Do you really know?

Our hair says a lot about our personalities —it’s a core part of our identity. It reflects who we are and how we want the world to perceive us. As noted by British hair historian Caroline Cox in her book Good Hair Days, “A hairstyle is the ultimate form of self-expression. It tells the world who you are—or who you want to be.” This idea highlights the powerful role hair plays in shaping and commun...

Climatologists and medical experts are in agreement about the detrimental impact of excessive meat consumption on both our environment and health. Industrial livestock farming is responsible for a significant 15% of global CO2 emissions, and it also raises ethical concerns regarding animal welfare. In light of these concerns, it recently emerged that UK meat consumption is at its lowest level sinc...

For some, a trip to the hairdresser feels like a chore, while for others, it’s a refreshing boost. Either way, getting regular haircuts isn’t just a matter of appearance; it’s key to maintaining healthy hair and encouraging natural renewal.  Cutting your hair doesn’t make it grow faster, as some people would have you believe, but it does make it stronger. Hair tends to wear out and thin, especiall...

Whether it’s out of necessity or for enjoyment, lubricant helps a lot of people in their sex lives. According to The Cleveland Clinic: “Around 17% of people assigned female at birth (AFAB) age 18 to 50 report problems with vaginal dryness during sex, even before menopause takes place.” And that figure increases to 50% after menopause. There are a number of factors that can contribute to insufficie...

You might or might not be surprised to learn that warm weather naturally enhances the libido. According to a 2022 survey by the Kinsey Institute, 60% of Americans report that spring is the season when they most want to get under the duvet with their partner.  It all comes down to hormones. Light and warmth naturally stimulates our serotonin production, a mood-enhancing chemical. Additionally, it a...

Artificial intelligence has become a cornerstone of modern life, and since ChatGPT's launch in November 2022, its popularity has skyrocketed. A 2024 YouGov survey revealed that 68% of 18-24-year-olds in the UK regularly use generative AI for tasks like research, saving time, and enhancing productivity and creativity. Many workplaces embrace AI, with nearly half of users saying their managers encou...

It’s well known that women can often have multiple orgasms in succession, an ability which is much less common, and more complex, for men.   That’s because for men orgasm usually happens alongside ejaculation, which is followed by a refractory period. During this time, no matter the type or amount of stimulation, it’s impossible for them to achieve another erection. This phase gives the body time...

In the UK alone, around 1.85 million people actively use Tinder, one of the leading platforms, and most users spend over an hour a day on dating apps. Despite this daily engagement, however, many are growing disillusioned with the experience. The time spent doesn’t always lead to successful connections, and frustration with online dating is on the rise. Fatigue and disappointment are common reacti...

It’s a quiet Sunday evening, and you’re scrolling through Tinder, swiping left and right. Unlike the endless upward scroll of social networks, Tinder feels more like a slot machine. Swipe, swipe, and then — ding ! A match. A new game begins. But will this match lead to a true love story? Probably not. And that’s the crux of what digital scientist Aurélie Jean calls the Tinder paradox. Aurélie Jean...

Launched by a Polish startup in 2017, PimEyes is a powerful facial recognition software tool, which uses reverse image search technology. Just like with Google image search, users can submit an image of a person’s face and Pimeyes will find all images of that person online, providing links to the websites where they are located. It can be helpful for locating images that are difficult to find else...

Be honest, if you hadn’t heard the title of this episode, would you have been able to guess that this person was talking about a belly button? She was a contestant on Family Feud Australia in 2017, and just hearing mention of the words “belly button” were enough to trigger her. It might sound like an extreme reaction to a belly button, but she’s actually far from being the only person to have what...

If you drink alcohol, the chances are that on occasion you’ve overdone it and drunk way more than you planned to. Or maybe you decided to let yourself have a big night out, even though you know you’d have to deal with a pounding headache the next morning. Well, to make things worse, that hangover often comes hand in hand with overwhelming feelings of shame and regret about what you might have said...

