They don't call them Man's Best Friend for nothing. With nearly half of the households in American having at least one dog, there's a lot people need to know about them. Our furry friends come in wide variety of breeds, each with their own unique traits and needs. "Man's best friend" can be a guardian, a helpful worker, a loyal friend, and a snuggly companion, but there's one thing almost all dogs have in common: Licking.Some dogs lick way more than others, but it's rare to find a dog who never licks anyone or anything. Many dogs communicate and show affection by licking, which is sweet—if a little gross—depending on how slobbery they are. There's a common saying that dogs' mouths are cleaner than humans', which is a bit hard to believe when you see what some dogs put in their mouths, but it is true? What does science say about dog tongues and saliva? Is a dog licking our face something we should worry about? We've all heard the myths about dog mouths. Are they true? Photo by James Barker on Unsplash It turns out, the answer to whether a dog's mouth is cleaner than ours isn't super straightforward.An 8th grader named Abby tackled this question in a science experiment that won her a Young Naturalists Award from the American Museum of Natural History in 2011. Her family had gotten a dog and her mom kept telling her not to let the dog lick her face because dog mouths are full of bacteria. Instead of arguing, Abby decided to find out herself if this was true."I hypothesized that human tongues would be cleaner than dog tongues," she wrote. "I thought this because humans brush their teeth at least once a day. I hypothesized that dogs' tongues would be dirty because they were always licking dirty things like garbage."After diving into the research about bacteria that live in and on humans and dogs, Abby decided she had a testable hypothesis. But this wasn't any old middle school science experiment. She applied for and got a grant to the State Hygienic Lab at the University of Iowa, where she was assigned a mentor to work with her.You can read the nitty gritty details of her experiment here, but it involved a lab, swabs, agar plates, and more. Here was the conclusion: "Will I continue to let my dog lick me? Yes!" Photo by Ashley Levinson on Unsplash "I concluded that dog and human mouth flora are very different. (Flora means the bacteria found in a mouth or anywhere else.) The bacteria found in human mouths are more similar to another human's oral bacteria than the bacteria found in a dog's mouth."I also concluded that dogs' mouths are cleaner than humans' in some ways, and dirtier in other ways. Humans have more bacteria in their mouths than dogs do, based on the total number of bacteria. Most of the humans had a 'moderate' number of bacteria, and most of the dogs had 'few' bacteria. A possible explanation of this might be that dogs pant a lot, and maybe while panting, bacteria falls off their tongues along with their saliva. But dogs had more types of bacteria. The average number of different bacterial colonies in a dog's mouth was about 5.7. The average number of different bacterial colonies in a human's mouth was about 4.1. I think this is so because dogs sniff and lick a variety of things, like carpets, floors, chairs, grass, etc., so they pick up bacteria from many places."But what about the licking of our faces? That's a bit of a subjective call, but Abby's results gave her some peace of mind:"In conclusion, will I let my dog continue to lick me? The answer to the question is yes!" she wrote. "I will feel guiltless about letting my dog lick me because I found out that human and dog oral bacteria are different, so my dog's oral bacteria present no harm to me." Kisses approved by science. Giphy What do the experts say?According to Colin Harvey, professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine and executive secretary at the American Veterinary Dental College, comparing dogs' mouths to humans' mouth is "like comparing apples to oranges." As Abby found, the microbes in a dog's mouth are very different than those in a human's.The American Kennel Club elaborates:"Most of the bacteria in your dog’s mouth aren’t zoonotic, which means you probably won’t get a disease from a big old doggy kiss. There are exceptions to this. Dogs that eat a raw diet are at an increased risk of contracting salmonella, which can be spread to humans. You also probably shouldn’t share kisses with a dog that regularly raids the litter box.In other words, kissing your dog is less risky than kissing another human, but that doesn’t mean that your dog’s mouth is necessarily cleaner than a human’s—they just have a mostly incompatible set of germs." Not necessarily cleaner, but different. Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash Keeping your dog's mouth healthy through regular teeth cleaning and dental check-ups can also help prevent issues that could potentially come from dog licks.So there you have it. If your dog doesn't eat a raw diet and doesn't go snacking in the cat box (or some other equally fecal-bacteria-ridden place), their kisses are probably not going to hurt you. Guilt-free pooch smooches for the win!This article originally appeared in April. It has been updated.

