Do you really know?

What is sapiosexuality? Thanks for asking! What are you most attracted to when looking for someone to date? Social status? A sense of humour? Good looks? Well, those are all positive traits for sure, but for sapioseuxals there’s one quality which trumps all others, and that’s intelligence. The word comes from the Latin word “sapien”, which means wise. Sapiosexuals don’t fall in love at first sight...

What is OnlyFans? Thanks for asking! The platform OnlyFans announced on Thursday 19 August its decision to ban "all sexually explicit content" from October. OnlyFans is a digital content platform which operates on a subscription model. As with social media platforms, when you follow a user, you get access to that person’s content. Since being launched in the UK in 2016, the service has drawn criti...

What is the Taliban offensive? Thanks for asking!   The Taliban’s offensive against the Afghan government, which began back in May, accelerated dramatically in the last 10 days, leading to the group taking complete control of the country.  As of August 13th, the Islamist military group only held 132 of Afghanistan’s 398 districts, according to BBC research. But three days later, capital city Kabul...

What is sexsomnia? Thanks for asking! We all know someone who talks in their sleep, or occasionally sleepwalks around the house, perhaps even heading to the kitchen to prepare a nighttime snack. These kinds of episodes aren’t especially rare. But some forms are relatively unknown, one of which is sexsomnia. It’s a form of parasomnia, which means undesirable behaviour which occurs while falling asl...

What is the IPCC report? Thanks for asking! There may still be a minority of doubters out there, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to deny the existence of climate change and its disastrous consequences.  The summer months of July and August have once again seen extreme and unprecedented weather events, like the North American heat dome we discussed in a recent episode, the fires witnessed...

What is rape culture? Thanks for asking!   Society generally sees rape as one of the most heinous crimes that exists. But the sociological theory of rape culture suggests that sexual assault continues to be so common precisely because of certain attitudes on gender and sexuality. Certain myths and misconceptions are handed down from generation to generation, ending up embedded in cultural norms. T...

What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Thanks for asking! During the Covid-19 pandemic, governments around the world have taken it on themselves to judge what’s essential or not for their citizens. Think of non-essential shops, businesses, products and leisure activities, for example. Restrictions based on these judgements have evolved constantly during various stages of lockdown or closures. At an...

What is the Covid vaccine pill? Thanks for asking!   Summer 2021 has seen Covid-19 vaccine campaigns making steady progress around the world. As of the start of August, 15% of the global population had been fully vaccinated. While health authorities in some countries are considering a third dose by injection, Oravax Medical, a subsidiary of Israeli pharmaceutical company Oramed, is hoping to produ...

What is the black fungus epidemic? Thanks for asking! Since May 2021, India has been faced with an additional epidemic on top of Covid-19. It’s that of a black fungus, also known as mucormycosis. This rare infection spreads among Covid patients, first of all attacking their faces, in particular the nose, sinuses or eyes, before moving onto the brain and lungs. According to AFP, India has recorded...

What is geophony? Thanks for asking! Taking its name from the Greek prefix geo, as in the earth and phony as in sound, geophony could be most simply described as part of Planet Earth’s music. It’s a component of the soundscape that has surrounded us humans ever since we have been present on Earth.  We owe the concept to experts like Canadian composer and environmentalist Raymond Murray Schafer, wh...

What is Earth Overshoot Day? Thanks for asking!  July 29th saw an unwelcome landmark in the calendar as we reached Earth Overshoot Day. It might sound like a celebration, but the reality is a lot more troubling.  Earth Overshoot Day marks the point during a year at which humans have used up all the planet’s resources. To use a budgeting analogy, from that day onwards, we’re effectively living on c...

What is Godwin’s Law? Thanks for asking! The events of the Holocaust are part of the compulsory curriculum in many countries across the world, especially in Europe. Indeed, it’s pretty rare to come across any adult who hasn’t heard of the unique horrors that took place.  Most people would agree that comparing recent Covid-19 restrictions and vaccination campaigns to Nazi atrocities is at best extr...

