenches were grim,
dark places averaging 7 feet deep and 6 feet wide. On the Allied side, they were often full of
mud, rats, and disease. The men lived in these trenches, struggling to keep dry, stay alive, and
not lose their mind s. The trenches of the enemy were sometimes just 30 meters away, and
sticking your head above the trench could easily get you killed.
After five months of horrific fighting, the soldiers on both sides were sick of war. Suddenly
peace broke out between the trenches. It was Christmas Eve, 1914. It was “a beautiful moonlit
night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere,” said Pvt. Albert Moren. The Germans
sang out from their trenches the song, Silent Night. When they finished, their enemies in the
neighboring trench cheered. The Allied soldiers then replied with the English version.
No shots were fired that night, and in the morning, they wondered if the peace would last. At
one point along the trenches, a German soldier held up a sign saying, “You no shoot, we no
shoot.” S lowly heads popped up above the trenches, and Christmas greetings were offered
from both sides in English. Nervously the soldiers came out from their protective trenches.
Leaving their guns and safety behind, they approached each other. With hearts likely filled with
a mixture of fear and hope, they shook hands. Some soldiers exchanged small gifts of tobacco
or buttons. Others played soccer upon the battlefield. A pig was roasted by the British and
shared with the Germans in one place, and the Germans rolled over a barrel of beer to the
British in exchange. In another place, a German juggler performed, and at yet another, a British
soldier got his hair cut by a German barber.
Not all of the soldiers were at peace that day, but 100,000 soldiers did take part in the truce. At
some points along the trenches, the truce lasted only part of the day, and in others, it lasted
until New Year’s Day. Not everyone was pleased with the impromptu peace. One young
German corporal named Adolf Hitler complained, “Such a thing should not happen in
wartime…. Have you no German sense of honor left?” And, of course, when the higher-ups got
wind of the friendly fraternization, they made sure that it was not repeated the following year.
Nevertheless, at least for one Christmas, humanity’s gentler side overcame the insanity of war
as men came together in celebration and peace.

Vocabulary
Sick of: tired of STH; strong dislike for STH Higher-up: a senior person in an organization
who has a lot of power
Break out: happen suddenly
Get wind of: learn or hear information meant to
Take part: join in an activity
be secret
New Year’s Resolutions Around the World
As the year winds down, people around the world resolve to make changes in their lives. This
New Year’s resolution tradition is more than 4,000 years old and dates back to the Babylonians,
who resolved to pay old debts and return borrowed things at the end of the year.
Today, people all over the world still make New Year’s resolutions. A few years back, Google
created a website recording peoples’ New Year’s resolutions from different countries. Google
sorted these goals according to the most common topics: health, love, career, finance, and
education. Interestingly, health was the most popular goal for people in the US and Egypt, while
romance was on the minds of those in Australia and Japan. Russians focused on educational
goals, and in India, work-related goals were the most popular.
It’s hard to say if these goals really say anything about the culture of people in these countries.
One of the reasons is that within each culture, there are different subcultures. For example, in
1977, researchers collected the New Year’s resolutions of quote-unquote “average” children in
the US and compared them with those of a separate group of Amish children in the US. The
Amish are a religious group, originally from 17th century Switzerland, but are now living mostly
in the US and Canada. They’re famous for wearing very simple clothes and for not using modern
technology such as cars, telephones, and electricity.
The researchers found that the average children had goals that focused on the results, while
the Amish children focused on the process. One example of an average kid’s goal was getting an
A in their class. Interestingly, the Amish children also had a similar goal of doing well in school
but described it in a way that focused on the process. For example, the goal was not to get an A
but was instead to spend more time doing homework.
It’s unclear if the process-oriented Amish children were more successful than the results-
focused average US children, but with the New Year around the corner, it’s interesting food for
thought. Studies have shown that less than 25% of people stick with their resolutions after 30
days, and only 8% actually accomplish them. With such high rates of failure, perhaps setting
measurable goals would be more effective than simply making results-oriented ones. And
maybe we all should consider adding a process-oriented element to our resolutions in order to
balance our approach. Perhaps that is the key to success.

Vocabulary
Wind down: end or finish STH gradually

Quote-unquote:

Food for thought: STH to think about; thought provoking

Time Traveling Seeds and Satellites
There are more than 200,000 species of plant life on planet earth, but this is just the tip of the
ice berg. The history of land plants is 420 million years old, and no one can say how many
species have lived and died off over the years. While many of these species are gone for good,
there is hope that we can bring at least some of these plants back to life. In 2008, scientists in
Israel did exactly that. They found 2,000-year-old seeds from a species of date tree that had
become extinct. After planting the seeds, amazingly, one of them grew.
In 2012, scientists in Russia discovered seeds that were 32,000 years old. These seeds were
found preserved in ice 38 meters below the ground. While the seeds were damaged, the
scientists were still able to grow the seeds in a laboratory. Over a year, the plants grew,
flowered, and produced their own seeds. While we will probably continue to find and revive life
from the distant past, some people are loo king towards the future. For years, people have
been burying time capsules beneath the earth, filling them with messages and hoping that folks
in the future will discover them.
People who make time capsules often intend for them to be opened in 50 or 100 years, but the
KEO project has planned a much longer time capsule. They intend for humans in the far distant
future to open the time capsule, and they are making sure that it will be nearly impossible to
open it earlier. The KEO project is putting its time capsule in a satellite and sending it into
space. It will be scheduled to return to earth 50,000 years in the future.
The KEO time capsule will carry a diamond that contains a sample of air, water, dirt, and a drop
of human blood. On the outside of the diamond, there will be a carving of human DNA. In
addition to the diamond, there will be photographs of people from all cultures and messages
written by people all over the world. Everyone is invited to take part in this message to future
earthlings and it won’t cost an arm and a leg. Sending your message on KEO is completely free.
What they will think of your message is anyone’s guess. Only time will tell.

Vocabulary
Tip of the iceberg: the small part of STH much Take part: join in an activity
bigger
Time will tell: the truth will be known in the
Gone for good: one forever future

Died off: become extinct

Coffee Culture and Creativity
Coffee and the caffeine inside it is one of the world’s most popular drugs. The scientific opinion
about whether it is healthy or not is always changing. Some researchers say that coffee creates
inflammation in your body and can cause high blood pressure as well as other problems. Other
re searchers say coffee can lower your risk for some types of cancer and other diseases.
This may be true, but we’re not drinking coffee because it’s good for us. We drink it because it
tastes good and for the mental boost that it gives us. Coffee has been famous for perking us up
for over a thousand years. According to one story, a 9th-century goat herder in Ethiopia
discovered the effects of coffee when he saw his goats perk up and start jumping around after
eating some coffee berries. Coffee spread to the Arab world in the 15th century. In the 16th
century, the first coffee shop was opened in Istanbul, Turkey. Coffee shops were not just places
to drink, but also were places for conversation and learning. The Turks called these coffee shops
‘Schools of the Wise.’
In the 17th century, coffee and – more importantly – coffee shop culture made its way to
Europe. Under the influence of coffee, businessmen, artists, writers, and philosophers created
some of their best works. Beethoven, Bach, Bob Dylan, Jean-Paul Sartre and JK Rowling all
penned much of their work in coffee shops. While many people say that coffee helps them feel
more awake, think more clearly, and speak more clearly, too, perhaps there’s more to it. Maybe
these effects are not all caused by coffee itself.
Many say that coffee shops help them tap into their creativity. According to research from the
University of Illinois, the background noise of a coffee shop can make you think more creatively.
They tested people using different levels of background noise and found that 70 decibels, which
is the average level of noise in a busy coffee shop, is ideal for improving creativity. Background
noise below this level is so quiet that our focus becomes too narrow. And background noise
above this level is too distracting. The mid-level of background noise in a coffee shop allows us
to think in a more creative far-reaching way. According to University of Illinois Associate
Professor Ra vi Mehta, optimal ambient noise helps us to think outside of the box.
But what if going to coffee shops isn’t your cup of tea? Coffitivity.com is a free website that lets
you listen to coffee shop background sounds with the hope that it will make you more creative.

