My Period Made Me an Atheist

In parts of the world, traditional customs and lack of proper hygiene products lead girls to drop out of school. In the Bronx, one Catholic man who preached about our lord Jesus Christ made me want to quit too. At 14, I hadn’t yet learned the ropes of carrying pads and aspirin in my bag or mastered tracking my flow. I was new to being a woman. So when the first ache hit in the middle of religion class, I knew I was screwed. I had no pads, and the sanitary napkin vending machines in the restroom weren’t free.
Read more: http://www.newschoolfreepress.com/2018/05/28/my-period-made-me-an-atheist/?source=Snapzu

People with a keener sense of smell find sex more pleasant and, if they are female, have more orgasms during sex

Scent plays an often under-appreciated role in sexual attraction, helping to account for why visual attractiveness alone can’t explain just how physically attractive a person is perceived to be. But what role does our ability to smell our partners – or potential partners – play in actual experience? We know from past research that men born without the ability to smell tend to have fewer sexual partners. And about half of people who lose their sense of smell, through infection or injury, report negative impacts on their sexual behaviour.
Read more: https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/05/30/people-with-a-keener-sense-of-smell-find-sex-more-pleasant-and-if-they-are-female-have-more-orgasms-during-sex/?source=Snapzu

Facebook still doesn’t know what user data Cambridge Analytica actually had

There are still some (big) rocks to be turned over in Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica drama. Despite suspending the data firm, which collected the personal data of as many as 87 million Facebook users without their permission, Facebook is still trying to figure how big the Cambridge Analytica problem is. “To this day, we still don’t actually know what data Cambridge Analytica had,” COO Sheryl Sandberg said on Tuesday at Recode’s annual Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
Read more: https://www.recode.net/2018/5/29/17384806/facebook-coo-sheryl-sandberg-cto-mike-schroepfer-code-conference-trump-cambridge-analytica?source=Snapzu

Digital Ambulance Chasers? Law Firms Send Ads To Patients' Phones Inside ERs

Personal injury law firms are using location-based mobile ads to target people as they enter emergency rooms. The trend is raising concerns among patients and health privacy experts.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/05/25/613127311/digital-ambulance-chasers-law-firms-send-ads-to-patients-phones-inside-ers?source=Snapzu

The financial scandal no one is talking about

The long read: Accountancy used to be boring – and safe. But today it’s neither. Have the ‘big four’ firms become too cosy with the system they’re supposed to be keeping in check?
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/29/the-financial-scandal-no-one-is-talking-about-big-four-accountancy-firms?source=Snapzu

Japanese Melons Fetch Record-Breaking $29,000 at Auction

This might be the one time in your adult life when it’s appropriate to say “Nice melons” to a stranger. Over the weekend, a pair of Yubari melons sold for a record-breaking ¥3.2 million (US $29,436) at an auction held in the city of Sapporo. The two melons were bought by Shinya Noda, the president of a fruit and vegetable packing company.
Read more: https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/7xmkaq/japanese-melons-record-breaking-price-29000-dollars?source=Snapzu

Op-ed: Game companies need to cut the crap—loot boxes are obviously gambling

Much as game companies try to deny it, the truth is plain to see.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/05/op-ed-game-companies-need-to-cut-the-crap-loot-boxes-are-obviously-gambling/?source=Snapzu

Civil War soldiers forgotten no more in Traverse City

Group dedicates time and effort memorializing forgotten soldiers who fought in the war between states but later died in relative obscurity.
Read more: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/05/28/civil-war-soldiers-forgotten-no-more-traverse-city/637129002/?source=Snapzu

Men lose interest in sex during long-term relationships before women, study finds

Men are the first to lose interest in sex during long-term relationships, a study has found. Men are put off of sex because they feel insecure and because they worry about losing their freedom within a relationship. An analysis of 64 studies on sexual desire conducted since the 1950s found that men also have unrealistic expectations of their appetite and their bodies as they get older.
Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/14/men-lose-interest-sex-long-term-relationships-women-study-finds/?source=Snapzu

