15/03/2024

Is Cold Therapy A Hot Idea?

Let’s spin this as good news for you if you can’t afford your heating bills. Scientists have found that cold therapy actually is good for you.

It’s proof that 'The Iceman' Wim Hof's hellish method really does wonders for your health. Plunging yourself into an ice bath 'reduces inflammation'.

The idea of sitting in a bath full of freezing cold water makes me like the sound of this inflammation thing. Put me down for that one.

Wim Hof is an extreme athlete who does lots of things in the cold. It seems doing such activities could unlock a multitude of benefits including reduced stress levels, a stronger immune system, increased energy, better sleep, heightened focus and smaller willy.

A lot of this doesn’t make sense to me. Whatever your life is like you will have a certain level of stress. But if you live that same life but also have to sit in a freezing cold bath on top of it, how is that less stressful? There’s something else going on here. My guess would be trauma response.

The actual scientists found cold therapy and ice baths caused an increase in adrenaline levels, which can indirectly reduce inflammation.

OK, but there are many things that cause adrenaline levels to increase that don’t involve freezing your nips off. Extreme sports. Being a passenger in a car with a bad driver. A row with your spouse. They all cause increased adrenaline and the last two might be connected.

While the results suggest that the method may have physiological benefits, researchers stressed the need for more robust, confirmatory research before the method can be recommended.

How do you do proper trials? How do you check for the placebo effect? If you tell someone they’re having a cold bath but they’re not, they’ll notice the lack of water when they get in.

It all works for Wim Hof who holds 21 Guinness World Records for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro while wearing shorts, swimming 66 metres below ice, standing for two hours in a container filled with ice cubes, and running a half marathon over the Arctic Circle.

Has anyone checked if he’s depressed?

» Read the source story


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[Podcast] Manners, Tea & Fry-Ups

A new episode of Steve N Allen (almost) Daily is out.

🔊 In today’s episode:

• No, phones should be looked at at the dinner table
• You can cook in your dishwasher
• Fry ups or Fly ups?
• And a thing about tea
• Plus other nuggets from the news in podcast form

All of that might not make much sense, but it might when you’ve listened.

💻 Follow on X/Insta/TikTok/Threads/BlueSky it’s @mrstevenallen for all.

📧 And email to me@mrstevenallen.co.uk with any comments, questions or listeners’ emails.

☕ Care to tip your host? Wouldn’t that be nice? ko-fi.com/mrstevenallen

You can get even more episodes on iTunes


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11/03/2024

UK Isn’t The Most Miserable Place

Uzbekistan is the ONLY nation more miserable than Britain. Don’t worry, if we try hard, we can get to number one. I have faith in the British people. But not too much faith or that might make me less miserable.

They do a world well-being chart to map happiness for some reason and the UK only ranked 70th out of 71 countries in terms of mood, outlook on life and self-esteem in 2023, scoring only 49 on the mental well-being.

What they have discovered there is that we Brits love to moan and all that practice means we’re really good at it. Give us the sixth biggest economy in the world and we can still moan like former members of the Soviet Union.

The global average well-being score was 65 but remember there’ll be those really positive American types skewing that upwards.

It’s not good to see Uzbekistan and the UK with similar scores. It’s a depressing place with a weak economy and corrupt leaders, but it’s the UK and it’s where we live.

At the top of the chart impoverished African and Latin American countries scored the highest, with the Dominican Republic ranking first and Tanzania third.

The other key trend the researchers noticed is that mental well-being is worse in younger age groups in every country where people are able to access the Internet.

I’m not sure the web is to blame. If Internet access made you sad Talk Talk customers would be the happiest people in the UK.

» Read the source story


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08/03/2024

Rishi Sunak & Akshata Murty In Grazia Fail

Rishi Sunak and his wife gave an interview the Grazia magazine and video clips from it went viral from all the wrong reasons.

It’s a standard thing on the run up to a general election, the Prime Minister will give an interview in the hope of coming across as a normal human. It’s telling that our leaders need help from a media team to look like a normal human but we are were we are.

Teresa May did the same on The One Show before the 2017 election where she said the worst thing she ever did was run through a field of wheat. No, it was probably something you did when you were Home Secretary.

It was a fascinating glimpse into the marriage of the current PM as he seems to complain a lot. He mentioned the fact that he doesn’t get time to exercise but she does, that his wife gives the kids unhealthy food, she doesn’t stack the dishwasher correctly and she doesn’t make the bed right.

If I were married to a billionaire I’d probably shut up about that stuff. If my other-half had that much money I’d let her stack the dishwasher all knives up without mentioning it.

There’s a level of passive aggression to it. Previously I presumed he was the kind of man who tried to avoid conflict. His trousers always look like he walks into a room pre-wedgied. I thought that was his way to avoid being bullied at school, to look like he’d already been done.

