​Give play the importance it deserves; keeping your pet active and entertained will ensure that their body, mind, and wittiness will flourish. And as an added bonus, you’ll also lead a healthier life with regular exercise thanks to your dog walks.

​We know that sometimes we want to see our pets become mommies and daddies; that would make us proud grandparents. But for the health of your pet, make sure you spay or neuter them as young as possible. This reduces the chances of certain diseases and lowers the likelihood of your cat running away in search of the perfect mate.

​“We could use a pampering day,” is what we usually say when we need some pick-me-ups. Just like us, our pets deserve a pampering day. Start with a gentle body massage, as this can do wonders for your cat. It can decrease anxiety and relax your cat’s muscles after a day of jumping, playing, and running after little bugs.

​Cats and dogs are curious — this is not news. They’ll chew on things, scratch at things, and play with the most random stuff in the house. That chocolate bar packaging is their perfect toy! Dogs are just the same, but they might choose to chew on your favorite shoes. To avoid situations like these that can endanger your pet, make sure to do a house scan and remove or change anything that might pose a risk to your pet’s health.

​Make sure to visit the vet anytime that it’s necessary, and don’t overlook regular routine checks. Sometimes our pets can appear normal, but they might have an underlying condition. An early visit gives your vet a chance to spot something out of the ordinary, thus keeping your dear pet healthy.

​Just like us, our pets need their teeth taken care of. It’s not as easy as it sounds since our pets have teeth brushing as the last thing on their daily to-do list. You can try the 7-day-teeth-brushing challenge. This might be a long process and will require a lot of patience, and your pet might even resist at first. But if you don’t succeed, there are other alternatives, like prescription dental diets or chews.

​Bathing your dog or bringing them to the groomer for a haircut, brushing your cat’s fur, and cutting their nails can make your pet feel taken care of. Do you know that feeling when you leave the hair salon and you feel like a new person? Help your pet to have the same feeling by introducing grooming to their routine, which is also a preventative measure against any skin irritations or infections.

​One of the easiest ways to prolong your cat’s life is to keep it indoors. In the great outdoors, your sweet fur-baby can be exposed to trauma, whether it’s from fast drivers or other predators, and the chance of encountering disease-carrying pests decreases when you choose to not let them wander off-route. If you really want them to breathe the fresh air outside, try building your loved ones a “catio” — yes, that’s a right, it’s a patio for cats.

​A study done on 50,000 dogs concluded that the group of dogs that were fed 25% less than the dogs in the other group resulted in 2 different categories: lean dogs and overweight dogs. The lean dogs lived for an average of 18-24 months longer than their counterparts. This applies to cats too — if your cat has self-control, free-feeding is okay, but if your cat has a big appetite, loves to snack, and is piling on the pounds, it’s better to supervise them. Make sure to always keep an eye out for any weight changes.

There have been several stories connected to broken airplane windows, here are some of them:
​

• In 1990, during British Airways flight 5390, one of the windscreen panels got separated, and the plane’s captain was nearly sucked out of the cabin. Fortunately, an air steward caught the pilot last second and held onto him until the plane landed, so he survived.
• A similar incident happened in the middle of an Airbus A319 flight in 2018 when a windshield got blown off. Luckily, the plane’s co-pilot had his seatbelt on, so he was only partially blown out of the aircraft and didn’t have any serious injuries.

In this situation, before anything else, you would hear a very loud noise because of depressurization. Basically, the air pressure inside the cabin is higher than it is outside of the plane to enable the people onboard to breathe normally. That’s why, if a window happens to break, the air inside would escape at high speeds, taking small objects like phones or magazines (or sometimes larger things, like people) with it.

Other effects of depressurization include a decrease in temperature and air pressure (accompanied by a “popping” of the ears), and mist or fog from condensation inside the plane.

Like with many emergency situations, the most important rule is to not panic. In addition, it’s better to have your seat belt fastened at all times when you’re in your sit. Once the oxygen masks drop, put one on, then help your child or other people around you. The crew will start the emergency landing and the descent will be rapid to minimize the risks for passengers.

