When in love:
The heart thumps loudly and rapidly,
The mind becomes disoriented and chaotic,
The pupils dilate and the eyes become round,
The jaws lose strength and the mouth opens wide,
The face, especially the top of the ears and cheeks, flushes,
Oxytocin and dopamine release a flood of pleasure,
The body leans towards the other and copies their motions,
Non-verbal communication takes over and the two talk passionately.
Twins are categorised into either maternal or paternal twins.
Maternal twins are formed when an embryo splits into two (or more sometimes) in the early stages, and grow separately. In these cases, the two genetically identical babies sometimes even share a placenta. This fact makes them very useful in a research context (Nazi Germany used them extensively in unethical biomedical experiments).
As paternal twins come from separate egg and sperm, they are born as normal brothers and sisters. Because of this, it is also possible to have a boy and a girl (maternal twins have the same gender).
In a standard population, less than 5% are twins. However, according to some researches, it is posited that almost 25% of all pregnancies are twins. They hypothesise that out of all these twins, many cases involve one of the twins dying prenatally. If this happens, the corpse is absorbed by the mother and the other baby to recycle the nutrients. Sometimes a half-absorbed foetus is found embedded in the placenta (vanishing twin), or found in the body of the other twin years after birth (fetus in fetu).
A more interesting hypothesis from this research is that in these cases, one twin is left-handed while the other is right-handed.
Therefore, left-handed people may have absorbed their right-handed twin in the womb and survived.
This theory is validated by cases from nature. Many animals tend to birth two offsprings, then help the stronger one to survive. It is essentially nature’s insurance system.
Another interesting fact related twins is about a place called Candido Godoi, Brazil. This place is famous for being “the twin capital of the world”, due to having 18 times the rate of identical twin births compare to anywhere in the world. This means that one in five pregnant couples can expect double the bundle of joy.
The strange fact about this place is that there is a theory that the unnatural twin-birth phenomenon may be linked to a Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele (a.k.a. the Angel of Death) who fled to this town around 1963. It was around then when the phenomenon started occurring. However, it is still uncertain whether he was involved in any way.
A baby appears to have a pure and innocent image, but they also have a side we don’t know about.
Firstly, babies (including infants) know how to lie and steal.
They fake crying to fool an adult, and put on an innocent face on purpose.
During times when they are strongly possessive, they grab what they want and not let go. An adult pities that the baby does not know better and gives it what it wants, but this is actually meticulously planned by the baby.
Furthermore, research has shown that babies show racism and judge people based on looks. Babies, in almost all cases, prefer to be held by the prettier woman. Also, they can perfectly recognise and differentiate faces yet cannot tell the differences in faces from another ethnicity.
Lastly, babies experience euphoria and pleasure through self-harm (banging their heads against a wall produces a similar effect to taking drugs) and can murder their twin inside the womb by (stealing nutrients).
Time after time, those who possessed a thought process that transcends the so-called “box” and revolutionary creativity were both respected and shunned. A genius is someone who has the ability to stir the world yet ignored by the general population. Because of that reason, it is often the case that people do not recognise the true value of a genius and miss out on the golden chance of borrowing his or her abilities. Also, many geniuses cannot shine and be accepted, living a lonely life; this will be the case until someone else who understands their ways and accepts it for what it is.
Like this, human society tends to have its pearls buried in the mud, and superficially appears only as putrid dung most of the time.
Christmas (also called X-mas), on the 25th of December, is the religious celebration day of Jesus Christ’s birth. It is a beloved holiday that is usually the biggest in the year for many countries. Every year on Christmas Eve (24th), children put out cookies and milk, and with a resolution that they will not sleep they await Christmas’ undying star, Santa Claus.
But as soon as they fall asleep, Santa arrives in a sleigh pulled by reindeers, comes down the chimney and unloads many presents (only to “nice” kids) under an already-decorated tree. When the 25th comes around, children run to open their presents and celebrate. On this day, most stores close to go into a festive mood. In the evening, the whole family gathers for a feast and celebrates this joyous day.
As with most holidays, Christmas has many interesting stories tied to it.
Firstly, is the 25th of December really Jesus’ birthday? This question has plagued scholars since the 18th century, as the Bible has no record of this. In fact, historic records (old texts, the Bible etc.), scientific data (astronomy etc.) and logic all show that there is a lack of evidence for Christmas actually being the day Jesus was born. Instead, it is suggested that Jesus was born in spring, more specifically the 25th of March. Interestingly, this is celebrated as Annunciation in Christianity, the day when Jesus was allegedly conceived by the Virgin Mary. So which story is correct? This may be linked to the next story.
Secondly, the 25th of December is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Because of this, many Pagan holidays coincide around this time. For example, ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia between the 17th and 23rd, to honour the god of agriculture, Saturn (a fun fact is that there is a tradition where they brought a tree inside the house for this day, which is the roots of the modern Christmas tree). Also, later in Rome’s history, the official sun god, Sol Invictus, was honoured on the 25th of December. Many historians hypothesise that when Christianity first developed, it absorbed many of its preceding religions’ holidays, thus giving birth to Christmas.