Vocabulary
Perk up: become lively There’s more to it: it is more interesting that it
seems
Make one’s way: walk, move or go towards a
destination Tap into: access

Pen: write or compose STH

Extreme Choices
Mark Twain once said, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve
done it thousands of times.” According to a University of Toronto research study, it takes an
average of 30 attempts to successfully quit smoking. ‘Desperate times call for desperate
measures,‘ is a well-known English expression that means extreme circumstances or problems
necessitate extreme responses.
Losing your freedom and being put in a cage isn’t a choice that most people would make, but
Ibrahim Yucel knew that quitting smoking would require desperate measures. His father had
recently died of lung cancer, and he knew he had to quit. He tried many times, but he lacked
the willpower. He knew that if he was going to quit successfully, he would need to do
something extreme, like put himself in a cage. He didn’t put his whole body in a cage, though.
He had a cage made just f or his head, which made it impossible to smoke a cigarette. Each
morning he gave the key to his wife or his daughter before leaving for work wearing his helmet
cage. While at work, he could drink through a straw and push small crackers between the bars
of the cage, but it was impossible to smoke.
Ibrahim isn’t the only one to try quitting cigarettes by putting themselves in a cage. Etta Mae
Lopez had a similar idea, but she didn’t just get a cage for her head. She decided to give up her
complete freedom and go to prison because she knew she wouldn’t be able to get cigarettes
there. The way she decided to get locked up was even more extreme. She waited outside of a
local California prison and slapped the first police officer to walk outside the door in the face.
She got her wish and spent the next 63 days in a cage, cigarette free.
Retired banker Geoff Spice also desperately wanted to quit, repeatedly tried to go cold turkey,
and repeatedly failed. He, too, was willing to go to great lengths to kick the habit. He didn’t go
to prison, but he did go into exile. He went to an uninhabited Scottish island to suffer alone. No
people meant no stores or any possibility of buying cigarettes. He spent three and a half weeks
living i n a tent in terrible weather conditions, but in the end, he was free of his addiction.

Vocabulary
Desperate times call for desperate measure: Cold turkey: suddenly stop taking a drug
extreme circumstance or problems require
Go to great lengths: make a great effort
extreme response
Kick the habit: quit doing an activity that is bad
Locked up: be in prison
for one’s health
Can The Language You Speak Make You Healthier?
According to research on language and culture, your health and even your finances are related
to the language you speak. Linguists have long known that language can directly influence your
perception of the world. For example, in the Kuuk Thaayorre language, there are no words for
left an d right. There is no way to explain where something is without using the words north,
south, east, and west. Because of this, these people have an innate understanding of which way
is north at al l times. In some languages, there aren’t different words for blue and green.
Speakers of these languages have trouble distinguishing between the two colors.
Keith Chen is an economist who has researched the relationship between language and future
planning. Some languages such as Mandarin and Finnish don’t have a future tense, while other
languages, such as French and English, do have a future tense that is clearly different than the
present tense. For example, an English speaker would say, “Today is cold and tomorrow will be
cold,” while a Finnish speaker would say, “Today be cold, and tomorrow be cold.”
Chen believes that this lack of a clear future tense causes people to see less of a separation bet
ween the present and the future, and this causes them to make better decisions today that will
affect them tomorrow. In contrast, he believes that speakers of languages that do have a clear
grammatical separation are more likely to see the future as something far off. And they are less
likely to go the extra mile today for rewards in the distant future.
According to his research, speakers of languages that don’t have a clear future tense are more
likely to save money, exercise more, and not smoke cigarettes. This is even true within
Switzerland, a country with three official languages. People who speak languages with a future
tense squirrel away significantly less than their neighbors. They build nest eggs 39% smaller
than futureless language speakers. They also are more likely to be in bad shape. They are 29%
more likely to smoke and 13% more likely to be a couch potato.
It’s important to remember that this research is just showing correlations. No one can say for
sure if grammar is influencing our decisions or not. It could be that some cultures are just more
responsible about planning for the future, and this has affected the way their language has
developed. What about people in your culture? Do they make wise decisions when planning for
the future? Do you think there is a relationship between the language you speak and the
choices you make?

Vocabulary
Go to the extra mile: put in more effort than Nest egg: money saved for retirement
normal
Bad shape: bad condition; poor health
Squirrel away: save STH for the future
Couch potato:
Railroad Time
The word “time” is the most common noun in the English language, so it’s no wonder that there
a re so many idioms related to time. Keeping time is an idiom that means measuring time. The
history of keeping time dates back to ancient Egypt. They used tall standing beams called
obelisks to measure the time it took the sun to move across the sky. Watching the moving
shadow of an obelisk was used by cultures all over the world to tell time. Later, people used
burning in cense or candles, sand in an hourglass, and even water to keep time. In 1685, a man
named Christiaan Huygens invented the world’s first pendulum clock that used a swinging
weight to measure time.
While using pendulums to measure time was accurate, before the late 1800s, there were no
time zones or an accepted system for converting times around the world. Many towns set their
own time according to when the sun was at the highest point in the sky. When it was noon in
Washington DC, it was 12:12 in New York City. Other towns set their time according to sunrise
or sunset. In the 1800s, there were 300 different local times in different towns across the
United States. This all changed as the power of railroad companies grew in the US. These
railroad companies needed a simple way to keep track of arrivals and departures of their trains,
so they created four time zones in the US.
Many people were not happy about a company coming in and changing the way they kept time.
At first, some towns tried to rebel against the new railroad time, and many places kept two
clock s on the wall, one showing the local time and the other showing railroad time. Eventually,
the railroads and other business interests won in the US, as well as in other countries, and
standard time zones were set around the world. There is one place where time zones are n ever
used, though. All pilots in every country in the world use UTC or Universal Coordinated Time
while in the air. It makes sense to minimize any confusion when you want to avoid crashing.
Astrophysicist Dick Henry and economist Steve Hanke believe that pilots aren’t the only ones
who can benefit from a universal time. They want to do away with time zones for everyone.
Henry an d Hanke say, “Local solar time was fine, when almost all activity was local!” Now that
we live in a global world, it’s high time we all got on the same page. They say that
communication, travel, and trade would all be easier if every country followed the same clock.

Vocabulary
Keep time: to measure or keep track of time On the same page: in agreement or having the
same point of view
Do away with: to eliminate; to get rid of

High time: the right time for STH to happen

The Practice of Gratitude
Natalie Price was in dire straits. She was in the middle of a divorce and was struggling to put a
roof over her children’s heads. After losing her job, she was at her wit’s end. With no other
options, she moved in with her parents. At 2 AM, she woke up in pain. She was having a heart
attack. Price healed up at a San Diego hospital. It was there that she met researchers studying
the effects of gratitude on heart health.
Price became a participant in a University of California San Diego research study along with 186
others who also were at risk of heart failure. Participants kept a daily journal recording all the
things they were grateful for. Price said some days it was difficult to think of things she was
thankful for, but she completed the eight weeks. Along the way, the researchers measured the
participant’s heart health. At the end of the eight weeks, their blood test results showed a
lower risk of heart disease. They also reported improved mood and better sleep.
Martin Seligman is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and is also
considered the father of positive psychology. Psychology often focuses on mental illness. The
field of positive psychology attempts to help healthy people become happier. In the 1980s
Seligman did research into personality traits and found that people who focused more on bad
things and who had little appreciation for the good things in their life were less happy and less
satisfied with life.
Seligman asked his students to keep a gratitude journal, where they wrote down five things the
y felt grateful for every week for ten weeks. At the end of the ten weeks, his students reported
less stress and more happiness. Seligman later asked other students to write letters of gratitude
to special people in their lives. He then had them visit these special people and read them the
letters out loud. This resulted in even higher levels of happiness and deeper connections
between people. The practice of gratitude or appreciation for the good things in your life can
increase your happiness not just in the moment but also long-term.
Many people practice gratitude by keeping a gratitude journal. Try it out. Every day, write down
3- 5 things that you’re thankful for. This could be big things like getting a new job or small
things like a cup of coffee or the joke you just shared with your friend. It’s a cycle that builds
upon itself. The more we practice feeling appreciation for the good things in our lives, the more
we naturally notice good things in our lives.

Vocabulary
In dire straits: in a bad situation Along the way: while a process or series of events is
happening
Roof over one’s head: a place to live
Try STH out: test STH to see if it’s effective or if you
At one’s wit’s end: at the end of one’s patience or
like it
ability to endure
Where Are All the Aliens?
Our Milky Way Galaxy may be home to 2 billion planets that have the right conditions to
support life. These planets have the correct temperature for liquid water. While no one knows
what alien life would look like, if it is anything like life on earth, it would need water to survive.
The possibility of liquid water depends on a planet’s distance from the nearest star. Too close
and water evaporates; too far away and water freezes. Scientists have also looked at the effects
of clouds on planet temperature. This has increased the estimate of habitable planets to 2
billion. This is only the number of habitable planets in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is just one
of an estimated 100 to 20 0 billion galaxies in the universe.
The earth was formed 9 billion years after the Big Bang. Many of the planets in the Milky Way
were formed millions and some even billions of years before the earth. If intelligent life had
developed on any of these planets, they would have had a big head start on humanity. With
that much time to develop the technology for space travel, we should have been visited by
aliens many times.
So where is everyone? Conspiracy theorists believe that aliens have visited earth many times,
an d the governments of the world are involved in a huge cover-up. Some believe that we have
also been visited many times in the ancient past. They point to the Egyptian pyramids or the
enormous heads of Easter Island. They say that there was no way that ancient humans were
capable of creating these structures without alien assistance.
According to Harvard professor Avi Loeb, we not only have been visited by aliens, we have
concrete proof. In 2017, a cigar-shaped object came within 33 million km of the earth as it
passed through our solar system. It was named Oumuamua, which means ‘messenger from the
distant past reaching out to us’ in Hawaiian. Loeb says that its unusual shape and the fact that it
sped up as it left our solar system sets it apart from anything else we’ve seen. He thinks it was a
probe sent by an alien civilization. Astrophysicist Jackie Fairey says everyone should take that
claim with a grain of salt. She is one of many scientists who say there are more plausible
explanations for Oumuamua. That hasn’t stopped Professor Loeb from doubling down on his
theory. He has written a new book on Oumuamua called Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of
Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.

