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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

Psychology Reveals Why Songs Get Stuck In Your Head

Have you ever wondered why you listen to a song and suddenly it’s stuck in your head all day? All of us have been through this, but not many of us know why. Psychology has now revealed, the reasons behind not being able to get a song out of our heads. Besides the scientific explanation, we also show you what you can do about it.

This Is Actually A Common Phenomenon

Research show that it’s very common to have a song stuck in your head. In fact, a study published in the Journal Psychology of Music , found out that 90% of internet users reported getting a song stuck in their heads at least once a week.

That being said, what is the actual scientific explanation to this phenomenon? Basically, our earworms are referred to as involuntary musical imagery. They pick up longer notes with smaller intervals of pitch between them faster. However, another study found out that sometimes, easy songs just have more chances of getting stuck in our heads.

Are Earworms Good Or Bad For You?

When we listen to music, it instantly activates our senses. Our earworms rely on the brain networks, to perceive emotions, memory and spontaneous thoughts. You know when they say that in order to remember something, you must repeat it 7 times? Well, that’s what ear worms do. They facilitate the repetition process, and trigger a different perception of music every time you listen to it. According to Harvard researchers, earworms are a form of spontaneous mental activity, and mind-wandering states. They have various advantages on the brain, contributing to clear thinking and creativity.

How To Get a Song Out of Your Head

In order to get a song out of your head, it is shockingly recomended that you do not block the thought, rather accept and take it out. Psychologist Daniel Wegner claims that trying to block a song from your head will make your brain play it more, in what he referred to as the ‘‘ironic process”.

However, another simple method is to try to talk back to your brain. Replacing negative dysfunctional thoughts with positive ones. Psychologists also believe that chewing gum tricks the brain into interfering with the thought of the song and consequently, can be used as a a less intuitive cure for earworms.

Photos: Pixabay

Studies Show That Couples Who Fight Together, Stay Together

Pelear con tu pareja podría salvar tu relación

Fighting with your partner is one of the most common relationship signs. In fact, it’s a perfectly healthy habit. Recent studies show that couples who fight together, actually have better chances of staying together.

According to a study published by the University Of Michigan, fighting with your significant other may lead to a healthier marriage. They concluded that surprising anger is more damaging than letting it out.

More Than a 190 Marriages Were Studied

Couples who fight

The investigation process focused on couples who were together for at least 17 years. It included over 190 marriages, divided the into categories. The first one being those who express their feelings and communicate freely when angry. The second and third targeted couples in which only one partner expressed their anger, while the fourth one had couples who never discuss their sentimental issues.

Results reflected that the mortality rate was higher among the groups that repressed their anger. Reaching 27% mortality of one of the members of the couple. In the groups that did show their anger, those figures were down to 19%.

Couples Who Fight Are Actually Saving Their Relationship

Couples who fight

In addition, comparing the medical records of couples, it was concluded that fighting with your partner reduces the chances of suffering from cardiovascular, lung or stress-related or anxiety-related diseases. Professor Ernest Harburg, one of the main authors of the study points out this out: As long as it does not go beyond reasonable limits, fighting with your partner from time to time is something beneficial, not only for health, but also for the relationship.

Too Much Fighting Though Is A Sign Of a Toxic Relationship

Pelear con tu pareja podría salvar tu relación

Nevertheless, and although fighting with your partner is healthy, over doing it is a sign of a toxic relationship. Because, after a fight, couples tend to find a solution to the conflict. While if that fight does not occur and anger is suppressed, the problems persist and are making a dent in the couple.

However, constantly projecting your anger and frustration on your partner may lead to depression, and cause reverse effects on the relationship.

Pictures: Pixabay

Why Do We Cry When We Cut Onions?

Onions are delicious, full of health benefits, and used often in culinary creations. However, when it’s time to cut it, we have to suffer the consequences: Burning feeling, itchy eyes followed by waterfalls of tears. Thus, why do we cry when we cut onions?

We all have experienced that uncomfortable situation when cutting onions. However, only few people know the scientific explanation behind it.

What Is The Tear Factor in Onions?

When we cut onions, we unleash a chain of chemical reactions, according to Dr. Eric Block. The molecules of the onion’s tissues break to form a volatile, sulfuric gas.

This gas once reaches the eye, transforms into small bits of sulfuric acid. The latter is the main cause of that itchy sensation we get, and which leads to tears.

The Chemical Explanation Behind It

What the tear factor mean scientifically, is that enzymes within us control the situation. Furthermore, Dr. Block explains that ”Enzymes are amazing molecules.” Their main job is to fasten chemical reactions, to stabilize the molecules found in the onion, with the ones in our eyes. It’s referred to as the alliinase enzyme.

Japanese researchers have tried to play around with it in order to create onions that don’t cause you to cry. However, even though they tried keeping alliinase from triggering the reaction that led to sulfuric acid, it didn’t work.

How to Prevent Crying When Cutting Onions?

There is no absolute method that is confirmed to be efficient. Yet, there are some possible ways to make us cry less when we cut onions.

Leaving the onion in the freezer for about 15 minutes before using them. This helps reduce the amount of alliinase in the air, and therefore it has less chances to reach the eye. You can also try to chew gum while cutting onions, because it forces you to breath from your mouth. This leads to producing saliva which absorbs the vapor emitted by the onion.

Photos: Unsplash, Pixabay

Scientists Have Developed a Gel that Can Regrow Teeth

We all have had to suffer tooth ache at least once in our lives. Being able to regrow teeth naturally have crossed our minds, at least when waiting at the dentist. Finally, scientists have been able to regenerate tooth enamel, thanks to experiments and research, which allowed them to create this gel.

Scientists who may have just found a solution, that will eliminate the need of tooth filling as a method to repair cavities.

What Are Our Teeth Made Of ?

Teeth are the hardest bone in the human body. However, due to sugary substances in food and beverages, they are object to decay. The mineralized substance protecting their surface is called enamel. When generated, the cells that produce enamel die instantly, and it erodes, breaks, or chips, and can never regenerate itself again.

What Happens When We Get Cavities?

Cavities form when the hard part of the tooth decays. This means that the residuals of food mixed with saliva, form plaque when teeth are not brushed well. This sticky film slowly eats the enamel of the teeth away, and causes holes that are known as cavities.

It is important to note that cavities are permanent damage to teeth. The hole they create does not generate itself, and can not be regrown. What dentists do is that they clean the damaged area, then fill it with a composite resin.

How Will This Gel Regrow Tooth Enamel?

Chinese scientists have been developing a gel that could regrow teeth enamel. Although on paper this sounds highly unlikely, according to the experiments they have conducted, we may actually be in front of a genius discovery.

Supposedly, this gel gets the enamel to repair itself. It is made to replicate the biomineralization process whereby cells known as ameloblasts release proteins that eventually become enamel.

What Could Be the Result of This Discovery?

Although this gel has only been tested on human teeth donated by patients, researchers from Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China did operate on simulated mouth-like environment. The results have shown the creation of a hard, thick repaired layer where the gel was placed on the damaged tooth, within 48 hours.

The medical and dental community say they are very excited about this gel. Although regular adult teeth will never be put back to its original state, this gel may just be the discovery of the century.

Photos: Unsplash, Flickr