Last week's Curios covered the perils of sleeping on your left side, the healing power of music, and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch.
Curio No. 920 | Left-side sleepers beware
If you're having a bad dream, roll over on your right side. There appears to be a correlation between bad dreams and your sleeping position. That's according to both a recent study and a report that came out over a decade ago. In the study published in 2004, researchers found about 2/3 of people were right-sided sleepers, while the other 1/3 were left-sided sleepers. While right and left sided sleepers could recall their dreams equally, left-siders were more likely to have nightmares... keep reading.
Curio No. 919 | Please clean the office coffee maker
Germaphobic caffeine addicts, stop reading now! The office coffee maker is way grosser than you think. An analysis by researchers at the University of Valencia found 35 to 67 different types of bacteria inside the inner drip tray of communal Nespresso machines. The colonization was found to be "rapid," "rich," and "dynamic"--unfortunately, those are characteristics of the bacteria, not the coffee... keep reading.
Curio No. 918 | Meet the "designated survivor"
A few Tuesdays ago, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch was chosen as the designated survivor during President Obama's final State of the Union. This speech is the only time all the top US officials ever gather in one place, creating a security dilemma. If some unimaginable crisis or attack were to wipe out the entire chamber, there would be no US government officials left to be in charge of the largest military force and economy in the world. Hence the designated survivor role...keep reading.
Curio No. 917 | Another reason to live in Seattle
Sudden cardiac arrest has long been a leading cause of death among adults. Despite continuous research for more effective solutions, CPR--which stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation--is still the gold standard. (It's also still performed to a 1970's song, as we learned in a recent Curio.) In the US alone, there are 350,000 annual resuscitation attempts outside hospitals, and 750,000 attempts in hospitals. The survival rate in hospital is 20%, versus around 5% outside. What's more, cardiac arrest survival rates depend greatly on your location. Chances of surviving in Seattle are 20%, versus only 3% in Detroit... keep reading.
Curio No. 916 | A science sob story
All tears are not created equal. Humans actually cry three different types of tears. And we cry a lot. We produce 10 ounces of tears per day, totaling over 30 gallons per year! First there are basal tears, which are produced constantly by our eyes. Their job is to form a thin layer of lubrication to protect our iris from dirt and infection. Second are reflex tears. They wash away irritants like wind, smoke, chemicals, and onions. Reflex tears are produced in much larger quantities than basal tears, and contain special antibodies to ward off microorganisms... keep reading.
Curio No. 915 | I said roll up the television now!
First there were big screen TVs. Then flat screen TVs. Now there are roll-up TVs. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, LG demonstrated their new flexible screen technology. The 18-inch screen is bendable, and can be rolled up to a radius of 1.2 inches... keep reading.
Curio No. 914 | The healing power of music (on your brain)
There is a wealth of research that shows musicians' brains are wired differently. People who learn music at an early age have better verbal skills, better memory recall, and can learn languages more easily. Now there is research that shows musical brains also process the condition tinnitus very differently... keep reading.
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