As soon as the plane is at a safe altitude, you’ll be able to remove the mask.

​Air travel is one of the safest ways of getting around, and it only gets safer. Besides, when an emergency situation like depressurization does occur, windows are rarely the reason: it happens only in 2.7% of all pressurization failure events. They have multiple layers made from plexiglass or acrylic plastics, which are durable, and have a tiny hole (it’s there to avoid condensation).

​On the occasion that you unintentionally damage a unique piece of art, like a painting, a sculpture, or a vase, the museum is ultimately responsible for the restoration. They’re big institutions, and as such, they are really careful about what they keep inside. Because of this, they have special insurance policies. These contracts are unique and cover everything that you can imagine.

For that reason, the museum might make you fill out some paperwork with your name on it for insurance purposes. And while they could ban you from the museum, this is extremely rare. After that, the insurance policy will take care of all the costs needed for the restoration, whatever it takes and for however long it takes.

​When you visit a museum, you should be respectful. Whether you’re clumsy or not, you may end up breaking something important. But you don’t have to worry too much.

For the museum, all visitors are considered guests, so they are not financially responsible for the costs of restoration. Additionally, museums have grant funds to help them cover the costs of restoration and conservation.

You may be lucky enough to spend your days working inside a museum, surrounded by incredible pieces of art, enjoying history as a daily routine. Just like in any other workplace, you are allowed to make mistakes, but they can be more expensive than normal. In 2014, a janitor in an Italian museum threw a modern art piece into the trash. Unfortunately, he mistook it for a pile of garbage.

It was an unconscious move, so the museum understood the situation. Luckily for him, the museum had a special insurance policy in place in case an employee damaged an art piece. Let’s just hope he was careful from then on!

​For decades, museums have been improving their methods for keeping art protected. Museums like the Getty Center (in California) are resistant to fire damage thanks to their reinforced concrete walls. They also have an air system that keeps any smoke from coming inside and sprinkles as a last resort in an emergency.

The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York built a special flood wall in their new venue after Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012 to block a potential flood of the Hudson River. Also, whether they’re part of the windows or are in front of a painting, glass has a special UV-blocking coating. This is very important because UV rays can greatly harm the colors in paintings.

​If you explain yourself honestly, everything can be sorted out. However, if you have bad intentions and try to break or damage any kind of art in a museum, there will be consequences, just as a visitor with a selfie stick had to face the consequences of breaking a statue in Portugal. Attempting to accomplish this kind of behavior may result in you spending the night in a cell.

Likewise, if you damage public property, the city can report you. This means that there’s a high probability that you may serve a couple of years in jail.

​OnBuy set out to determine whether our sleeping positions could affect our income. OnBuy’s Furniture Department surveyed 5,438 working professionals, and they discovered an interesting connection. The survey showed that the most common sleeping position is the “fetal” position, with 3 out of 10 people admitting that this is how they like to sleep. In second place was the “pillow hugger,” and in third, the “freefall.” Their research dug deeper and showed how the results change when broken down by salary. Higher earners prefer popular positions such as the “Freefall”, while lower earners tend to choose the “Fetal” and the “Pillow hugger”.

​OnBuy separated the data into the top 10% of earners, which showed that those who sleep in the “freefall” position are most likely to be successful at work. According to the survey, 29% of those earning more than $75,000 (£54,900) annually admit that they prefer this position. Despite it being a very popular sleeping position, it’s believed that the “freefall” isn’t ideal for quality sleep. Although sleeping on your stomach might be able to reduce snoring, it’s bad for your back and neck.

​In second place for the higher earners was the “soldier” position, being favored by 23% of those who took part in the survey. And there’s even more good news because the position is very good for us, as there isn’t any unnatural bending of the spine, which reduces the chance of back pain.

​According to the survey, the “fetal” is another position that you could benefit from. It’s the most popular sleeping position overall, but only 21% of people under the higher income category sleep in it, which places it in third place. It’s also probably the best position for us when it comes to quality of sleep. It also can reduce snoring and is great for lower back pain and pregnancy.

