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Humans evolved to share beds – how your sleeping companions may affect you now

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/goffredina-spano-2240566">Goffredina Spanò</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/kingston-university-949">Kingston University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gina-mason-2240569">Gina Mason</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/brown-university-1276">Brown University</a> <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(24)00176-9">Recent research</a> on animal sleep behaviour has revealed that sleep is influenced by the animals around them. Olive baboons, for instance, sleep less as group sizes increase, while mice can synchronise their rapid eye movement (REM) cycles. In western society, many people expect to sleep alone, if not with a romantic partner. But as with other group-living animals, human co-sleeping is common, despite some <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945710000377">cultural</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352721820303053?via%3Dihub">age-related variation</a>. And in many cultures, bedsharing with a relative is considered typical. Apart from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945710000377">western countries</a>, caregiver-infant co-sleeping is common, with rates as high as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1087079216000265">60-100%</a> in parts of South America, Asia and Africa. Despite its prevalence, infant co-sleeping is controversial. Some western perspectives, that value self-reliance, argue that sleeping alone promotes self-soothing when the baby wakes in the night. But <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221325.2021.1905599">evolutionary scientists argue</a> that co-sleeping has been important to help keep infants warm and safe throughout human existence. <a href="https://www.sleephealthjournal.org/article/S2352-7218(22)00077-8/abstract">Many cultures</a> do not expect babies to self-soothe when they wake in the night and see night wakings as a normal part of breastfeeding <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945713002220?via%3Dihub">and development</a>. Concerns about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Sids) have often led paediatricians to discourage bed-sharing. However, when studies control for <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0107799">other Sids risk factors</a> including unsafe sleeping surfaces, Sids risk does not seem to differ statistically between co-sleeping and solitary sleeping infants. This may be one reason why agencies such as the <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/1/e2022057990/188304/Sleep-Related-Infant-Deaths-Updated-2022?autologincheck=redirected">American Academy of Pediatrics</a>, the <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs37/chapter/Quality-statement-5-Safer-practices-for-bed-sharing">National Institute for Health and Care Excellence</a> and the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/reduce-the-risk-of-sudden-infant-death-syndrome/">NHS</a> either <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/1/e2022057990/188304/Sleep-Related-Infant-Deaths-Updated-2022">recommend that</a> infants “sleep in the parents’ room, close to the parents’ bed, but on a separate surface,” or, if bedsharing, to make sure that the infant <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs37/chapter/Quality-statement-5-Safer-practices-for-bed-sharing">“sleeps on a firm, flat mattress”</a> without pillows and duvets, rather than discouraging co-sleeping altogether. Researchers don’t yet know whether co-sleeping causes differences in sleep or, whether co-sleeping happens because of these differences. However, experiments in the 1990s suggested that co-sleeping can <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.20736">encourage more sustained and frequent bouts of breastfeeding</a>. Using sensors to measure brain activity, this research also suggested that infants’ and caregivers’ sleep may be lighter during co-sleeping. But researchers speculated that this lighter sleep may actually <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221325.2021.1905599">help protect against Sids</a> by providing infants more opportunities to rouse from sleep and develop better control over their respiratory system. Other advocates believe that co-sleeping <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163638319301237">benefits infants’ emotional and mental health</a> by promoting parent-child bonding and aiding infants’ <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/10253890.2012.742057">stress hormone regulation</a>. However, current data is inconclusive, with most studies showing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163638319301249?via%3Dihub">mixed findings</a> or <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616734.2024.2380427">no differences</a> between co-sleepers and solitary sleepers with respect to short and long-term mental health. <h2>Co-sleeping in childhood</h2> Childhood co-sleeping past infancy is also fairly common according to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945713011076?via%3Dihub">worldwide surveys</a>. A <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/126/5/e1119/65347/Relationship-Between-Bed-Sharing-and-Breastfeeding">2010 survey</a> of over 7,000 UK families found 6% of children were constant bedsharers up to at least four years old. Some families adopt co-sleeping <a href="https://capmh.