Curious

“The superhero factory”: providing free limb prostheses

Gino Tubaro is the young student who started this project. He travels around in a truck that’s equipped with solar panels, and goes around printing 3D prostheses to give them out to those who need them.

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The young inventor

It all started some years ago, when Tubaro was only 16 years old. He had set up a 3D printer all by himself, although 3D printing technology was still in its early stages. From then on, he decided what he would be doing for the rest of his life. He kept experimenting and improving his technique until he set up what now is “Atomic Lab”.

A non-profit organization

Atomic Lab is a non-profit, non-governamental organization that is changing people’s lives all around the world. In addition to this particular project, it has many others going on. And they all have one thing in common: providing products 100% for free.

Making prosthesis available for everyone

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Tubaro claims that he think this is something society needs. Prostheses were extremely expensive and people could not afford them, thus becoming unreachable for those who need it. He came up with a solution, and made it available for those who ask for it.

PLA, a biodegradable material

The prostheses are 3D-printed out of a material called PLA, which is a corn derivative. It’s completely biodegradable, unlike other materials they chose not to use, which also means it cannot cause skin rashes or any other conditions.

Not just for children

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The inventor is riding around Argentina creating prosthesis as he goes, using the energy that comes from the solar panels. However, his project has already gone worldwide. “The superhero factory”, though the name might lead you to believe it’s focused on children, is available for all age ranges.

The project obtained that name because it was set up with the thought in mind of allowing people to have a “superhero hand”. Children are those who need it the most, as they will keep growing and moving. But the prostheses have been given out to an equal number of adults.

Make a donation

As the Superhero Factory is a non-profit organization, it relies on the donations of people. You can make your contribution on their webpage, and make sure they keep putting smiles on people’s faces.

A worldwide project

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Throughout the world, the project is active in over 35 countries, a number that is still constantly increasing. They count with over 1000 ambassadors that help print the 3D prosthesis, and over 2000 volunteers that help set them up and send them out, amongst other tasks.

Would you like to improve the design?

It’s worth noting that all of the 3D designs of the limbs, as well as the accessories, that have been designed from the start on, have been published freely for anyone to use. The intention behind it is that people download, and print them, and then try to improve the designs.

Images: Instagram

Seizing to appear on Google and the expensive price to pay

How often have we not heard “once on the Internet, always on the Internet”. It is so, that once you upload something personal onto the cloud, it is impossible to take down. Or at least we thought so.

A life-ending picture

Imagine you have the job interview of your life, and the interviewer comes across an embarrassing photo of you that you thought you had deleted from your Facebook page. Bye-bye to your dream job. And all because of an indecent picture some friend uploaded for fun. Now it’s not “fun” anymore, is it?

The right to forget

Well, a couple of years ago Google introduced the option of applying for your personal information to be deleted from the Internet. This finally made “leaving Google” possible, yet still very hard to accomplish. It works like so: the information is still on the original website, but it’s not available for people to search on Google.

But don’t think Google was actually thinking about you. Truth is, that it was the result of a sentence from the European Union Justice Tribune. It stated our right of suppression, also known as, our right to forget.

Over half of the applications are rejected

This is good news for those of us who’ve had the most embarrassing pictures taken. However, what’s not so good news is how difficult it is for your request to be approved.

Over 55% of all requests have been rejected since its implementation. This means it’s quite probable your application gets turned down. But it’s not impossible. You just need one thing: money. And quite the amount of it.

It’s not exactly cheap

Companies that are in favor of the right to forget are not exactly the cheapest. For every URL you want deleted, they ask between 100€ and 1,000€, depending on your case and the difficulty behind it.

However, the difference with these companies is that they actually do delete the information, rather than just the search. It’s not that it won’t appear on Google. It will not appear anywhere because the information is completely gone. Are such amounts of money worth it?

Images: Unsplash

Words You Didn’t Know Could Be Used As Verbs

Whether you are a native English speaker or have achieved a high grasp of the language, there are always new things to learn about this complicated, often inexplicable language. Being the language with the most words in the world, it’s only logical that there are words we don’t know the meaning to. However, there are many common nouns that can actually be used as verbs, in a process often referred to as “anthimeria.” Shakespeare was very famous for this, and is the inventor for the verb usage of cake, elbow, and many more words. We bet you didn’t know that the following nouns could be used as verbs! Why not impress someone and drop them in your next conversation?

Tiger

Yes, the orange and black striped feline actually can be used as a verb too! “Tigering” has two meanings, as listed in the Oxford English Dictionary. One is, “to act, behave, or walk to and fro, like a tiger.” The second is “to mark like a tiger with lines or streaks of contrasting color.” This makes perfect sense, given the coat of the cat.

Crab

Yet another animal on our list of nouns used as verbs, “crab” has multiple meanings too. It can mean to move sideways, as a crab might do when scuttling, or it can also mean to complain. This is why we sometimes refer to people who are grumpy as “crabby,” for they are likely to snap at any moment.

Heaven

“Heavening” might sound a bit silly (as do all the verbs on our list, who are we kidding), but it has been used as far back as the 17th century! To heaven means to make someone very happy, as if you were sending them to heaven from pleasure. Example, we are heavening when someone surprises us with making our absolute favorite food.

Liver

No, thankfully this has nothing to do with the slimy gray food (and body part). Rather, liver is a shortened version of the word “deliver.” The verb form of liver means to hand in something, surrender, or unload cargo. You can liver that next big assignment to your boss!

Raccoon

Probably our favorite of the bunch, “raccoon” means to wander around during nighttime. This is due to the furry animal’s activity that occurs once the sun has set. There’s nothing like racooning with friends during the warm summer vacation months!