Saving money can be challenging, especially in these uncertain times. But it's not impossible. With some planning, discipline and creativity, you can achieve your savings goal and improve your financial situation. Saving is important for many reasons; It can help you prepare for unexpected emergencies, achieve your personal or professional goals, or simply enjoy life more. Saving 1000 pounds in a...

The condition we’re going to talk about today is pretty rare. It affects around 1% of women, but it can really disrupt the lives of those who suffer from it. Persistent genital arousal disorder, or PGAD for short, was officially identified by the medical community back in 2001, when Sandra Leiblum and Sharon Nathan published an article about it in The Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy. At the tim...

Have you ever found yourself in a debate with someone and realised as it goes on, that the person you’re talking to simply isn’t going to change their mind. That might be the case even if they’re expressing a controversial point of view, or saying something that goes against scientific evidence. It’s often because they’re so convinced their perspective is right that they can’t see any nuances in t...

We’ve all been late at some point, but for some, tardiness is a chronic habit. You probably know someone who’s always running behind, or maybe you’re the one struggling to make it on time. While it can be frustrating, research shows that chronic lateness isn’t just a matter of poor time management or lack of discipline. For some, it might even be linked to underlying psychological and neurological...

You might assume that your toilet bowl is the dirtiest place in your flat or house, but in fact that’s pretty far from the truth. Our homes are actually filled with items that are perfect hosts for germs and bacteria, and sometimes it’s the objects you least suspect. For example those in your kitchen or bathroom in particular. According to BBC Food, the domestic kitchen is to blame for a fair shar...

If you're not up to date with your vaccinations, it might just be time to schedule an appointment with your doctor! When it comes to the diseases we’re going to be talking about today, you could be forgiven for thinking they were a thing of the past, consigned to history.  But believe it or not, some of them are making a comeback in the 21st century. Their resurgence can be partly explained by a f...

Last weekend brought snowfall across much of the United Kingdom, offering a clear sign that winter is here. Now with temperatures this low, the instinct for many of us may be to cuddle up in bed under a blanket. But the subject of today’s episode is all about getting outdoors whatever the weather. Friluftsliv is a Norwegian term that more or less translates as “open-air living”. You could call it...

We talk about hormones a lot on Do You Really Know, so if you’ve tuned in before, you may well already be aware that cortisol is known as the stress hormone, and it’s what helps us wake up first thing in the morning.  That’s because it’s released in large amounts between 7 and 8 a.m. and then gradually decreases over the course of the day, hitting its lowest point around 11 p.m, just in time for u...

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...

April 2024 saw a couple in the south of France handed a one-year suspended sentence, and a ban from having pets, after they were discovered keeping 159 cats and seven dogs in their 860 sq foot apartment. According to BBC News, the “animals were discovered last year living in filth, many dehydrated, suffering from malnutrition or infected with parasites.”That shocking animal hoarding case seems to...

You have to navigate an almost endless list of uncertainties when raising a child, and it’s hard to figure out the best approach to parenting. At one end of the spectrum, you’ve got so-called helicopter parents, who micromanage every aspect of their children’s lives, and at the other end parents who are so hands-off that some label them as lazy. Maybe sometimes they are lazy. But in other cases, l...

In the period from 2018 to 2020, the life expectancy at birth for women in the UK was 82.9 years, while it was just 79 for men. That’s according to data from the Office of National Statistics. And that disparity is a common trend across various countries and even among certain other species of mammals, like great apes. There certainly are, and they span both biological and behavioral factors. Dr....

If you have heard of Munchausen Syndrome before, it’s far more likely you’ve seen it represented in popular culture than in real life. Like a lot of psychological syndromes, it’s used as a dramatic device in many films and series, like Sharp Objects or The Politician to name just a couple.  The most recent example is The Act, which was created by Nick Antosca and Michelle Dean, and first appeared...