School lunch in the United States has a complicated history. While many of us who grew up in the 80s or 90s are nostalgic for some of the menu items we remember fondly (rectangle pizza, anyone?), some of the serving choices were bizarre. We really grew up with someone handing us a tray of pizza, french fries, chocolate milk, and soggy green beans every morning at 10:30am.The offerings have improved somewhat over the years, but everything's still so... beige. The main choices are typically pizza, chicken nuggets, or some form of questionable ground beef like burgers or meatloaf. Some people are stunned when they find out that school lunches from around the world can look very different.A photo of lunch served at a school in South Korea recently went viral and had everyone's mouth watering. from pics A user on Reddit posted the photos to r/pics where they immediately racked up over 17,000 upvotes.The colors on the tray stick out immediately, most notably the noodles covered in creamy red sauce. But it's really the stuffed lobster tail that's the star of this particular tray; potentially lobster thermidor.You expect to see some cultural differences in the food offerings in different countries. Korean food is inherently different than American food in a number of ways. But Americans love lobster! Yet can you imagine American schools serving lobster tail to kids under any circumstances? Lobster dinner with a glass of beerCanvaThe response from mostly-American users was fascinating. Some were in awe while others rightly pointed out why a lunch like this would never fly in the USA.One of the main sentiments was that school lunches in other countries often put ours to utter shame:"I used to teach in Korea and the lunches were always amazing, the beef and quails egg stew was a constant highlight.""I studied in Korea for 6 months on uni exchange. The food at the uni cafeteria looked just like this, and was 10/10. My private room at the uni lodge was $500USD for the WHOLE semester, and included unlimited food.""I live in Spain and my kid's school invited the parents to taste lunch one day. It was fantastic. Also, at the end of each month they share a calendar of the meals that will be served during the next one, day by day. They're all balanced, and prepared with proximity food. They prepare specific meals for every kid with allergies/intolerances/any kind of dietary restriction, e.g. restrictions related to religion. They also share a list of dinner suggestions - again, for the whole month - so you have ideas for dinners that are healthy, easy, cheap, and tasty for kids. It's a public school."Gif of student choosing between healthy or tasty meal via Giphy "I am from a third world country where many public schools lack a ton of funding and even we have better more healthy lunches than the slop that’s given to US students. I know because I went to school in the US and also in my home country.""America hates its f*cking kids. It will always mistreat them and deny them opportunities.""Lobster as a school lunch??? I need to go back to elementary school... I'll quit work for education and a lunch like that!"Others, while impressed with the selection, had their doubts about if American schools could ever adopt something like this:"This lunch is orders of magnitude better then US school lunches. And most American kids would utterly hate it.""American kids have no palette! It’s all chicken nuggets and mac & cheese! ... I know some kids that would starve rather than try anything on that tray."Some pointed out that those metal chopsticks would likely be used as a weapon almost immediately, and discontinued ASAP.Americans, as a whole, have a dreadful diet devoid of enough nutrition and it causes catastrophic health problems in the longterm. For clues as to why, you can look at what we feed our kids — and why. Two young students eat lunchCanvaNo, most American kids probably wouldn't like lobster tail. But there is a lot that goes into how our palette develops that might help explain it.For starters, fresh produce and lean proteins are extremely expensive in America. It's far more cost-effective to pump people full of cheap, empty calories and sugar. School lunch used to be cooked fresh every day in the schools before major government budget cuts forced districts to more heavily on lean on frozen or reheated options. Kids get used to chicken nuggies all day every day from a young age!The irony is that school lunches in American, while not overly exciting, at least meet some basic nutritional guidelines. But they're not free for everyone, and even kids who qualify for free or reduced lunch may not end up participating due to stigma or red-tape. When parents on a shoestring budget have to buy their own lunch supplies, things can get a lot worse than meatloaf and green beans. We all knew a few kids in school who had Pop Tarts for lunch every day. To be fair, we were all jealous at the time. - YouTube www.youtube.com And finally, Americans sure love to get fired up about our "right" to eat like crap. When Michelle Obama tried to clean up the school lunch program, she ran into massive pushback. RFK Jr. wants to do his own version of it, and we'll see how that goes.The viral photo from South Korea shows what might be possible with a few key cultural and political shifts. Treating feeding our kids more like "preventive medicine" versus a cost to manage would definitely be a start.This article originally appeared earlier this year. It has been updated.

