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The foods we eat can go a long way in boosting our moods. Here are our favorite snacks for happiness, according to science. Achieving happiness is top of mind for many people, and we'll try just about anything to get it. Whether it's therapy, exercise or meditation, we all want to bring more peace and joy into our lives. When we think about what makes us happy, our diet isn't usually at the top of the list (unless your favorite fast-food joint brings joy to mind). The foods we eat actually play a major role in how we feel. Studies...

The Brood X cicadas are about to emerge, and anthropology expert Cortni Borgerson explains how you can harvest and cook them. After 17 years underground, billions of periodical cicadas known as Brood X are set to emerge, and we hope you’ve brought your appetite. See, a swarm of cicadas may sound scary, but they’re quite harmless and, in actuality, can be a new food to introduce into your diet. Calling all adventurous eaters! Assistant Professor of Anthropology Cortni Borgerson, whose research focuses on natural resource use, sustainability and food security, says that the fact that they make a tasty snack...

'Doomsday prepping' used to be seen as a hobby relegated to the paranoid fringe — but ordinary Americans spent a staggering $11 billion on survival items, just last year, from April 2022 to April 2023. About a third of US citizens admit to prepping, surveys show, but few have the resources today's billionaire bunker-builders have to devote to their own shelters. The world's wealthiest have increasingly spent hundreds of millions on securing underground compounds, private islands and (for the merely rich) 'survival condos.' Late last year it emerged Mark Zuckerberg was building a $100 million hidden fortress buried beneath his...

With the deployment of airborne laser sensors as well as more traditional excavation techniques, archeologists have discovered evidence of a massive and sophisticated lost city in the dense Amazon rain forest region of eastern Ecuador in the Andes foothills. Lead researcher Stephen Rostain of the National Center for Scientific Research in France told the BBC, “This is older than any other site we know in the Amazon. We have a Eurocentric view of civilization, but this shows we have to change our idea about what is culture and civilization.” According to the survey of about 200 miles in the Amazon,...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

At least 40 million acres of US farmland, pastures and forests are owned by foreign investors, which officials warn ‘may have consequences for national security. A new watchdog report found that foreign ownership of US land - including buyers from adversarial nations like China, Russia and Iran - has increased by 40 percent since 2016, with some plots near sensitive military facilities. As well as espionage concerns, there is growing alarm about the integrity of America's food supply chains. But the estimates could be the tip of the iceberg because the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which did the report, told...

NATIONAL POPCORN DAY On January 19th, National Popcorn Day pops onto the scene with a crunch we all love to enjoy! The annual celebration recognizes a treat that satisfies munchies, day or night. #NationalPopcornDay This time-honored snack can be sweet or savory, caramelized, buttered or plain, molded into a candied ball, or tossed with nuts and chocolate. However it is enjoyed, enjoy it on National Popcorn Day, January 19th. The word "corn" in Old English meant "grain" or, more specifically, the most prominent grain grown in a region. When Native Americans introduce their most common grain, maize, to early Europeans,...

Kazakhstan has agreed to help Russia alleviate its chronic shortage of chicken eggs only to spark grumbling from domestic consumers in border areas who now say there is not enough for them to buy. The pledge of assistance arrived at a meeting on trade issues between Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin and his Russian counterpart, Alexei Overchuk, in Astana on January 17. Eggs featured on the agenda. As the Russian state statistics service has reported, the price of the commodity soared by more than 61 percent last year, prompting the government in Moscow to adopt some radical fixes. One...

A team of researchers from Northwestern University says they have developed a cutting-edge, power-generating fuel cell that runs on dirt by capturing the electricity generated by microbes that live in soil. Previous attempts at microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been stymied by low power outputs and unreliable performance, but the Northwestern system seems to have conquered these issues. The inventors of the dirt-powered fuel cell believe it can revolutionize precision farming, while lessening the use of batteries that often contain toxic chemicals and rely on lithium and heavy metals that are a limited resource and can damage crops and soil....

For a microcosm of how the war in Ukraine has warped Russia’s economy, look no further than a carton of eggs. The grocery staple has been in short supply in recent months and prices have skyrocketed, prompting Russians from Belgorod to Siberia to form lines reminiscent of Soviet times. President Vladimir Putin has publicly apologized, blaming the egg shock on the government. Last month, a poultry-farm boss known as “the Egg King” survived an assassination attempt shortly after authorities started investigating his farm due to high prices. Behind the soaring price tag—up around 60% in December from a year earlier,...

