Bright Side

It helps you avoid traffic jams and shows you the way in an unfamiliar city. But is that all GPS is good for? Turns out, it’s used for all kinds of stuff, like feeling earthquakes, finding treasures – it can even save you from a rendezvous with a shark!

GPS is so efficient and precise that even people far away from the epicenter can be notified and have enough time to get ready for a big quake or evacuate. Wildlife migration tracking is very important in the conservation of endangered species. GPS is perfect for this goal! GPS is used to monitor your vehicle’s location in real time.

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Is your school considering a ban on cellphones? Don’t let it happen! What are you going to look at and listen to all day? Rather than get upset, why not launch your first campaign? “Save the cellphone!” Who knows, you may become a leader. Start by gathering convincing reasons to keep cellphones in school.

For example, convince your parents or guardians. They’re your best allies. Using a cellphone, you can turn homework in at the last minute. You can practice reading and writing as it’ll be in the future. Also, auditory and visual learners can benefit from recording the class on their cellphone!

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You’re walking down the street when you suddenly remember you need to call your bank. Oh no, your phone battery’s at 1%! You look around and here it is: a pay phone booth! And even better, there’s a phone book inside with the number you need.

If you were born in the 2000s, you probably haven’t even heard of a fax machine. Photo labs have gone, but not completely - and they still offer their services to those interested. Come to think of it, though, how many other seemingly obsolete things are still out there? And why?

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It happens more often than you’d think. An airline will pack up shop if it chooses to close… or runs out of money. The smaller ones are more at risk to go under because they typically make their money during the peak travel season. Most airlines will try to give you back all or at least part of your money. But this stuff’s not always a guarantee.

Either way, it’ll be a headache! So no matter what airline you book with, it’s always good to have a backup plan. Also, you have rights as a traveler—get to know them! Even though they’re now shut down, they should still try to do what they can for customer service’s sake. But, of course, try to be understanding.

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If you often travel for pleasure or business, you spend a good deal of time at hotels. Hotel rooms are supposed to be the epitome of cleanliness! At least you hope so. But in fact, the objects you’d never think could be dirty are the biggest sources of germs.

Hotel staff are required to disinfect the obvious stuff in the bathroom like the toilet and sink, but more obscure items get cleaned less often. The hairdryer, the carpet, lamp switches and TV remotes are only some of the objects on the list. Let’s see what else you should try to avoid touching in a hotel room.

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Our planet rotates around its axis from west to east at a speed of over a thousand miles per hour at the equator! And this pattern has lasted for billions of years since the Earth was formed. But “what if” one day, our planet suddenly started to rotate backward, from east to west?

It would be one thing if the Earth's continents and oceans were situated symmetrically against the equator when the change of the direction happened. In this case, the only change people would notice would be the climate, which would turn into a mirror image of the current one. In other words, there’d be no dramatic changes. But since life on our planet is rarely about symmetry, the effects of the Earth rotating backward would be way more complicated.

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Only the people working at airports know how things really go down there, and they have many secrets they don’t want you to know. Did you know, for example, that most airports have specific experts called profilers? Their job is to notice the non-verbal signs of anxiety, such as people licking their lips, itching, or looking around a lot.

Also, in a lot of big airports, there are special cameras that can detect a certain level of aggression. These cameras transmit the information to a computer and, in cases of dangerous levels of aggression, the suspect will be stopped by airport security for a detailed inspection. Interested? Then check out these surprising truthful facts from the airport world every traveler will like to know.

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The first colored TP appeared in the 1950s, when decorating your bathroom in a single style was a thing. Toilet paper producers started dyeing their products in all possible colors so that people could complete the image of their bathrooms. The popularity of colored toilet paper reached its peak by 1970s, but sometime around the 1980s, personal hygiene shelves became gradually whiter, and by 2004 all color disappeared completely...

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One day, I woke up smelling like a dog. I don’t mean all rank and stinky – that would be my big brother Jake! I mean, I woke up and I could smell everything. The way a dog can.

I knew the smell of foods before, of course, but it was a total surprise to me things like pencils also have a distinct smell. A human has 6 million smell receptors, and a dog - 50 times as much. So let's find out what it means and what new opportunities it opens up.

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Japan has a culture that’s always fascinated the rest of the world. We’ve all heard about this country’s unique mix of tradition and futurism. But you’ll be surprised to find out that sumo is NOT the most popular sport there, and it takes mad skill to prepare a “river pig”.

Oh yeah, and bathing is done a little differently than you might be used to. In Japanese culture, the main cleaning routine is done at night, in several steps. Follow closely please to learn everything about this evening ritual and some other traditions and just curious facts about the Land of the Rising Sun.

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