The English language is hard to master, even for native speakers. With over an estimated one million words in the language, not only are English words hard to memorize—they can be hard to properly pronounce and enunciate. On the subreddit r/words, a person posed the question: "What's a word you've noticed many native English speakers have difficulty enunciating even though the word is used fairly often?"Turns out, there are a menagerie of words people notoriously stumble over. These are 27 English words that people say are the hardest to enunciate. - YouTube www.youtube.com "The word I notice people struggle with is 'vulnerable'. Something about that N following an L is tricky." - common_grounder"Rural." - Silent-Database5613“'Nucular' for nuclear." - throwawayinthe818"Remuneration v renumeration (first one is correct)." - RonanH69"Exacerbated vs exasperated." - SNAFU-lophagus"I hear grown adults calling wolves woofs and they're not doing it to be funny." - asexualrhino"'Asterisk'. A lot of people wind up inadvertently name-checking Asterix. I think it's best for those who struggle to use the alternative name for that punctuation mark, the 'Nathan Hale', after the American patriot who famously declared, 'I can only regret that I have but one asterisk for my country!'" - John_EightThirtyTwo"Jewelry." - weinthenolababy - YouTube www.youtube.com "Mirror. Some people pronounce it 'meer'." - weinthenolababy, diversalarums"I realized recently I have always mispronounced mischievous. It's mis-chiv-us, not mis-chee-vee-us. I don't know if I've ever heard anyone pronounce that correctly." - callmebigley"ET cetera, not 'ect' cetera. I think people are used to seeing the abbreviation etc and since there is no diphthong tc in English their mind bends it into ect." - AdFrequent4623"February. It sounds like you're pronouncing it like it's spelled Febuary. But it's spelled February." - SDF5-0, ShadedSpaces"'Supposebly' [supposedly]. Drives me up the wall." - BlushBrat"Library. My coworker knows I hate it, so he’ll say Liberry every time." - Jillypenny"The amount of people who say Pacific when they're trying to stay specific is pretty alarming. I'm not even sure if they know it's a different word sometimes." - Global-Discussion-41"Then there was my old boss who would confidently and consistently use the word tenant when he meant tenet." - jaelith - YouTube www.youtube.com "'Mute' for moot. A good friend of mine, who's extremely intelligent and articulate otherwise, says that. Unfortunately, it's a word she likes to use. I haven't had the heart to tell her she's pronouncing it incorrectly, and it's been three decades." NewsSad5006, common_grounder"Probably." - Rachel_Silver"I can’t say the phrase 'rear wheel' without considerable effort." - ohn_the_quain"Anthropomorphize is a word I have to use semi-frequently with limited success each attempt." - ohn_the_quain"Turmeric. People drop the first R. It drives me nuts!" - Jillypenny"Oh, and it’s espresso, no X [ex-presso]." - Jillypenny sipping modern family GIF Giphy "Also cardamom with an N." - nemmalur"Crayon ?. My ex pronounced it 'cran'. Drove me up a wall." - rickulele, premeditatedlasagna"Contemplate. It's one of those word I hear people stumble over more than anything, often it comes out as Comtemplate, Contempate or a combination of both." - megthebat49"Pumpkin (punkin)." - evlmgs"Eraser (erasure, but they're talking about the pink rubber thing)." - evlmgs

Manifestation can be an off-putting concept for myriad reasons, but arguably the biggest complaint is that it feels unrooted in any scientific reality. However, many experts in the scientific community recognize that manifestation is actually rooted in very real neuroscience. The recently passed neurosurgeon and author Dr. James Doty was certainly one of them.Doty, who passed away in July 2025, dedicated the better part of his life to explaining the science behind manifesting and visualization—why it works, how it occurs in the brain, and how to do it effectively. This includes an incredibly simple routine for manifesting, “without the woo-woo,” as he put it. Steps for Manifestation1. Have an intention.2. Write it down.3. Read it silently. 4. Read it out loud.5. Visualize it over and over and over again. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mel Robbins (@melrobbins)This process might look bare bones, but Doty attests that it uses “all of your sensory organs as much as possible” to embed your intention into your subconscious. All of which activates different parts of your brain, including the part of the brain that repeats self-talk about our identity. So much of how we create habits is tied to the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, after all. The caveat that Doty adds, which contradicts the “good vibes only” mantra promoted in many manifestation circles, is that negative self-talk “is not going to 100% go away.” However, with practices like this, even amongst the negative self-talk, you’re able to stay emotionally resilient and not let it “overpower you” by causing you to ruminate. “In