Vocabulary
Head start: starting before others; an advantage Set STH apart: make STH different
over others
Take SB with a grain of salt: understand that STH
Cover-up: an attempt to hide wrongdoing may not be 100% true

Concrete: real or solid; not abstract Double down: strengthen one’s determination; try
even harder
Pass through: visit for a short time on the way to
somewhere else
The Earth Is Growing
We think of islands as being fixed in size, but some do grow. On the Big Island of Hawaii, Kilauea volcano
erupted almost continuously from 1983 to 2018. For 35 years, lava poured out, and some of it reached
the ocean, which caused the island to grow fresh land. Between 1983 and 2002, the island’s landmass
grew by 542 acres.

Hawaii is a natural example of the earth’s growing landmass, but there are also growing islands of trash
in five different places in the ocean. The biggest island of trash is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,
which is between Japan and Hawaii. Some estimates say it is twice the size of Texas. Its actual size is
hard to pin down because it is not an island of solid trash but is better described as a ‘trash soup.’ In
some areas, this soup is t hick and up to 10 meters deep, and in other areas, it thins to very small pieces
of plastic that are not visible from the surface. It is estimated to weigh 80 million tons and is continuing
to grow daily.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is held together by wind and water currents, but that doesn’t mean it is
contained. It kills many different types of sea life, including turtles, penguins, and birds that mistake
plastic trash for food. In the Midway Islands, the bodies of birds that have died from eating the plastic
have been photographed, which has encouraged some people to decrease their use of plastics.
Zooplankton are tiny organisms in the ocean that are a necessary food source for many of the ocean’s
creatures. In 2000, there were six pounds of plastic per pound of zooplankton in the ocean. Today, there
are 60 pounds of plastic per pound of zooplankton. According to some estimate s, by 2050, there will be
more plastic in the ocean than fish. This isn’t just a problem for sea life, but also for anyone who enjoys
seafood. In 2011, researchers found plastic in 9% of fish caught in the Pacific Ocean.

In the US, 2 million plastic bottles are thrown away every 5 minutes, and about 1 million plastic bags are
used every minute worldwide. They’re thrown in landfills and in the oceans of the world. All of this
plastic is designed to stick around for 500 to 1,000 years before finally breaking down. When we are
faced with such immense pollution problems like this, it’s easy to bury our heads in the sand, but there
are both global solutions and personal choices that can make a difference. Watch the video below as
you ponder whether you can reduce plastic in your life.
Should Your Doctor Be Studying Astrology?
The ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates said, “a physician without knowledge of astrology has no right to
call himself a physician.” Believers in astrology have been around for thousands of years. They looked to
the position of the sun and planets to understand our health, our personalities, and to make predictions
about the future.

Today you will still find horoscopes giving advice on romance and finance in newspapers across the U.S.
Yet most people read them just for kicks. Less than 26% of people in the U.S. believe in a strology, which
is less than the number of people who believe in UFOs. It seems crazy to think that the day we were
born has any effect on who we are. But, recent research is starting to shed some light on this belief.
Studies have shown a connection between your birthday and higher risks of 24 medical disorder s. These
include schizophrenia, diabetes, and allergies.

People born in the Northern Hemisphere during the months of October, November, and December have
a higher risk of developing schizophrenia. Interestingly, these risks are reversed if you were born in the
Southern Hemisphere. There, people born in the months of April, May, and June have a higher risk of
developing schizophrenia. Scientists are not sure why this is. Some are guessing that it could be
connected to the decreased hours of sunlight during the winter season.

The amount of sunlight we get each day affects our production of Vitamin D and our circadian c lock.
The circadian clock is our inner timer that tells us when to wake and sleep. It can also mess with our
metabolism and our neurochemicals. It’s possible that the way in which our circadian clock is first set at
the time of our birth has far-reaching effects on our health throughout our life.

Researchers have also found links between our total lifespan and times of birth. Centenarians are more
likely to have been born in autumn. No one has a clue why this is either, but some people are guessing
that it may be connected to nutrition. People today are able to get enough nutrients year-round, but
this wasn’t always true. Today’s centenarians were born in the early 20th century. This was a time when
the availability of a wide variety of nutritious foods was directly connected to the seasons. Astrology
might not be the best guide for the modern world. But, it’s fascinating to think that the time and space
of our entry into the world can play a part in who we are.
Who Makes the Decision?
On March 1st, 1950, a natural gas explosion in Nebraska blew up a church. Choir practice at the West
Side Baptist Church usually kicked off at 7:20 pm. The church exploded at 7:25, but not a s ingle person
was killed or injured. The choir members often arrived early, but on that day, every single one of them
was late.

Ladonna Vandergrift, a high school student, decided to finish her math homework before going to
practice. Marilyn Ruth and her parents showed up late because she decided to change her clothes.
Ronda and her sister had car trouble and had to wait for Ladonna to finish her homework, so she could
drive them. Mrs. Schuster and her daughter decided to stop at her mother’s house before choir practice.
Herbert Kipf decided that he had to write an important letter before he could go. Joyce Black was feeling
“just plain lazy.” Harvey Ahl and his two children were running late because he was talking and lost track
of time. Marilyn Paul was planning on going early, but she fell asleep. Marilyn’s mother was behind
schedule because she had to wake her daughter up. Lucille Jones and Dorothy Wood, both high school
students, decided to finish listening to a radio program before going.

All 15 of these people made small choices that saved their lives. Why did they make these decisions?
Why did they decide writing a letter or finishing their homework, or listening to a radio program was
more important than being late for choir practice? Research says these decisions might not be decisions
at all. To be more specific, they might not be conscious decisions. In a research study at the Max Planck
Institute, participants were given a choice to press a button with either their left or right hand. The only
rule was they needed to record when they made the choice.

During this experiment, the participants were having their brains scanned with an MRI. Looking a t these
brain scans, the researchers were able to clearly see different brain patterns for participants who chose
the left button and participants who chose the right button. Interestingly, the brain scans showed that
the participants made their decision seven seconds before they had recorded making the choice. In
other words, the decision was made before their conscious mind was aware of it. While this may not be
true for all decisions, certainly some of our decisions are happening unconsciously before we know it.
How much of your life is controlled by your unconscious mind? Maybe you already answered this
question seven seconds ago.
Feeling Lucky?
Are you superstitious? Most people would say no, but in fact, many of us live our lives making off the
wall choices. In the US, Friday the 13th is thought to be so unlucky that 10,000 fewer people choose to
fly on this day. And businesses also suffer on that day because fewer people are traveling. The effects of
the inauspicious number aren’t just limited to travel. Some elevators in the US even forgo the 13th floor,
moving from the 12th floor to the 14th floor. Similarly, in Japan and China, people are superstitious
about the number 4, so buildings sometimes lack a 4th floor.

Famous athletes are often known for superstitious rituals and beliefs. Michael Jordan wore the same
lucky blue underwear during every professional game of his life. Tiger Woods always wears a red shirt
on tournament Sundays. And professional tennis player, Serena Williams, is known to repeatedly wear
the same socks during a winning tournament. We expect scientists to be above superstition, but even
they have been known to dabble with superstitious beliefs. Astronauts from Russia, China, and the
United States all have their unique rituals. For example, before every NASA space launch, the flight
commander must play a game of cards with the technical crew and continue playing into the wee hours
of the morning until the commander can successfully lose.

So why do we believe that some things bring us good luck and other things bring us bad luck? W ell,
humans are pattern-seeking creatures. We have an amazing day where good things happen, and we
notice that we were wearing our favorite shirt, so that becomes our lucky shirt. Conversely, if we get
into a car accident on Friday the 13th, we might think that our bad luck must be due to the day. Many
times superstitions take root because people misinterpret coincidences as meaningful patterns.