​In fourth place is the “pillow hugger,” being a favorite to 13% of the more financially successful people.

​Fifth place goes to the “thinker,” with 9% of people with higher incomes favoring it. It’s generally a comfortable position, and it’s advised to put a pillow between your knees to relieve stress in your back and avoid any pain.

​The “starfish” comes in sixth place, with only 2% liking the sleeping position. It’s not the most comfortable position, as it can put a strain on your back — it’s advised to put a pillow under your knees to prevent that.

​In seventh place is the “stargazer” position. It’s not among the most popular ones, with only 2% of the high-earners from the survey favoring it.

​Last but not least is the “log.” This sleeping position looks a bit stiff and wasn’t favored by the participants of the survey, being a favorite to just 1% of those surveyed, but it has its benefits. The “log” keeps our necks and backs in alignment, which makes it great for people who suffer from pain in those areas.

​According to OnBuy’s research, employees sleep for 6 hours and 36 minutes on average during weekdays, with only 1 in 2 getting the suggested 8 hours of sleep per night. After categorizing the responses on the survey to higher and lower earners, OnBuy found that the highest earners slept for an average of 6 hours and 58 minutes per night, 22 minutes more than the lower earners.

​OnBuy’s survey also discovered that the company’s average employee wakes up at 7:06 a.m. on a weekday, however, the highest earners wake up at 6:42 a.m., on average. One thing that both groups share is their shower preference. 56% of the employees, overall, prefer to shower in the morning, and 60% of the higher earners, specifically, also prefer to shower in the morning.

When they are doing long-haul flights — that means a flight that is more than 6 hours long — the flight crew needs to rest as well, just like the flight attendants. So there are usually 2 hidden bedrooms where the crew can take a nap when they are exhausted.

One sleeping area is located in the front of the aircraft, and the other one is in the back. They have some stairs going up toward them, and they are often disguised as a storage room.

On bigger commercial planes, there are also showers located together with these bedrooms where the crew can refresh after they’ve just taken a nap. You can even find equipment there in case there is an emergency.

Imagine if you need to fly for 14-16 hours, you might not look that great or smell that good at the end of that flight. So, during these long flights, there is always an extra crew onboard to replace the ones that are resting and rest periods are mandatory for all flight crew.

​Pilots do have certain rights up in the air since they are in charge of the plane. The captain has the most power, and they can also restrain a passenger if they deem it necessary. If somebody is a troublemaker during a flight, and after repeated warnings, they still continue to act aggressively, the captain has the right to call the police on the ground and also ask the crew to restrain them with handcuffs.

​Flying high might come with its perks, but it also has its disadvantages. In some emergencies, for example, when the plane is not well-pressurized, everybody needs oxygen from somewhere. The passengers have their own oxygen masks, so the pilots should have their own hoods, right? Correct.

In the cockpit, there are special donning masks located at each pilot’s left side. They are a little bit more complex than the ones from the cabin and they also last longer because the pilots need to be able to solve the problem and land safely.

​Although it is hidden from the passengers, pilots have a crash axe at their disposal that they can use either for opening panels to fight a fire, or to break a window, if it is necessary. It could also come in handy when they need to survive in an unfriendly environment, like a jungle.

​Pilots are communicating all the time with the air tower controller in order to verify all the flight details, but some cockpits have also video cameras that are recording the pilots. The flight crew knows about this, and it also records all the flight data. It could be checked later for various reasons.

​In each cockpit, there are 2 ropes that can be used to evacuate the airplane through the windows. The ropes are a few meters long and they are also knotted. This helps the pilots to slide down more easily.

​In order to use those ropes we talked about above, they have to evacuate the aircraft through other means if the door is not an option. Well, the other option is the 2 sliding windows on each pilot’s side which open inward. They are used as a means of evacuation in case of an emergency.

