Do you really know?

You’ve most likely heard of this plant before, and seen one if you were lucky! Maybe you’ve even tried to find one in a field or a garden. The four leaf clover is without doubt one of the most popular and fascinating symbols of luck. A four leaf clover is a clover plant that has four leaves instead of the usual three. A clover plant is a type of herb that belongs to the pea family. It has small fl...

Whether you’re going on a beach holiday, city break or camping trip, the chances are you’ll be soaking up the sun’s rays. Sunshine activates vitamin D production in the body, which has numerous benefits like protecting us from disease and improving mental health. But on the other hand, being exposed for too long can accelerate skin ageing. Excessive UV can even lead to skin cancer. According to th...

Ever since social media came along, dating trends have evolved constantly. They tend to reflect changes in society too. In previous episodes of Do You Really Know, we’ve talked about dawn dating, sneating and ghosting for example. There are so many different terms out there, and not all of them are positive. Here’s another one you may have heard of recently, in particular if you’re single and use...

For women, wearing a bra to support their breasts may seem vital from puberty onwards. However, it’s claimed that bras may in fact be useless or even dangerous, which has led some to promote the No Bra movement. It has been linked to feminism, and isn’t universally accepted or popular.  Bras were invented at the end of the 19th century, gradually replacing corsets and revolutionising women’s daily...

In the last few weeks, a thick and foul-smelling foam known as mucilage has appeared in the Marmara Sea on Turkey’s northwestern coast. It’s been unofficially dubbed sea snot by observers, which might sound like a name invented on a school playground. But there’s nothing funny about the environmental impact of this outbreak, which is a result of global warming and pollution. How does this sea snot...

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...

Charles Darwin once wrote that “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge”, and real-life situations which reflect that are all too common. To cite just one prominent example, in January 1995, American men MacArthur Wheeler and Clifton Earl Johnson were arrested after carrying out coordinated bank robberies in the state of Pennsylvania. Incredibly, they didn’t bother wearing...

The Olympic Games are known for their records, unforgettable stars, and moments that will forever be remembered. But (because there’s always a but), they’ve also hosted some truly bizarre events. These oddities, which did little to enhance the Games’ reputation, have largely been forgotten by history. We’re here to remind you of them in this episode! Let’s start with the 1900 Games in Paris, which...

The World Health Organisation suggests that 18° C is the perfect temperature to set your heating to, but in reality that is just an average. There are a number of variables to take into account.  For example, certain rooms might need to be heated more than others. And generally speaking, when we’re away from home or sleeping at night we can turn the heating down or off completely. That’s right, it...

It may seem surprising that French is the official language of the Olympic Games, given that it’s ‘only’ the 5th most spoken language in the world. According to a report by the International Francophone Organisation in 2022, there are an estimated 321 million French speakers in the world, putting it behind Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin, and English. Nevertheless, the French language has played a signif...

Paris is hosting the Olympics for the first time in a century, which is a reminder of just how long the modern Games have been running. Since their inception in Athens back in 1896, we’ve seen many strange records, which fans and pundits love to talk about every four years. Let’s run through some of the quirkiest!  The early 20th century Games must have been very different to the Olympics we know...

According to a Direct Line Group study from 2022, over 70% of UK adults don’t get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Nighttime micro-awakenings are a common contributing problem. For many of us, they happen four to six times per night without us even noticing. And they usually just mark the end of a sleep cycle. But they’re more common in some people, and can be down to various factors...

Here we are, seven years after the announcement by the International Olympic Committee, the Paris Summer Games are about to begin! And for the first time since World War II, the usual four-year gap between the Games was disrupted, as the Tokyo Games were postponed to 2021 due to the global pandemic. In fact, this tradition of holding the Games every four years goes back a very long way and was not...

I’m sure at some point as a child on holiday you were told not to go swimming right after eating. Popular belief suggests that we should wait a certain amount of time before getting into the water, in order to let our bodies finish digesting. Some parents swear by a 30-minute rule, while others say up to two hours, depending on how heavy a meal has been consumed! But in reality, we know that diges...

In past episodes of Do You Really Know, we’ve talked about the best holiday destinations in the UK and abroad, as well as how to find the most budget-friendly options. Today though, we’re going to talk about security.  The idea of visiting many countries all over the world is enticing, but it's important to remember that some destinations are significantly more dangerous than others. Rather than m...

Whether it’s reading, journaling, enjoying breakfast, or scrolling through social media, these are just a few activities people indulge in while lounging in bed. For some, this has evolved into an art form, popularized by a viral TikTok trend known as “bed rotting.” This habit embodies a laid-back attitude, where productivity and responsibilities are momentarily cast aside in favor of a few minute...

Multitasking, or the art of juggling several tasks at once, is more common than ever before in the workplace. In 2022, a German think tank called Next Work Innovation released a study which showed that knowledge workers are interrupted on average every four minutes during the working day! In a past episode of Do You Really Know, we discussed how our brains manage to cope with multiple demands at o...

During summer holidays, many of us experience the discomfort of motion sickness while travelling by car, coach, plane, or boat. motion sickness is Also known as kinetosis and it’s particularly common in children but can also affect a lot of adults. According to the US government’s Medline Plus portal, one in three people are prone to it. Symptoms include paleness, cold sweats, dizziness, a feeling...

Is there anyone in your phone contacts who only seems to text you when they need something? It might be a nice surprise at first when you see their name on your notifications, but then when you read the content of their message, the real reason for them reaching out becomes obvious. You just know that once you give them what they need, it won’t take long for them to disappear again. If this friend...

Losing belly fat is a common health and wellness goal. The fat we consume in excess is stored in specialized cells called adipocytes, and its distribution varies between men and women. For men, it’s more likely to accumulate on the belly, while for women, it tends to be on the thighs, buttocks, and hips before migrating to the belly at menopause. Regular physical activity, especially exercises tha...

You might assume that belief in the paranormal is limited to the fringes of society. After all, according to science, ghosts don’t exist; or at least, their existence has never been proven.   But despite this lack of evidence, a significant proportion of people still claim to believe in ghosts. Within the last decade, Yougov polls have suggested that’s true for a third of Brits and 40% of American...

Most productivity methods aim to boost your efficiency during office hours. But a new technique, based on your biological clock, might be the key: chronoworking. The term was coined by British journalist Ellen Scott in early 2024 in her newsletter “Working on Purpose.” She predicted that working according to your body clock would be a major trend. Chronoworking means tuning into your natural energ...

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...

Condoms are the best protection out there against sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies! And you can get them for free on the NHS from sexual health clinics, some GP surgeries and pharmacies, and some young people’s services. But many people wonder how to find the right size for them or their partner, for max comfort, safety and pleasure. What are the risks of using a condom tha...

According to Compare the Market research from November 2023, 69.5% of UK drivers say they experience road rage, with 12% admitting it happens to them once a week or more. Maybe you've witnessed road rage before as a passenger in a friend or family member’s car. You get in, everything is going smoothly, and all of a sudden another driver tailgates them or fails to indicate in front of them. From on...