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average-joe

Does the ‘Average Joe’ Actually Exist?

In the UK, for example, the average man and woman are 178cm and 164cm tall respectively, and earn around £34,000 and £25,000 – and we might even know people who fit these two characteristics. But the search rapidly gets harder as we add more ‘typical’ characteristics, those who perhaps also drink the average amount per week, spend the average …

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unlearning

Can We Unlearn Things?

To some extent, yes. Psychologists have tested this in various ways, including asking people to spend time learning pairs of words, and then asking them to deliberately forget some of them. Future memory for the deliberately forgotten words tends to be poorer. More recently, researchers have extended this concept to show that people can unlearn behavioural habits acquired in the lab (such as particular …

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space-debris

What Are the Chances of Being Hit by Falling Space Debris?

There are over 1,400 satellites orbiting over us, plus thousands of pieces of space junk that might survive entry through the Earth’s atmosphere. But the chances of being hit are extremely low. Most of the Earth is covered by sea, and the majority of land is uninhabited. All told, the European Space Agency puts the lifetime risk of being hit at …

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cold

Why Are Women More Sensitive to Cold than Men?

Partly this is because, for a given bodyweight, women tend to have less muscle tissue to generate heat. But the hormone oestrogen also has a big impact because it has the side effect of thickening the blood slightly. This reduces blood flow to the tiny capillaries supplying the extremities. A 1998 study at the University of Utah found that this can mean women …

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train-your-brain

Training Your Brain

So far only two types of mental exertion have been shown to improve or preserve overall cognitive ability. One is musical training; the other is learning a new language, or practising a second one you have already learned. Gottfried Schlaug, director of the Music and Neuroimaging Laboratory at Harvard University explains: “Listening to and making …

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cariboo

Cariboo … Where’s My Car?

Plug this nifty little device into your car’s cigarette lighter, and you’ll never forget where you parked your motor again – it’s linked to an iOS/Android app that’ll show you exactly where you left it. It can also alert you if anyone other than yourself (or another designated driver) attempts to drive your car, can send details of your precise location to friends, and …

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toymail-talkies

Toymail Talkies – It’s Good to Talk … to the Animals

It may look like just another cuddly toy, but what you see here is actually a state-of-the-art communications system for the under-10s. Toymail made its name with cutesy devices for kids that sent and received voice messages to and from their parent’s smartphones; now its latest product comes as a stuffed toy, and youngsters cand …

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paper-airplane

Paper Plane Reloaded … PowerUp FPV

This assemble-it-yourself drone will give you a bird’s-eye view of what it’s like to fly. First build the plane, using the supplied templates or your own design. Next, put your Android or iOS phone into the Google Cardboard-certified VR headset. You can then control the plane via head movements, while enjoying firstperson footage streamed live via Wi-Fi from its …

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silence-space

Silent Space – a Noise Cancellation System

French company Orfea Acoustique has developed Silent Space, which is essentially a noise cancellation system for entire rooms rather than your headphones. Designed for use in open-plan offices and other shared workspaces, the Silent Space system consists of a central controller, plus a number of satellite speakers (or ‘diffusers’, as Orfea calls them). The controller unit analyses the timbre and levels of ambient sound in the room, then instructs …

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