​If you see this kind of picture somewhere, then you can go ahead and assume that it has been photoshopped. It would be physically impossible for a pilot to take a selfie like this because of the differential cabin pressure. If a pilot tried to open the window while airborne, then they would be immediately sucked out of the plane. Together with their phone, of course.

​According to a study by Slumber Cloud, the side of the bed you sleep on affects your personality. Only employed US citizens participated in the survey and, as a result, some interesting information was obtained.

The study showed that people who sleep on the left are not only left-brained but also like old music and drama films. On the contrary, people who wake up to the right are right-brained. Besides, they listen to rock music and when it comes to choosing movies, they go for action flicks.

Personality: If you sleep with your arms down you’re reserved and if your arms are stretched — you’re open-minded and relaxed. You have high standards not only for yourself but others as well. People value you for your listening skills.

Health: You might have lower back pain and this sleeping position can even worsen it. Besides, if you tend to snore, sleeping on your back might not be a good idea. However, there are also some benefits. You don’t get neck pain, because your spine, neck, and head are in a neutral position.
​
If you sleep on a slightly elevated pillow — good! This is actually the best position for heartburn.

Personality: You are unique, a true go-getter. You have high self-esteem but can sometimes be quite closed off and you prefer to keep things to yourself. In addition, you don’t like being criticized.

Health: You probably notice how deep your wrinkles are in the morning. It’s no surprise that this position is the best one to use to get good, HD-quality, wrinkles like crow’s feet or nasolabial folds. It’s likely that you also suffer from neck pain because sleeping on the back puts a lot of pressure on the nerves in your neck.

​Personality: If you sleep in a fetal position (knees are brought close to your chest) you are tough on the outside but deep down are soft on the inside. If you just sleep on your side, arms close to your body, you’re sociable and gullible.

Health: It’s possible that you don’t snore at night because side sleeping keeps your airways open. However, you might sometimes experience shortness of breath, especially if you have heart problems.

​Due to their low cost, such shelves can be found in many bathrooms. But in zones with high humidity, rust quickly forms on them since the chrome coating wears out over time and the metal corrodes. Instead, you can opt for glass, stainless steel, or brass shelves. They look more expensive and stylish.

​Try to remove all unnecessary items from the washing machine, and you’ll be surprised at how the look of your bathroom will change. Household chemicals and beauty products visually clutter up the already small space of the bathroom. So don’t forget to clear this “clutter island” in a timely manner.

​This doesn’t look nice and it will definitely not add anything pleasant to the act of washing the hands. The soap becomes soft and slippery, and the sponge gets so full of soapy water that it looks like a slimy substance. The sponge is okay as a temporary solution, but it’s better to use a high-quality and stylish soap holder for permanent use.

​There are so many things that are kept in the bathroom, despite the fact that it is such a small space. It’s not surprising that in such limited space we try to fit as many items as possible and cover all free surfaces with them. But different bottles and other little things become a source of visual noise. If possible, create convenient storage space, hide some items behind cabinet doors, organize your items in a timely manner, and get rid of unnecessary junk.

​The bathroom is a zone of high humidity, so keeping your bathrobes on the door can make them an ideal environment for bacteria growth, so they begin to emit an unpleasant smell. Bathrobes (as well as clean towels) should be kept in a different part of the home.

​Open and torn packages of toilet paper, standing free for all to see, will not help your bathroom look nice. If you don’t have a special place for toilet paper storage, remove the packaging and keep the rolls in containers, baskets, or on special racks. It will look quite nice.

​Undoubtedly, drying household rags is important and necessary, but keeping them this way on a permanent basis is not a good idea. When they’re completely dry, remember to keep them out of sight and store them in a separate cabinet or container.

​A huge boiler will definitely not add comfort to your bathroom. Even though this device is necessary, it should be hidden. Not only does it clutter up your space and loom menacingly overhead, but it also gives off the feeling of being in a technical room. You can equip a secluded place for a boiler by using blinds, a niche, a wall cabinet, or other structures.

​A standard cast iron radiator covered in white paint requires more attention. Check it periodically for smudges and rust, dust it off, and renew the coating. Indeed, over time, the white paint will acquire a yellowish tint due to the high temperatures.

