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- The SnidBit - Issue #012
Having an out-of-body experience? Blame this sausage-shaped piece of your brain
Scientists have identified a specific region in the brain called the anterior precuneus that, when stimulated, can trigger out-of-body experiences. This discovery may have implications for developing anesthesia techniques using electrical stimulation instead of drugs, as well as understanding the effects of mind-altering substances like ketamine. The anterior precuneus, located between the brain's hemispheres, plays a crucial role in a person's sense of embodiment. By stimulating this region, researchers were able to induce a detachment from one's own thoughts and a feeling of floating in space. The anterior precuneus appears to be responsible for the brain's ability to tag experiences as one's own. This finding provides insight into the brain's mechanisms for processing conflicting sensory information and could potentially lead to targeted electrical stimulation as an alternative to widespread drug effects in medical treatments.
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
- Muhammad Ali
Get Ready to Sizzle: Earth Breaks Heat Records Like a Boss!
Listen up, folks! If you've been treating yourself to armpit fanning sessions and desperately cuddling your air conditioner while slurping down cherry Icees, well, buckle up because it's only going to get hotter from here!
Earth has been on a record-breaking spree, smashing temperature records like a bull in a china shop. Monday took the crown as the hottest day in, wait for it, 100,000+ years! But that wasn't enough for our fiery planet. Nope, it decided to show off and break its own heat record day after day until Thursday, making July 3–6 the four hottest days ever recorded. Talk about an overachiever!
And just when you thought things couldn't get more toasty, June stepped up and claimed the title of the warmest June ever, leaving us all sweating like melting ice cream cones. Thanks a lot, World Meteorological Organization!
But hold on to your sun hats, folks, because it's not just the air that's boiling. Sea ice levels near Antarctica are at an all-time low, and the North Atlantic is heating up faster than a microwave burrito gone wrong. So, whether you're on land or sea, there's no escaping the heatwave!
Now, let's dive into the why. According to those wise researchers, this scorching madness is a result of a tag team: human-induced climate change and the notorious troublemaker, El Niño. You see, El Niño likes to crank up the heat in the Pacific Ocean, and it brings its hot-headed weather along for the ride. So, brace yourselves, because July is about to get even sweatier. We might just be on track for the hottest year ever, folks. Way to go, Mother Nature!
This unbearable heatwave is wreaking havoc on our lives and jobs. Take the ongoing battle between UPS and the Teamsters Union, for example. Heat safety has become the hot potato in their negotiations. So much so that UPS has reluctantly agreed to air condition its trucks. Who would have thought that battling heatwaves would bring feuding parties together?
Meanwhile, over in Beijing, they've put a halt to any outdoor work. It's like they've turned into a city-sized sauna! It's the longest streak of scorching days since 1961. I guess you could say they're literally sweating their buns off!
But hey, it's not all doom and gloom. There's a silver lining to this blazing madness. If we're going to live in this human-sized oven, we better figure out how to handle it and ditch those pesky fossil fuels that are fueling the fire. Take a bow, Texas! Despite the heatwave, they've managed to keep their power grid running, all thanks to their shining heroes: solar and wind energy. Who needs a sunburn when you can have clean, renewable power like THINK ENERGY!!
So, folks, get ready to sweat like you've never sweated before! Earth is turning up the heat, and we're all just along for the wild, sizzling ride. Don't forget your sunscreen, stay hydrated, and remember to embrace the climate change dance. It's hot, it's wild, and it's here to stay!
Fact
 | Women were the first beer brewers.On the list of things women don’t get enough credit for, being the first to brew beer might not seem like the most important. But fermented beverages have played a vital role in human culture for perhaps almost as long as society has existed, providing nutrients, enjoyment, and often a safer alternative to drinking water before the advent of modern sanitation. Scholars disagree over exactly when beer was first introduced — although the earliest hard evidence for barley beer comes from 5,400-year-old Sumerian vessels that were still sticky with beer when archaeologists found them — but one thing has never been in question: “Women absolutely have, in all societies, throughout world history, been primarily responsible for brewing beer,” says Theresa McCulla, who curates the Smithsonian’s American Brewing History Initiative. |
In The Nice News
Humankind
Doctor proposes to high school sweetheart nearly 60 years later at Tampa International Airport. (More, w/video)
Teen who walked 6 miles to eighth grade graduation receives college scholarship on the spot. (More)
A 71-year-old mom and her daughter celebrate their college graduations together. (More)
Chicago mentoring program helps young people find purpose through restoring classic cars. (More)
Texas mom launches Girl Scout troop for LGBTQ youth, dubbed the "Pride Crew." (More)
Army veteran celebrates 107th birthday with neighborhood block party. (More)
Americans don’t agree on what news to trust
Democrats and Republicans disagree on which news sources are trustworthy, according to the latest YouGov poll.
“In the media we only sometimes trust” could be America’s motto, according to the results of a YouGov poll released yesterday. The April survey shows extreme polarization in how much trust folks put in 45 news outlets.
According to the survey, CNN and MSNBC are the most divisive: A much larger share of Democrats than Republicans think they’re in the business of telling the truth. But winning over Democrats may be easier: The survey shows they’re more likely to trust most media outlets than Republicans—they’re even more likely than Republicans to have faith in the conservative-leaning New York Post.
And, in some good news for the brave souls who report from the eye of the storm, the most trusted news source overall is The Weather Channel, followed by PBS and the BBC. Meanwhile, only a handful of ultra-distrusted publications, including Breitbart News, The Daily Caller, and InfoWars, have more skeptics than believers, per the survey.
What this means for TV
The lack of trust likely isn’t helping cable news ratings. According to the survey, CNN and Fox News, enjoy the trust of just 40% and 38% of the public, respectively, and recent Nielsen data shows they’re struggling to keep viewers tuning in.
CNN had a 61% drop in prime-time viewership in March compared with a year earlier as it attempts to reinvent itself under new management.
Fox lost 29.6% of its prime-time audience in the week after it dismissed its most popular on-air personality, Tucker Carlson, in the wake of a defamation scandal with a $787.5 million legal settlement.
Even smaller screens have a credibility problem: Social media sites are inspiring mistrust, too. TikTok ranked as the most distrusted social media platform in the survey—even among younger adults. And LinkedIn is the only social media site with a greater share of survey respondents trusting it than not.
Looking ahead…the situation might be improving: Media skepticism overall has declined in recent months compared to a similar YouGov survey from last year.
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