Calls for junk food to have graphic cigarette-style warnings on packaging

Graphic health warnings on food packets – similar to those used for cigarettes – could prompt people to abandon “hedonistic impulses” and choose healthier foods, a study suggests.
Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/24/calls-junk-food-have-graphic-cigarette-style-warnings-packaging/?source=Snapzu

Qing dynasty vase worth $600,000 found in attic

A French family made the discovery everyone who cleans out their attic secretly hopes for: a priceless work of art overlooked for decades. After finding an intricately decorated porcelain vase in an old shoebox, the owners took it to Sotheby's Paris to be appraised, whereupon the auction house told them it dated from the Qing dynasty, and could be worth upwards of $600,000.
Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/style/article/france-qing-dynasty-vase-attic-intl/index.html?source=Snapzu

Alan Bean, fourth astronaut to walk on the moon, dies at 86

Astronaut Alan Bean, who was the fourth person to walk on the moon, has died. A statement released by NASA and family members says Bean died Saturday in Houston after a short illness. He was 86. Bean was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 12, which made the second moon landing in 1969. He then commanded the second crewed flight to the United States' first space station, Skylab, in 1973. On that mission, he orbited the Earth for 59 days.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-alan-bean-20180526-story.html?source=Snapzu

Canadian company developing cannabis beer

This year’s Canadian Brewing Awards are being held in Halifax, and brewers from across the country are showing off their finest beers. But much of the discussion at this year’s conference surrounds a beer that doesn’t actually exist yet.
Read more: https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/canadian-company-developing-cannabis-beer-1.3946677?source=Snapzu

Why Beans Were an Ancient Emblem of Death

Fava beans can be lethal. By Anne Ewbank.
Read more: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/favism-fava-beans?source=Snapzu

Marijuana Compound Removes Toxic Alzheimer's Protein From The Brain

An active compound in marijuana called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been found to promote the removal of toxic clumps of amyloid beta protein in the brain, which are thought to kickstart the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Read more: https://www.sciencealert.com/marijuana-compound-thc-removes-toxic-alzheimer-protein-from-brain?source=Snapzu

What is beauty if not a jolt that awakens us to the world?

Rather than a golden ratio or a moral judgment, beauty is more like a radical jolt that awakens us to the world, By Shahidha Bari.
Read more: https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-beauty-if-not-a-jolt-that-awakens-us-to-the-world?source=Snapzu

The best, worst, and most repetitive emails of the GDPR

The GDPR promises to reshape our relationship with data privacy. So far, that means emails. So many emails.
Read more: https://www.fastcodesign.com/90173590/the-best-worst-and-most-repetitive-emails-of-gdpr?source=Snapzu

Denied permission to speak at his own graduation, Holy Cross valedictorian delivers speech outside

Holy Cross High School's graduating valedictorian and student council president learned hours before Friday night's graduation that they would not be allowed to deliver their planned -- and, they thought, pre-approved -- speeches at the ceremony.
Read more: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/kenton-county/covington/denied-permission-to-speak-at-his-own-graduation-holy-cross-high-school-valedictorian-christian-bales-delivers-speech-outside?source=Snapzu

Democracy is not a truth machine

"That means for example that if all the climate scientists in the world were wiped out by a freak meteor at a conference, climate science would quickly reappear and say basically the same things again, as more or less happened when the Catholic Church tried to suppress heliocentricism." By Thomas R. Wells.
Read more: http://www.philosophersbeard.org/2010/11/democracy-is-not-truth-machine.html?source=Snapzu

LA Times among US-based news sites blocking EU users due to GDPR

LA Times, Chicago Tribune and others redirect to pages saying sites are currently unavailable in most European countries
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/25/gdpr-us-based-news-websites-eu-internet-users-la-times?source=Snapzu