Of course, most of us know that superstitions are irrational, but many of us still follow at least one or
two of them. According to research, irrational superstitions might not be such a bad thing. In one
psychology experiment, people were tested on their golfing skills. Half of the people were randomly
selected and told that their balls were lucky. The other half were told that they were getting normal
balls. Those that received the “lucky” balls scored 35% better than those given “normal” balls. Of course,
both balls were exactly the same, but the researchers believe that using a lucky ball made people feel
more confident, which led to better performance. Superstitions seem silly, but sometimes they do the
trick.
The Landfill Harmonic
Teacher Fabio Chavez leads a children’s orchestra in a slum built upon garbage. The Landfill Harmonic
orchestra gets its name from the word ‘philharmonic,’ which means ‘music loving.’ Chavez brings his
love of music and a passion for social change to the kids of Cateura, a town outside the capital of
Paraguay that is built upon a landfill.

Every day 1,500 tons of trash are dumped in Cateura. The 2,500 families that live around and on t op of
this garbage suffer from pollution, poverty, drug and alcohol problems, and a lack of proper education
for their children. Most of the people there struggle to make a living by separating garbage for recycling
companies, and children often do much of this dangerous work.

Chavez says that the price of a violin for these children would cost what a house costs in Cateura, but
this didn’t stop him. He turned to local garbage pickers to hunt down various pieces of trash in order to
create musical instruments from them. Violins and cellos are made from oil drums , saxophones are
made from water pipes and keys, and guitars are made from cans. With these instruments, the kids play
everything. Their musical repertoire runs the gamut from Beethoven to the Beatles.

There’s a famous English expression that says one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. But this story
isn’t just about the value of things, but also the value of people. Chavez says, “People realize we
shouldn’t throw away trash carelessly. Well, we shouldn’t throw away people either.” The Landfill
Harmonic Orchestra shows us that the garbage we create doesn’t just affect faceless people. It affects
real people like the young girl featured in this video, who says, “Without music, my life would be
worthless.”
Grieving Animals
While it is hard to say what she truly felt, Tahlequah the killer whale appeared heartbroken when her
calf died soon after being born. As any mother would, she took it hard, and could not let go. Tahlequah
carried her child’s body for 1,000 miles over 17 days before finally letting her go.

We all know there are many differences between humans and animals. The ability to use advance d
tools or cook our food are things that set us apart. Many people feel that animals aren’t capable of
having the same emotions as humans. Grief appears to be one emotion that we have in com mon with
some animals.

The feeling of grief can be hard to stomach for a person who experiences tragedy. Everyone grieves in a
different way, too. Some people shut down and other people try to forget about the tragedy. New
studies show that some mammals go through a similar process when a loved one dies. For example,
when a herd of elephants comes across a dead member of their pack, it’s hard to say they don’t mourn
the loss. Instead of just moving on, they will gather around the body, sometimes for hours. The
immediate family will be the most affected, but the whole pack will be there to show their support.

Chimpanzees go through a similar process. They have human-like reactions after the death of a loved
one. After discovering the dead body of a family member, chimpanzees will rarely leave it unattended.
Most of the time, the mother and father will sit and sulk with the body for hours. Later, the mother will
carry her child’s body away with her. This is not all that different from the normal human process of
grieving and burial.

So it’s easy to see that loss greatly affects at least some animals. It goes to show that animals do have
human-like emotions. This discovery is leading scientists to other interesting questions. I f animals are
capable of feeling grief, then what other human emotions are they capable of? And are there any
emotions that animals display that humans don’t express?
Nature Is a Guide
Nature is a guide and teacher that can inspire us in the strangest of places and phenomena. In
Venezuela, where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo, there is a lightning storm that seems to
never end. For about 300 days each year, cloud to cloud lightning strikes up to 280 times per hour. Even
when the weather in surrounding areas is excellent, there is often a storm over this lake. Locals say the
lightning is visible from up to 400 km away. The storm is more than just a curious natural phenomenon,
though, because ships have been using it to help them navigate f or ages.

In Morocco, you can find goats climbing trees. Goats are well known for being excellent mountain
climbers, but trees are more difficult for their four-legged bodies. The goats don’t just climb these trees
for kicks. They climb a certain tree, called the Argan tree, to eat the olive-like fruit that grows there. The
fruit has one to three nuts inside, which the goats will then spit out, and farmer s will collect. The
farmers then make oil from these nuts, which tastes great and is good for your skin, too. The goats have
no idea how important they are for the production of this oil.

Many people think waves only happen in the ocean, but Brazil is home to the world’s longest wave, and
it happens on the Amazon River. In February and March of each year, the water from the Atlantic Ocean
rolls into the river to create the world’s longest wave. Each wave can be over four meters high and last
for over half an hour. These waves are powerful enough to destroy houses and pull trees right out of the
ground. You might want to head for the hills when this wave comes, but some people prefer to surf it.
It’s a dangerous wave to surf, but every year professional surfers show up to ride the extended wave. In
2003, a Brazilian surfer rode the wave for 37 minutes an d traveled 12.5 kilometers.

The lightning from a never-ending storm is a guide for ships at sea. Tree climbing goats are natural nut
gatherers for people. And nearly endless waves are an opportunity for thrill-seeking surfers. For
thousands of years, humans have found solutions to their problems in nature. And even the strangest of
natural phenomena can be opportunities for those who think outside the box.
Early Bird or Night Owl?
Are you an early bird or a night owl? While some people would like to believe they are an early bird or
night owl by choice, it’s more complicated than that. This is determined mostly by your circadian
rhythm. A circadian rhythm is a natural cycle of energy levels that is determined by both your genetics
and your exposure to light. It controls the amount of energy you have at different times of day and what
time you go to sleep.

If your cycle is longer, you’re more likely to burn the midnight oil. If your cycle is shorter, though, you’re
more likely to get up early and attack the day. How you deal with your circadian rhythm greatly affects
your productivity. For example, just because someone is able to stay up longer doesn’t mean they will
get more done. Because of this, the typical 40-hour workweek doesn’t take advantage of people’s most
productive hours.

So how did the 40-hour workweek come into play then? Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with
increasing productivity. Henry Ford, the owner of Ford Motors, created it. He reduced his employee s’
hours from 48 hours a week to 40 hours a week to give them more time to spend their money. He
hoped to spark more consumerism in America by giving people more free time to spend their salaries.

While his plan worked to increase sales in America, people still debate about the effects a set schedule
has on productivity. Creativity and health thrive when people work at their peak hours. Taking frequent
breathers helps, too. The key is to take un-timed breaks when you feel you need the m, not when
someone tells you to take one.

When are your most productive times of the day for creative work? Are there times when you fee l
much more productive for certain types of tasks than others? Could you better utilize those times while
introducing un-timed, natural breaks into your schedule? If so, you might see big increases in your
productivity and creativity.
US Struggles with Covid as Citizens Reject Masks

Unlike some parts of the US, in Texas, face masks have been mandatory since early July. When a bus
driver in Lubbock asked a passenger to put on a face mask, the passenger smashed up the bus and
attacked the driver. This was not an isolated incident. Across the US, face mask rules have caused
arguments and violence. In Palm Beach, Florida a shopper in a store pulled a gun on another customer
after being called out for not wearing a mask.

The science on masks reducing the spread of the coronavirus is clear, but not everyone is willing to
accept it. In local government meetings across the country, passionate citizens have protested masks.
They believe that mask rules are a violation of their freedom. “I would also like to know where do you
get the authority to reduce my oxygen,” demanded one Florida woman. Another Florida citizen said
wearing a mask is akin to, “Being muzzled like a mad dog.”

Yet in countries such as Japan, wearing a face mask is no big deal. At the slightest sniffle, many Japanese
people will put on a mask to protect others. It’s considered a common courtesy. In response to the
Covid-19 crisis, almost the entire country covered up. Professor of immunobiology, Akiko Iwasaki,
believes the proof is in the pudding. Countries who have accepted masks have done much better during
this pandemic. While some people view face masks as a way to preserve life and liberty, others see
them as a human rights violation. Studies show that 25% of people believe in coronavirus conspiracy
theories. Some believe it is a hoax designed to limit freedom. Others say it’s no different than the run of
the mill flu. Another theory says 5G towers are the cause of the pandemic. Some think it was created in
a lab to open the door for a global vaccination program.

The US is not alone in its resistance to masks. In London, there was an anti-mask march. Protestors cried
they would not be, “Masked, tracked or poisoned.” They were angry that the UK government was asking
for masks to be worn in shops. They called it a “liberty sapping regulation.” While masks are common
sense to some, the US government must take some responsibility for the resistance to masks. Dr.
Anthony Fauci is America’s leading infectious disease expert. He now advocates for masks but at the
beginning of the pandemic, he advised Americans that masks would not make a difference. U.S.
President Donald Trump has recently done a 180 on masks. After months of refusing to wear a mask or
encouraging others to wear one, he now calls them patriotic. Despite this turnaround, he still refuses to
mandate nationwide mask use.
Gift of Life – Organ Donation Chains
When he turned 60, Indian billionaire Kochouseph Chittilappilly wanted to do something big. He h ad a
vision of a kidney donation chain. And the chain would start with him. Some said it was a publicity stunt.
Others thought he was joking and wouldn’t actually go through with it. His wife told him to avoid the
health risks and just donate money. Kochouseph was serious, and he did go through with it.

