Why is the βRaptureβ trending on TikTok?
Evangelists are adamant that Christ is about return for judgement day, and TikTok is apparently the perfect place to get the message out. We really got the βRaptureβ before GTA VI? The hashtag #Rapture has over 3,000 hits on TikTok, and thereβs a palpable feeling of trepidation among certain circles of...
Current in Offbeat
Gen Z like their love with a small price tag
According to a new survey, young people are spending very little on dating βΒ if anything at all.Β If you thought the pandemic was the only thing forcing us to stay at home, think again. These days thereβs plenty to keep Gen Z off the dating scene βΒ but the main culprit...
How racism sparked the myth that MSG is unhealthy
Many people still believe that the umami-rich seasoning monosodium glutamate (MSG) is bad for their health. This longstanding myth was born out of anti-Asian racism and has since been disproven by science. Letβs investigate its story. Salt, salt, saltβ¦ who doesnβt love it? It brings to life the natural flavours of...
Is βmankeepingβ a common dynamic straining straight relationships?
Researchers have finally named the phenomenon experienced by heterosexual women whoβve been told at least once in their lives, βYouβre not his therapist.β Angelica Ferrara and Dylan Vergara from Stanford University published an article on βmankeeping,β which theorizes heterosexual menβs growing dependency on their partners for their emotional needs. According...
Are Gen Z ageing faster than their parents?
Gen Z are known for tempering harmful habits like drinking or smoking, but are they destined to age poorly anyway? If youβre chronically online, youβll have seen self-deprecating videos from Gen Zers talking about how theyβre ageing worse than millennials, but is there any genuine credibility behind the jokes about...
Opinion β the earthquake magnitude scale shouldnβt be logarithmic
Full disclaimer: Iβm no scientist. Iβm a journalist trying to understand the logic behind measuring earthquakes logarithmically β meaning each whole number increase represents a quake that is 10x stronger β when this isnβt intuitive to the public. Shouldnβt we measure them out of 100 instead? In the early hours...
Are small plates a scam?
I canβt help but wonder whether Londonβs most fashionable way to eat is leaving us full of regret and not much else.Β In Londonβs ever-expanding constellation of small plates restaurants, youβre not really here to eat. Youβre here to experience. To share. To marvel at the micro greens. To spend Β£48 on what amounts, practically speaking, to a deconstructed sandwich served on artisan crockery. The rise of small plates in London...
Why are we conflating our jobs with our identities?
All work leaves no room for self. So how do we separate our careers from our lives?Β If you took away your Slack status, your email signature, or your LinkedIn profile, how would you define yourself? In other words, do you know who you are without your career? Whenever I meet someone new, the details of my job tend to crop up in the first few minutes. And likewise, if Iβm...
The fatalism of the βlucky girl syndromeβ trend
The autonomous-less fatalism of the 'lucky girl syndrome' trope joins the long list of individualising and infantilising trends adopted by privileged women who present themselves as too incompetent and irrational to engage critically with intellectualism, politics, or financial responsibility. Whether youβre willing to admit it, or (like me) youβre not, many of us have little things we habitually do to try and avoid bad things happening to us. For instance, youβll...
The average adult reportedly spends 88 days a year on their phone
A new global report from Heineken has concluded that the average adult spends an estimated 88 days a year on their phone. Fancy some terrifying tech news to jolt you out of your seat? Of course you do! New global research by Heineken has found that the average adult spends 88 days a year on their phone. 88 days. If thatβs not enough to get you to throw your device...