What are the Puppy Blues? Thanks for asking! You’ve no doubt already heard of the baby blues, a nice-sounding euphemism for the rather unpleasant postpartum depression. Well, some new pet owners have started talking of puppy blues in the same way, to describe the sadness they sometimes feel after adopting a new furry companion. The puppy blues might be behind increased animal abandonment rates dur...

What are blue zones? Thanks for asking! Humans have wondered about the secrets behind longevity since the beginning of time. Well, as it turns out, the world’s five blue zones offer some revealing insight into this mystery. In these regions, people seem to live longer than in the rest of the world. Researchers have sought to understand the unique lifestyles that may be behind this phenomenon. Let’...

What is Niksen? Thanks for asking! Ever had one of those days when you just feel like doing nothing at all? Well, increasingly we as humans are wired to be doing something all the time. We might even feel guilty when not dedicating every last moment of our day to accomplishing tasks from a written or imaginary to-do list. Technology no doubt has a role to play, what with us being connected almost...

What is Pop-It? Thanks for asking! If 2017 was the year of the hand spinner in the toy world, 2021 is the year of the Pop-It! Even if the name doesn’t immediately ring a bell, the chances are you’ve seen one of these fidget toys in a picture or video on social media without realising. Manufacturers have had to ramp up production due to the recent surge in popularity. The Pop-It is basically a sili...

What is the Pegasus Project? Thanks for asking! Ever since the Snowden case of 2013, the world has gotten used to the idea that states use surveillance to monitor people’s activity. All the same, the fallout from the Pegasus Project revelations of recent weeks has been huge, making it a highly significant cyber espionage scandal. The initiative was coordinated by French media nonprofit organizatio...

What are sonic weapons? Thanks for asking! In June it emerged that Greek police had acquired two long range acoustic devices, designed to discourage migrants from approaching the country's border with Turkey. At the size of a small TV, the cannons don’t look particularly threatening, but are capable of emitting powerful sound waves as loud as a jet plane. An LRAD is an example of a sonic weapon, w...

What is the I.O.C.? Thanks for asking! Yesterday saw the Tokyo Olympic Games begin with the traditional opening ceremony. For the first time in the event’s history, the Games were delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the International Olympic Committee’s latest Session in Tokyo, president Thomas Bach described the uncertainty facing Games organisers in the last 15 months.“There were...

What is the global bike shortage? Thanks for asking!   Cycling has enjoyed a huge boom since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Local authorities have increased efforts to prioritise cyclists over drivers, creating new bike lanes and making other investments in this form of transport. However, a shortage of bikes has been affecting the whole world since 2020. This supply chain nightmare is still...

What is Eswatini? Thanks for asking! Situated between South Africa and Mozambique in southern Africa, the small landlocked country of Eswatini has a surface area of just 17,000 km2 and a population of 1.3 million. Until 2018, it was known as Swaziland, a name which may be more familiar to you. Then King Mswati III decided to restore the pre-colonial name Eswatini, in recognition of 50 years of ind...

What is mansplaining? Thanks for asking! Have you ever noticed a man explaining something to a woman in a supremely confident way which suggests he absolutely knows more than her about the subject? Well, there’s a term for that, which is mansplaining. A recent thread on parenting forum Mumsnet invited women to share their worst examples of mansplaining. Among them were patronising explanations of...

What is the digital divide? Thanks for asking! Whether you’re a regular Do You Really Know? listener or just tuning in for the first time, the fact that you’re here probably means you’re not affected by digital illiteracy! The digitalisation of society as a whole has been accelerating for years now. Covid-19 lockdowns further sped up the process in a way we hadn’t anticipated. People suddenly had...

What is Hungary’s anti-LGBT law? Thanks for asking! Exactly a week ago, Hungary’s controversial anti-LGBT law came into effect. It contains amendments to several acts and was almost unanimously approved by the country’s parliament three weeks earlier. Despite that fact, the restrictions are causing an outcry in both Hungary and the international community. What changes have actually come into effe...

What is space tourism? Thanks for asking! Just over a week ago, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos stepped down from his position as the company’s CEO to focus on other projects. He’ll remain executive chairman at Amazon but now wants to dedicate more time to other projects, including his space tourism company Blue Origin.  Following that surprise announcement, British business magnate Richard Branson also...