Do you really know?

Most of us have that pile of clothes in limbo—not quite dirty, not quite clean. But do we actually need to wash our clothes as often as we do? The answer might surprise you. A rise in laundry loads in the UK has led to more water usage, higher energy bills, and more microplastic pollution. Synthetic fabrics, in particular, shed microfibres during washes. But experts say we could cut down—jeans, fo...

The idea of carbon footprint dates back to the early 2000s and ironically was introduced by oil giant BP. But recently, a new concept was created: the climate change shadow. It's a relatively recent addition to the ever growing list of terms relating to climate change. American writer Emma Pattee introduced the idea of the climate shadow in a blog post for Mic.com in December 2021, as a more compr...

For many people, asserting themselves at work is a real challenge. There’s a lot of possible reasons for that, including stress, anxiety, new responsibilities, deadlines, personal issues or a lack of self-confidence for example. But there is an active congitive strategy, actually a pretty simple one, based on the psychological concept of "self-distancing," that could help you overcome these obstac...

We’ve talked about a lot of dating trends on Do You Really Know, many of which are pretty negative. And the subject of today’s episode is no exception. R-bombing might sound pretty dramatic, but in fact it just refers to leaving someone on read when they message you.  You know, those annoying blue ticks you see on whatsapp which tell you your message has been seen. They light up and you expect the...

Cleaning can feel satisfying, but did you know many household products might actually harm your health? A 2021 Which? study revealed that nearly half of common UK cleaning products contain potentially dangerous chemicals. Even those labeled “eco-friendly” or “for sensitive skin” aren’t always safe. Preservatives like Methylisothiazolinone and Benzisothiazolinone are known to cause allergic reactio...

The NHS says that one in seven couples may have difficulty conceiving, which can be a traumatic experience for those who want to have children. Sometimes, infertility can be treated through medicine or surgery, and other times assisted conception through artificial insemination or IVF helps those couples get pregnant. But other times, it just doesn’t work out and a couple aren’t able to have a chi...

In late April 2024, police chiefs from the UK’s National Crime Agency and 32 European countries issued a statement expressing their concerns about the use of end-to-end encryption by instant messaging services like WhatsApp. The statement recognised that E2E encryption protects users’ personal data, but emphasised that it also prevents authorities from identifying suspicious or illegal activities....

Hay fever already affects around 20% of people in the UK—and that number is expected to rise sharply. A 2024 University of Manchester study found that cases have increased by 33% in the last 20 years, a trend driven in part by climate change, along with urbanisation and pollution. The World Health Organization now classifies allergies as a global health concern, predicting that by 2050, half of th...

You may remember that we talked about the Great Resignation a little while back on Do You Really Know. The trend saw millions of workers across the US quit their jobs in 2021 and 2022 in particular, with a similar pattern being seen in other Western countries too. Well it might have seemed like a great idea at the time for a lot of those resignees, but it hasn’t been all rosy for some of them sinc...

Most of us have to go through a painful breakup at some point in our life. Even if you thought you’d found your soulmate, started planning a grand future together and so on, sometimes things simply don’t work out. Maybe your partner ended it unexpectedly, or maybe you did so yourself. But one question that often rears its head is whether it’s a good idea to remain friends after the breakup. It mig...

We’re surrounded by screens all day, right up until we go to bed. Our lives are intertwined with technology, from the smartphone alarms that wake us to the late-night emails we check. An Ifop study from April 2021 revealed a startling figure: 69% of those scrolling in bed battle with sleep disorders. And while we might think that a quick video or message thread could usher us into dreamland, the r...

Full, Brazilian, landing strip or none at all, pubic hair removal can hide multiple motivations (often driven by societal expectations). While aesthetics tops the list, 56% of men and 45% of women groom their pubic hair with oral sex in mind. But there’s a rumor going around: removing pubic hair could increase sexual pleasure. In 2021, an Ifop survey on hair removal practices in France, conducted...