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13034-023-00607-w">in response to</a> their child having trouble sleeping. But child-parent bedsharing in many countries, including some western countries <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2005.00358.x">like Sweden</a> where children often co-sleep with parents until school age, is viewed culturally as part of a nurturing environment. It is also common for siblings to share a room or even a bed. A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221325.2021.1916732">2021 US study</a> found that over 36% of young children aged three to five years bedshared in some form overnight, whether with caregivers, siblings, pets or some combination. Co-sleeping decreases but is still present among older children, with up to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fare.12955">13.8% of co-sleeping parents</a> in Australia, the UK and other countries reporting that their child was between five and 12 years old when they engaged in co-sleeping. Two recent US studies using wrist-worn actigraphs (motion sensors) to track sleep indicated that kids who bedshare may have <a href="https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.11352">shorter sleep durations</a> than children who sleep alone. But this shorter sleep duration <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221325.2021.1916732">is not explained by</a> greater disruption during sleep. Instead, bedsharing children may lose sleep by <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221325.2021.1916732">going to bed later than</a> solitary sleepers. The benefits and downsides of co-sleeping may also differ in children with conditions such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945717303842">autism spectrum disorder</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10802-017-0387-1">mental health disorders</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dmcn.13300">chronic illnesses</a>. These children may experience heightened anxiety, sensory sensitivities and physical discomfort that make falling and staying asleep difficult. For them, co-sleeping can provide <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11325-018-1710-y">reassurance</a>. <h2>Adults sharing beds</h2> According to <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NSF_Bedroom_Poll_Report_1.pdf">a 2018 survey</a> from the US National Sleep Foundation, 80-89% of adults who live with their significant other share a bed with them. Adult bedsharing has shifted over time from pre-industrial <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/106/2/343/64370?redirectedFrom=fulltext">communal arrangements</a>, including whole families and other household guests, to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jdh/article-abstract/23/3/275/359439?redirectedFrom=fulltext">solo sleeping</a> in response to hygiene concerns as germ theory became accepted. Many couples find that bedsharing boosts their <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1978364/">sense of closeness</a>. Research shows that bedsharing with your partner can lead to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2017/8140672">longer sleep times</a> and a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article-abstract/17/4/308/2753131">feeling of better sleep</a> overall. Bedsharing couples also often <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00583/full">get into sync</a> with each other’s sleep stages, which can enhance that feeling of intimacy. However, it’s not all rosy. Some studies indicate that females in heterosexual relationships may struggle more with sleep quality when bedsharing, as they can be <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00320.x">more easily disturbed</a> by their male partner’s movements. Also, bedsharers can have less <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27624285/">deep sleep</a> than when sleeping alone, even though they feel like their sleep is better together. Many questions about co-sleeping remain unanswered. For instance, we don’t fully understand the developmental effects of co-sleeping on children, or the benefits of co-sleeping for adults beyond female-male romantic partners. But, some work suggests that co-sleeping can <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11325-018-1710-y">comfort us</a>, similar to other <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsr.14174">forms of social contact</a>, and help to enhance <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.20736">physical synchrony</a> between parents and children. Co-sleeping doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all answer. But remember that western norms aren’t necessarily the ones we have evolved with. So consider factors such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945716301265">sleep disorders</a>, health and age in your decision to co-sleep, rather than what everyone else is doing.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/241803/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/goffredina-spano-2240566">Goffredina Spanò</a>, Lecturer in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/kingston-university-949">Kingston University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gina-mason-2240569">Gina Mason</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Psychiatry and Human Behaviour, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/brown-university-1276">Brown University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/humans-evolved-to-share-beds-how-your-sleeping-companions-may-affect-you-now-241803">original article</a>.

