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5 Ways To Survive Family Meals These Holidays

The holidays are the perfect chance to reunite with family. However, some family gatherings can get overwhelming, and might not end up being the funnest. Experts have come up with tips, to avoid the discomfort of being asked why you didn’t bring anyone this year either, or discussing conflicted political views and life choices. Here are 5 suggested ways to survive family meals these holidays.

Give Everyone Something To Do

When you haven’t been living at home for a while, you sometimes feel like a guest when you go back for the holidays. Most tensions rise initially from pressure. Your mom wants to be in control, your in-laws are not helping with anything, the kids are all over…etc. Furthermore, experts suggest that giving everyone a task during the meal preparation could help release a lot of these tensions. So, when it’s time to sit down together, you can at least enjoy your family meals without feud.

Create Activities For The Kids

Children should also be assigned something to do. Otherwise, they will be all over the place. Making kids feel valuable, responsible and a big part of the event will help them behave. According to clinical psychologist Anne Fishel, creating simple conversations with kids will raise their sense of responsibility, as well as interactions with grown ups. Ask questions like ”How was your day?” or ”Did you know where your name came from?” their active listening will keep them away from trouble.

Arrange The Seating

Just like in any big event, seating plays a key role in avoiding conflicts. if you aunt Susan doesn’t like dogs, don’t seat her next to your uncle Bob who owns 3 dogs. Actually, you can allow children to help with the seating, and that way they feel included in decision-making. Grown ups will tend to appreciate the young ones’ ”handiwork” and might even shift attention away from complicated conversations.

Avoid Getting Drunk

Alcohol during the holidays is like tradition. However, it’s always risky to have ”two much” to drink when with family. according to psychologist Marie Walker, if alcohol can’t be replaced by a non-alcoholic beverage, then you should do the math to have just enough for everyone. This will prevent chaos due to getting drunk.

Keep Some Topics Off The Table

Finally, nothing avoids problems like setting limits. don’t be afraid to set things straight. Make it clear that you each have different opinions and outlooks on life. Also, make sure not to take things personally, and remind yourself why you are there. After all, you may not get to see this people again until next year!

Photos: Pixabay, Unsplash

Would You Sleep In This Hotel In Japan For One Dollar?

Traveling is one of the best pleasures of life. However, being able to afford the trip is the hardest part. Housing, food, and transportation often make traveling a luxury. But what about if we tell you that, you can actually stay a night in a hotel in Japan for just 1$?

The One Dollar Hotel In Fukuoka

Tetsuya Inoue, a 27 years old man inherited the hotel Asahi Ryokan from his grand-mother. However, his search for more clients and business, led him to come up with a strange plan.

The One Dollar hotel in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, offers you the possibility to spend a night in for just ¥100, which is about 1$.

Wait, There Is A Counterpart

If while reading this you thought that it’s impossible to find a room this cheap, well, you are right. This hotel allows to stay in Room number 8 for cheap, if you are willing to accept being live streamed the whole night.

The idea behind this service, is to market the hotel through a youtube channel. However, there are few restrictions regarding the video streaming. According to the owner, the livestream has no sound, and the bathroom area is camera free, so guests can have some ”privacy.” Furthermore, the hotel only offers one room with this service, so you can still rent a regular room within the property.

The Owner Claims That Young People Don’t Care About Privacy

To many people out there, this might sound like a nightmare. Yet, since the owner resorted to this ”business model” he had received 4 visitors in just one month. He claims that young people nowadays just want to travel and spend less money, that they don’t care that much about their privacy.

The Room Number 8 youtube channel has over 1,000 subscribers, and recorded over 4,000 view hours. When this particular hotel room doesn’t receive guests, the owner streams himself working in both Japanese and English.

Photos: Asahi Ryokan Hotel

Canned Pickle Juice Is Now A Thing in The US

It has become officially possible to have a glass of canned pickle juice. For the many pickle lovers out there, you can finally stop secretly drinking it from the jar.

An American pickle company based in Washington DC, has now blessed us with a game-changing discovery called Fine Brine.

Why Are People Obsessed With Pickle Juice?

The U.S. Census data and Simmons National Consumer Survey (NHCS), have revealed that  245.56 million Americans are regular pickle eaters. While they predict that by 2020, the pickles market will grow to a value of $6.70 billion dollars.

These stats only show that Americans are obsessed with pickles. In fact, the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health explained the reasons behind pickle juice cravings. According to their research, pickles are actually good for muscles and restoring the electrolyte imbalance in the body.

Pickle Juice In A Classy Can

Gordy’s, an American pickles company released ‘‘Fine Brine” as the first canned pickle juice jar in the US. The company markets the product as a cocktail ingredient though. However, the classy can is predicted to be used as a beverage of its own, by many pickle juice lovers.

The company also took the chance to to describe their new revelation as a ‘“perfect balance of salty, tangy, and sweet.” 

Where Can You Get A Taste Of Fine Brine?

”Fine Brine” is actually sold out for the moment. However, you can check the company’s website, as they sell a pack of 4 cans for only 16$. Gordy’s consider that this new drink will add flavor to your alcoholic drinks, such as the famous picklebacks and Bloody Marys. They recommend it to be served cold, and invite all pickle lovers to try it.

The company also organized a product tasting event, in which they presented samples to the consumers who expressed their love for this new product all over the internet.

Photos: Unsplash, Gordy’s.

Why Do We Feel Embarrassed By Compliments?