Lastly, a story about Santa Claus. Santa Claus is based on the Dutch Saint Nicholas, but is also influenced by many other traditional holiday figures, such as Odin from Norse mythologies (who gave gifts to children who put out treats for his eight-legged horse on Christmas day). What is peculiar is the reason Santa wears red. Many people believe that the “red and white outfit” was a product of Coca-Cola’s advertising in the early 20th century, making Santa wear the company colours. However, this theory has some errors. Most importantly, there are many illustrations from before 1925 (when Santa first featured in Coke advertisements) where Santa is portrayed in his plump, bearded form clad in red clothes with a large belt, exactly like the modern Santa. But as there were many other portrayals of Santa back then (e.g. green clothes, skinny etc.), it can be safely said that Coca-Cola’s aggressive advertising and explosive popularity played a vital role in cementing the image of the Santa that we know and love now.
Santa is also known as children’s last innocence. This is because it is something that can only be found in the hearts of children who pray every Christmas to this mythical man to receive a present. Unfortunately, as they grow and learn science and facts (about their parents being the provider) their innocent beliefs turn to ashes. Because of this, some parents like to dress up as Santa to deepen the children’s faith in him, while some never allow the faith to be born in the first place. What is amusing is that in some European countries such as Poland, the idea of Santa Claus is taken quite seriously. Every adult (especially adults and teachers) take strict care not to crush this dream until the age of 4 or 5, almost religiously.
As a final note, some people note that there are some strange connections between Santa and communism: red, large beard, providing only to “nice children”, working the elves in a factory… may whoever reads this decide that fact for themselves.
Boredom can strike anyone at any time. When you aren’t interested in what you are working on, or have nothing special to do, it comes knocking like an unwanted guest. When you are bored, you can’t be bothered doing anything, you can’t sit still and experience a strange phenomenon of time slowing down.
Everyone has a unique way of resolving boredom, usually tailored to one’s style. There are simple ways such as bouncing a ball off a wall, or you can pick up a guitar and sing a song.
However, there are times (such as in the middle of a lecture) where props like these are not available. In these situations, first check what you are carrying; with imagination, anything is possible.
If you are carrying a cellphone or an iPod, problem solved – but be careful not to get caught. If you have a book, read; if you have pen and paper, write (or draw). If you have absolutely nothing, fall back into your imagination and thoughts. You will find an endless supply of fun.
“Patience is a bitter plant but it has sweet fruit.”
~German Proverb
“Three 忍 (character for patience) can prevent evenmurder."
~Korean Proverb
"Ninja (忍者): He who has patience.”
~Japanese word
Although it may be hard sometimes, those who have patience will be rewarded, for patience is a virtue.
These are the common points between religion and alcohol.
Babies first show “stranger anxiety” at between 8 to 10 months of age. As their brains develop rapidly, they also learn social-emotional skills and recognise the identity of “parents”. Thus, they do not trust any other adults that are not “parents”. This phenomenon usually disappears after two years, but they then receive education from adults that they should not trust strangers, or Stranger Danger.
Interestingly, most kidnapping cases are committed by an adult the child knows well.
Another fact related to stranger anxiety is that it is dependent on how close the baby is to its parents. Take the Strange Situation Test developed by Ainsworth as an example:
Put a baby under the age of 12 months and its parent in the same room, then separate the two. Next, send in an adult the baby has never seen before, then after a short while exchange the adult back with the parent.
Normal babies become anxious and agitated when a stranger enters the room, but then they calm down almost immediately as the parent returns. Also, when the parent returns the baby requests to be held, as physical contact represents safety for a baby.
However, a baby that has spent less time with its parents, or a baby with unresponsive parents exhibit a different behaviour. In fact, they become more agitated when the parent returns, and often show avoidance. This is because there has been insufficient bonding between the two.
A more extreme case is of a baby that has been abused. These babies become extremely disorganised and disoriented upon the parent’s return. This is also due to improper socio-emotional development. Babies like these that were not intimately bonded with their parents tend to have trust issues even after development, which may lead to social problems in adulthood.
The history of tattoos is as long as the history of civilisation itself. From the priests of ancient Egypt to the modern Maori’s moko, people have always inscribed something on their skin. Even in modern society, tattoos are quite popular (especially among the youth and gangs).
There are many types of tattoos, but all carry the same message: “I own my body and can do what I want to it”. Reason being, people believe that the only thing they truly have full control over and exert total freedom on is their own body. This results in teenagers and young adults to get tattoos as a sign of rebellion, which sometimes stays even in adulthood.
However, there are other reasons for having a tattoo. For example, one can have something precious to them, something they never want to forget, or some ultimate life goal or purpose etched into their skin to remind themselves every day of it.
Also, in a religious sense, it could be done as a way to announce that “my body belongs to my god”. This seems like an archaic ideology, but many people still carry tattoos with such a meaning.
Furthermore, some tattoos mean that “I belong to this group”, which is analogous to branding a cow. For instance, many indigenous tribes in South America and the Pacific Islands give a child who has passed initiation a tattoo to prove that he/she is an adult.
Lastly, tattoos can be simply aesthetic, but they often carry the previously mentioned “ownership of the body” meaning also (a common example is the “tramp stamp”).
