Do you really know?

Paracetamol, a staple in UK households, is widely available over the counter and commonly used to alleviate headaches, toothaches, joint pain, flu symptoms, menstrual pain, and fever. In the UK, paracetamol is one of the most frequently used painkillers. The British Medical Journal reports that from April 2022 to March 2023, 16 million prescriptions for paracetamol were dispensed in England alone....

You know how an orgasm usually goes, right? It starts with those little shivers, then the heat builds, your heartbeat picks up, everything’s racing and boom! It peaks, and then everything just… drops. Curtain closed, show’s over. But picture this: what if you stayed right before that point of no return? Stretching out the pleasure, teasing it, keeping it going… and going. Well, that’s basically wh...

According to the American Academy of Sleep medicine, 50% to 85% of adults experience occasional nightmares, with 2% to 8% of people having nightmares that cause sleep problems. No one likes having nightmares, do they? These vivid, distressing bad dreams often cause us to jolt awake, heart pounding, in fear or anxiety. They can feature threatening scenarios, monsters, or deeply unsettling experienc...

Ever since the 1960s, the minimalist movement has been captivating art and interior design enthusiasts. It’s all about simplicity, emphasising a return to the essentials, and encouraging us to let go of our attachment to material things as far as possible.  If you tend to struggle with clutter in your home environment, the 12-12-12 method may just be able to help you counter that problem. It was c...

What are the warning signs of a toxic friendship? Today is World Friendship Day, a chance to reflect on how important friends are in our lives. Generally speaking, having friends is a positive thing which brings us moments of fun and joy. But toxic friendships can exist too and in such cases, the relationship can be more of a burden than anything else, for one of the people involved at least! Let’...

Let’s start with a number: 63. That’s South Africa’s Gini index score, a measure of income inequality. Zero means perfect equality, 100 means total inequality. At 63, South Africa is the most unequal country in the world. Why such a high score? Where does it still exist? So who are the Afrikaners? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Wha...

Affectionately known as Nessie, the mythical Loch Ness Monster has been a source of fascination and terror for many centuries. Many sightings have been reported over the years, but no conclusive evidence of its existence has ever been unearthed. Still, there are many believers out there. In late August 2023, the largest Nessie hunt in 50 years took place, organised by the local Loch Ness Explorati...

As the summer holiday season draws to a close, ask yourself this. Did you manage to get as much rest as you would have liked? A lot of people out there would say no. Perhaps their holiday wasn’t actually restful at all, or they didn’t even get a chance to go away. American internal medicine physician Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith has dedicated a lot of research towards the issue of chronic fatigue. In...

Still in this day and age, the burden of being responsible for birth control falls mainly on women. You’ve got an almost endless list of reversible female methods, such as the pill, coil, vaginal ring and the implant, with new ones never ceasing to emerge. On the other hand, when it comes to male contraceptives, the options out there are pretty limited. Mentalities are evolving but there is little...

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 what’s known as fatphobia, a form of dis...

Girl Dinner is a TikTok phenomena though you would be hard pressed to find any recipes as it is more of a style of eating than anything specific. It’s a term used to describe a meal that consists of random snacks or leftovers, for example, you might have some cheese and crackers, a handful of grapes, a glass of wine and a few pickles for your ‘girl dinner’. Or maybe you just have some popcorn and...

According to the British Association of Urinological Surgeons, somewhere between 20 and 30% of men experience premature ejaculation. But of those men, less than a quarter actually seek medical advice. That’s despite it being an issue that often takes a toll psychologically on the man and the relationship they have with their partner. If it's always been an issue, it's termed primary premature ejac...

You might think that shampoo is essential for keeping your hair clean and healthy, but there  are other ways to wash your hair that don’t involve harsh chemicals or plastic bottles.  In fact, some people claim that ditching shampoo altogether can make your hair softer, shinier, and more manageable.  Why do we use shampoo in the first place? So, how can you clean your hair without using shampoo? Wh...

Let's be honest: being productive at work on Fridays can be a real challenge. A 2019 study by Accountemps found that Friday was the least common choice for American workers when naming their most productive day of the week. The slump is likely down to having worked hard over the first four days of the week, as well as thinking ahead to the weekend. What’s more, your colleagues are in the same fram...

During the 15th annual BRICS summit in Johannesburg in 2023, the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that 6 new member countries would be joining the bloc in 2024.  Historically composed by Brazil, Russia, India and China, the BRICS countries control a significant amount of natural resources, making it a key actor in the world. They started to organize summits as an intergovernmental...

After lunch, many of us get that familiar afternoon slump, an overwhelming urge to just doze off for a little while. And on weekends or during holidays, it’s easy enough to sneak in a short nap. But at work, it’s another story. Firstly, it simply wouldn’t be practical in a lot of work environments, and even if it was, would you really dare to go for a kip in the middle of the work day? You might b...

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...

Of course, as the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but even as children we all kind of realise who’s seen as physically attractive and who isn’t, don’t we? Let’s take a moment to consider that the global beauty industry was worth $430bn in 2022, according to a report from McKinsey. That was up from $300 bn in 2015, with projections suggesting the $500bn mark would be reached...

Today we’re talking about a diabetes medicine which has gained a reputation for leading to weight loss. Ozempic became popular among Hollywood celebrities for its appetite-suppressing properties. Elon Musk has tweeted about it three times, giving it part of the credit for his having lost 30lb in late 2022. Over on Tiktok, users have also been singing Ozempic’s praises for a while now, with the has...

At first glance, it’s a jab at men who don’t eat meat, especially those who drink soy milk. But pretty quickly, it took on a political edge. Today, it’s used by masculinists, men who advocate for male superiority or dominance and far-right circles to mock men they see as too sensitive, too progressive, too… woke. In other words: not manly enough. What does the term really mean? Any real-life examp...

Do you ever feel frustrated about work dominating your life? Maybe in your free time, you try to make up for that by enjoying yourself and having a busy social life. You go to the cinema, fit in a workout and so on. But these activities sometimes end up putting more pressure on you than the pleasure you get out of them. What if I told you you could have a thoroughly satisfying evening, without it...

The SeptemberSurge hashtag has accrued 12.9M views on the platform at the time of recording. The trend suggests that September is the ideal time to find a job. You worked for hours on perfecting your CV and cover letter. You've already applied for ten different jobs at ten different companies. But despite having all the right credentials, you’re just not hearing back from anyone. Maybe the problem...

According to the World happiness report, of the 137 countries they include, the UK has fallen to 19th position. This follows a steady decline over the past few years although they are happier than Lithuania in 20th position and France in 21st position. As ever Finland has continued its winning streak and stays at number one just above New Zealand.  The report combines both subjective well-being as...

Microwork is paid work which usually involves short and repetitive tasks carried out on a smartphone or computer. It could be identifying objects shown in an image, watching videos, labelling data, translating short sentences or recording one’s voice for example. It can also be charging electric scooters or taking photos of products for an app. It’s as simple as registering on a platform which act...

According to the British Coffee Association, we drink around 98 million cups of coffee per day in the UK. That’s around one and a half cups for every single person in the country! It’s said that drinking coffee in the evening or even late afternoon has a negative impact on sleep quality, but a lot of people do so anyway. Coffee contains various molecules, such as antioxidants and caffeine, which h...