Photos: Pixabay

The Most Common Nightmares And What They Mean

Most of us have had at least one unsettling nightmare that sticks with us, causing us to wake up in a sweat in the middle of the night. Asides from pinching yourself to make sure it’s only a dream, there are ways of decoding your nightmares and reflecting on your current stresses in life. In fact, scientists are continuously finding more data that connects our nightmares to our subconscious. Specifically, they believe dreams serve as a “data dump” from our daily lives, and paying attention to them can ream positive effects.

While you might feel your nightmare was vivid and extremely personal, the reality is many people share similarities in their reoccurring nightmares. These are the four of the most common nightmares, and what they may mean.

You Are Endlessly Falling

According to a 2016 study by Amerisleep, falling was the most common anxiety-fueled nightmare that people had. Scientists believe it could be due to your nervous system turning off for the night while you sleep, making it feel like you are falling endlessly. The lack of stable footing that results in our falling can also be an indicator that you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and lacking control of your life.

Nightmares With All Your Teeth Falling Out

Sadly a majority of us have at some point have dreamt of losing all of their teeth, their mouth left with only gums. Whether immediate or gradual, this nightmare undoubtedly leaves you feeling shocked. Dream interpreters have come up with many different possible meanings for this dream, but most are related to feeling inferior, unattractive, or neglected in some way. It can also mean that you fear losing something or someone that is vital to your emotional and mental wellbeing.

You Are Being Chased

Whether you’re running from an attacker, animal, or monster, being chased can be absolutely terrifying. This is particularly true if you seem to be in slow motion or can’t move fast enough. Chasing dreams commonly are interpreted to mean you are avoiding something in real life, or even trying to escape your own bad habits.

Nightmares When You Or A Loved One Dies

woman holds a skull in front of her face while she stands on a dark forested road. Elements of nightmares.

Nightmares about death can send instant chills up your spine, given how real they feel. However, dreaming of death isn’t all grim. Sometimes it simply means a certain stage in your life is coming to a close and you’ll soon experience a new beginning. It could also mean that a romantic relationship is about to end. Regardless, with each of these dreams there is no set significance, as each person’s life situations are different.

Photos: Freepik, Pixabay

Petting Dogs And Cats Can Instantly Reduce Your Stress

At many universities and colleges nowadays, it’s common for the institutions to provide dogs and cats for a few hours for students to play with during finals and mid terms. Why? Typically this time of year is when students are immensely burdened with exams and final projects. Having a few minutes to escape the stress overload and pet some adorable fluffballs is thought to be a happy reprieve. Considering the amount of therapy animals that exist for this purpose, it would seem accurate. However, the benefits of petting animals was not proven to be true until a recently, with this study published in AERA Open.

A Study On Stress And Animals

In the study, Washington State University researchers Patricia Pendry and Jaymie Vandagriff discovered that students who went to pet dogs and cats at their university animal events had reduced levels of cortisol in their saliva compared to their peers who did not go. Cortisol is the body’s hormone that is in charge of stress, leading to the conclusion the students themselves were less stressed.

The Experimental Design

The experiment was performed by placing 249 university students into 4 groups. Group one got to play with dogs and cats for ten minutes. The second group was only allowed to watch. Group 3 was shown pictures of the animals, but never saw them in person. The Final group was told they were on a waitlist to play with the animals, but never were called to do so. Each student also had to provide saliva samples. One sample was from when they woke up in the morning, the second 15 minutes after the experiment, and the last sample from 25 minutes after the experiment.

The Final Furry Takeaway

happy man with no stress high-fiving a dog.

The final results of the study showed the students in the first group, who were able to pet and play with the animals, had significantly lower cortisol levels than the other groups. Although this study has a small sample size, it does seem to confirm that anxiety and stress can be eased with the help of a furry friend.

Photos: Freepik

Instagram Will Soon Hide Like Count From Public View

Have you ever regretted uploading a photo because it didn’t receive the number of likes you wanted? Do you constantly compare the like count of other friends’ photos, or take hours to nail the perfect shot for Instagram? You’re not alone, but all this constant pressure and worrying might soon come to a close. Instagram has decided to do a trial to hide like count in several countries, including Australia, Japan, and Brazil.

Design Of The Trial

In this trial, Instagram will hide the total number of people who have liked posts from public and friends’ views. All that will be seen is a user name “and others.” The only people who will be able to see the actual total like count is the individual who posted the photo.

Like Count Affects Mental Health

The reason for this trial is due to the fear that “social media may be fueling a mental health crisis.” A UK snapshot survey found that of all the social media apps available, Instagram was voted worst for self esteem and well-being for people aged 14-24.

Teen girl sad and anxious looking at her phone.

This hit to mental health comes from a variety of factors. Self comparisons to photos (often photoshopped), a competition for likes, and online bullying are just some of the many sources for anxiety and depression on Instagram. As a result, the company has felt immense pressure to improve the app for its users’ mental health.

Directors’ Goals For The Hidden Like Count Trial

According to Mia Garlick, Facebook director of policy in Australia and New Zealand, “We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love.”

five beautiful young girls make selfie in the park

The trial originally began in Canada, to which the country’s Facebook director Adam Mosseri said they wanted to promote more connection between users. “We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they’re getting on Instagram and spend a bit more time connecting with the people that they care about.”

Positive And Negative Outcomes

The like count has often been equated to ones’s level of popularity and success. Consequently, erasing this tally is likely to improve the self-esteem of those who felt inadequate for their photos’ low like count. However, it may make those who typically had popular posts feel worse for having nothing to show of it.

Friends lying on ground, surrounded by social media icons, some happy and some sad.

For those who use Instagram for business purposes, the company said the trial would not affect the measurement tools.

Photos: Unsplash, Freepik