Evian‚ Fiji‚ Voss‚ SmartWater‚ Aquafina‚ Dasani—it's impressive how many brands we have for something humans have been consuming for millennia. Despite years of studies showing that bottled water is no safer to drink than tap water‚ Americans are more consuming more bottled water than ever‚ to the tune of billions of dollars in bottled water sales. People cite convenience and taste in addition to perceived safety for reasons they prefer bottle to tap‚ but the fear factor surrounding tap water is still a driving force. It doesn't help when emergencies like floods cause tap water contamination or when investigations reveal issues with lead pipes in some communities‚ but municipal water supplies are tested regularly‚ and in the vast majority of the U.S.‚ you can safely grab a glass of water from a tap. And now‚ a new study on nanoplastics found in three popular bottled water brands is throwing more data into the bottled vs. tap water choice.Researchers from Columbia University used a new laser-guided technology to detect nanoplastics that had previously evaded detection due to their miniscule size. The new technology can detect‚ count and analyze and chemical structure of nanoparticles‚ and they found seven different major types of plastic: polyamide‚ polypropylene‚ polyethylene‚ polymethyl methacrylate‚ polyvinyl chloride‚ polystyrene‚ and polyethylene terephthalate. In contrast to a 2018 study that found around 300 plastic particles in an average liter of bottled water‚ the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in January of 2024 found 240‚000 nanoplastic particles per liter bottle on average between the three brands studied. (The name of the brands were not indicated in the study.)As opposed to microplastics‚ nanoplastics are too small to be seen by microscope. Their size is exactly why experts are concerned about them‚ as they are small enough to invade human cells and potentially disrupt cellular processes. Columbia researchers found that bottled water contains hundreds of thousands of previously uncounted plastic particles\u2014particles small enough to pass into the bloodstream and travel directly into our organs.\nhttps://t.co/NoC70dLakV — (@) “Micro and nanoplastics have been found in the human placenta at this point. They’ve been found in human lung tissues. They’ve been found in human feces; they’ve been found in human blood‚” study coauthor Phoebe Stapleton‚ associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Rutgers University’s Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy told CNN Health‚ We know that nanoplastics are making their way into our bodies. We just don't have enough research yet on what that means for our health‚ and we still have more questions than answers. How many nanoplastics does it take to do damage and/or cause disease&;#63; What kinds of damage or disease might they cause&;#63; Is whatever effect they might have cumulative&;#63; We simply don't have answers to these questions yet. That's not to say there's no cause for concern. We do know that certain levels of microplastic exposure have been shown to adversely affect the viability of cells. Nanoplastics are even smaller—does that mean they are more likely to cause cellular damage&;#63; Science is still working that out. According to Dr. Sara Bened&;eacute; of the Spanish National Research Council’s Institute of Food Science Research‚ it's not just the plastics themselves that might cause damage‚ but what they may bring along with them. “[Microparticles and nanoparticles] have the ability to bind all kinds of compounds when they come into contact with fluids‚ thus acting as carriers of all kinds of substances including environmental pollutants‚ toxins‚ antibiotics‚ or microorganisms‚” Dr. Bened&;eacute; told Medical News Today.Where is this plastic in water coming from&;#63; This study focused on bottled water‚ which is almost always packaged in plastic. The filters used to filter the water before bottling are also frequently made from plastic.Is it possible that some of these nanoplastics were already present in the water from their original sources&;#63; Again‚ research is always evolving on this front‚ but microplastics have been detected in lakes‚ streams and other freshwater sources‚ so it's not a big stretch to imagine that