Binge eating, also known as uncontrollable overeating, is an eating disorder. It is characterized by compulsive and excessive consumption of food within a specific period, usually not exceeding two hours, and a loss of control over eating behavior.  This means that a person can’t measure the amounts or types of food they are consuming, and may eat quickly without feeling full. This loss of control...

Job interviews have always been a daunting prospect for a number of reasons. And the process is only getting more time-consuming for candidates, without offering increased chances of success. According to a June 2023 report from the Josh Bersin Company and AMS, the average recruitment process now take a whopping 44 days. As if all this isn’t demanding enough, interviewers like to throw in the occa...

Flying is far from being the most eco-friendly means of transport. Right now it’s responsible for around 2% of global carbon emissions, but that could grow to as high as 16% by 2050. With the notable exception of travel restrictions in the last two years, the airline industry has gradually been transporting more and more passengers for decades now. While that continued growth is impressive, we hav...

In the Western world, a true sexual revolution began in the 1960s. The idea that sex isn’t solely for procreation became widely accepted, leading to the breakdown of many taboos. This cultural shift paved the way for major social progress, such as the legalisation of contraception and abortion. Over time, perspectives on sex have expanded beyond the traditional, heteronormative framework. Today, m...

Many of us have joked in the past about being allergic to work, or afraid of it, but did you know that there’s actually a real phobia of work? Have you ever felt anxious or stressed about going to work? Do you dread the thought of facing your boss, your colleagues, or your tasks? Do you avoid applying for jobs or quit them easily? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might have ergop...

The societies we live in these days, and especially in cities. We sometimes feel exhausted, anxious, depressed, and lonely in this ultra-productive life. What’s more, the constant fast pace can lead to memory and concentration problems. If you’re struggling to keep up, the slow living philosophy could be for you.  Slow Living is to do less in order to enjoy more. Instead of wanting to have multipl...

AI is everywhere—from helping us write emails to planning our meals. But while it may feel invisible, it comes with a real environmental cost. According to a 2024 Ifop-Talan survey, 70% of young adults use AI every day—without realizing how much energy and water it consumes. A 2024 study by researcher Shaolei Ren found that generating a short 100-word email with AI uses the same amount of energy a...

When Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, one of his priorities was to roll back progressive policies from the Biden administration. Among the main targets were scientific projects—many of which now risk losing funding if they include certain terms related to social or environmental issues. According to The Washington Post, an internal document from the U.S. National Science Foundatio...

“Time and tide waits for no one”, the old saying goes, but it’s fair to say that some people are affected by symptoms of ageing earlier than others. And the latest study to come out of the University of Rotterdam suggests that there may be a link between how old we look, and how likely we are to develop certain age-related conditions. The team of researchers published their findings in the British...

According to new research a mediterranean diet could lower the risk of dementia by a quarter regardless of a person's genetic risk. “The findings from this large population-based study underscore the long-term brain health benefits of consuming a Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats," said Joint lead author of the study, Dr Janice Ranson, a senior...

The term is a bit of a mouthful in more ways than one, but eatertainment has been growing rapidly in recent years. Of course, it’s the contraction of “eat” and “entertainment”, and refers to when eating out is more than just a meal; it has a unique entertainment aspect too. A cinema that allows visitors to enjoy a meal during a film showing, or an indoor mini-golf course which you can play on whil...

We often assume that fresh is best, but the reality is more complicated. It all depends on how vegetables are stored, how long they’ve been in transit, and even how they’re cooked. While fresh vegetables are packed with nutrients right after harvest, they can lose a significant amount of vitamins and minerals by the time they reach your plate. According to a 2023 study on UK consumer habits, nearl...

The brain plays a central role in desire, arousal, and sexual pleasure, but we don’t always realize just how much it influences our sex lives. While hormones and physical attraction are important, it’s the brain that processes emotions, triggers pleasure, and coordinates physical responses. According to neuroscientists, every part of the brain is involved in sexuality. The hypothalamus regulates h...