He decided to donate one of his kidneys to a stranger. The recipient was an ill trucker. Kochouseph
donated his kidney with one cast-iron condition. A member of the trucker’s family had to donate their
kidney to another person in need. The trucker’s wife jumped at the chance. Her kidney was an
unsuitable match for her husband, but was just right for another patient. Sadly, somewhere down the
line, one kidney recipient lacked family support, and the chain broke.

Like many countries, the demand for organ donation in India is far greater than the supply. In 201 8,
200,000 people required kidney transplants, but only 7,500 people stepped up to the plate as donors. In
addition to a lack of donors, India also has religious and cultural taboos against organ donation. This
dissuades people from choosing to donate their organs after they die. Some say Kochouseph’s act of
charity has been a game-changer for Indian society. According to his friend C.J. George, “In a single
stroke, Kochouseph has changed how society views organ do nations. It has led to a new awakening,”

Organ donation chains have also been successful in the US. Mitzi Neyens had lived with manage able
kidney disease for nearly three decades. When the 77-year-old’s kidney went into sharp decline, she
feared the worst. Mitzi’s friend wanted to donate her kidney, but they were not a good match. Mitzi and
her friend signed up for a new kidney exchange program, one as a donor and the other as a recipient. In
2015 Mitzi received a brand-new kidney and made history as the final link in a three-month-long
donation chain. At that time, the chain in Wisconsin was the longest of its kind. It included 34 donors
and 34 recipients. In 2013, Paula King approached the University of Alabama. She wanted to donate her
kidney to a stranger. Seven years later, Paula’s selfless act has created a kidney chain that is still going
today. It has given 114 people a new lease on life. Inspired by Paula, people from 12 different states
have signed up to give the greatest gift of all: life.
Short Guys Get the Short End of the Stick
Napoleon wasn’t tall, but he wasn’t short either. At five foot five inches (1.65 meters), he was only an
inch shorter than average for a Frenchman of his time. Despite the myth, to this day, people di
smissively describe aggressive men of short stature as having a Napoleon Complex. The idea that short
men sometimes feel the need to prove themselves is not a myth. In the gene tic lottery, tall men have
hit the jackpot. They are much more likely to become successful in business, politics, and love.

In the history of US presidential elections, the taller man has won 53 out of 58 times. While only 1% of
American males are taller than 6 foot 3 inches (190 cm), one-third of the CEOs in the top 600 companies
in the US are that tall. Shorter guys, on the other hand, often get the short end of the stick. According to
a study at the University of Exeter, shorter men have less education and income. They measured
120,000 men and found that just three inches fewer in height was associated with $1,600 less in annual
income.

Height discrimination in the dating world is also rampant. According to one survey, only two out of
seventy women were willing to date a man that was shorter than her. Height bias is predominantly a
male burden to bear. There seems to be no connection between h eight and success for women. Of
course, women are also unfairly discriminated against based on their looks. According to professor
Timothy Frayling, a woman with an extra 14 pounds of bod y weight earns $1,600 less in annual income
compared to a woman of average weight. Basing income or employment on height or weight is
irrational, but height and weight biases are real.

Height inferiority has caused some men to go to great lengths to get taller. Height extension surgery is
on the rise. Twenty-eight-year-old Alfonso was profiled by insidehook.com. Though above average at 5
foot 11 inches (180 cm), he says he dreamed of being taller since he was 12 years old. Alfonso has paid
$75,000 for the limb lengthening surgery. The procedure involves breaking the patient’s legs and
inserting a device into the bone. After surgery, the device is controlled by a remote that stretches the
legs by one millimeter a day and stimulates new bone growth. Alfonso is expecting to gain an extra
three inches.

Some critics of this surgery worry that it is reinforcing toxic expectations to be tall. Others believe that
undergoing such extreme surgery is a sign of a mental disorder. For Victor, another height extension
patient, it’s normal. He says, “at the end of the day, we all do something because of societal pressures.”
Flights to Nowhere In The Age Of Covid-19
International tourism analysts say that 2020 will be a lost year. With a projected $2.2 trillion lost and
100 million jobs wiped out, many hotels, airlines, and restaurants are in survival mode. Tourism-related
businesses are trying to stay afloat and weather the storm, hoping for a vaccine to tur n things around in
2021.

Asia is bearing the brunt of losses, but tourism is down around the world. Some countries are bribing
people to jumpstart their tourist economies. In July, Uzbekistan offered $3,000 to any tourist who gets
COVID while visiting the country. It is called the Safe Travel Guaranteed campaign. According to
Uzbekistan tourism ambassador Sophie Ibbotson, “The government is so confident that the new safety
and hygiene measures…will protect tourists from COVID-19 that the president is prepared to put money
where his mouth is.” Similarly, Cyprus will pay for hotels, food, and healthcare for travelers who come
down with the virus.

Many tourism companies are offering steep discounts, but some consumers are more focused on safety
than savings. Two companies have tried to satisfy those bitten by the travel bug, but too afraid or
unable to actually go anywhere. In July, Air China and Air Eva offered limited tours called “Pretend to go
abroad.” These tours allowed 180 people to experience all the most frustrating parts of travel without
the payoff. Participants waited through security and immigration lines to board a flight at Taipei airport.
They then deplaned without leaving the ground. Surprisingly, 7,0 00 people participated in a lottery to
win one of the 180 spots for the limited tours. Perhaps seeing a demand, Eva Air upped the ante on anti-
climactic travel experiences. On August 8th, they of fered another flight to nowhere, but this one
actually left the ground. For three hours, the flight circled and then returned to the same airport.
Considering the in-flight menu was created by a 3-sta r Michelin rated chef, the ticket cost of $180 was
dirt cheap.

This pales in comparison to the price of a Virgin Galactic ticket to nowhere. For those looking to leave
the hassles of earthly travel behind, commercial space flights are coming in 2021. Over 40 0 people have
already made reservations with Richard Branson’s company. For just $250,000, you too can fly 50 miles
above the earth to float weightless for a few minutes before returning home to mother earth.
I Am the River and The River Is Me
The Maori people wept with joy. They celebrated their beloved river being granted the same rights as a
human being by the New Zealand government. This means the river now has a legal right to exist.
Defenders of the river can now use the courts to sue anyone who seeks to harm it.

It was one of New Zealand’s longest running court cases, lasting 140 years. It ended on March 17th,
2017 with the government finally recognizing the Te Awa Tupua river as being its own owner. From time
immemorial, the Maori people have viewed this river as a living being. They relate to the river as kin and
depend on the river for survival. The Te Awa Tupua river also has great spiritual significance to them.
They say, “I am the river and the river is me.” They believe the wellbeing of the river and their own
wellbeing are one and the same.

The legal rights of nature have also been granted to New Zealand forests and mountains in recent years.
While equating nature with some of the rights of humans may sound a bit odd, many countries have
been granting legal rights of personhood to corporations. If we can recognize businesses as people,
perhaps it is high time that we show the same respect to the environment. New Zealand isn’t the only
country that has begun to seek legal rights for nature. In 2008, Ecuador was the first country to add the
legal rights of nature to its constitution. According to Ecuadorian politician, Alberto Acosta, ”The human
being is a part of nature, and [we] must prohibit human beings from bringing about the extinction of
other species or destroying the functioning of natural ecosystems.”

As of 2020, at least a dozen other countries have granted rights to nature either on the national or local
level. Recently, a court in Bangladesh recognized the Turag river as a living entity with legal rights. This
ruling helped to protect the river from further pollution. We are living in an age of unprecedented
species extinction and ecological destruction. Exploiting nature as an economic resource is
unsustainable. It’s a ticking time bomb. Indigenous cultures show us that there is another way, and
some activists, politicians and courts are listening. Nature is as alive as we are.
A Language Dies Every Two Weeks but Not This One
When Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez had a falling out, it became international news. No one
remembers what started it. Some say it was because they disagreed on the proper way to speak their
own language. Their feud was widely reported around the world because there was much more than
their friendship at stake.

They were the last two speakers of a 600-year-old language called Ayapaneco. If their friendship could
not be saved, the language would die. In 2014, telecommunications giant Vodafone stepped in to save
the day. Together with the local community, they built a school to teach the language. And as the cherry
on top, the two old friend s were brought together to bury the hatchet. The men hugged, cried, and of
course, they talked. They spoke in a language that would not die that day. The Vodafone video
documentary that was made ends with the two men teaching young children their language. The only
problem with this heartwarming story was that it was a lie. It was an advertising scheme dreamed up by
Vodafone’s marketing department to tug on people’s heartstrings. And it worked. It fooled news media
around the world, including the BBC, NPR, and the Guardian.