nanoplastics may be making their way into freshwater ecosystems as well. However‚ microplastics are found at much higher levels in bottled water than tap water‚ so it's also not a stretch to assume that most of the nanoplastics are likely coming from the bottling process and packaging rather than from freshwater sources. The reality is‚ though‚ we simply don't know yet. “Based on other studies we expected most of the microplastics in bottled water would come from leakage of the plastic bottle itself‚ which is typically made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic‚” lead author Naixin Qian‚ a doctoral student in chemistry at Columbia University‚ told CNN Health. “However‚ we found there’s actually many diverse types of plastics in a bottle of water‚ and that different plastic types have different size distributions. The PET particles were larger‚ while others were down to 200 nanometers‚ which is much‚ much smaller.”We need to drink water‚ and we need to drink safe water. At this point‚ we have plenty of environmental reasons for avoiding bottled water unless absolutely necessary and opting for tap water instead. Even if there's still more research to be done‚ the presence of hundreds of thousands of nanoplastics in bottled water might just be another reason to make the switch. This article originally appeared on 2.2.24

Devyn Hales‚ 22‚ from California‚ recently moved to Sydney‚ Australia‚ on a one-year working visa and quickly learned that her name wouldn’t work Down Under. It all started when a group of men made fun of her on St. Patrick’s Day. After she introduced herself as Devyn‚ the men laughed at her. &;quot;They burst out laughing‚ and when I asked them why‚ they told me devon is processed lunch meat‚” she told The Daily Mail. It's similar to baloney‚ so I introduce myself as Dev now‚” she said in a viral TikTok video with over 1.7 million views.For those who have never been to Australia‚ Devon is a processed meat product usually cut into slices and served on sandwiches. It is usually made up of pork‚ basic spices and a binder. Devon is affordable because people buy it in bulk and it’s often fed to children. Australians also enjoy eating it fried‚ like spam. It is also known by other names such as fritz‚ circle meat‚ Berlina and polony‚ depending on where one lives on the continent. It's like in America‚ where people refer to cola as pop‚ soda‚ or Coke‚ depending on where they live in the country.So‚ one can easily see why a young woman wouldn’t want to refer to herself as a processed meat product that can be likened to boloney or spam. &;quot;Wow‚ love that for us‚&;quot; another woman named Devyn wrote in the comments. “Tell me the name thing isn't true‚” a woman called Devon added. @dhalesss #fypã‚· #australia #americaninaustralia #sydney #aussie Besides changing her name‚ Dev shared some other differences between living in Australia and her home country.“So everyone wears slides. I feel like I'm the only one with 'thongs'—flip-flops—that have the little thing in the middle of your big toe. Everyone wears slides‚” she said. Everyone wears shorts that go down to your knees and that's a big thing here.”Dev also noted that there are a lot of guys in Australia named Lachlan‚ Felix and Jack.She was also thrown off by the sound of the plentiful magpies in Australia. According to Dev‚ they sound a lot like crying children with throat infections. “The birds threw me off‚” she said before making an impression that many people in the comments thought was close to perfect. &;quot;The birds is so spot on‚&;quot; Jess wrote. &;quot;The birds‚ I will truly never get used to it‚&;quot; Marissa added.One issue that many Americans face when moving to Australia is that it is more expensive than the United States. However‚ many Americans who move to Australia love the work-life balance. Brooke Laven‚ a brand strategist in the fitness industry who moved there from the U.S.‚ says that Aussies have the “perfect work-life balance” and that they are “hard-working” but “know where to draw the line.”Despite the initial cultural shocks‚ Devyn is embracing her new life in Australia with a positive outlook. “The coffee is a lot better in Australia‚ too‚” she added with a smile‚ inspiring others to see the bright side of cultural differences.