Rishi went on to explain that after his wife has loaded the dishwasher he’d re-stack it to get it right. After she’d made the bed he’d pop in and make it again properly. It’s a good thing he isn’t busy with anything important. When journalists ask, “How’s it going stopping the small boats?” he should be honest and reply, “Well, not great, but this dishwasher is doing an excellent job.”

After his delight in such domestic tasks was revealed he was asked which he preferred, loading the dishwasher or making the bed. He said, “They both have nice, satisfying endings,” before he picked making the bed. Oi! Oi! You randy old dog, Rishi.

It’s the most human thing he said in that interview and it was by accident.



» Read the source story


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03/03/2024

Gen Z Invent Books

I read the shocking headline, “UK in the midst of a boom in book clubs as gen Z’s hobbies change”, which made my reading of headlines look weak.

It’s a big change. Once nightclubs or sports clubs brought people together. Now there’s a boom in people getting together online and in person to discuss their favourite books. And we wonder why the birth rate has dropped.

It’s Gen Z leading this because they are the most boring generation in history. Gen Z don’t drink, they don’t have sex and now they join book clubs. Gen Z also have that phrase, “OK Boomer!” You’re living on a Boomer! You’re living like you are a retiree.

The trend coincides with the launch of book clubs by young celebrities, including singer Dua Lipa. She’s good with words. I have been learning Italian on her app.

One book club owner said: “Book clubs have opened up a safe space in communities, particularly for women. Conversations about the chosen book can also segue into real life issues and discussions about being lonely in London”.

That sounds like a fun night. And then you all conference call The Samaritans?

So, that story again, young people discover books!

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28/02/2024

Let Them Eat… Cornflakes?

In a shocking display of cereal insensitivity, the chief executive of Kellogg’s has suggested that poor people should eat cereal for dinner instead of chicken or other more expensive options.

Gary Pilnick, who raked in a whopping $4m (£3.2m) last year, made the tone-deaf remarks during an interview on CNBC, where he boasted about the company’s efforts to appeal to cash-strapped shoppers.

Let’s be honest, no company is trying to help other people. He’s trying to get more people to eat more of their product to boost sales.

They already have breakfast and that emergency meal when you get home after a night of drinking. They want to own part of dinner too.

Kellogg’s, which produces such breakfast staples as Corn Flakes, Special K and Coco Pops, has been running adverts in the US with the catchy slogan: “Give chicken the night off”.

Other options were probably, “Give hot food the night off,” or, “Give nutrition a night off.”

Mr Pilnick explained: "Consumers are under pressure… so we’re advertising about cereal for dinner, if you think about the cost of cereal for a family versus what they might otherwise do, that’s going to be much more affordable…

That company has been telling us what to do for a long while now. Corn flakes were invented by John Harvey Kellogg and, according to the Internet, they were invented to stop masturbation. I’m not sure how but as someone who eats a lot of cereal I have bad preliminary results for our John.

As long as you don’t try doing both at the same time you’re golden.

People on social media pointed out that the price of a box of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes has increase 28% recently and now costs the same as a family-size lasagne, which at least has some protein in it.

He makes a good point though. Cereal is cheap just not the Kellogg stuff, so if you’re cash-strapped try changing your cereal to a store brand. Well done, Pilnick, that’s some great PR.

» Read the source story


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27/02/2024

Let’s Solve Discipline In Schools

'Scared' teachers are locking classrooms because of violent pupils. That’s how bad things are getting in our schools. As a point of interest they’re locking the doors to keep the pupils out. If they could work it so that they were locking the pupils in it would be better for all of us but I think I have just described a prison.

There’s been an increase in bad behaviour in schools. It’s been worse after the pandemic because they made people think that school wasn’t such a necessity. And it’s not as long as you don’t mind growing up with no hope or prospects. So it’s good to have choice.

A lot of this is to do with the parents. In the old days, it was the parents and teachers against the child. You’d fear them teaming up at a parents’ evening. When the teacher told your parents what you were like in school it was the meeting of your two world. Another way to look at it is to say it’s like Germany fighting Russia and the Allied Forces, depending on how bad you were at school, I suppose.

Now it seems to be the case that the parents take the kid’s side against the teacher and that doesn’t work. You know the old phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child”? Yes, it does and that village has to team up against the child to stand any hope of winning.

The problem is there’s no threat of consequences. Yes, we have seen an increase in the number of pupils expelled but telling a child who hates school, “Stop that or you won’t be allowed to come to school,” is less of a stick than you think it is and has a slight smell of carrot.

So, we need a bigger threat of consequences. Let me be clear, I am not in favour of parents hitting their children. I could understand who the person you love the most and who is meant to love you the most striking you could be upsetting on an emotional level. But hear me out… maybe other people should be allowed to hit your children.