Arizona state education standards see evolution deleted

In Arizona, the state's superintendent of public instruction has led a campaign to remove evolution from the state's science education standards. Diane Douglas has taken the standards, written by educators, and selectively replaced instances of the word "evolution" with euphemisms like "change over time." The alterations come less than a year after Douglas publicly advocated for introducing religious ideas into biology classrooms. Arizona residents still have roughly a week to submit comments on the changes.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/arizona-official-waters-down-states-science-education-standards/?source=Snapzu

Traumatic License: An Oral History of Action Park

From 1978 to 1996, New Jersey hosted a ride-at-your-own-risk water park that earned it the nickname “Class Action Park.” By Jake Rossen.
Read more: http://mentalfloss.com/article/536412/action-park-water-park-oral-history?source=Snapzu

Dr. Robert Lustig The Hacking of the American Mind at the San Francisco Public Library

A very insightful lecture that will go in a direction you won't expect.
Read more: https://snapzu.com/Gozzin/dr-robert-lustig-the-hacking-of-the-american-mind-at-the-san-francisco-public-library?source=Snapzu

Amazon is selling facial recognition technology to police, allowing them to analyze ‘millions of faces in real-time’

Amazon found itself at the center of a brewing privacy controversy on Tuesday after the American Civil Liberties Union disclosed that the tech giant is selling facial recognition technology to law enforcement that the company has said “helps identify persons of interest against a collection of millions of faces in real-time.”
Read more: https://www.recode.net/2018/5/22/17380450/amazon-aws-facial-recognition-aclu-technology-police?source=Snapzu

Author Philip Roth dies aged 85

One of the great American authors, Philip Roth, has died aged 85. The Pulitzer, National Book Award and Man Booker International Prize-winning novelist's work drew its inspiration from Jewish family life, sex and American ideals. His works included American Pastoral, I Married a Communist and Portnoy's Complaint.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44220189?source=Snapzu

High school principal resigns after LGBTQ students were forced to read the Bible as punishment

An Oregon principal has resigned after a months-long investigation into how the high school under his leadership discriminated against LGBTQ students, including forcing them to read the Bible as punishment. When Liv Funk and Hailey Smith, two female students at North Bend High School in Coos County, began dating, they started to face discrimination — and even threats to their safety — from students and staff alike. For example, one teacher equated homosexuality with bestiality, and the school’s police officer told the young couple they were going to hell.
Read more: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/kzkb8v/oregon-high-school-principal-resigns-after-lgbtq-students-were-forced-to-read-the-bible-as-punishment?source=Snapzu

Video Campaign Aims To Unify Poland Through The Power Of Bread

Hate crimes are on the rise in Poland. In response, a new YouTube video aspires to foster tolerance by having people from marginalized groups bake and sell bread to customers at a Warsaw bakery.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/05/21/611345277/video-campaign-aims-to-unify-poland-through-the-power-of-bread?source=Snapzu

And Now, For His Grand Finale, Paul Ryan Is Trying to Kick a Million People Off Food Stamps

Classic Paul. By Jordan Weissmann.
Read more: https://slate.com/business/2018/05/paul-ryan-is-trying-to-kick-a-million-people-off-food-stamps.html?source=Snapzu

German Families Playing Hooky Stopped By Police At Airports, May Be Fined

Officers have launched investigations into more families caught skipping school ahead of a three-day weekend. Parents could face fines up to $1,177. U.S. parents can be fined for kids' truancy too.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/21/613188244/german-families-playing-hooky-stopped-by-police-at-airports-may-be-fined?source=Snapzu

Gay teen says she went to school resource officer after getting bullied -- and he told her she's going to hell

