We know that our brain is what makes us tick. It stores our memories, controls our bodily functions, creates ideas that change the world and lets us fly on the wings on imagination whenever we want. This is why it’s imperative that we keep our brain in good health! These tips and trivia bits will help you understand your brain better and keep it in good condition.
1. Living in a violent home affects a child in the same way combat affects a soldier.
Forgetting things (to an extent) is a sign of a healthy brain. Deleting unneeded information allows the brain to retain elasticity!
If you’re stuck in a constant state of stress, your brain ages and becomes weaker prematurely…
According to current research, dieting can cause the brain to eat itself…
If your brain doesn’t get oxygen for 5-10 minutes, it will suffer permanent damage.
Scientific research proved that when a person gets even a modicum of power, it will affect their brain’s works and will reduce their ability to have empathy.
Brain freeze is a real thing, its scientific name is: “Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia”
Both sides of the brain work in tandem. The concept of “left/right brain” is a myth.
Want to relax? When you smell chocolate, your brain releases theta waves which relaxes you
Did you know that your tongue is not the only part of your body with taste buds? Your brain has them as-well (and so does your stomach, intestines, pancreas, anus, testicles and lungs).
Drinking alcohol doesn’t erase your memories – instead, it prevents your brain from creating new ones.
When you’re rejected, your brain interprets it in the same way it does physical pain..
Your brain doesn’t stop developing until you are in your late 40’s, so it’s important to keep it active.
The effects of sleep deprivation on the brain slows your reactions and causes you to suffer from impaired judgment.
So keep that brain of yours working, get enough sleep and sniff some chocolate and you’ll be happier and healthier…….
I think of people in my life, be it friends , family, acquaintances, employees, co-workers, whomever… They are all placed inside what I call my tree test.
It goes like this:
LEAF PEOPLE
Some people come into your life and they are like leaves on a tree. They are only there for a season. You can’t depend on them or count on them because they are weak and only there to give you shade. Like leaves, they are there to take what they need and as soon as it gets cold or a wind blows in your life they are gone. You can’t be angry at them, it’s just who they are.
BRANCH PEOPLE
There are some people who come into your life and they are like branches on a tree. They are stronger than leaves, but you have to be careful with them. They will stick around through most seasons, but if you go through a storm or two in your life it’s possible that you could lose them. Most times they break away when it’s tough. Although they are stronger than leaves, you have to test them out before you run out there and put all your weight on them. In most cases they can’t handle too much weight. But again, you can’t be mad with them, it’s just who they are.
ROOT PEOPLE
If you can find some people in your life who are like the roots of a tree then you have found something special. Like the roots of a tree, they are hard to find because they are not trying to be seen. Their only job is to hold you up and help you live a strong and healthy life. If you thrive, they are happy. They stay low key and don’t let the world know that they are there. And if you go through an awful storm they will hold you up. Their job is to hold you up, come what may, and to nourish you, feed you and water you.
Zack Mclaughlin is an artist inspired by the beauty and colors of birds. He makes his stunning scultptures from paper, wood and other mixes. He started making these paper birds a few years ago, with the designs becoming more and more lifelike, staying true to what he found so beautiful while also maintaining relism in his sculptures.
You can find more of Zack’s beautiful works on his Etsy page.
Birds are so vesatile, says Zack. Their colors, sizes, shapes – a huge variety of beauty.
Making these birds takes a lot of time and patience, but he loves working on them.
Zack cuts every individual feather with his scissors, from the big wing feathers to the tiny tail feathers.
A snow owl.
This owl was created out of book pages
These birds seem to just pause for a moment before taking off, they’re so lifelike.
Goldfinch in bell jar with light
Paper cut hummingbird feather
Paper and wood robin, with the cutter used to make it.
Isley Hermansen has dyslexia. Her video about the condition inspired billionaire Richard Branson, who also has dyslexia. Source: Supplied
WHAT does this 12-year-old girl from northern NSW have in common with Sir Richard Branson, the charismatic entrepreneur with a net worth of $US4.9 billion?
They both have dyslexia.
It’s an unlikely pairing, but Isley Hermansen caught the attention of the Virgin Group founder through a heartwarming video she made about the struggle dyslexics face.
Isley started high school this year and was struggling to keep up in class, her mother Julie Hermansen told news.com.au.
“She was suffering a lot from anxiety, which goes hand in hand with dyslexia, and I was trying to think of a way to build her self esteem and empower her,” Julie said.
One Saturday afternoon, Isley Googled ‘famous dyslexics’ and discovered a long rollcall of high profile men and women, including Stephen Hawking, Cher, Roald Dahl and Jamie Oliver.
“She decided to put all these famous faces together in a PowerPoint presentation. She did all the animation and everything on her own, we found a powerful song and we put the video on YouTube,” said Julie.
In the video, Isley explains what it’s like to live with the condition.
“Right now it seems like you have got it all over us … because being in a classroom is not our strong point. Sitting for tests, writing essays and reading are all a struggle for us. You don’t see us put our hand up for answers much, and we might try and hide in the classroom,” she writes.
