Do you really know?

You might be familiar with the expression ‘you make your own luck’ or with the idea of thinking positively to create a positive outcome - some people refer to it as ‘manifesting’. But now, a new trend on the social media platform TikTok has taken it one step further with what has been dubbed ‘lucky girl syndrome’. Essentially you tell yourself that everything just works out for you and that you ar...

Now if you’ve never heard the word fap before, let me spell it out to you. It’s basically an onomatopoeic slang term for male masturbation. According to Business Insider, the term first appeared in a web comic called Sexy Losers in 1999, to indicate the sound of a male character masturbating. An Urban Dictionary definition for the term was then added in 2002, and usage grew from the 2000s onwards....

We've all been there - it's late, you're exhausted, but sleep just won't come. You toss and turn, check the clock every few minutes, and the longer you're awake, the more anxious you feel about how little rest you're going to get. Morning comes, and even though you're barely functioning, you drag yourself out of bed, grab a coffee, and stumble through the day in a fog. And it’s not just your imagi...

Every year, an average of four planes and twenty boats vanish in this notorious area. Straddling the line between legend and reality, the Bermuda Triangle has inspired countless adventure novels and films, continuing to captivate the public’s imagination. This vast region spans approximately 500,000 square kilometres, situated between Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Bermuda archipelago. How did the...

Have you ever been deeply moved when experiencing or witnessing a moment of powerful human connection? It might be the unexpected urge to hug a stranger at a music concert, for example, or a touching moment at an important life event like a birth, wedding or funeral. Well without realising it you’ve been experiencing an inspirational feeling known as “kama muta”. It’s been described by the Guardia...

What if you could only fall in love three times in your life? Well that’s the idea behind the three loves theory, that breaks our romantic lives down into three key relationships: the idealised love, the intense love, and the calm, enduring love. In essence, each of these relationships teaches us something about ourselves and what we expect from love. They help shape who we are and how we relate t...

Sleeping next to your partner can be comforting, but it also means dealing with snoring, night sweats, or fighting for space on a too-small mattress. For some couples, the trade-off isn’t worth it. A recent study by Apinio for the Emma mattress brand found that one in three couples continue to love each other but choose to sleep in separate bedrooms.  According to Nuffield Health’s 2023 Healthier...

Whereas quiet quitting is all about employees sticking to doing the bare minimum, quiet firing is kind of the opposite. It’s when an employer nudges an employee towards the exit door, either subtly or not so subtly. It isn’t always easy to detect, but there are some signs suggesting that you might be a target of quiet firing. What should I be looking out for then? Isn’t quiet firing illegal? What...

“Spring forward, fall back” goes the saying; that’s right - today, Sunday the 27th of October 2024, saw the clocks go back an hour, meaning it gets dark earlier all of a sudden and winter is on its way! If there’s one day, or rather two days, of the year where you don’t want to schedule any important appointments, it’s on a day when the clock changes. Forgetting the time change is something that’s...

In 1949, neurologist Egas Moniz reached the pinnacle of his career when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. He received this honor for what is now known as a lobotomy, though at the time it was referred to as leucotomy, "for its therapeutic value in certain psychoses." This controversial medical procedure, widely used in the 1940s, was later deemed barbaric and eventually banned in the 198...

The ChatGPT AI chatbot has grabbed a lot of attention since it was released in December 2022. GPT stands for generative Pre-trained transformer, and the chatbot is based on one of the most advanced AI language models currently available. Those who’ve tested it have been impressed at how it generates complex, human-like responses to many different kinds of questions. It’s also been used to write es...

You’ve probably seen the ads for products and services that promise to make you happier, healthier, and more fulfilled. Things like journals, air purifiers, crystal jewellery, and of course, bubble baths. These are all examples of what some experts call ‘faux self-care’: the idea that we can buy our way out of stress, burnout, and depression. It’s also based on the idea that we are responsible for...

Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on June 2nd, 1953. Today, it is difficult to comprehend the Queen's death. The announcement of the sad news of the Queen’s passing, like all of the events following her death, followed strict protocol. The Prime Minister was informed using a pre-arranged code “London Bridge is down”. And somewhere, deep in the gardens of Buckinham palace, the royal beekeeper informed...

Christmas festivities are coming and often go hand in hand with overindulgence, in the form of large servings of roast dinner, yummy pudding and alcohol consumption. That can result in heartburn, a condition which despite the terrifying sounding name, is usually relatively harmless.  It’s a burning sensation felt in the chest, behind the breastbone, which explains where the name comes from. But it...

According to a survey back in the 2010s, the average couple has 312 arguments a year. Household chores are one of the main reasons for arguing, and there’s one room in the home in particular which is connected to several of the most common argument triggers: the bathroom. We’re talking about leaving stubble in the sink and all sorts of toilet etiquette infringements, like leaving the seat up or no...

For physicists, chemists, diplomats, medical researchers, and even writers, the Nobel Prize represents the ultimate accolade. Since Their inception in 1901, the purpose has been to honour those who "during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind", in their respective fields. Now that wording comes from the will of Alfred Nobel himself, which was signed in November...

There are a number of possible reasons why people don’t manage to save as much money as they would like. For example: paying for things with a credit card can make you forget how much you’ve spent, or you simply don’t earn enough to save in the first place. You might feel like money saving methods simply won’t ever work for you. But let's go back to basics. A simple Japanese technique called “kake...

According to Chinese media outlet The Sixth Tone, butler cafés are enjoying impressive success. They’ve been springing up all over big cities since 2021. In China, an interesting trend has been catching on. An increasing number of women are paying for male companionship in establishments known as butler cafés. Review sites list dozens of outlets offering butler services. And how do they work? Is i...

Cottagecore first started appearing online around 2017, but it wasn’t until the lockdowns of 2020 that it really took off. As more people grew tired of city life, social media, and the constant buzz of technology, they started dreaming of simpler, slower days. Vogue France even calls cottagecore the "new art of living."  It's about a longing for the past — for a time when people baked their own br...

If you are a pet owner you know how hard it can be to leave your furry friend at home when you go to work. You may worry about their wellbeing, feel guilty for not spending enough time with them or miss their companionship. According to a BBC article, more than 3 million people in the UK have taken on a pet since the start of the pandemic. Many of them have enjoyed working from home with their fur...

You may remember that we’ve talked about the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index in the past on Do You Really Know, which assigns each of the world’s countries a score from one to ten based on how democratic they are.   But have you ever heard of a kleptocracy? It’s a phenomenon that can creep into democracies and drag down their scores. A kleptocracy is a political system where corrupti...

Every year, 1st December is World AIDS day. To mark the occasion, let’s look back at the story of the Act Up group. Act Up started causing a buzz in New York in 1987, four years after the AIDS virus had been discovered. The highly organised group met several times a week to discuss their action plan. They demanded more prevention and communication campaigns from the state, better access to care, t...

Your body is a complex machine, and sometimes it’s more intricate than we realize. Take the pelvic floor, for example. It’s a group of muscles that help control the urethra (to hold in urine) and the anus (to hold in gas and stool).  A stronger pelvic floor can enhance intimacy. For women, it can increase sensations and comfort. For men, it provides better control over performance. What exercises...

Getting intimate while you or your partner are menstruating isn’t always straightforward. Still, the idea of period sex has gradually become less and less of a taboo over time. OK, it is potentially messy, but there’s nothing inherently wrong or unsafe with it. And if you’re in the mood for sex, it’s kind of a shame to miss out for that reason alone.  Most importantly, both partners need to be ful...

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.  Wh...