a lot of ways, it’s like accepting the shadow self," says Doty, referencing a term coined by Carl Jung, another pioneer who bridged the gap between metaphysical, spiritual principles, and clinical psychology. Doty also notes that, contrary to popular opinion, manifestation is not primarily about acquiring things, but rather about gaining detachment from the need for external validation, which ultimately causes suffering. - YouTube www.youtube.com “I like material things. I drive a Porsche, I live in a very nice house. But the difference, though they’re wonderful to have, they're not necessary. If these things were taken away from me, it has no impact on who I see myself as.”A few other tips, which Doty goes into detail about in his book Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything, include beginning with some gentle breathing exercises to get into a calm state (which releases stressors like fear and doubt which can hinder manifestation), followed by focusing on the joy and awe of being alive (putting you in a receptive mode), and taking aligned action after embedding an intuition (after your brain is rewired to search for possibilities). At the end of the day, Doty’s five-step routine, and really his work in general, is a great way for the more cynical among us to still experience the benefits of manifesting, even if we don’t gel with the way it’s normally portrayed in pop culture. “There is no magic here; this is fundamentally basic neuroscience, and it’s something we all have the ability to master.”

We all know that person. The one who always has to be right, who can turn even the most innocuous disagreement into a never-ending debate, leaving you emotionally exhausted and wondering why you ever opened your mouth in the first place.It could be a coworker, a friend, maybe even someone in our own family—and if we’re really honest with ourselves, perhaps we’re guilty of it too sometimes. But not as much as the other guy! But here’s the good news: Dr. Jeff Bogaczyk, a communication expert who holds a Ph.D. in rhetoric (that’s literally the science of persuasion) says there’s actually a way to reach the know-it-alls in our life, all while maintaining your own peace.It all starts with just three questions.Don't waste your time arguing.According to Dr. Bogaczyk, also known as MindForLife on TikTok, arguing with someone who's always right feels impossible because it is. Attempting to use logic and facts to persuade them is a fool’s errand because it doesn’t just challenge their opinion, it challenges their identity.” A woman in flight-or-fight modePhoto credit: CanvaNumerous psychological studies have shown that criticisms of beliefs can feel like personal attacks, causing people to go into fight-or-flight mode. Logic shuts down, and defenses go up immediately because you’re no longer having a conversation. You’re thrust into battle.The three questions that can turn a stalemate argument into an actual conversationDr. Bogaczyk suggests that instead of trying to win an argument, you ask questions that invite reflection. This can nudge folks out of that defensive, reactive part of the brain and into the calmer, more thoughtful part. From this place, they’re better able to listen. Two men having a conversationPhoto credit: CanvaHere are his go-to questions:1. “Is there anything that could actually change your mind?”This question moves the conversation from confrontation to curiosity. It signals to the other person that they’re not under threat, leaving them far more likely to open up and inadvertently “give you back the key that might unlock their perspective.”2. “If you were wrong, where would you be wrong?”This question is admittedly more triggering, but that’s the point. It helps them see their argument as a structure that can be examined, not a fortress that must be defended.3. “What do you think is the weakest part of your argument?”Similarly, this question might cue some defensiveness. You might initially receive a response like, “There is no weakness.” However, Dr. Bogaczyk notes that gently guiding the thoughts back to simply reflecting on what could be the weakest part provides a potential opening for humility to slip through. @mindforlife How to argue with someone who’s never wrong? #Communication #communicationskills #communicationtips #bettercommunication #argue ♬ original sound - Mind For Life Why this worksAs Dr. Bogaczyk puts it, these questions “disrupt the feedback loop” of defensiveness. They give people a chance to think rather than react. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to quiet down that lizard brain and bring empathy, logic, and higher reasoning back to the forefront. And that’s where real progress happens. Of course, there will always be individuals for whom this strategy will not work. You can’t change everyone’s mind. But sometimes, it’s not truly about changing minds. It’s about maintaining our own energy even in the midst of conflict. So the next time you find yourself in an argument that’s going nowhere, pause, take a breath, and ask a question.

