Street food vendors are ubiquitous in low- and middle-income countries. They offer up quick, cheap, and diverse food and drink, while also serving as sources of employment and socialization. Yet because the stalls block sidewalks and supposedly drag down real estate values, urbanization projects commonly try to ban or relocate them. Street vendors, however, are...
Visual blends, which join two objects in an unusual, eye-catching way, are an advanced graphic design technique used in advertising, marketing, and the media to draw attention to a specific message. These visual marriages are designed to precipitate an “aha!” moment in the viewer who grasps one idea from the union of two images. For...
Superheroes like Thor and Black Widow may have what it takes to save the world in movies like Avengers: Endgame, but neither of their comic book depictions has a healthy body mass index (BMI). New research from Binghamton University and SUNY Oswego found that, within the pages of comic books, male superheroes are on average obese, while...
Hate crimes committed by groups are especially likely to result in injuries such as broken bones and missing teeth, according to a new study from Florida State University. Brendan Lantz, an assistant professor in the FSU College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, found that co-offending, or committing a crime with others, was significantly related to...
Everywhere you look, people are looking at screens. In the decade since smartphones have become ubiquitous, we now have a feeling almost as common as the smartphones themselves: being sucked into that black hole of staring at those specific apps — you know which ones they are — and then a half an hour has...
Mixed-race couples are a burgeoning population in the United States, accounting for 17 percent of all new marriages. But a new study shows they have a hard time finding a place to raise their children. BYU sociology professor Ryan Gabriel published the study in the journal Demography with Georgia State’s Amy Spring. They found that mixed-race couples...
When it comes to making moral decisions, we often think of the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Yet, why we make such decisions has been widely debated. Are we motivated by feelings of guilt, where we don’t want to feel bad for letting the other person down?...
Have you ever noticed how easily people can see the meaning in other’s behaviour? We seem to intuitively know why our child drags us towards the shop window, why our friend steers clear of the spider, or why our partner hands us a drink after a workout. Sometimes, however, this tendency leads us to cling...
Knowing the do’s and don’ts of washing your clothes can be difficult, but chemistry has got your back. With a quick lesson in textile chemistry, you’ll be able to understand the different fabrics that make up your clothes. This week on Reactions, we’ll explore whether it’s safe to wash your favorite new shirt at home...
A thousand years ago, the Wari empire stretched across Peru. At its height, it covered an area the size of the Eastern seaboard of the US from New York City to Jacksonville. It lasted for 500 years, from 600 to 1100 AD, before eventually giving rise to the Inca. That’s a long time for an...