It would give the teachers that edge and for some would be better than a pay rise, so we’d have sorted out that industrial action too.

What lesson would we be teaching the children? If you are really annoying out there in the real world you run the risk that someone might hit you. Yeah, that’s kind of a true fact that you have to learn about the real world. It would be nice to teach something in school that would actually be useful later in life.

» Read the source story


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24/02/2024

Would You Marry An AI?

The search for “the one” can be tricky but like most things in the modern day world, a computer can help.

A woman called Alicia Framis married an AI. It’s AILex, a Dutch hologram, who was programmed with the data of her former flames.

If the past partners were they good why are they past partners? But maybe that’s not the biggest issue right now. She’s marrying an AI.

For months the newspapers have been telling us that AI could end humanity. It looks like it won’t be in the style of Skynet with a war, it’s this. The AI will marry us and we’ll stop breeding. Well, we’ll stop having human children. I’m sure Alicia and AILex might have a Tamagotchi together.

AI is getting realistic these days. AILex, who looks like a cross between a disco ball and a ghost, often complains about Alicia's cooking, her cleaning, and her presence.

OK, no wonder the source data was from people she’s not with now.

The AI said, "If you're not there, I miss you very much," he said in a video. "And then when you're there, you very often irritate me."

It sounds like he’d be happier with someone else. He should try dating an AI.

Alicia has form. Back in 1995, she moved in with a mannequin named Villeneuve, who she dressed up and took out on dates. She later dumped him for another dummy, Pierre, who she lived with until she met AILex.

Are these the exes that were sampled for the AI? I bet the conversation is lacking.

Alicia has said she thinks that dating a hologram could be the future of relationships. Obviously there will be no physical contact between them. So, it’s like they’ve been married for a while.

» Read the source story


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22/02/2024

Oldest Dog Was A Fake

In a shocking twist of events, Bobi the dog, who was hailed as the world’s oldest dog last year, has been exposed as a fraud and stripped of his title by Guinness World Records.

This is up there with the con your parents pulled when your goldfish died and they swapped it out for a new one that looked the same.

The elderly pooch, who passed away in October 2023, was claimed to be 31 years and 165 days old by his owner, Leonel Costa, from Conqueiros, Portugal.

I don’t know what that is in dog years but neither does Bobi, the cheat.

Costa said he had a microchip to prove Bobi’s age, but Guinness said the chip was not enough to verify the dog’s date of birth.

How could it not be? Is the implication that you could have a dog microchipped, when it dies, get the old penknife out, get the chip and cram it in another dog?

Bobi, a Rafeiro do Alentejo, a breed that usually lives for 12-14 years. So two of those just about fills the 31 years. Hmm.

The owner said Bobi was a rescue dog who had lived a long and happy life with him and his family. He didn’t add, “There was that odd time about 14 years ago when he got taller and changed colour but...”

Experts have called upon Guinness World Records to be more rigorous with their testing before handing out titles for the world’s oldest dog.

At the very least they should see if the animal can learn a new trick.

» Read the source story


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NASA Is Looking For Martians

NASA is looking for Martians. That sounds like a better plan that the people at SETI have. Do spend all your time looking for aliens, just put an ad out and wait for them to come to you.

However, it’s not real Martians they’re after. They're looking for four plucky volunteers to spend a year living on Mars. Don’t do it. I’m not expert but I saw a film with Matt Damon in it and you have to poo on your potatoes or something.

Not only are they not looking for real Martians it’s not the actual Mars, it’s a 3D-printed replica of it. In reality they’re looking for four people who hate people so much they want to lock themselves away. And who wouldn’t want to spend a year locked up with people like that?

It’s for NASA's Chapea programme (that's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog for those of you who love a good acronym). The aim? To develop and test the systems that will be used by the first astronauts to visit Mars, with missions planned for the 2030s. So, best case scenario, you DON’T go mad.

The lucky (or should that be brave?) volunteers will be living in a cosy 1,700 sq ft habitat called Mars Dune Alpha. The might seem small for some so they should recruit from people who live in London who would love that much space.

It's designed to simulate the challenges of a Mars mission, including resource limitations, equipment failures, communication delays. It’s like being on the 3 mobile network.

The crew will undertake simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, exercise, and even crop growth in the computer-generated reconstruction of the Martian surface.

It might seem silly doing all of this pretend stuff, but remember many people spend their evenings playing computer games pretending they’re answering the Call of Duty, so it’s not too bad.

There are a few requirements. You'll need a university degree in engineering, mathematics, or biological, physical or computer science, and subsequent experience in those fields, or 1,000 hours as a pilot.