A gay teenager who is graduating from the North Bend High School in Oregon has written an account of vicious bullying she received at school — along with the school administration’s total indifference to how she was being treated. Writing over at the ACLU’s website, graduating senior Liv Funk chronicles being called homophobic slurs by her classmates, as well as one male student who physically abused her by hitting her with his skateboard.
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2018/05/gay-teen-says-went-school-resource-officer-getting-bullied-told-shes-going-hell/?source=Snapzu

How to Write a Blog Post: An Epic Process for Epic Results

Warning: This is not for the faint at heart. However, this is how I write blog posts that get an average of 500+ shares and thousands of pageviews every time.
Read more: https://dustn.tv/how-to-write-a-blog/?source=Snapzu

Like Many Young Muslims, I Fake Fasting During Ramadan

It’s Ramadan and my mother is in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove preparing a big feast. She’s fasting even though she is a 64-year-old diabetic. As for myself? Earlier in the day, I had a huge fish and chips platter for lunch, but my Muslim family believes I’m fasting with them. This has gone on for years.
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/8xeamx/like-many-young-muslims-i-fake-fasting-during-ramadan?source=Snapzu

Mad as a Hatter

Larkin Poe
Read more: https://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/mad-as-a-hatter?source=Snapzu

Hundreds of homeless people fined and imprisoned in England and Wales

Growing numbers of vulnerable homeless people are being fined, given criminal convictions and even imprisoned for begging and rough sleeping, the Guardian can reveal. Despite updated Home Office guidance at the start of the year, which instructs councils not to target people for being homeless and sleeping rough, the Guardian has found over 50 local authorities with public space protection orders (PSPOs) in place
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/20/homeless-people-fined-imprisoned-pspo-england-wales?source=Snapzu

Surreal Photos of Post-Soviet Architecture

This photographer traveled to the far corners of the former Soviet Union to document a new era in design.
Read more: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/features/photography/post-soviet-architecture/?source=Snapzu

High-tech, sphere-shaped arena coming to Las Vegas Strip

A massive high-tech, sphere-shaped venue that will host concerts and other events while engaging multiple senses will break ground this summer in Las Vegas, officials announced Friday. The New York-based Madison Square Garden Company revealed details of the 18,000-seat, futuristic-looking facility it is developing in partnership with Las Vegas Sands, which operates two casino-resorts on the Las Vegas Strip adjacent to the planned arena.
Read more: https://www.apnews.com/b9d2825ebbe14ad5b61be4f4fdeb576a/High-tech,-sphere-shaped-arena-coming-to-Las-Vegas-Strip?source=Snapzu

Facebook Android app caught seeking 'superuser' clearance

Social networking site and market-leading data broker Facebook is once again taking heat for playing fast and loose with its access to personal information. This time, it's the Facebook Android app that is under the spotlight after users noticed it requesting an extraordinary amount of access privileges. The users note that the change has happened in recent days, leading to speculation that a new feature or update is to blame, and it may not have been intentional.
Read more: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/05/18/facebook_android_app_caught_seeking_superuser_clearance/?source=Snapzu

On Nihilism And Love (And How Nihilism Enhances Love)

Whenever I talk about, it’s usually in the context of how it could effect an emerging generation or as an excuse to talk about one of my favorite cartoons. I try not to incorporate it into too many discussions, mostly because nihilism has some pretty sullen connotations. Whether you believe it or not as a philosophical principle, discussions about it can get pretty depressing.
Read more: https://jackfisherbooks.com/2018/05/19/on-nihilism-and-love-and-how-nihilism-enhances-love/?source=Snapzu

Cairo: A Type of Love Story

Raising a family during a revolution.
Read more: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/07/cairo-a-type-of-love-story?mbid=contentmarketing_facebook_citizennet_paid_magazine_cairo-a-type-of-love-story_4-visit?source=Snapzu

Want to help your child succeed in school? Add language to the math, reading mix

Research shows that the more skills children bring with them to kindergarten – in basic math, reading, even friendship and cooperation – the more likely they will succeed in those same areas in school. Hence, “kindergarten readiness” is the goal of many preschool programs, and a motivator for many parents.
Read more: http://www.washington.edu/news/2018/05/17/want-to-help-your-child-succeed-in-school-add-language-to-the-math-reading-mix/?source=Snapzu

