Do accents still play a big role in our identity?
In an increasingly globalised world, people have progressively more puzzling accents. Do accents still play a role in how we identify ourselves and others? ‘I’ve definitely not been believed when I say I’m Norwegian,’ says Lea Dzifa Seeberg, who grew up in Oslo before moving to the UK a little...
Current in Offbeat
Oil from Super Bowl food is being turned into airplane fuel
The greasy snacks bought by some 15,000 Super Bowl attendees on Sunday will imminently be used to sustainably power commercial airplanes. Work that one out. What was your highlight of the Super Bowl LVII on Sunday... Rihanna’s questionable yet spectacular halftime performance, perhaps Kansas City’s dramatic late comeback spearheaded by...
How to be more sustainable this Valentine’s Day
The 14th of February, while a celebration of romance, brings a great deal of environmental concern. In efforts to tackle climate change, learn how you can make eco-friendly and sustainable choices this year. Valentine’s Day is, for the most part, synonymous with compassion and endearment. However, its focus on...
These shoes are made from upcycled sex toys
Finding fresh ways to use old materials will be the challenge that defines our generation. We need to drastically reduce the constant production of virgin plastics and polymers, especially in fashion, which is why one sustainable clothing brand started turning sex toys into shoes. When it comes to upcycling in...
Marie Kondo’s pivot to messiness is a sign of the times
The world-renowned decluttering expert has admitted that with three children to look after, she’s ‘kind of given up’ on tidying – a surprising new approach that’s very in keeping with the zeitgeist. 2022 was the year we embraced chaos. Still reeling from the pandemic, we zealously entered an age of...
Has health guidance gone a tad too far?
In the last few days, Britain’s Food Standards Agency has compared being around cake in the office to passive smoking. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction has concluded that no amount of alcohol is safe. Yes, our wellbeing is important, but can’t we have fun anymore? Barely a...
New study finds drug testing sites make festivals safer
A survey analysed 250,000 festival attendees, examining the impacts of drug-checking provisions. It found that drug use did not go up, but instead festivals were safer overall. A new study by The Loop and Liverpool University suggests that drug testing facilities at festivals ensure a safer environment, with no particular uptake in use. Research published in Drugs, Habits and Social Policy looked at provisions available at festivals from 2016...
Opinion – politicians should stop trying to be celebrities
Constant media coverage kickstarted the personalisation of politics, where leaders aren’t seen as representatives but more as ‘personalities’ that the public tries to know, relate to, and measure their own values against. Is this damaging? Yesterday, the wiser half of Britain collectively scoffed and eye-rolled after learning that its former health secretary Matt Hancock had signed up to star in the reality TV program, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out...
This lamp is made from just three recycled orange peels
One of the key challenges humanity faces is finding ways to turn ‘waste’ into items that are both functional and attractive to use. A design studio in Italy is utilising the country’s most popular fruit to create eco-friendly homeware. On the third day, God said: ‘let there be light.’ Not sure when She created oranges, but I’d imagine those came sometime shortly after. Fast forward to today, and one company is...
Researchers create solar powered cyborg cockroaches
The idea of using cockroaches to help search and rescue missions has been in development for quite some time. Now, Japanese researchers have implemented solar cells into an electronic backpack which can be mounted onto real cockroaches. Some scientific research projects are so off-the-wall it’s hard to believe they’re actually real. Such is the case with RIKEN’s newly-developed solar cell cockroach backpack. Created by researchers in Japan, it mounts onto...