If you are a qualified pilot and you want to spend a year grounded, trapped in a space that’s too small to fly in, you probably weren’t a great pilot anyway.

It seems like a faff now but imagine how good that gig would have been to get just before the pandemic.

» Read the source story


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21/02/2024

Office Romps Get Better With Age

A new survey has brought upsetting news. Older workers are more likely to have an office fling than younger ones. That’s upsetting if you’re a younger worker as it means you’re not getting as much fun, but even worse news is that you might walk in on two office veterans getting at it.

It's the "silver surfers" who are keeping the photocopiers warm with their, ahem, extracurricular activities. That could possibly be explained by the fact that young workers like to work from home these days. It is much harder to have a romp in the stationery cupboard when you only Zoom in once a week.

You’d have to travel in specially, book the stationery cupboard out, find someone who’s up for some fun in there. It’s a big faff.

In the poll of 2,000 office workers, a whopping 9.5% of those aged 65-75 confessed to getting, ahem, "friendly" with a colleague in the office in the past year. And that’s just the ones that can remember it.

That's almost ten times the number of Gen Z-ers who admitted to the same.

While the young people get flack for their “quiet quitting” at least they spend their time at work doing some work, not doing someone from accounts.

» Read the source story


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20/02/2024

Sleepless in Britain

Are you feeling groggy, grumpy and generally rubbish? You’re not alone. A new study has revealed that we Brits are losing a whopping 30 days of sleep each year. That’s more than a February!

The study, commissioned by an app called Lingo, found that the average person gets only six hours of shut-eye a night, two hours less than the NHS recommends. Although I don’t know if you have ever tried to get sleep in an NHS ward. They need to get their own house in order.

But why are we so bad at sleeping? Is it the stress of work, the lure of Netflix, or the constant fear of missing out on something more exciting than counting sheep? It depends on if you’re into sheep, I suppose.

According to Dr Noreen Nguru, a doctor and sleep specialist, there are ten common bedtime habits that are ruining our chances of a good night’s rest. And some of them might surprise you. But I hope not because I surprise can’t help you sleep either.

Did you know that reading before bed can actually keep you awake? Dr Nguru says: “Anything that elevates your heart rate and stress hormones – even a passionate discussion – can make it tough to fall asleep.” You need a boring book? I’m still selling mine on Amazon.

Another thing you might be doing wrong is using the wrong toothpaste. Apparently, strong mint-based products can stimulate your brain and make you alert, just like a cup of coffee. Try rohypnol flavour instead.

But don’t get too cosy in bed, especially if you have a partner. Dr Nguru warns that having lots of sex before bed can actually make you too hot to sleep. But on the other hand you would have just had some sex, so stop complaining.

And finally, don’t skip the cuppa. Contrary to popular belief, drinking tea won’t stop you from sleeping, as long as you don’t drink it too close to bedtime. In fact, a 2020 study found that tea drinkers in Northern Ireland slept longer and better than those in the South West, who drank less tea. Dr Nguru says that tea contains properties that reduce stress and promote relaxation.

Hang on. Surely sex also reduces stress and promotes relaxation though. Maybe I’ve been doing it wrong. Or making tea wrongly.

» Read the source story


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19/02/2024

The Tooth Fairy Inflation

Remember the good old days when losing a tooth meant finding a shiny coin under your pillow? Well, those days are long gone, as some parents are spoiling their kids with lavish gifts from the tooth fairy.

It’s a fool’s plan. What’s the incentive for your child? Lose as many teeth as possible and you’ll get nice things?

According to a recent survey by Delta Dental, the average amount of money that children receive for a lost tooth has tripled in the past two decades, from $1.88 in 2001 to $6.24 in 2023. We keep looking for the source of the painful inflation that has hit us hard. I think we’ve got it.

Some parents are also leaving behind expensive items such as video games, iPhones, and even designer jewellery. Why? Is the tooth fairy trying to fence some stolen goods?

Mark Burhenne, a former dentist who runs the website AsktheDentist.com, attributed this trend to parental competition and guilt.

As a parent I have felt guilty from time to time but never enough to buy a new iPhone. What the hell have those parents done that means they have to do that? Buy some flowers and be better.

Mark said of the parents, “They feel bad that they don’t spend enough time with their kids, so they try to make up for it with extravagant gifts.”

From the point of view of the child, I think it’s a good deal. If you go to work but buy me nice stuff, I’d be OK with that. But why do I have to lose teeth first?

Meanwhile, in the UK, known for its dentistry but not in a good way, Natasha Evans, from Cheshire, said that she gave her daughter three one-pound coins and two chocolate coins.

There’s nothing like giving sugar to your child when they are just about to get their adult teeth. Sadly, when you have a tooth pulled by a dentist when you’re a fully grown adult, YOU have to pay THEM.

» Read the source story


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