Vitamin D3 vital in treating child malnutrition

High doses of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) were found to be effective in helping treat severe child malnutrition, a new study conducted in Pakistan’s Punjab province suggests. Researchers from the University of the Punjab (PU), Lahore, and the Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) said doses of vitamin D3 supplements, alongside regular treatment for malnutrition, significantly helped a group of 185 malnourished children aged 2—58 months to gain weight and height, as well as improve motor skills and learning abilities.
Read more: https://scidev.net/asia-pacific/children/news/vitamin-d3-vital-in-treating-child-malnutrition.html?source=Snapzu

Cannabis: it matters how young you start

What a difference a year or two can make: If you started smoking marijuana at the start of your teens, your risk of having a drug abuse problem by age 28 is 68 per cent, but if you started smoking between 15 and 17 your risk drops to 44 per cent, according to a new study by Université de Montréal researchers.
Read more: http://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2018/05/18/cannabis-it-matters-how-young-you-start/?source=Snapzu

Hundreds of Apps Can Empower Stalkers to Track Their Victims

KidGuard is a phone app that markets itself as a tool for keeping tabs on children. But it has also promoted its surveillance for other purposes and run blog posts with headlines like “How to Read Deleted Texts on Your Lover’s Phone.” A similar app, mSpy, offered advice to a woman on secretly monitoring her husband. Still another, Spyzie, ran ads on Google alongside results for search terms like “catch cheating girlfriend iPhone.”
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/technology/phone-apps-stalking.html?source=Snapzu

'Age' Your Steaks With Fish Sauce and Koji

Some things, like love or a delicious shrimp base, can’t be hurried, but a lot of things can be approximated. Though there is no substitute for a true dry-aged steak, there are two ingredients that food geeks swear help you get pretty close: koji and fish sauce.
Read more: https://skillet.lifehacker.com/age-your-steaks-with-fish-sauce-and-koji-1825934538?source=Snapzu

Potential Spy Devices Which Track Phones Found All Over DMV

The technology can be as small as a suitcase, placed anywhere at any time, and it's used to track cell phones and intercept calls. The News4 I-Team found dozens of potential spy devices while driving around Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia.
Read more: https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/Potential-Spy-Devices-Which-Track-Cellphones-Intercept-Calls-Found-All-Over-DC-Md-Va-482970231.html?source=Snapzu

Designing tomorrow's tech-friendly fashion

Or I WANT MORE POCKETS DAMMIT! Our tech requirements are stressing today's fashion. Fortunately, a new generation of designers is looking to the future of tech-capable clothing.
Read more: https://www.hpe.com/us/en/insights/articles/designing-for-devices-tomorrows-tech-friendly-fashion-1805.html?source=Snapzu

Here's all the data Apple collects on you

Last week, I asked Apple to give me all the data it's collected on me since I first became a customer in 2010 with the purchase of my first iPhone. That was nearly a decade ago. As most tech companies have grown in size, they began collecting more and more data on users and customers -- even on non-users and non-customers.
Read more: https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-data-collection-stored-request/?source=Snapzu

Not paying attention in class? China’s facial recognition tech will snitch on you

Students "don't dare" let themselves be distracted.
Read more: https://futurism.com/smart-eye-china-facial-recognition/?source=Snapzu

“I Killed Them All.” The Life Of One Of America’s Bloodiest Hitmen

“True Evil has a face you know and a voice you trust.”
Read more: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicagarrison/martinez-hitman-cartel-black-hand-mano-negra-contract-killer?source=Snapzu

Spinoza's philosophy of freedom

Steven Nadler on Spinoza.
Read more: https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/spinoza-philosophy-freedom/?source=Snapzu