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Extremists Swamp Facebook: Analysis finds over 100 Facebook groups targeted by extremist militias, with messages like: ‘Now more than ever. Support the American militia page.’
Are Bears a Safer Bet than Men? After posing the question: Who would you rather be alone with in the woods, a bear or a man? the majority of women chose the former. Statistically, one in three women (736 million worldwide) will experience sexual or physical violence at the hands of a partner or stranger. In comparison, there have only been 664 bear attacks in the last 15 years.
Why are Young People Reluctant to Report Cyberflashing? In a study of 336 young people, 75 per cent of girls said they received sexualised images or videos. Meanwhile, just 17 per cent of the young people in the group reported cyberflashing on social media platforms, 5 per cent told their parents, and 2 per cent reported it at school. The normalisation of sending sexual images has been identified as one key reason for the low reporting rates.
Which Tree is a Titan Against Climate Change? Researchers at the University of Vienna studied 69 of the most common European tree species to understand which could best withstand higher temperatures and climate fluctuations. The humble English oak came top in endurance and flexibility. The humble oak tree has ‘a high importance for timber production, carbon storage and biodiversity,’ making it the perfect candidate for European reforestation projects.
Are Non-White People More Accident Prone? A new federal report reveals that non-white pedestrians are more likely to end up in the ER for vehicle-related injuries. Poorer neighbourhoods often lack safe pedestrian infrastructure, which is seen as one reason for the higher accident rates.
Focus on Unique Humans: Solomon Shereshevsky: The Mnemonist. Shereshevsky, born in the 1880s in the former Russian town of Rezhitsa (now Rēzekne in Latvia), had a unique capacity for memorising vast quantities of information by heart. Curiously, his memory was limitless. He could store information in different languages, perfectly reciting the first few lines of Dante’s Inferno 15 years after hearing them in Italian. Part of the explanation was his extreme synaesthesia — the ability to experience information through more than one unrelated sense. But his main technique involved turning every word into a related image with its own tunnel.