​The abundance of colorful bottles on a sink is a source of visual noise. We recommend pouring liquids into special containers that match your bathroom design. An automatic sensor dispenser is also a good option. It doesn’t leave smudges and looks very stylish.

​It’s better to find a separate place for colorful sponges and loofahs next to the shower or bathtub. For example, you can hang them on hooks or keep them in a plastic container or on a shelf.

​Adding creative elements to the bathroom design is quite risky. There’s a possibility that it will look ridiculous and clash with the general concept. Decorative stickers, paintings, posters, and artificial flowers — all these elements will only make your restroom look sloppy.

If you still want to add a creative twist to the interior, try replacing boring decorative elements with bright and unusual ones, or add a bright accent in the form of mosaic or colored tiles.

​They look cheap, accumulate dust and hair, and get electrified. Microfiber rugs can’t stand high temperatures, so they can’t be dried on a radiator and placed on a warm floor. Over time, the material becomes flat, stops absorbing moisture, and looks generally unpleasant.

​You may have noticed black stains on the handle of your toothbrush more than once. This is mold that forms at the bottom of the glass due to accumulated moisture and mucus. The glass must be regularly washed and disinfected, and it also leaves marks on the sink, which also need to be cleaned off from time to time. It’s not recommended to keep the toothbrushes of all your family members in one glass: bacteria can be easily transmitted from one brush to another upon contact.

​The “natural” ratio at birth is around 105 boys per 100 girls, but only a third of women who experienced stress, like elevated hormone levels, blood sugar, body weight changes, and even markers of inflammation, had a boy, researchers noticed.

The pressures of everyday life can affect a baby’s sex in the womb. In some studies, specialists observed that women who experience any kind of stress are less likely to have a boy. They don’t consider this a cause that 100% influences the gender but say it’s one of the possible reasons you can count while planning your pregnancy.

​Physical and emotional stress may lower your chances of having a boy because males are more vulnerable to adverse prenatal environments. There’s even more research that says male fetuses are less likely to survive, so our nature basically gives us more chances to have a healthy baby.

After careful observation, it was noted that giving birth to boys occurred 56% of the time in healthy women, 40% in psychologically stressed women, and a mere 31% in physically stressed moms.

The more social support a mother received, the greater the chances were of her having a male baby, researchers concluded after several studies.

3 different aspects of social support were found to make a woman feel less stressed.
​

• Having people to talk to
• Having people to spend time with
• Having people to rely on for help

​Being physically stressed was also reported as something that could affect a future baby’s gender, but social support exerts a huge biological influence on the health of the mother, which can have impactful effects.

It’s important to feel safe and calm, and it’s good to practice relaxation to protect yourself from extra stress, especially during pregnancy.

​Next time you head out to the supermarket, you won’t have to worry about not having the correct change for a shopping cart. A rounded key can be used to unlock your shopping cart instead, which is pretty handy since you’ll always have one on you. Simply put the rounded end of the key where you would normally put a coin, and it should release the cart.

​If you notice that your flowers are starting to droop and look a bit sad, then you can place a penny in the water. The copper in the penny will prove to liven your flowers in no time. Make sure that you cut the leaves off the stems so that none of them are touching the water, as this can impact them.

​Instead of filling your purse with loyalty and discount cards, you can simply take a photo of them. Take a photo of the bar code on the back, as well as the front of the card, so that you know which bar code belongs to which card. You can then scan this barcode at the store to collect your points and discounts.

​Not all of us are necessarily patient or nimble-fingered, which can make this tip a true lifesaver. Simply lay your thread over an old toothbrush and push the eye of the needle onto the brush’s bristles. This will quickly bring the thread through the needle’s eye, saving you from lots of frustration.

​We all have that one teaspoon that is terribly stained brown by all of the tea and coffee we stir it in. This is caused by the tannins in drinks, which are also responsible for staining our teeth. To get your spoons sparkling again, you can try scrubbing them with toothpaste, which will dissolve the tannins and bring your spoons back to life.