“One day I’m going to fly like a dyslexic,” the video says, accompanied with images of Branson and other dyslexic celebrities including Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom and Michael Jordan.
Julie shared the video on a dyslexic support Facebook group and was overwhelmed with the response.
“We were contacted by other families who said they cried when they saw it. It got shared in the US and the UK. We got so much feedback from people saying they found it inspirational and from teaching advocates who wanted to use it in schools,” she said.
Sir Richard Branson is the UK’s seventh richest man. Photo: Rob Kim.Source: Getty Images
Julie and Isley then went “went straight to the top” and contacted Branson’s team around five weeks ago.
“We didn’t think we’d get anywhere. We thought, ‘Oh well, we tried’. But then last week I received an email from Richard’s team and it all spiralled from there. It’s incredible to have his support and to have the issue out there in the public eye.”
Branson shared the video on his Facebook page and wrote a blog post about Isley.
‘Every now and then you come across something so inspiring that you can’t help but share it. This was certainly the case with this wonderful idea from 12-year-old Isley, who has severe dyslexia,” Branson wrote.
“Isley’s mum wrote to me saying that one of the main problems with dyslexia is a misunderstanding of the condition, which leads to people feeling ashamed to be dyslexic.
“She said that some kids prefer to fail rather than admit to the shame of being dyslexic. While awareness about dyslexia is growing, it can still hold so many people back.
sley’s letter to Sir Richard Branson.Source: Supplied
“But with videos like Isley’s, the word is spreading that dyslexics can ‘Shake the Shame’ and see all of the positives of being dyslexic. I see my condition as a gift, not a disability. It has helped me learn the art of delegation, focus my skills, and work with incredible people,” he wrote.
Isley says she’s stoked with the worldwide response to her video.
“It makes me feel very special,” she told news.com.au. “She’s really happy,” her mum added.
Julie says dyslexia is a “hidden disability”.
“There’s no funding for it. Teachers aren’t trained to deal with it and they don’t know how to identify it.
“It’s got nothing to do with intelligence — Richard Branson is a highly intelligent man. It’s just that dyslexics learn differently. They need to be taught differently and we need the school system to change,” she said.
Dyslexia is hereditary and affects an estimated 10 per cent of all Australians, according to the Australian Dyslexia Association.
A friend, Janet Furlong, posted this photo to EarthSky Facebook. Isn’t it sweet? When we passed the image along on Facebook last week, many noticed that the bark on tree in the lower right also looks like an owl. Seeing recognizable objects or patterns in otherwise random or unrelated objects or patterns is called pareidolia. Read about pareidolia, here.
The Dutch physician and European Space Agency astronaut was selected to participate in International Space Station expeditions 30 and 31. Leaving the planet on December 21st 2011 and returning the following July, Andre Kuipers captured some absolutely incredible images of our planet.
400 kilometers above Earth
The Australian Outback
A bizarre interaction between light and the sunset
Canada
A comet as seen from ISS
Flattened Moon beams
ISS at MOONLIGHT
Sahara Desert and the Atlantic Ocean
The Moonrise
The ISS Observatories
The Sahara Desert and Mauritania
over the Somalian Desert
The Soyuz – the apparatus Kuipers used to return to Earth
Some senior citizens like to take life slowly, and some don’t realize their age. Having fun should be a lifelong goal. These inspiring couples show us that you’re never too old to go on an adventure and that fun should be a lifelong pursuit. Not only are these images bursting with life, but they are filled with love and a healthy sense of humor.
The elephant selfie or “elphie” has taken social media users by storm. Photo credit: IANS
If you were left stunned by a black macaque’s selfie last year that became a tug of war between Wikipedia and the photographer about who owned the selfie, this awesome “elphie” is going to floor you completely.
Now trending on social media, the elephant selfie or “elphie” has taken users by storm.
The “elphie” is courtesy Christian LeBlanc, a former student from University of British Columbia, who is now studying in Thailand, globalnews.ca reported.
The “elphie” was taken on Koh Phangan Island in southeast Thailand.
“I was taking photos and feeding the elephant bananas until I ran out of bananas and the elephant grabbed my Gopro while the camera was set to ‘timelapse’,” LeBlanc told globalnews.ca. This allowed the camera continuous shooting and enabled it to take the “elphie”.
The stunning photo has now been shared by LeBlanc on her Instragram account.
Last year, a selfie taken by a black macaque on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi had become a tug of war between Wikipedia and the photographer who claims he is the owner of the selfie. Wikipedia has refused to remove the famous selfie, saying the monkey – and not the photographer – owns the copyright because the animal took it.
The photographer David Slater was clicking photos of crested black macaques in 2011 when one of the endangered monkeys hijacked his camera and snapped hundreds of pictures. Among those, there were some stunning images, including a selfie of the macaque that made headlines.
Later, the US Copyright Office confirmed that a monkey – or any other animal – that takes a selfie does not own the copyright of the photo.
In an update to copyright regulations and practices, the US regulator spelled out examples of works that are not eligible for protection. These included — photograph taken by a “monkey” and — mural painted by an elephant”.
Take off with Natarajan 