Few species have been the victim of bad marketing quite like the pigeon. While its cousin‚ the dove (whose genetic makeup is nearly identical‚ mind you) is made the poster-bird for love and purity‚ pigeons have been dubbed as deplorable pests‚ aka “rats with wings.” Which‚ let’s be honest‚ sounds like the zoological equivalent of a mean racial slur. And yet‚ a now-viral post serves as an important reminder that our attitude towards these creatures needs to change. Coach and therapist Thaddeus Patrick shared on X‚ &;quot;My friend grew up in New England where they have pigeons. Apparently they also hate them. He was always saying bad things about pigeons.” That is‚ until Patrick gave his friend a brief history lesson‚ which doubled as a lesson in empathy. “We domesticated pigeons. They are (nearly) all over the world because HUMANS BROUGHT THEM THERE. And‚ they were more than pets. They carried messages. People raced them. They lived spoiled lives as honored human companions for centuries‚” he wrote. Indeed‚ humans have used the pigeon’s intelligence and natural homing abilities to communicate with one another since sixth century BC. Ancient Romans used them to announce winners of the Olympics. Genghis Khan had a whole flock spread across his vast empire. via GIPHYAmong the most famous of carrier pigeons is Cher Ami‚ who delivered what may have been a lifesaving message to American commanders during World War I‚ despite a wound to his breast and a nearly severed leg. His courageous efforts got him the French military award‚ the Croix de Guerre With Palm.And by the way‚ pigeons weren't just appreciated for their communication skills. Some were simply bred for beauty.And yet‚ any contributions are all but forgotten in the modern age. Or‚ as Patrick put it‚ “then we got telephones and we threw them out like trash. Literally‚ we threw them away.” But by that time‚ “their species had already been fully domesticated and they could not survive in the wild; they lost all their survival instincts during the centuries that they lived caged by people‚” he explained. It also helps that hard concrete buildings better replicate the pigeon’s natural habitat of rocky ledges and cliffs‚ rather than trees and shrubs. So‚ okay‚ we no longer had &;quot;use&;quot; for pigeons. But pigeons stayed in the city…cause‚ the forest life isn't for them. Okay. But why is there such universally visceral reaction towards them now&;#63; That brings us back to marketing. Specifically a media campaign in the 60s by New York City Parks Commissioner Thomas Hoving‚ who had such a disdain for pigeons that he created the “rat with wings” moniker (not Woody Allen‚ as some might believe) along with the association to disease. In his paper‚ “How Pigeons Became Rats: The Cultural-Spatial Logic of Problem Animals‚” sociologist Colin Jerolmack also notes how our evolving hatred for pigeons reflects a wider disconnect between humanity and nature‚ sometimes referred to as “imagintaive geography.” “In what sociologists call our ‘imaginative geography’ of cities‚ there’s a border that separates clean‚ orderly civilization and wild‚ uncontrolled nature. ‘That doesn’t mean there’s no nature‚ but ideally‚ the city is the place where we invite nature in in ways that we control‚’” Jerolmack says. “Pigeons cross those boundaries frequently and visibly‚ inhabiting the spaces that we think of as our own.”Essentially‚ humans created this situation for pigeons. “They don't know how to live without us‚ and their instincts tell us that they should trust us. So‚ they continue to come up to humans and beg for food‚ because it's the only survival skill left in their genes‚” Patrick lamented. And now‚ when we think of pigeons‚ we are more likely to think of disease-spreading vermin rather than the allies to mankind that they truly are. Even those of us that are familiar with the history of the carrier pigeon are likely to shoo them away and treat them as a nuisance more than anything else. “They love us because they were bred by us to feel that way‚ and yet we hate them.&;quot;&;quot;My friend grew up in New England where they have pigeons. Apparently they also hate them. He was always saying bad things about pigeons until I pointed something out that he never thought of before:We domesticated pigeons. They are (nearly) all over the world because HUMANS… pic.twitter.com/sMlZEJtFwA— ☦️haddeus ⳩atrick (@jacfalcon) April 10‚ 2024 Luckily there is still hope for humanity‚ judging the comments left on Patrick’s post. “I used to be that way‚ but the more I learned about pigeons‚ and just growing emotionally mature‚ I realized that no animal really deserves to be hated and have been kinder to pigeons‚” one person wrote.Another added‚ “We forgot they were once our friends. But they didn’t forget.”We forgot they were once our friends. But they didn’t forget. pic.twitter.com/FShdIZ8H92— Hernan Cortes (@CyberPunkCortes) April 10‚ 2024 “Wow. I never thought of it this way‚” a third said.It’s not the most uplifting story in the world‚ but it’s an important conversation. The way society has used and discarded these creatures reflects how it tends to treat nature as a whole. We have to be better to the beings sharing a planet with us. Granted a lot of that is out of the average person’s control‚ but we are completely capable of shifting our attitude towards certain species.

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