Do you really know?

The windscreen phenomenon is the observation of the gradual disappearance of insects on the planet. If you regularly use your car for long trips, you’re probably accustomed to seeing squashed flies, wasps and gnats on your windscreen from time to time. This is totally normal, but in recent years, it’s become a much rarer sight for drivers, and the significance is greater than you might first think...

HouseParty is a video chat app that was created in the United States in 2016 and became particularly popular among millennials. Those who download it use it for an average of 51 minutes per day. That’s comparable to Facebook and higher than other popular apps like Instagram, Messenger and Snapchat.  What is HouseParty? The coronavirus-related lockdowns have led to a resurgence in the app’s popular...

High blood sugar can make your mouth dry, make you feel thirsty, give you blurred vision and make you need to pee often. This is known as hyperglycemia. When we think of those who have high blood sugar, we tend to think of people with diabetes, as they often have to monitor their levels and sometimes undergo insulin treatment. But actually everybody can have blood sugar spikes, and many of us do w...

One of the most rapidly increasing synthetic cathinones is 3-Methylmethcathinone, or 3-MMC for short. In March 2022, the European Commission announced new measures to control the substance. The UK MDMA drug market has seen great change following Brexit and the Covid pandemic. A study carried out by non-profit The Loop found that there was a surprising decrease in MDMA detection between 2019 and 20...

In the days following the start of the invasion, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky created the country’s International Legion and appealed to foreign nationals to join.  Since the invasion of Ukraine began on 24th February 2022, governments have been reluctant to send troops into the warzone, despite expressing outrage at Russian aggression. Nevertheless, media reports have shed light on the...

We all yawn regularly, without giving it much thought most of the time. Harvard Health Publishing says that people yawn between 5 and 20 times per day on average. Indeed, it’s a completely involuntary reflex which sets in very early on in our existence, as fetuses in our mother’s womb. Yawning mobilizes the respiratory, face and neck muscles, and is often associated with a feeling of relaxation an...

The term cyclothymia was coined in the late 19th century by German psychiatrist Karl Ludwig Kahlbaum. It describes a clinical situation which has many similarities with bipolar disorder, although its symptoms are less severe. We talk about something being a disorder when it has an impact on everyday life, and that’s the case with cyclothymia. It usually comes on during adolescence or early adultho...

From 28th August to 5th September 2022, Burning Man is set to return to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada for the first time since 2019, with an authorised population of 87,000 people. This event sees artists, creators and community-makers gather to celebrate self-expression. Every August, a temporary real city is set up to accommodate the festival. It actually becomes one of the most populated citi...

One of the unsuspected consequences of a global pandemic is a re-evaluation not only of how we work but what work means to us. For some the flexibility was a breath of fresh air, others missed the office and even the commute but with employee happiness more important than ever and people feeling overwhelmed and stressed at work the question of how to achieve a work-life balance has never been more...

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...

The last two and a half years have caused a lot of us to reassess our priorities in life. Are we really living our lives to the full? Are there new experiences that we should be trying out? Within that context, an alternative nomadic lifestyle called vanlife has seen a resurgence.  It’s been around since the 1960s, when hippies would travel across the United States in vans. But social media has ma...

Last chance tourism is a travel trend whereby tourists increasingly seek to experience the world’s most endangered sites before they vanish or are irrevocably transformed, according to the definition given by the Current Issues in Tourism magazine. Last chance tourism is also sometimes referred to as doomsday tourism. The term was first coined in the early 2010s in Britain, before catching on in o...

Some visitors can be so shocked by the reality of Paris compared to their expectations that they can experience psychiatric breakdowns or symptoms such as hallucinations, depersonalization, anxiety, dizziness and nausea. This is known as the Paris Syndrome. Romance, sophistication, croissants and sipping fine wine with the Eiffel Tower in the background spring to mind when thinking of a visit to P...

Masturbation tends to be somewhat of a taboo topic in society, often down to religious or spiritual beliefs.  You’ve probably also heard some of the common myths about it leading to blindness, erectile dysfunction or infertility. Needless to say, these are false. And the air of shame around masturbation need not be there, as it’s  perfectly natural and in fact there are several health benefits.  W...

The Azov Battalion takes its name from the Sea of Azov which is bounded by Ukraine and Russia. You’ve more than likely seen images of these Ukrainian fighters on social media since the Russian invasion began in late February. They can be recognised by their tattoos and Nazi emblems on their uniforms. The neo-Nazi group are battling at the heart of the Ukrainian army, which has led to Vladimir Puti...

One of the biggest indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been that on people’s mental health. Limited social interactions have led to feelings of loneliness increasing for many, all across the world. In light of this, it comes as no surprise that people have been actively seeking friendships and connections with others more than ever before. Data from Tinder suggests that the average numbe...

It might sound like a theme park or the latest sci-fi comic series, but Oceanix City is actually a futuristic architecture project thought out for the climate refugees of years to come. It’s a mobile floating city, designed to welcome those whose homes are under threat from rising sea levels. That could apply to a high percentage of the world’s population in the not so distant future, as it’s esti...

COVID-19 lockdowns led to the revolutionary rise of remote work. But while working remotely may have been a necessary adaptation made during an unprecedented global health crisis, many experts say that not only is remote work here to stay, it will even continue to increase as we head into 2023. Employees save time and money by not having to commute, and they essentially have more control over thei...

This summer, relax and learn with Do You Really Know! It's time to learn all about the concepts, words and expressions that surround the summer season! What is a heatwave? We’re experiencing more intense and frequent heatwaves than ever before, and it’s one of the most tangible effects of climate change. These summer periods of extreme heat are a threat to the elderly, children and the poor. To me...

Tourism is one of the world's major economic sectors. According to the UN World Tourism Organisation, tourism supports 1 in 10 jobs, and indirectly provides income and livelihoods for millions more globally. It was one of the sectors that was hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is showing signs of rapid recovery due to the new trend of “revenge travel”.  It’s the term given to the sur...

This summer, relax and learn with Do You Really Know! It's time to learn all about the concepts, words and expressions that surround the summer season! What is an eco-friendly beach? For many people, beaches are synonymous with the summer holiday season. Beach holidays have been popular since the second half of the 19th century, and are the archetypal form of mass tourism. With millions of people...

Voluntourism is the practice of volunteering one’s labour to a charitable cause in a developing country, in return for a soul-cleansing, perspective-changing, CV-bolstering experience. Perhaps a bit cynical? Whilst it could be a mutually beneficial redistribution of wealth from the developed world to the developing, voluntourism harbours a dark and exploitative underworld. In 2021, NPR.org reporte...

This summer, relax and learn with Do You Really Know! It's time to learn all about the concepts, words and expressions that surround the summer season! What is a heat dome? The Pacific north-west is typically a mild region when it comes to weather. But in late June, Western Canada experienced record temperatures, with the province of British Columbia hit particularly hard. Temperatures are usually...

Nobody likes getting up in the morning and looking in the mirror to find dreary bags and circles under their eyes. It can make you look tired and lower your self-confidence as you head to work, feeling like a zombie.  But it’s more than just an aesthetic issue. More often than not, it’s an indication of poor health habits, and sometimes a sign of underlying medical conditions.  So what actually ca...

Going on holiday is cool, but not always within reach for everyone. It requires time, as you may need to get your leave request approved by your employer, and money. In recent years, a new kind of holiday has been catching on: the staycation. It generally refers to a trip which doesn’t require any overnight accommodation. The idea comes from the United States and really took off following the fina...