Bright Side

Can we take a moment to stop and appreciate one of the most important inventions ever? No, not your phone, the Internet, or HotPockets. The toilet! The biggest question has to be: Why are they always white? Wouldn’t that encourage stains? Why can’t they be black or some other dark color that would hide any graffiti more discreetly?

Well, actually, commodes haven’t always been white…or porcelain! Go back to the Middle Ages. In Europe, commoners had to use chamber pots — yes, for both numbers! But other parts of the world had the sanitary toilet thing down way earlier. The first-ever recorded flushing water closet belonged to King Minos of Crete over 2,800 years ago!

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Why do cats like to sleep with their owners? Is it healthy, by the way? And if it's not, what are the risks? Actually, most of the cat owners sleep with their pets. Are you one of these people? Then you know that it's really relaxing to sleep with a cat listening to their purring. And they are so warm and soft! But have you ever wondered why your cat loves to sleep on your bed so much?

The sweetest thing is that it’s their way of saying “I love you!” Cats can't tell you this directly, so they kneed your legs, bring you gifts, show you their belly, purr, and sleep by your side to show affection. They can be independent and antisocial, especially compared to dogs, but they miss you dearly when you're away.

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Even though cell phones have dramatically changed since the 90s, loads of myths surrounding them are still the same! The more megapixels the phone's camera has, the better images you get; the dimmer the screen is, the better it's for your eyes; overnight charging harms the battery.

Some people even believe that a phone can cook an egg. This myth became popular after a viral Internet article - lots of people believed that radio waves a cell phone emits were so powerful that you could boil an egg by placing it between two devices. In short, smartphone myths are numerous and persistent. So let’s pop some of these dubious bubbles, shall we?

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Ever wondered why airplanes would not always fly in a straight line from one point to another? After all, they’re in the air, what could possibly stop them? Well, there are plenty of reasons for that, and while some are common, others might be harder to explain.

Did you know, for example, that planes can't fly over Paris? It seems surprising that the capital of France, despite having four airports within its city limits, has prohibited airspace but it's true! Moscow is another big city over which all flights were prohibited from the 1960s. However, in 2013, a new law was issued that finally allowed commercial airplanes to cross the sky over the Russian capital. Let's find out what the reasons are!

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What happens to your phone when the battery hits 1%? Nowadays these gadgets are almost part of us... but how well do we know all of their features?

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When you look at the seas and oceans on the map you might think that they just flow into each other. It seems like there’s only one big ocean, and people just gave different names to its parts. Well, you’ll be amazed at how vivid the borders between them are!

The border between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans is like a line between 2 worlds. It looks as if the two oceans meet at an invisible wall which does not let them flow into each other and mix their waters. Why on Earth does it happen? We know for sure there is no invisible wall inside, and water is water. So what could interfere with its mixing?

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What does it mean to be “cute”? Beauty standards and perceptions of attractiveness vary across cultures, but one thing is clear: being called “cute” is something entirely different. Is there a scientific explanation of why our brains perceive some people as “cute” and others as “beautiful,” “hot,” and so on? We’re about to answer all of them with the help of science!

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You probably don't need to worry too much about a regular spider bite unless you have an allergy. But a venomous spider is a different story. Allergic reactions from them are more severe. Venomous spiders are easy to identify by their pattern. For instance, a black body with red "hourglass" coloration on the underside of its abdomen signifies a black widow. And the venom of a black widow spider causes immediate pain at the bite site and then spreads to other areas of the body.

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The beauty of nature all around you, the fresh air, and days and days of meditative rest far away from civilization ahead of you. But you’ve been walking for quite some time to get this far, and now it’s time to set up camp. The woods around are dense, and there’s no suitable place to put up your tent. Then, you notice a nice green patch completely devoid of trees and only sprinkled with some low-growing bushes. You go there, smug about your find, and get to work on the tent.

The ground is unusually soft and smooth, but that doesn’t bother you too much. By the time you’re done, it’s dark already, so you get inside the tent and crawl into your cozy sleeping bag. You wake up from a creeping feeling that something’s not right. You feel… wet? You rush out of the tent as quickly as you can and see that it’s started to sink into the ground. Turns out you’ve set up camp on a swamp! Swamps aren’t always obvious. But there are some other things that can ruin your forest vacation so today we'll tell you how to camp in the wood!

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How to ride safely on escalators? What would happen if your shoelace or clothes got caught in an escalator? Are there any escalator safety tips? Imagine this. You’re standing on the subway escalator on your way up, engrossed in reading a book, and almost miss the step-off. You keep your balance. Something’s tugging at your right foot. You turn around, and it’s your worst nightmare: your shoelace got stuck in the escalator!

Or imagine you’re sitting on the steps (never do that, by the way) and wearing a loose shirt that’s not tucked into your pants. You wait until the escalator starts getting flat and only then stand up. Well, at least you try. When you do, you feel a powerful tug at your collar and lose your balance. The stairs have eaten the hem of your shirt and are quickly dragging you down. Let’s find out why these things happen.

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