In truth, Ayapaneco is in danger of going extinct with only four native speakers, which includes Manuel
and Isidro. Vodafone paid the other two to keep quiet. The school Vodafone built was also a sham. Since
there was already an Ayapaneco school in town, Vodafone just paid to have it painted and called it a
day. As for Manuel and Isidro, there never was a feud. To this day, they continue working to preserve
their language by teaching children. Ayapaneco isn’t the only language around the world in danger. Of
the 7,000 known living languages, one dies every two weeks.

Muazzez Kocek is one of the last speakers of the Kusdili language. In her village there are just 50
speakers left. It is called ‘bird language’ because it uses whistles instead of normal words. There is a
wide range of whistles that can communicate the full Turkish vocabulary. Why whistling? Kusdili is
spoken in a mountainous area of Turkey where people needed to communicate over long distances.
Whistles can travel much further than shouting over the area’s hills and valleys. But now that almost
everyone has cell phones, Kusdili is in danger of dying out. That hasn’t stopped people trying to protect
the language from using technology to save it. There is now a whistle dictionary smartphone app to help
people learn the language. Muazzez says, “We want to keep our language alive. It is our culture… I love
it and I always will.”
Delayed Gratification – The Secret to Success?
Delayed gratification means giving up pleasure now to get a greater reward in the future. We cut down
on the junk food today, so we look good at the beach next summer. We save money now, so we can
relax in retirement. We all delay gratification to some degree, and it starts at a young ag e.

In the 1960s, Stanford professor Walter Mischel tested children’s ability to delay gratification. In his
experiment, a researcher offered up a simple choice to each young child. The child could have one
marshmallow now or two marshmallows if the child could hold out for 15 minutes. The researcher left
the child alone in the room with one marshmallow on a tray. The child was filmed with a secret video
camera. Most of the children couldn’t wait and soon ate the marshmallow.

However, about 30% were able to delay gratification and get the second marshmallow. Interestingly, the
children were tested for the next 30 years, and the ones who could wait for the second marshmallow
were more successful later in life! They got higher test scores in school, they had fewer problems with
drugs, and they were much more likely to hit the books in college. They also h ad lower body fat and
made more money as adults. They simply exceeded their peers in many facets of life.

Delayed gratification is a type of self-control. The children in this experiment used a variety of
techniques to delay gratification and control themselves. This experiment has been replicated many
times, and the results can be seen in videos online. Some of the kids turn around or cover their e yes so
they can’t see the marshmallow. Some kick the desk, pull their hair, or sing songs to distract themselves.
Others stroke the marshmallow as if it were a doll. These are all techniques to control their focus. They
are childish techniques, but they do the trick.

For many people, the takeaway from this experiment is that some kids are born with the successful trait
of delayed gratification, and others aren’t. Our future success is set in stone. Walter Mischel disagreed.
He said, “That iconic story is upside-down wrong — that your future is in a marshmallow — because it
isn’t.” He believed that we are not bound by our past. We can learn to reframe situations to change the
way we behave. He talks about how he was able to take a child who failed the test and quickly teach her
techniques to successfully delay gratification. Mischel believes the point of the marshmallow
experiment is not about how fixed we are, but about our immense potential for change.
A Dog Is a Man’s Best Friend
“A dog is a man’s best friend” is a common English saying because they are more loyal than all other
animals, and some say they are more loyal than people too. Dogs and humans have lived under the
same roof for 15,000 years. Recently a dog named Capitan has shown us why dogs are such an iconic
symbol of loyalty and friendship around the world.

In 2005, Capitan was adopted by a man named Miguel Guzman in Argentina. Miguel got Capita n as a
gift for his son Damian. In 2006, Miguel passed away, and soon after, Capitan disappeared . They
thought he was lost or had been adopted by another family. When Damian and his mother went to the
cemetery to visit Miguel’s grave, lo and behold, there was Capitan. They couldn’t believe it because they
had never brought Capitan to the cemetery before. They didn’t know how he h ad found the grave, but
the dog was there barking and crying. Miguel’s widow said, “We went bac k the next Sunday, and he was
there again. This time, he followed us home and spent a bit of time with us, but then went back to the
cemetery before it started getting dark. I don’t think he wanted to leave Miguel on his own at night.”

They tried to bring the dog home many times, but each time Capitan would run away again and return
to the cemetery. For eleven years, he lived at the cemetery and was taken care of by the cemetery staff.
They said that Capitan walked around in the day, but every day at 6 pm, he returned to Miguel’s grave
and stayed until morning. In 2018, Capitan’s long vigil ended. According to a report by Agencia EFE,
clearance was being sought to have the animal laid to rest in the same cemetery with the master he so
loved.

Capitan’s loyalty echoes the story of Hachiko, a dog who was also loyal to her owner, even long after he
passed away. In 1924, Hachiko was adopted by her owner, a man named Ueno, who was a university
professor. Every day Hachiko would wait at Shibuya station for Professor Ueno to return home from his
job at the University of Tokyo at 4:00 sharp. In 1925, Professor Ueno died, but Hachiko kept returning
every day at 4:00 to look for her owner. The station staff took care of Hachiko, but every day like
clockwork, she would go out to the train tracks at the same time to loo k for Professor Ueno coming
home. This continued for ten years until Hachiko’s death in 1935. They made a statue of Hachiko in front
of Shibuya station, and to this day, she is still a Japanese symbol of loyalty.
The Healing Power of Music
People are enamored with music. It touches our souls in profound ways that words alone cannot equal.
It stirs our imagination, invigorates our bodies, and transforms our moods. It can lift us u p or
overwhelm us with emotion. It can make us feel down in the dumps or over the moon. It can pump us
up, and it can calm us down.

Billy Joel, the famous American songwriter and performer, once said. “I think music in itself is healing.
It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture
we’re from, everyone loves music.” There is no doubt: music can indeed heal. People with brain injuries
such as a stroke, for example, have had success with music therapy. It can activate their brain in
alternative ways. It often bypasses the damaged areas, allowing people to regain movement or speech.
In this way, music actually changes the structure of the brain. It gives people new chances to move and
speak.

Also, studies have shown that music therapy can lower the stress hormone cortisol. It can also increase
the pleasure hormone dopamine. It can improve heart and breathing rates, as well as anxiety and pain
in cancer patients. In the field of psychology, music has been used to help people suffering from
depression and sadness. Also, for children with developmental disabilities, music can be healing.

Therapist Yvonne Russell has seen firsthand the power of music to heal the elderly. Henry, an old man,
was living in a nursing home. Like some people his age, Henry was suffering from dementia. He forgot
things easily and has lost many of his mental abilities. In fact, Henry lived in his own world, often
unresponsive to other people. But when Yvonne gave him an iPod with his favorite blasts from the past,
he instantly began to sing and sway to the music. His lifeless face became transformed with energy. His
eyes came alive with emotion as he listened to music. While he was mostly mute for years, after
listening to music he was suddenly able to shoot the breeze with the people around him. Music
breathed life into his body and mind. According to Neurologist Dr. Olive r Sacks, “Henry is restored to
himself. He has remembered who he is and has reacquired his identity for a while through the power of
music.”
They Are Happy the Way They Are
If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it ‘ is a common English expression that warns against fixing something that is
fine the way it is. Leave well enough alone. Don’t mess with it, or you’ll make it worse.

Some little people and deaf people feel the same way. ‘Little person’ is the preferred nomenclature for a
person who is shorter than 4 feet 10 inches. One of the causes of small stature is a condition called
achondroplasia, a genetic bone disorder. A new pharmaceutical drug has the potential to treat this
problem. Testing has shown very positive results. On average, it has increased the height of clinical trial
participants by. 6 inches in one year and the effects could compound with long-term use. Some little
people insist they do not need help. Megan Schimmel has achondroplasia, and she wouldn’t change it
for the world. She believes her experiences have made her who she is today. Not only does she not want
the treatment for herself, she also does not want it for her 2-year-old daughter, who also has
achondroplasia.

Shimmel is not alone in her belief that little people do not need to be cured. Mark Povinelli, the
president of the organization Little People of America, told the New York Times, the new drug “is one of
the most divisive things that we’ve come across in our 63-year existence.” He believes that height is not
connected to quality of life. Little people don’t have a height problem. It’s society that has a problem
being obsessed with height.

Similar opinions have also been expressed by some in the deaf community. TED Talk speaker Iris a
MacAulay describes herself as deaf and proud, not hearing impaired and not someone with hearing loss.
This distinction is important because she doesn’t identify as someone who is diminished, compromised,
or broken. Cochlear implants were invented in the 1970s. In the ensuing decades, hundreds of
thousands of deaf people have received the implants allowing them to hear.

