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Last week, two guys randomly parachuted from the top of Seattle's iconic Space Needle to the ground and then sprinted away.
Technically it was trespassing, so Seattle PD have been on the hunt for them (but, at this point, are unlikely to catch them).
I certainly don't condone such behavior, buuuttt…I'd be lying if I said my first thought wasn't:
"Woah, legendary move."
As always, please forward IQNEWS to a friend if you're a fan!
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STORY OF THE WEEK |
You're mostly built to live to 156
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Researchers modeled aging to find how long we could live if able to contain somatic mutations - DNA errors that accumulate over life.
The ceiling?...*drumroll*...156.
(the previous anchor was 122, the record age Jeanne Calment reached in 1997)
Most organs combat mutations incredibly well. The liver, for instance, continuously divides, swapping out mutated cells for healthy ones. A liver can last a thousand years!
But two organs in particular hold us back: the heart and brain. These "biological bottlenecks" struggle to regenerate tissue and eventually capitulate.
"The problem to solve is preserving brain and heart DNA," the study reads. Of course the thought experiment didn't offer how this might be achieved. Grrr.
For now, diet, sleep and exercise are still the best tickets to longevity…
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IN OTHER NEWS |
Telling eyes, significant sighs, spicy painkillers...
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| Across two studies of about 130 adults, Trinity College Dublin found sighs have a real purpose. The body fires them off when it needs to reset breathing and focus. |
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| Chongqing Normal just found a mouthful of chili gel can dull intense pain elsewhere. Volunteers holding the gel rated sharp pain as weaker (but mild aches the same). |
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| U of Essex tracked workers for years and found those that searched hardest for purpose burned out the most. Counterintuitive finding - searching for meaning isn't always better. |
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| A new survey found that Gen Z has meaningfully redefined what it means to be a fan. Just a quarter are "die-hards" and most root for athletes over teams. |
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HACK OF THE WEEK |
Give yourself the gift of gifts
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Build a small stash of gifts before you need them - stuff anyone would like.
Nice bottles of wine (alc and/or non-alc), artisan snacks (note: IQBARs are artisan), copies of your favorite book (that isn't weird), a stack of cards (that work for any occasion), etc.
Or come up with better options; the above are good-not-great.
Then, when a birthday sneaks up, a dinner invite lands last minute, or you completely blank on an occasion, you raid the stash instead of sprinting to CVS.
It costs an afternoon of stocking up and buys a year of never showing up empty-handed.
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SHOWER THOUGHTS |
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1. Salt is the only rock that's socially acceptable to eat.
2. Air conditioning is just domesticated wind.
3. Many tattoos have been ruined by earthquakes.
4. Silly Putty implies the existence of serious putty.
5. Searching for a new laptop online is forcing your current computer to dig its own grave.
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POST OF THE WEEK |
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QUOTE / TIL / WORD / TRIVIA |
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Zora Neale Hurston: “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” |
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Today I learned Every time you properly shuffle a deck of 52 cards, you almost certainly create an order that has never existed before in the history of the universe. The number of possible arrangements (52 factorial, about an 8 followed by 67 zeros) is greater than the number of atoms on Earth. (more here) |
sprezzatura [ spret-suh-TOOR-uh ] - noun
studied nonchalance; making something difficult look effortless.
He parallel parked on the first try with pure sprezzatura. |
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Q: Which country has the most time zones?
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SHOP BRAIN + BODY FUEL |
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Fan of IQNEWS? Forward to friends! 
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