​When your flowers start to droop, pour out the old water and add fresh water with a few spoonfuls of sugar. Cut about an inch off the bottom of their stalks at an angle to increase their water intake. Over the next few hours, watch your flowers start to stand up again and come back to life.

​It can be extremely irritating when the match just won’t catch, no matter how much we try to protect it from the wind. This old trick will help you to keep it lit long enough for you to use it. Simply cut little shavings around the head of the match so that they are curling downward. This will help the flame to burn brighter and protect it from blowing out so easily.

​We all probably have that one shirt or T-shirt that is stained yellow with sweat stains, and no matter what we try, we just can’t remove them. Denture tablets may be your solution for breaking up these tough stains. You’ll need to put your stained clothes in a bucket with warm water and 1 to 3 tablets. Let them soak for an hour before putting them through a wash cycle.

​A good test to check whether your bed linens are properly dried or not is by placing a mirror under the covers and waiting a few minutes to see if it steams up. If it starts to mist up after 5-10 minutes, then your linens are still damp and may be unhealthy to sleep in. A damp bed can be a breeding ground for mold and fungi, which can be harmful, especially for people with asthma and allergies.

​You can now store your seeds without worrying about them going bad and rotting before you have a chance to plant them. Simply store your seed packets in an airtight container, such as a Tupperware box, with a silica packet inside. The silica will keep your seeds dry and, therefore, fresher for longer, preventing mildew and germination that can ruin your seeds.

​Questions about your marital status or about your personal life, in general, aren’t only intrusive but also insulting. Instead of getting defensive and starting a passive-aggressive conversation, you can simply ask a parallel question. You shouldn’t feel the need to defend your personal choices to people who are simply nosey. A parallel question will shift the attention to them, and they might realize that their life decisions weren’t as great as they thought.

​Answering in a very clear tone can be perceived as rude by some people, but it’s a way of showing your true feelings. So, if you think the other person is stepping over the line, you can tell them that this is none of their business. Be confident in your manner and the other person will definitely understand that they have to drop the topic of conversation. This way, they’ll probably learn never to ask personal questions in the future.

​An uncomfortable question might come from someone who cares or wants to know your personal experience. Asking them why they want to know something specific about you will reveal their true intentions. You don’t need to be aggressive or suspicious unless they give you a clear sign that they’re being a busybody. Keep your voice light and friendly since you don’t want the other person to get defensive or insulted if their intentions are genuine.

​This is a way of creating a “bridge” from an awkward question to a more comfortable area of discussion. You basically direct the conversation to a point that you have no problem talking about. And that’s perfectly logical if you’re not ready to talk to others about your thoughts and feelings on a certain subject. Not only can you avoid answering directly, but you can create a different topic that might lead you to something else to talk about.

​Talking about your recent breakup can be pretty difficult and emotional, but curious people will still question you about it. You can jump out of the difficult position by offering up some personal advice that helped you get over the painful time. This way, you don’t have to give too many details about your relationship, but you create a more generic conversation. Other people can jump in and share their own advice and experiences that helped them during similar situations.

​Let’s be honest, those who want to stick their noses in other people’s business deserve a little bit of shaming. It’s not the type of shaming that will insult them, but instead, make them realize that they are being too nosey. You can simply answer with: “Wow, you are quite the curious one, aren’t you?” and walk away. By doing that, you stop the conversation from going any further and avoid any possible unpleasantries.

​Many people love compliments and will gladly accept one and talk about something that involves themselves. So, when you get asked the famous question, “When will you have kids?” you can simply complement the other person. Start talking about their kids and how wonderful they are. You can take it even further by praising them for the marvelous job they’ve done at raising them to be perfect little humans.

​Ambiguity leaves no space for the other person to ask any further questions since they’re not getting any definite answers. That works when you don’t want to answer a question or when you just want to think about it. Therefore, you create a veil of mystery, and the other person realizes that they can’t get a clear answer. And that’s definitely better than creating a fake story that will sooner or later reveal itself.