Do you really know?

What is a leap year? 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020... a leap year comes along every four years, lasting 366 days instead of 365 as you probably know. In a leap year, the shortest month of the year, February, has 29 days instead of 28. So if you’re born on February 29th, you only get to celebrate on that exact date when a leap year occurs. Every other year, you’ll need to decide on which date to celebrate...

What is nudge theory? Thanks for asking! Nudge theory was developed back in 2008 by future Nobel Prize winner Richard Thaler, along with legal scholar Cass Sunstein. The concept is part of behavioural economics, and uses positive reinforcement to influence groups and individuals. Nudges are small changes to an environment which are simple and inexpensive to put in place. Some of the most well-know...

What is a showrunner? The whole world is streaming TV shows and series more than ever before. And yet many of these shows wouldn’t even exist without the role of the showrunner. This person is seen as top of the food chain, and contributes to almost every aspect of production, from the writing room to the filming studio. The all-encompassing showrunner role has been compared to that of an orchestr...

What is the anti-mask movement? Thanks for asking! Since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, wearing a face covering has become normalised in many places. But an increasing number of people have come out in opposition of making face masks compulsory. Their main argument is that it’s a breach of individual freedom. Some believe that masks aren’t actually effective, and even question the need fo...

What is ammonium nitrate? Thanks for asking! The city of Beirut was struck by a violent explosion last week, causing over 150 deaths and injuring thousands. The cause of the disaster in the Lebanese capital was ammonium nitrate. Nearly 3000 tonnes of the substance exploded in a warehouse in the city’s port area. This chemical compound, otherwise known as NH4 N03, is mostly used as an agricultural...

What is a meme? Thanks for asking! An internet meme is a viral piece of content which spreads online and is transformed by web users. Memes often grow rapidly, being shared on social media, blogs and by email. Some go viral and become well-known all over the world. Many are somewhat absurd, with no particular meaning or purpose, other than to make people laugh! The word meme first appeared in the...

What is philanthropy? Thanks for asking! Philanthropy is the feeling which pushes people to help those in need. Most often, it’s manifested by the rich giving to the poor. In times of crisis, like the Covid-19 pandemic, calls for philanthropy are commonplace. It’s almost as if private donations can take on the responsibilities of a state and its public institutions. The concept of charity has exis...

What is Globish? Thanks for asking! Globish is a simplified version of English. In theory, it enables non-native English speakers to communicate with others anywhere across the planet, but it’s also perceived as a danger to other languages, including English. The Lingua Franca was a similar concept which mixed several Latin languages. Between the 13th and 19th centuries, it was used to do business...

What is the P-Spot? Thanks for asking! Most of the time, when we hear the word prostate, we associate it with cancer. We don’t necessarily know where it’s situated in the male body and even less so its potential as an erogenous zone! Let’s take an anatomy lesson then. The prostate, or male P-spot, is a small gland around the size of a walnut which can be found just below the bladder. It weighs bet...

What is a heatwave? Thanks for asking! We’re experiencing more intense and frequent heatwaves than ever before, and it’s one of the most tangible effects of climate change. These summer periods of extreme heat are a threat to the elderly, children and the poor. To meet the World Meteorological Organization’s definition of a heatwave, the period must last 5 days or longer. The daily maximum tempera...

What is fatphobia? Thanks for asking! Being overweight is a stigma. While around 13% of the world’s population are obese, they are largely absent from the public limelight and often find themselves the target of mockery or discrimination. Overweight people are humiliated and ostracised throughout their lives, having to put up with regular criticisms about their lifestyle and appearance. This is wh...

What is a micro adventure? Thanks for asking! When you think “adventure”, you most likely think of an exotic destination halfway across the globe. But it’s easy to have an exciting change of scenery close to home, without compromising your carbon footprint. Let’s talk about micro adventures. Micro adventures are generally short, spontaneous and local. They take place outdoors and don’t require a h...

