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A town full of women offers reward for having a son

Miejsce Odrzańskie is the name of the town we are talking about. It’s located in the South of Poland, right next to the frontier of the Czech Republic. It doesn’t have many inhabitants, less than 300, to be precise. Which is not necessarily unusual. What’s odd about this town is that the majority of the citizens are women.

Miejsce Odrzańskie the town full of women

The last male was born 12 years ago

The last male was born not more and not less than 12 years ago. Citizens claim this strange phenomenon has been going on for over decades. No male children seem to be born in this town anymore.

Investigating the case…

The town aimed to discover what exactly was causing these occurrences, and so they decided to start digging. They analyzed all of their birth certificates, but didn’t really find anything other than the reality of the case. The majority of the children who were born there were simply female.

Girls town full of women

How could they determine the cause?

The problem with such cases is that there are so many factors that can alter results that it’s almost impossible to determine what it could be. You have to look into history and statistics. Take a look at the relation the parents have amongst each other. Interview both the parents and the children. Take the environmental factors into account. Only then would they be able to determine what causes might exist behind this odd phenomenon.

An “attractive reward”

Until the town finds out the exact cause of the high number of female births, the mayor has decided to offer a reward to anyone who can provide them with the first male child. It might not encourage parents, as they can’t exactly control who they give birth to.

Baby boy reward

However, it’s more of a “thank you” for those who are able to. The mayor has not confirmed what exactly the reward will be, but he has stated it will be, in fact, an “attractive reward”.

Images: Unsplash and Wikipedia

“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.

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

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

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

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

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.

a neon sign showing zero like count.

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

Netflix launches low-cost plan for mobile phones

Netflix is an online streaming platform which offers all sorts of movies, series, and other types of audiovisual content. If you want to enjoy the privilege of watching unlimited videos you can choose between three payment plans: basic, standard and premium, for respectively, 7,99€, 11,99€ or 15,99€.

Most people opt for the latter, and choose to share costs with other 4 people. This results in a pretty affordable price per person, given you can watch almost anything you like in HD.

Where the idea stems from

However, for some people it’s still a price too high to pay, for how they use it, anyway. Many people watch videos on their mobile phones, meaning they don’t really get the most out of the plan they’ve paid for: screens are so tiny that HD doesn’t really make sense in these cases.

A lower price for lower quality

This is why Netflix has come up with a new idea to become leader in the smartphone industry: a new low cost plan just for mobile phones. The price would be around four dollars, and with it you can watch videos in a resolution of 480p.

This is quite low given what we are used to, but definitely enough to watch something on our mobile phones. It also poses the condition that you can watch each video just once.

Netflix for mobile phones

A special plan for mobile phones

The plan is a tad more restricted than what Netflix usually offers, but good enough for what it costs. It brings their services closer to those who would, in other circumstances, not be able to afford it. For now, they’ve just launched the plan in India, a country where people tend to own a smartphone rather than a TV.

Netflix: a market leader

The main objective of this project is become number 1 in this market, above other platforms that are currently making their way to the top, like Amazon Prime Video or Hotstar. If the proposal turns out successful, Netflix will eventually extend it to other places like Europe or the United States. For now, we can just cross our fingers for it to be successful.

Images: Twitter and Unsplash

Amazing Facts You Didn’t Know About “The Lion King”

Disney is all about the live action remakes this year. One of the most anticipated classics set to release this month is “The Lion King.” With an all-star squad of voices for the characters, we know that this film is bound to have roaring approval. Yet before we get too excited for the remake, we thought it would be fun to look back and share some amazing facts about the original beloved animation from 1994.

Hakuna Matata Was Not In The Original Script

“The Lion King” objectively has one of the very best Disney soundtracks to date. With so many great songs, it’s nearly impossible to choose just one favorite. And yet, could you even IMAGINE “The Lion King” without Hakuna Matata? The song that taught us about the ultimate problem free philosophy to live by? Turns out, the original script did not include Hakuna Matata, but rather a song about eating bugs. However, the team couldn’t all agree upon the song, so the research team went to Africa for inspiration. They came back with the catchy phrase and a song was born!

The Original “The Lion King” Was Not Supposed To Be A Musical

As stated previously, the music is an iconic part of “The Lion King,” and yet during the movie’s initial creation process, it wasn’t supposed to include songs. Rather, the goal was to create an animated movie that resembled an animal documentary like with National Geographic. George Scribner was intended to be the original director, but he ditched when the movie went in the musical direction. The main characters however were developed under his guidance.

The Movie’s Original Title Was “King of the Jungle”

Don Hahn, the movie’s producer, said the original title was to be “King Of The Jungle,” as a “metaphor for this allegorical story about human behavior.” However, the team decided to scrap this title because the movie itself takes place in the savannah, not the jungle. After trial and error, they decided to stick with the simple, yet representative title that we all know and love; “The Lion King.”

Be sure to roar and sing along with all of your favorite animals in the remake set for release this month!

Curious Facts About Starbucks Coffee Workers

Starbucks Coffee is one of the world’s most iconic brands. Famous for its green mermaid emblem and name personalization on every cup, this chain has expanded to more than 24,000 store locations worldwide. Whether you’re a loyal customer or just go for the occasional splurge, there are some pretty interesting facts you probably didn’t know about the people pouring your brew.

The Workers Are Not Baristas

Man holding out Starbucks cup.

Typically, someone working at a coffee shop is known as a barista. However, at this Seattle-based chain, all the workers are referred to as partners. This is for two reasons. One, it fosters a level of companionship among all the employees. Second, after working there a year each employee gets a share in the stock, so they are literally stock partners.

They Serve Your Pooch, Too

If you bring your furry companion to a Starbucks, many of their employees will offer your dog a “puppacino.” This treat consists of cup filled with whipped cream. Although it’s not the healthiest thing to give your dog, given the high fat and sugar content, it’s a nice way to make him or her feel special!

You Can Request Coffee Foam Art

coffee foam art.

Starbucks is known for having many fancy flavors and drinks that are instagram-worthy (hello, pink drink!) but you very rarely see their drinks with foam art. This is due to technical reasons. The Starbucks pitchers are actually wider than standard pitchers at local coffee shops, making it difficult to pour the foam decoratively. You can however request a worker to add art– just don’t expect them to be too happy about it. Which takes us to our next point…

Yes, They Will Decaffeinate Drinks Of Rude Customers

For anyone who has accidentally purchased or consumed decaf when they desperately needed full-caffeine, this is a true nightmare. But our suspicions prove to be true- some Starbucks workers have admitted to giving decaf to rude customers as means for “revenge.” Some additionally misspell your name on purpose. But can we really blame them? Sometimes it’s the little things that get us through the day when we’ve been treated badly. You have been warned!

Photos: Unsplash