No matter where you are, even when your life feels like it's falling apart, other people's lives are still going on as normal. Unfortunately, the world doesn't stop because tragedy strikes someone's family, but recently on a United Airlines flight, one woman had a pretty close equivalent. Hailey Ann Sand recently took an unexpected trip after finding out her grandfather was being placed on comfort care as he was nearing the end of his life.Sand knew she wanted to be there for his final moments, so she booked a last-minute flight and headed out. What was supposed to be a smooth trip wound up being stress-inducing due to the flight landing behind schedule. The airline was aware that some passengers had connecting flights taking off in a few minutes so they made the announcement asking for passengers to extend courtesy to those with tight connections.Sand was one of those with an extremely tight connection when the flight landed in Denver, but as airline passengers often do, many stood up, not allowing others to get off the plane first. It was then that the grieving granddaughter was reminded that there are still good people in the world. The woman shares in a video that she was in seat 31A and another woman, whom she didn't know was in seat 31B noticed the urgency on Sand's face prompting the woman to inquire if something was wrong. After Sand explained that she was in a hurry to catch her next flight so she could be there with her grandfather in his last moments, the stranger sprung into action. @haileyannsand @United Airlines Sand's connecting flight was scheduled to depart in 25 minutes but the aisle was completely blocked. That is, until her seatmate got everyone to clear it."You didn't owe me anything but you stepped out in the aisle and you announced very loudly to everybody to please step aside so that I can get off the plane in a timely manner," Sand says hoping her words reach the woman who helped her. "We landed 25 minutes before my next flight was supposed to depart, and it was a 22-minute walk across the Denver airport. We flew into gate 73ish, and I was flying out of 12. I had to walk all the way across. I just want you to know that I made that flight and I got to be there last night. And I got to tell my grandfather how much I loved him and he got to tell me back and he understood what I was saying." Woman hugging her grandfatherCanvaThe grieving granddaughter was able to be there along with the rest of her family until her grandfather passed. She continues the video with an emotional thank you to the stranger saying that her act of kindness changed her life, hoping the video would reach the kind stranger. While the video didn't reach her, the video did reach United Airlines causing several flight attendants and crew to reach out to Sand. Through some detective work, they connected her with a relative who connected her with the stranger, Katie.Turns out Katie wasn't just an average passenger, she's a hospice nurse who deeply understands a family's need to be together during someone's final hours. Sand tells Upworthy it look less than 24 hours to track Katie down and get in touch with her. While the flight they shared was from San Antonio to Denver, Katie just happened to be traveling from work and isn't from either city and Sand lives in San Antonio but is from Washington. The chance seating assignment seemed meant to be. Crowded airplane cabinCanvaOnce Sand reached her family she left her chance encounter with a hospice nurse to feel the warmth and comfort of the hospice nurses at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake, Washington, "They did an excellent job for my grandfather in his final moments but also my whole family in helping us through a difficult time."Sand shares that her grandfather was "a husband of 62 years, a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, a brother, a friend, a mentor. He served in the Army and worked his whole life as a farmer. He was the most hardworking man. He loved to travel and has been all over the world. He was very involved in his community, and the world would be better with more people like him in it."While the woman hoped the video would reach the passenger that helped her on the plane, she likely didn't expect it to reach over 9 million people but since it has she hopes people leave her video with a message of kindness. @haileyannsand @United Airlines the long awaited, long winded update. "I hope this story continues to resonate with people and inspire them to love each other more, and think twice when the flight crew asks you to stay seated so that people who have a tight connection can get off the plane. You never know why someone is traveling and it’s not always for a happy reason."This article originally appeared earlier this year. It has been updated.

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A new dawn. The post The only 2000s album better than ‘Is This It’, according to science first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

Turns out, Santa Carla isn't that far from Philadelphia ...