What is an eco-friendly beach? Thanks for asking! For many people, beaches are synonymous with the summer holiday season. Beach holidays have been popular since the second half of the 19th century, and are the archetypal form of mass tourism. With millions of people indulging in such getaways each year, it goes without saying that there’s a significant environmental impact. We regularly get riled...

What is Blackface? Thanks for asking! Blackface is a form of theatre which consists of non-black performers wearing make-up to represent black characters. These depictions were often based on racial stereotypes and caricatures, with exaggerated physical features used to ridicule black people. This form of entertainment rose to popularity in 19th century America. It also became prominent in the UK....

What is TikTok? Thanks for asking! Social network Tiktok allows users to publish short-form mobile videos. It’s been downloaded over 2 billion times since it was created in 2016, and its influence is growing bigger and bigger. That’s especially true within the music industry. There have been numerous success stories of new artists emerging on TikTok to become internet celebrities. The app has a re...

What is an ecocide? Thanks for asking! An ecocide is a term for an act that causes significant damage to the environment or ecosystems. It comes from the Greek word éoikios, meaning home, and the Latin word caedere, meaning kill. In theory individuals, companies and states could be brought to justice for committing such acts. It’s not recognised as a crime in many places, but France is currently l...

What is IQ? Thanks for asking ! IQ stands for intelligence quotient and is a test score which indicates a person’s level of intelligence. Some people are concerned that the average IQ is decreasing in Europe. The abbreviation IQ was coined by German psychologist William Stern in 1912, to name a scoring method for intelligence testing at the University of Breslau. Even before that, humans had long...

What is Fintech? Thanks for asking! Fintech is an abbreviation of “financial technology” It’s a new business sector which began developing during the 2010s. Fintech companies put technology to the service of financial activity. Finance can now be handled from the palm of our hands. If we forget about the tech part for a minute, we’re talking about the finance sector of traditional banking. Due to...

What is GAFAM? Thanks for asking! GAFAM is the acronym used to refer to American tech giants Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft. Together, they hold five of the six top spots in a listing of the world’s most valuable public corporations. And their products are omnipresent in our daily lives. So why group these five companies together then?  Well, they are the most powerful players in th...

What is stigmergy? Thanks for asking! Stigmergy is a model of coordination and cooperation which was first observed in social insects, but also appears in human behaviour. It is appealing more and more to project leaders as a kind of open network organisation. Ants communicate by laying pheromones along their path, so that other ants can follow them to food or their colony as needed. This constitu...

What is ghosting? Thanks for asking!   Ghosting is a modern slang term for ceasing all communication without any warning or explanation. It’s likely happened to you in the past at some point, and you may well have also ghosted someone yourself! The term was first added to dating jargon in the 2000s, and has become more common with the rise of social media, online dating and casual hookup services....

What is vitamin D? Thanks for asking! Vitamin D was discovered in 1922 by American biochemist Elmer McCollum, who was nicknamed Dr Vitamin by Time Magazine. He found that cod liver oil could still prevent rickets in rats, despite its vitamin A having been removed. From this observation, he deduced that it contained a different substance which he called vitamin D. Why vitamin D is necessary? A suff...

What is a near-death experience? Thanks for asking!   American psychiatrist Dr Raymond Moody is considered to be the founding father of studies on near-death experiences, known as NDEs for short. Back in 1975, he was the first to shed light on the phenomenon in his book “Life after life”. In 1991 Dr Moody claimed to have had a near-death experience himself, after attempting suicide. According to h...

What is doomscrolling? Thanks for asking! The more bad news we hear, the more we tend to get consumed by social media feeds, incessantly scrolling through our apps. Americans have come up with a term for that phenomenon: doomscrolling. Spoiler alert: it’s not the best for your mental health. If you use Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, you definitely know the feeling. You open the app and start scro...

What is the New Cold War? Relations between China and the United States have been deteriorating for years, and the global COVID-19 pandemic isn’t helping. Each country blames the other for the situation and do not hesitate to brandish threats. Some analysts believe a new cold war is upon us.   The original Cold War was a period of confrontation between the US and the USSR, between 1947 and 1991. I...