How often do you travel? This is a marvelous age; we can be almost anywhere in the world (outside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles) in under 24 hours. And yet… I travel internationally about once a year, and in three of my last six overseas trips I’ve been delayed by the airlines; twice I’ve lost
What would you think of police officers who use less force, are named in fewer complaints and lawsuits, are thought of as being more honest and compassionate, and can reach better outcomes for crime victims, especially in sexual assault cases? All good qualities? Yes, there are many such officers now, but one category excels in
The dictionary definition of color is “the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way the object reflects or emits light.” Color is important in our lives because it helps our brains digest information and it also facilitates memory. But it isn’t easy; comprehending an entire scene requires seeing an object’s
It’s probably pink. The success of the new movie Barbie has created a wave interest in the color most associated with girls (and yes, Barbie Pink is a Pantone color), but like so much in life, its complicated. According to a 2018 research article, bright-pink pigments have been found in 1.1 billion-year-old rocks, the result of
It’s been in mythology for millennia — There was once an advanced ancient civilization that catastrophically vanished thousands of years ago. The “Lost Continent of Atlantis” has been the subject of countless books, articles, movies and general speculation throughout much of recorded history. But if this civilization was that advanced and powerful, why haven’t we
If you travel a lot, you may have noticed hotels are cutting back on their amenities, like those little bottles of shampoo. But one amenity is still popular enough to be continued despite the cost — little bars of soap. Fine, but think for a second — they’re small, but not small enough to be
What is the greatest April Fool’s prank of all time? There have been some really good ones, but if you’re looking to compare, the National Geographic website has an article “Explore 6 of History’s Most Infamous Scams and Hoaxes” by Ronan O’Connell at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/most-infamous-scams-hoaxes?. Personally, I’m not the prankster type, so I’m spending the day
When paying property taxes, how many property owners have wondered “I wish I could tell the city/county/township how I want this money spent”? Now there is a way — participatory budgeting. First tried in 1989 in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, with participatory budgeting ordinary citizens have a say in how public money
Ever since I saw a man in a wheelchair at a urinal in an airport restroom, I have never begrudged accommodations for people with special needs. This is also why some recent news from Egypt caught my eye. What if you like to swim, but your vision is severely limited? Last July, the local government
This is a little late; I’m sure most resolutions have already been tossed aside. If that’s true for you (personally, I don’t even bother), maybe it’s time for a new approach. The Sunday, January 8, 2023 issue of the Dayton Daily News explained one such approach. Columnist Meredith Moss wrote about a woman in Centerville,