Compliments are a good thing, but sometimes they make us uncomfortable instead of happy. Although they are supposed to feel good, we often find ourselves in a situation of embarrassment. Have you ever been in one of those ”I like you hair” and ”thanks, I like you shoes too”, feeling that we must give back after compliments. Furthermore, receiving compliments in front of others feels a bit awkward. So why do we feel embarrassed by compliments?

Psychologists’ Explanation

Have you ever felt an anxiety attack as a response to a compliment? Well, don’t worry because you are not the only one. according to psychologists in the field, almost 70% of people associate positive recognition with embarrassment and discomfort.

What happens basically is that we are wired to socialize. However, often in a manner in which we avoid to say too much positive things about ourselves, and to disagree with others. When we receive a compliment, we either acknowledge the first, or violate the second. Eventually, the embarrassment we feel is a normal reaction produced by our anxiety.

Anxieties Surrounding Positive Attention

Embarrassement when receiving a compliment reaches its peek in public. Furthermore, psychological research show that our anxieties manifest themselves in front of others. Why? Because when someone compliments us, we realize that they do not only think a certain way of us, but also that they’ve been observing us.

Positive attention means that we actually have to give credits to ourselves. Therefore, the easiest thing to do in such cases is to return the favor, although internally we are uncomfortable with that thought.

How To Make Receiving Compliments Less Embarrassing?

Christopher Littlefield, researcher from AcknowledgementWorks, had surveyed 400 people regarding compliments. The result of his work focused on one big point. Compliments actually say more about the giver than the receiver. He claims that shifting our way of receiving compliments is crucial to letting go of anxiety. Compliments are like a gift, so we should accept them instead of trying to give them back, or feel embarrassed by them.

Photos: Unsplash, Freepik

Handy Hacks That Make Your Household Chores Easier

No one (okay, very VERY few people) like doing household chores. Putting on some music can ease the process, but being more productive by cutting your cleaning time is even better. These simple and handy hacks will ensure you save time doing your household chores, so you have more time to do the things you truly love!

Get Rid Of Clothing Wrinkles With Ice Cubes

ice cubes on a black cloth- the first of our hacks.
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Tired of hand ironing every, single item? Or have you just given up entirely and go to the office with an embarrassing amount of wrinkles? Either way, this hack will solve your problem. Place your dryer on the hottest setting, and put in a couple pieces of clothing along with three ice cubes. Leave them in for 10 minutes max and voila! Wrinkle-free fabric!

Pick Up Glass Shards With Bread

spongey white bread used for cleaning up glass.

For the clumsy ones amongst us, dropping a glass or shattering a bowl can be pretty commonplace in the kitchen. As much as we sweep and swear there’s no remnants left, there is always the chance you’ve left a shard or two. To avoid any additional painful accidents, try dampening a piece of bread and pressing it to the floor where the glass fell. The glass will be absorbed into the bread without slicing your hands or feet in the process.

Clean Bathroom Surfaces Naturally With Grapefruit

grapefruit can be used for cleaning hacks.

Having a bathtub sounds luxurious, until you have to clean away the gross residue and stains left behind. (Makes you wonder how DIRTY you really were…) If you want to avoid using harsh chemicals that are bad to breathe in, a safe alternative is grapefruit! Rinse the designated area you want to clean, and then sprinkle some salt on a sliced grapefruit and scrub away. This combination quickly removes stains and leaves your bathroom smelling fresh and sweet. We love any cleaning hacks that help the environment too!

Clean Your Blender In Seconds

a blender with an orange smoothie inside.

How many of you love the idea of a smoothie, but the thought of having to clean the blender afterwards is enough to turn you way? No longer will you dread cleaning the blender, as this is one of the fastest hacks ever! Instead of taking apart the blender and risking cutting yourself in the process, fill the blender with water and a little bit of soap, put on the lid and blend!

Photos: Freepik

Does The Moon Really Have An Effect On Our Behavior?

While the likelihood of someone transforming into a werewolf Jacob Black style is slim to none, there are many stories about people going “loony” during the full moon. There are reports of increased crime and emergency room visits during this lunar phase, yet is this just all a coincidental nightmare?

a full moon seen through the trees.

The Moon’s Effect On The Tides… And The Water In Our Body

It is well-known knowledge that the moon has an effect on the tides. Just as Earth has a gravitational pull, so does the moon. While it’s not strong enough to lift us off the planet entirely (thank goodness for that) it does have the effect of pulling the water, making it “bulge.” As a result, we get high tide on the side of Earth that’s nearest the moon.

a moon over the water, showing the tides on a beach.

That said, as humans we also have a large amount of water in our bodies. In fact, men’s bodies are composed of approximately 60% water (55% for women). This leads many to believe that the moon’s gravitational pull of water then also means it’s pulling humans, and likely having an effect on our behavior.

Enough With Beliefs, What About The Facts?

Many people have their hunches, but science is the only way to truly prove if this lunar behavioral phenomena is real. A group of researchers in Canada decided to research if the moon had any behavioral effect on patients. The researchers composed their investigation by recording all of the patients who complained of chest pain with no medical reason behind it. A majority of the patients also suffered from some psychological issues, such as mood disorders or anxiety.

a woman holding a glowing yellow full moon.

The results found that there was zero correlation between the chest issues, which they determined to be a psychological issue, and lunar phases. According to Dr. Geneviève Belleville who led the study, “One thing is certain: we observed no full-moon or new-moon effect on psychological problems.”

Full Moon Or Something else…

Given the solid conclusion from the research study, the full moon is officially off the hook as scapegoat for one’s crazy behavior. Turns out, if one is acting a little loony, they might just be that way… always.

Photos: Pixabay, Unsplash