Today is National Chocolate Mint Day
Want a break from your smartphone? Try the rotary cellphone
Ever wonder what it would be like to combine the nostalgia of a rotary phone with the compact size of the smartphone? Well, wonder no more.
A scientist namedJustine Haupthas built arotary cellphone. According toColossal, she spent three years constructing the “anti-smartphone,” calling it The Portable Wireless Electronic Digital Rotary Telephone.
It has a rotary dial, fits in your pocket and can make phone calls. That’s about it.
“This is a statement against a world of touchscreens, hyperconnectivity, and complacency with big brother watchdogs,” Haupt writes on her website.
She adds, “So it’s not just a show-and-tell piece… My intent is to use it as my primary phone. It fits in a pocket; It’s reasonably compact; calling the people I most often call is faster than with my old phone, and the battery lasts almost 24 hours.”
Haupt has open sourced her technical design files – so while her rotary cell phone isn’t for sale, you could conceivably build your own.
Eight Year Old Girl Celebrates Her Birthday At Target
Can you remember where you spent your eight birthday? I bet it wasn't hanging in Target with your friends and family. However, that's exactly what Brayden Lawrencewanted to do.
The birthday girl headed to her local store with some friends for a day of fun and, naturally, shopping. Donned head to toe in the classic Target uniform, right down to the name tag, the girls had the store as their playground for the day.
Her mom reached out to the store's manager,Albert, and he was more than happy to accommodate the birthday girl. This was a first birthday party thrown by this location in Atlanta but the employees were excited about the challenge. After a day of shopping and fun, she and her friends ended up eating at the target food court and celebrated with a huge Target cake.
Source: TODAY
Study: Sugar Cravings Could Be From Lack Of Sleep
Can’t seem to stop yourself from finishing off that box of Girl Scout cookies before bed? Going to bed earlier might help. Anew studyfinds a link between sleep deprivation and high-calorie food cravings, especially in women.
The research on nearly 500 women between the ages of 20 and 76 finds those with poor sleep quality or lack of sleep also ate more foods with more added sugars, saturated fats, and caffeine. Close to a third (30%) of participants report sleeping less than seven hours and they also ate an extra 500 to 800 calories a day. These women exceeded daily recommendations for saturated fats, added sugars and caffeine, but didn’t get enough healthy foods, like grains and fiber.
Not only is this bad for their waistlines, researchers warn that women are already at high risk for obesity and sleep disorders and foods loaded with sugars and fats are linked to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. They stress the importance of good, quality sleep for women to manage body weight as well as to help prevent heart disease.
Source:New York Post
The Best & Worst Times To Book Flights
We all know getting a great deal on airfare really all depends on when you book, so how do you know when is the right time to pull the trigger on a flight? Well, the folks at QTrip are here to help.
- The site looked more than 917 million airfares in 8,000 markets to reveal the best and worst times to book U.S. domestic flights.
- Last year the least expensive airfares were usually available 77 days before departure.
- Last year airfares changed an average of 54 times, and by $34.
- The “Prime Booking Window” to book flights is between 21 and 127 days before departure, when the average airfare will be within 5% of their low point.
- That booking window does change with seasons, with the best spring fares found 85 days out, 113 days out for summer, 77 days out for the fall and 49 for winter.
- A flight on Tuesday or Wednesday will cost about $100 less than a flight on Sunday, which is the most expensive day to travel.
The site also offered six different types of “Booking Zones,” which will definitely affect your travel booking. They include:
- First Dibs(315 to 202 days out) - You’ll spend about $50 more, but get the best seat and itinerary options.
- Peace of Mind(201 to 128 days out) - You’ll spend about $30 more but get a good balance of options.
- Prime Booking Window(127 to 21 days out) - Book here to land within 5% of the lowest price.
- Push Your Luck(20 to 14 days out) - Your chances of a deal are slim, but not impossible.
- Playing with Fire(13 to 7 days out) - There will be even fewer options, with much higher prices.
- Hail Mary (0 to 6 days out) - These fares, usually used for emergencies, will likely cost as much as $200 extra.
Source:QTrip
Study: Facial Expressions Do Not Reflect Our Innermost Feelings
Do you feel like you can never pick up on how people are feeling?Good news!No one really can! Especially if you’re trying to judge it by people’s faces. In fact, scientists are now going as far as to say “we should never trust a person’s face.”
Professor of electrical and computer engineeringAleix Martinezdecided to find an answer to the question ‘Can we truly detect emotion from facial articulations?’ And his conclusion was “no, you can’t.”
Think about it.If you have a good day, do you smile from the moment your head lifts off the pillow until you get into bed again that night?No, because that would make you The Joker. Martinez says “not everyone who smiles is happy” and “not everyone who is happy smiles.”
- And while this study is sure to make us paranoid thatthe cute barista that smiles at us may not even like us,it also shows the danger behind some face-recognition technology.
- Apparently, there are companies using programs to study people’s faces to do everything from determining customer satisfaction to detecting whether someone is guilty of a crime. Martinez says their research has shown anyone making such “claims are complete baloney.”
Source:Yahoo News