A fact to nail down right off the bat when finding the dividing line between these two spirits is that ... all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. To explain — whiskey is a catch-all term for spirits distilled from fermented grain mash; this can include any combination of grains — think corn, rye, barley, and wheat. Bourbon is a subcategory of whiskey with distinctive details. According to the American Bourbon Association, for whiskey to earn the bourbon label, it must contain at least 51% corn in its grain mix. Additionally, it needs to be: distilled to...

WHAT DO THEY TEACH KIDS IN SCHOOLS THESE DAYS? No joke, this is what PETA thinks happens when a farmer goes out to sheer his sheep The animal rights people think that sheep farmers flay their animals alive and then literally beat them to death! How can you be this dumb? Here's how farmers actually shear sheep: VIDEO AT LINK................. Maybe the solution is to buy from competent ranchers with good morals instead of pretending we live in fairy-tale land? Just to be clear (if you're from PETA, pay close attention here), this is what happens when you don't shear...

Japanese scientists took a video illustrating how plants communicate with each other. They created a device that vents chemicals from plants being damaged by insects directly into a healthy plant. In response, the video shows the living one producing calcium through its leaves, which indicates the plant senses danger. We don’t see plants prowling in the wild, hunting prey, and making sounds, so it’s easy to assume they don’t communicate with each other. However, this experiment proves that plants can convey messages to each other for survival. As a result, it becomes an eye-opener that expands our understanding of the...

More than 8,500 people and some 6,000 vehicles participated in a major rally in the German capital, police said Thousands of tractors clogged the streets of Berlin on Monday as German farmers staged a major rally to protest against agricultural policy changes planned by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Cabinet. The government had earlier announced a reduction of tax breaks for the sector as well as plans to slash diesel subsidies. Photos and videos published on social media showed hundreds of pieces of agricultural equipment moving through Berlin’s streets in tight columns or standing at the side of the roads. Farmers moved...

As the war in Ukraine rages on, Vladimir Putin has another battle on his hands: the one to rein in soaring egg prices. Moscow is scrambling to contain a flare-up in basic food costs that's driven up inflation and caused long queues outside supermarkets that hearken back to when the country was a part of the Soviet Union. Eggs have come to symbolize the economic disruption that Russia is facing, with prices jumping 42% in the 12 months prior to November 2023, per data from the country's statistics agency Rosstat. They've become so expensive that shops in some regions are...

NATIONAL HOT PASTRAMI SANDWICH DAY Pastrami lovers across the country look forward to their favorite sandwich on January 14th as they recognize National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day. #HotPastramiSandwichDay Popular delicatessen meat, pastrami is usually made from beef. Others make their pastrami sandwich with pork, mutton, or turkey. Before refrigeration, butchers originally created pastrami as a way to preserve meat. To make pastrami, they placed the raw meat in brine. Then they partially dried it and seasoned it with various herbs and spices to be smoked and steamed. A wave of Romanian Jewish immigration introduced pastrami (pronounced pastróme), a Romanian specialty,...

Woman beekeeper removes beehive from a houses wall and puts it (the bees and queen) into the empty wooden beehive she brought with her. She has an ultra calm voice and does not have a beekeeper's suit on https://twitter.com/playteaux/status/1746143614818828672

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Russia's egg shortage is being exacerbated by bird flu-riddled imports from Turkey, one of the country's biggest trading partners and a NATO member, according to a recent report citing a Russian government official. More than one-fifth of the eggs imported from Turkey were found to be infected with the highly contagious H5N1 avian influenza, as well as other dangerous ailments including salmonella and botulism, Russian authorities warned. -snip- Russia's attempt to pivot to Turkey for emergency egg supplies in January now appears to have backfired, as the delivery of the first batch of Turkish eggs was promptly followed by reports...

Mark Zuckerberg has become a farmer, announcing he has bought a herd of cattle which he will feed with macadamia meal and beer - aiming 'to create some of the highest quality beef in the world.' The 39-year-old Facebook founder said he will raise the cattle on his ranch in Hawaii, feeding them the nuts for taste and protein, and the beer so the animals relax. Zuckerberg - who has a net worth of $126.5billion- has since 2014 been buying up hundreds of acres on Kauai, and now owns 1,400 acres of beachfront land on the north shore worth an...