Similar to the debate over the new drug for achondroplasia, not everyone has welcomed the treatment.
Some deaf people believe strongly that being deaf is not a disability; It is a culture and identity that they
are proud of and want to protect. In some cases, deaf parents of deaf children have refused the
implants for their children. Some say it is unethical to not provide the implant to deaf children, but
Brandon Edquist might disagree. He was given a cochlear implant as a child but later rejected it as an
adult after becoming more integrated with deaf society. He says the bottom line is deaf people are the
same as everyone else. “What is there to fix? We’re happy with the way we are. We don’t view it as a
problem.”
5 Regrets Of The Dying
Before we start this week’s story, I want to play a bit from the Carsie Blanton song Smoke Alarm.

Why do you waste your time

Thinking about your reputation

Trying to meet an expectation

Wondering what they’re gonna say

When everyone you ever known

Is headed for a headstone

I don’t wanna give the end away

But we’re gonna die one day

Carsie Blanton sings about the futility of worrying about reputations and trying to meet expectati ons
when we’re all on a one way trip to the grave. Life is short , and we should make the most of i t. She
penned these lyrics while still in her twenties, and for someone so young, she understands a lot about
the psychology of regret.

In 2017, psychologists Davidai and Gilovich published a research paper about the nature of regr et and
found similar themes. They surveyed dozens of people and found that most regret is caus ed by inaction
more so than action. That is to say, we regret what we didn’t do more so than wha t we did do.

These researchers from Cornell University and the New School For Social Research further explai n that
regret is a result of conflict within our different conceptions of self: the “actual” self, the “o ught” self,
and the “ideal” self. The actual self is who we really are. The ought self is what society expects of us. The
ideal self is a representation of our highest hopes. When we fail to take action on the hopes and dreams
of our ideal self, regret will surely follow.

These themes of regretting inaction and not following our dreams are echoed by many people a s they
lie on their deathbeds. Bonnie Ware is a nurse who has taken care of people in the last sta ges of life for
many years. She often asked them during their last weeks and days of life about th eir biggest regrets. If
they could do things again, what would they change? In her book, The Top Five Regrets Of The Dying she
writes about the most common answers:

5. “I wish that I had let myself be happier.”

Many dying people told Bonnie that they wish they had been more open to change. Happiness is a
choice, and over the years, they had followed the same patterns and closed the door on new ch oices
that could have made them happier.

4. “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”

In their last days of life, many people thought back to all the wonderful friendships they had had and felt
bad that they had lost contact with them.
3. “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.”

A lot of people said they would have been happier if they had been more honest about their fee lings.
These people had repressed their true feelings and worried too much about what others th ought.

2. “I wish I didn’t work so hard.”

Many people told Bonnie that they regretted being so focused on making money and not spendi ng
enough time with their family. And the number 1 regret of those preparing to leave this world was also
sadly about unfulfilled d reams:

1. “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

Why do we waste our time

Thinking about an obligation

Running from a confrontation

Wondering what we oughtta say

When everyone we’ve ever known

Is headed for a headstone

I don’t wanna give the end away

But we’re gonna die one day

If you enjoyed this song as much as I did, click here to buy the album. How much? Her website le ts you
name your price. She says, “My true calling as an artist is to share…What I actually want to do is make
beautiful music and then give it to everyone, regardless of what they give me back”.
The Smell Of Romance 158
Pheromones are chemical scents that animals naturally give off, which influence behavior. If you ’ve
ever been attracted to someone and didn’t know why maybe your nose was subconsciously g uiding
you. Scientists have yet to isolate a chemical scent that turns on humans, but they have found one th at
is a turn-off. At the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, researchers collected female tears and then
had men smell them. Those men were then tested for sexual arousal and testosterone , and both
decreased. According to an article in Scientific American, “the tears sent a message th at romance was
off the table.”

Scientists have been researching pheromones since 1959. They have found them in a wide variet y of
animals, from moths to dogs to goldfish and lobsters. Even insects, single-celled organisms , and plants
have pheromones. Whether humans actually have pheromones is unclear. This hasn’t stopped
companies from trying to cash in on them. There are a wide variety of perfumes and co lognes that claim
to make you irresistible.

Perhaps human culture has evolved beyond primal pheromone drives, or maybe scientists just h aven’t
looked hard enough. Our sense of smell is complex. Some estimate that humans are capa ble of telling
the difference between 1.7 trillion smells.

Some people have started to hold pheromone parties in Los Angeles and New York. The rules ar e
simple. All guests bring a used T-shirt that they slept in the night before. T-shirts are separated into
plastic bags with numbers. Other guests smell the shirts, and if they like what they smell, the y have a
chance to meet the shirt’s owner. A bar in London has a different take on pheromone pa rties. Young
people wear bags over their heads with a hole for their nose. They then take turns sn iffing each other’s
anonymous armpits while marking yes or no on a scoresheet. Then participant s do another round of
sniffing and scorekeeping with bags off. If, in both rounds, a match is mad e, romance might be in the
cards.

Using smelly shirts or smelling armpits to find a romantic partner sounds superficial, but there m ight be
deeper reasons behind the matchmaking power of smell. One experiment has shown tha t women like
the smell of men with DNA that is genetically compatible. Conversely, they dislike th e smell of men
whose DNA is too similar to their own because they will be more likely to produc e children with weaker
immune systems.
Fear Of Rejection
Jia Jiang was the founder of a small tech company in 2012 when he got rejected by an investor .
Traumatized by this rejection, he was left with a sinking feeling in his stomach and was angry an d
insecure. Jiang wanted to give up on his company, but instead, he decided he needed to build his
confiden ce. If he was going to be successful, he needed to get comfortable with failure and rejection.
He needed rejection therapy.

He decided that every day for 100 days, he would film himself asking strangers for crazy things, knowing
they would reject him. On the first day, he nervously asked a random security guard to le nd him $100.
The answer was, of course, no and Jiang ran away. Another day, he asked a pet sho p barber to cut his
hair. She also said no, but this time Jiang was having fun, making people laugh and getting more and
more comfortable with hearing people say no.

Things started to turn around when he asked a doughnut store clerk to give him doughnuts in th e shape
of the Olympic rings. To his surprise, she said yes. Another day, he asked a random store clerk to give
him a hug, and she also said yes. Jiang tells the story of once knocking on a stranger’s door and asking if
he could plant a flower i n his backyard. When the man said no, Jiang didn’t hang his head and run away.
Instead, he politel y asked why. The man said he had a dog that would just tear it up, but he should go
across the st reet and talk to his neighbor who loved flowers. Jiang did so, and the neighbor happily
accepted his gift.

Today, Jiang counsels people not to recoil from rejection. No can be a jumping-off point for nego tiation
that maybe leads to a yes. He also encourages people to push their boundaries in his bes tselling book,
Rejection Proof. Fear can be a useful emotion when it helps us avoid danger, but social fear almost
always holds us back from success. Fear of rejection can stop us from going after a job, making friends or
me eting the man or woman of our dreams. The fear of rejection can also stop us from improving ou r
English. So many people are so afraid of making mistakes or being rejected that they never ope n their
mouths, ensuring that their English never progresses. The next time you see an opportunity to make a
connection using English, don’t hesitate; don’t ov erthink it; just do it. There are many worse things in
life than rejection. Like Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Can Cats And Dogs Read Your Mind?
In the early morning of December 26th, 2004, a massive earthquake triggered a devastating tsun ami
that sent giant waves to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Over 200,000 people lost their liv es that
day. It was a tragic day that no human could have predicted, yet there are countless stori es of animals
who did seem to anticipate the deadly disaster.

In both Sri Lanka and Thailand, elephants fled up hills away from the ocean an hour before the ts unami
hit. Birds flew away from low-lying areas, and zoo animals hid. There were also reports of two ocean-
loving dogs that refused to go to the beach with their owner 90 minutes before the ts unami. There
were stories of bats active and awake 30 minutes before the tsunami, even though they’d normally be
sleeping during the day.

There are many theories that try to explain what was going on with these animals. Maybe animal s are
able to sense vibrations in the earth before an earthquake. Perhaps earthquakes release ga ses from the
earth that only some animals can detect. It’s also conceivable that earthquakes cau se sounds that
humans can’t hear, but animals can. While an acute sense of smell, sound, or vibra tion might be the key
to understanding their advance warning, Rupert Sheldrake believes animals have access to a more
mysterious sixth sense.

Sheldrake is a biochemist and the author of the book, Dogs That Know When Their Owner Is Co ming
Home. Sheldrake surveyed dog and cat owners about whether their animals seemed to kn ow when
they were on their way home. Fifty percent of dog owners and thirty percent of cat own ers said ‘yes.’
Intrigued, Sheldrake set up experiments with over 100 pet owners to see if their do gs could read minds.
He videotaped these animals to see if they would come to the door or wind ow before the owner came
home.

