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Polarizing Foods
Slate: No matter how you slice it, the wiggly cylinder of cranberry sauce à la can tends to get a reaction on Thanksgiving. For some, this ridged wonder summons nostalgia for Thanksgivings past or glee for its Jell-O-like slurpability. Others can’t get past the jiggle or the idea that this is even food. As they say, there’s no accounting for taste. Or is there? You might not get worked up about cranberry sauce, but chances are you or someone at your table feels strongly about other foods, some of which may well be on your Thanksgiving menu. Take, for example, stuffing. A stew of goopy breadcrumbs may send your soul soaring or seem like a lukewarm, mushy mess.
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You Asked: Does Laughing Have Real Health Benefits?
Time: Your body could use a belly laugh. It may not be the best medicine. But laughter’s great for you, and it may even compare to a proper diet and exercise when it comes to keeping you healthy and disease free. That’s according to Dr. Lee Berk, an associate professor at Loma Linda University in California who has spent nearly three decades studying the ways the aftershocks of a good laugh ripple through your brain and body. Berk says your mind, hormone system and immune system are constantly communicating with one another in ways that impact everything from your mood to your ability to fend off sickness and disease.
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Is Internet Addiction a Real Thing?
The New Yorker: Marc Potenza, a psychiatrist at Yale and the director of the school’s Program for Research on Impulsivity and Impulse Control Disorders, has been treating addiction for more than two decades. Early in his career, he, like most others studying addiction at the time, focussed on substance-abuse problems—cocaine and heroin addicts, alcoholics, and the like. Soon, however, he noticed patients with other problems that were more difficult to classify. There were, for example, the sufferers of trichotillomania, the inescapable urge to pull your hair until it falls out. Others had been committed for problem gambling: they couldn’t stop no matter how much debt they had accumulated.
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Distracted Driving May Become More Dangerous as We Age
Older drivers have actually been found to be safer drivers in many respects when compared to younger people. They’re more likely to wear seatbelts and less likely to engage in risky behavior, like speeding and driving under the influence, according to the CDC. However, a study published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention finds that older drivers should be especially cautious about multitasking behind the wheel. The research team, led by psychological scientist Kelsey R. Thompson of Northwestern University, found that distracting tasks – like talking on a cell phone or fiddling with the radio – may be particularly dangerous for older drivers.
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The Weird Reason Happy Things Make You Cry
TIME: Think back to the one of the happiest moments of your life, say a wedding day or the birth of a child. During these life-changing moments, it’s safe to say you were probably crying. It may feel silly when it happens—especially if you’re someone who often turns into a blubbering mess over a heartwarming viral video. But it turns out crying when you’re happy isn’t so crazy after all: A forthcoming study in the journal Psychological Science found that people who are often reduced to happy tears may actually be better at regulating their emotions. Read the whole story: TIME
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You’re not my type, but sure
The Boston Globe: HAVE YOU EVER found yourself on a date with someone who, on paper, isn’t what you were looking for at all? It turns out that daters’ preferences in principle can get blindsided by another factor: compassion. In an experiment, single, heterosexual college students were shown dating profiles of other students. The researchers told some of the participants that these profiles represented actually available fellow students, while other participants were told that these profiles represented unavailable students. Read the whole story: The Boston Globe
