When you stand in front of a mirror what do you see? How do you feel about yourself? Is there anything you would like to change?

In most societies around our world, the media, magazines and commercials are being used to portray the perfect appearance. Our fashion models of today are used as examples of what we consider to be the modern standard of beauty. Our outer shells will be disposed at the end of our lives. Still, they have become a priority.

When did we start listening to what the rest of the world has to say about our appearance?

Children can work as an inspiration in this matter. Not only do they have a complete different sense of beauty, they are being led by their imagination, something that makes life a lot more interesting. They are not yet captivated by the norm, and they set their own priorities. It is a beautiful thing to see and it really makes you think, ‘Why did I lose my sense of self perspective?’

Do you, like many others, judge another when they don’t fit the picture perfect image of the beauty standards we are being taught? Continue reading →

What would you choose if you could pick your own superpowers?

There is still so much we are learning about the human body and what we are truly capable of. These people all have their own ‘superpower’, whether it’s in their DNA or it came from practice, some of these powers we are all capable of having. When we understand this reality is a projection of the mind; the idea of mind over matter takes a whole new meaning.

The boy with ultrasound vision
This boy is able to move around like a bat or an dolphin by using sound as an indicator of his location.

Ben Underwood had his eyes removed at the age of two due to retinal cancer.

After not being able to use his eyes, he developed the ability to detect the location of objects using only his ears, also called echo location. He did this to such a degree that he can compete in several kinds of sports. Something that when compared to other blind people may seem like an impossible task.

He stated “I’m not blind, I just can’t see”. Sadly Ben Underwood died in 2009 at the age of 16 due to the same cancer that took his vision.

The man with a stomach of steel
This man isn’t afraid of what he ingests, no matter if its glass, steel or even a poison liquid.

The Frenchman, Michel Lotito has a stomach lining that is two times bigger than the average human.

This made it possible for him to eat and digest anything without harming his body. He would break the objects into small pieces and eat them with oil used as a lubricant.  Miguel died a couple years back, to natural causes and not his eating habits strangely enough. Continue reading →

They say you can’t choose your family, but your friends on the other hand is a whole different story.

Some friendships feel as if they will last forever. Friends you have known for ages, whom you can rely on in every kind of situation. They are your partner in crime, the piece that make you whole, in some cases you could even call them your other half.  

You experience adventures together, trust the other without a shadow of a doubt, you would even jump through a burning hoop if necessary. Because you and your good friend are like two peas in a pot.

And then suddenly, it becomes clear that everything is shifting. You realized you are drifting apart, choosing different ways and it does not feel like it used to.

It is not something that happens over night, but the moment of realization can hit you like bomb.
How is this possible? You did not have a fight or a disagreement. You can’t think of anything that could have caused this change. Continue reading →

Worldwide, nicotine is the substance most people are addicted to. Tobacco use is the cause of six million deaths annually. In other words, every five seconds someone dies from diseases that are the result of smoking cigarettes.

If this trend continues, this number will rise to eight million deaths annually by the year 2030.
Every single person that was or still is addicted to cigarettes, knows how difficult it is to quit smoking.

The desire to quit could be present, but the actual method to do it gets many people stuck. Nicotine plasters, gum, acupuncture, E-cigarettes and self motivation books, can often result in spent money, and not much more.

Saying no to cigarettes is so much easier said than done. Sometimes it even feels  as if the salesmen who are promoting their quitting smoking products want you to fail and keep smoking because selling products and making money is their priority over health. Continue reading →

A boring day at the office, you lean back on your arm and slowly drift away. Before you know it, you are suddenly in the most exciting, relaxing or fanciful place you could imagine.

Daydreaming, only as wild as your own imagination. Now imagine all of it going dark, pitch black. You are not able to visualize anything in your head. Not the food you ate the day before, not the way to work or the person you love the most in the whole wide world. Thinking of these different concepts is not the problem, picturing or visualizing them on the other hand, is. The eye of your mind is non-existent.

If this is the case for you, chances are you have Aphantasia.

Aphantasia is a condition known to science since 1880. It is estimated that 2-5% of the people are born without the ability to picture things mentally. Many people that were diagnosed with this condition, never realized their mind was blind because their lack of visuals was compensated by logical thinking in concepts or words.

In 2015 Aphantasia was brought to attention by Adam Zeman and his colleagues who led a study at the University of Exeter. He conducted 21 case studies with people who claimed to be unable to create images with their mind.
The majority reported to not be able to produce mind images on demand and some claimed to get involuntary flashes randomly. Most of the people had problems with remembering moments from their past by not being able to link visuals to their memory. On the other hand, they scored significantly higher at tasks like logic, verbal skills and mathematics. Zeman believed this to be compensating behavior. Continue reading →

Everyone who has ever chewed gum usually tries to blow that perfect bubble without it completely exploding in our faces. Sometimes we come across that ”oops” moment when we accidentally swallow a piece.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a piece of HubbaBubba, Fire ball or one of those rainbow-balls coming out of a vending machine, swallowing a piece of gum always feels uncomfortable. Some say that all the pieces of gum accumulate in your stomach that form a big pound that’ll never go away. Others say swallowing gum will stick to your intestines and will only be completely digested after seven years.

Is it actually dangerous to swallow gum or is it just a bunch of old tales?  If you still get worried every time you swallow gum, lets get the facts straight.

Evidence was found proving in 7000 BC people in Northern Europe started to develop a habit of chewing on indigestible substances. Only, back in those days, people were chewing on pieces of black tar. The base of the gum that we know today was developed in 1946 when chemists learned to make synthetic rubber.

It’s mostly butyl rubber, the same rubber they use to make basketballs, which became a substitute for most natural rubber in chewing gums. Most gums are made from a synthetic rubber, or a mixture of artificial and natural bases.

Softeners are added to keep the moisture and to prevent the gum from becoming hard. The most popular softeners are glycerin and vegetable oil.

Continue reading →