Sheldrake demonstrated in his experiments that dogs did seem to perceive when their owner wa s on
the way home. In one of the most successful cases, he filmed a dog named Jaytee in Manch ester,
England. Sheldrake chose random times for Pam, Jaytee’s owner, to return home. During th e time that
Pam was at work, Jaytee was only at the window 4% of the time, but when Pam was on her way home,
Jaytee was at the window 55% of the time.

Not everyone takes Sheldrake’s research seriously, but if animals are capable of some extrasens ory
perception, they might serve as an early warning system for natural disasters. Sheldrake pro poses a
hotline where pet owners could report strange behavior. He writes, “if there was a sudde n surge of calls
from a particular region, this could indicate that an earthquake was imminent.”
Happiness Or Misery? It’s Your Choice
They say the paradox of happiness is: the more you chase it, the more elusive it becomes. You’d think
it’d be a cakewalk, but so many of us suffer from depression and dissatisfaction. If we just had a little
more money, a slightly better job, or the right partner, that happiness would magically emerge, as if
happiness were always just around the corner, eagerly awaiting us.

The point here is that we make the blunder that happiness depends on circumstances around us , rather
than on the way we perceive those circumstances and respond to them. In other words, h appiness or
its opposite, misery, is actually a choice rather than a circumstance for most people. To illustrate this
point, Dr. Joel Wade, a psychotherapist, composed a three-step list on how to b e miserable:

1. Be as self-absorbed as possible. Ensure that every situation at work or at home is primarily ab out
your thoughts, your feelings, your welfare. Talk about yourself, think about yourself, and mak e sure the
objective of every action is to secure some kind of personal benefit.

2. See yourself as a victim. Envision the world as being against you, and view others as the sourc e of
your problems. Blame them for your frustrations and setbacks, and tell yourself that you are helpless in
your life circumstances.

3. Spend a lot of time ruminating. Review past negative events again and again in your mind, whil e
brooding about the people and things that drive you nuts.

So that is how to be a miserable, dispirited person. The good news is, doing the exact opposite c an
move you in a more positive, blissful direction. The first thing you can do is absorb yourself in your work,
friends, family relationships and outsid e interests. Move your focus outside and become absorbed in
what you’re doing. Remind yourse lf what you are trying to achieve, and if you don’t have personal
goals, then set some right away

The second thing you can do is view yourself as in control of your destiny. We all have complicat ions
and setbacks, but things only begin to turn around when you take ownership of your situatio n. Only
then can you begin to move forward.

Finally, you need to hone in on what’s right with your life. This is challenging in some cases, but ev ery
cloud has a silver lining. Accept that the past is past, and forgive any people who have harme d you, not
for their sake but for yours. Start imagining how things could improve. The point here is that we make a
problematic situation worse by our response to it. Happiness a nd misery are states of mind that we
engender through our response to the world around us. Th ey are choices available to us every moment
of the day. Which do you choose?
The Unluckiest Man In The Luckiest Village
Sodeto in Spain is considered the luckiest village in the world. In 2011, nearly all of its 240 reside nts
became millionaires overnight. All except one. His name is Costis Mitsotakis. In the thick of Europe’s
economic crisis, Sodeto was suffering. Many villagers were battling une mployment and a prolonged
drought. The crops would not grow, and money was scarce. And then along came “The Fat One” or “El
Gordo” as it’s more commonly known. El Gordo is Spai n’s Christmas lottery jackpot. It is also hugely
popular.

In the Spanish lottery, groups of people often buy shares of one number. In Sodeto, The Housew ives
Association purchased number 58,268. They then went door-to-door selling individual share s to
everyone in town for six euros. Some purchased one share; others purchased more. Every re sident
crossed their fingers and hoped for the best. When they won, the villagers danced in the streets and
honked their horns. The world had gone mad. But in a good way. They had collectively won a whopping
$950 million. It was the biggest p ayout in The Fat One’s history.

Depending on how many tickets they bought, each resident won between $130,000 and millions of
dollars. For everyone it was a life-changing amount. All except for a filmmaker from Greece na med
Costis. At the turn of the century, Costis fell in love with a Spanish girl from Sodeto. Her name was Sandr
a del Pozo. Costis moved to Sodeto to be with his sweetheart. They eventually split up, but Costi s
continued living in the village. When news broke of the lottery win, Costis soon realized he was the only
one left out. The House wives had accidentally forgotten to call on the foreigner who lived on the edge
of town. In the aftermath of The Fat One, reporters flocked to the town. They all wanted to talk to the
unlu ckiest man in the luckiest village.

Yet Costis insists he doesn’t feel unlucky. Nor does he hold a grudge against the Housewives As
sociation. He insists the lottery jackpot changed his life as well. The day the village’s ship came in, he
picked up his camera and began filming. He has since prod uced a documentary. It portrays what
happens when everyone in a village becomes millionaires overnight. Villagers chipped in with donations
to fund the film. Costis still lives in the village, but believes it has changed. He thinks the wealth has
made people more withdrawn and less of a community. The villagers disagree. They believe the win has
enriched their lives. One said, “For me, the lottery has brought a sense of calm. To have the day-to-day
covered, you know.
Koreans Practice Dying In Living Funerals
Hyowon is not your run of the mill funeral company. In addition to traditional ceremonies, they also
offer mass funerals for the living.

Participants in the living funeral service wear traditional burial clothes. First, they take funeral photos.
Next, they are led up a dark staircase by a man dressed as a Korean grim reaper. They enter a room
filled with coffins and chrysanthemums. Next, they write a will, including messages to their loved ones.
They also write personal letters to their family, expressing their love and hopes for happiness for those
they leave behind. Regrets and pleas for forgiveness are also common themes. Some choose to read
their messages aloud to the group. And finally, after their goodbyes are said, the living dead lie in their
coffins and the lights go out…for 10 minutes, that is. Unlike the real thing, second chances are
guaranteed at the Hyowon Healing Center. When the lights come on and the coffins open, the organizer
says, “Leave all the bad things that make your life miserable and hard in the afterlife.”

Looking at the numbers, Hyowan is providing a service that people want. So far, over 25,000 people
have participated in their own mock funerals. However, Hyowon is not looking to make a quick buck.
They provide their living funeral for free. People come to the living funeral for different reasons. Some
are suicidal, while others are sick and preparing for imminent death. Others are healthy, but looking for
a new lease on life. The director says the purpose of the living funeral is for families to reconcile and
heal old wounds. And he also hopes for people to realize that life is precious.

One man told the Korea Biomedical Review about how his experience was profound. He said, “I realized
the importance of life…I want to go home soon and see the faces of my family. From now on, I will
express my love for them more frequently.”
Ebony And Ivory 152
In 1982, two elderly musicians would each suffer a stroke and become disabled on one side of their
body. Without the use of both hands, the two women suddenly found themselves unable to make
music. That is, until the day they finally met each other.

Margaret Patrick was a child in Harlem during the First World War. At the age of eight, she starte d
playing the piano by fingering an imaginary keyboard on her mother’s sewing machine. Eventua lly, her
father scraped together the money for a real piano. Margaret never looked back since. For the next 50
years, she taught piano to children and conducted the choir at her local church. Musi c was her life, until
a fateful day in 1982, when a massive stroke disabled her right side, including her hand.

Like Margaret, Ruth Eisenberg had also tickled the ivory for most of her adult life. In 1923, Ruth g ot
married in New Jersey to a pianist and teacher. Her new husband wanted to try out some of h is
teaching methods on Ruth, but she hated to practice the piano. So, he made her a deal: if she a greed to
practice regularly, he would do all the housework. Needless to say, Ruth became quite a n accomplished
player! Later in life, she performed regularly, giving concerts to senior citizens. Al l of that came to an
end, also in 1982, when a stroke left her disabled on her left side.

While recovering at the Southeast Senior Center for Independent Living, Ruth sat at the piano one day,
feeling depressed. She recalls, “I was doodling at the piano, feeling sorry for myself, wishing I was dead.”
That was when a therapist introduced her to Margaret, who also was attending ther apy sessions at the
center. They immediately hit it off, and the sound of Chopin’s Minute Waltz so on filled the room. Ruth
played the melody with her right hand, and Margaret played the bass wit h her left. As Ruth remembers
“We both experienced euphoria.”

Margaret and Ruth then began playing together regularly, performing for other senior citizens. A fter a
reporter from the New York Times ran a story on them, they became famous overnight. Sin ce Margaret
was black and Ruth was white, they were nicknamed Ebony and Ivory, after the 1982 hit song by Stevie
Wonder and Paul McCartney. The great-grandmothers then performed on nati onal television. They
were also featured in many TV programs and magazine articles. But best of all, they were playing music
again.

After their strokes, the music stopped for Margaret and Ruth. Both women had to learn to walk a nd
speak again. And with only one good hand each, playing the piano seemed completely out of t he
question. But as Margaret explains, “When one door is closed to you, God opens another door . He gave
me Ruth.”