Body

Freddy Krueger at 40 – the ultimate horror movie monster (and Halloween costume)

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-daniel-301018">Adam Daniel</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a> Movie monsters have captivated audiences since the days of early cinema. They evoke fascination and terror, allowing audiences to confront their fears from the safety of the movie theatre or living room. Arguably one of the most enduring and captivating of these monsters is Freddy Krueger, the villain of the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087800/">A Nightmare on Elm Street</a> series who celebrates his 40th screen birthday this November. Memorably played by Robert Englund, Freddy quickly became a cultural icon of the 1980s and 1990s. Beyond his burned face and iconic bladed glove, Freddy’s dark humour and acidic personality set him apart from other silent, faceless killers of the era, such as Michael Myers in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_6_nm_0_in_0_q_halloween">Halloween</a> or Jason Vorhees in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080761/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Friday the 13th</a>. Written and directed by horror maven <a href="https://theconversation.com/wes-craven-the-scream-of-our-times-46915">Wes Craven</a>, 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street garnered positive reviews for its innovative concept: Freddy stalked and attacked his victims in their dreams, making him inescapable and allowing him to tap into their deepest fears. The series (seven films plus a 2010 remake and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329101/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Freddy vs. Jason</a> spin offs) blended supernatural horror and surrealism with a dark and twisted sense of humour. <h2>Scary … but funny</h2> Humour was key to Freddy’s “popularity”. Both sinister and strangely charismatic, Freddy’s psychological torture of his adolescent victims often oscillated between terrifying and amusing. A famous kill scene from 1987’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093629/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors</a> demonstrates this paradox. Aspiring actress Jennifer drifts off to sleep while watching a talk show on TV. In her dream, the host of the talk show suddenly transforms into Freddy, who attacks his guest before the TV blinks out. When Jennifer timidly approaches the TV set, Freddy’s head and clawed hands emerge from the device, snatching her while delivering an iconic one-liner: “This is it, Jennifer – your big break in TV!” Freddy turns his victims’ fears or aspirations – their dreams – against them. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dCVh4lBfW-c?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>‘Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.’</figcaption></figure> <h2>Creating a monster</h2> Craven has shared how the character of Krueger came to life in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1510985/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy</a>, an oral history of the series. He described a childhood experience of seeing a strange mumbling man walking past his childhood home. The man stopped, he said, and looked directly at him “with a sick sense of malice”. This deeply unsettling experience helped shape Freddy’s menacing presence. The character’s creation also emerged from the filmmaker’s interest in <a href="https://www.iflscience.com/nightmare-on-elm-street-was-inspired-by-a-real-life-medical-mystery-60527">numerous reports of Southeast Asian refugees dying in their sleep</a> after experiencing vivid nightmares. In the film, Krueger’s origin story reveals him as a child murderer who was apprehended but released due to a technicality in his arrest. Seeking justice, the parents of his victims take matters into their own hands, and form a vigilante mob. They corner him in his boiler room and burn him alive. But Freddy’s spirit survives to haunt and kill the children of his executioners. <h2>Cultural repression, expressed on film</h2> Film critic and essayist <a href="https://www.cineaste.com/summer2019/robin-wood-on-horror-film-collected-essays-and-reviews#:%7E:text=Freudian%20theory%2C%20a%20crucial%20theoretical,the%20horror%20film%20perpetually%20enacts.">Robin Wood argued</a> horror films often bring to the surface elements society has repressed. These fears, desires, or cultural taboos are not openly acknowledged. But movie monsters act as manifestations of what society suppresses, such as sexuality, violence or deviant behaviour. American academic <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01956051.1995.9943696">Gary Heba</a> argues Freddy is: <blockquote> an example of America’s political unconscious violently unleashed upon itself, manifesting everything that is unspeakable and repressed in the master narrative (perversion, child abuse and murder, vigilantism, the breakdown of rationality, order, and the family, among others), but still always present in the collective unconscious of the dominant culture. </blockquote> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UBrl4H0Uzng?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Actor Robert Englund calls Freddy Krueger ‘the gift that keeps on giving’.</figcaption></figure> <h2>The monster decades</h2> The 1970s and 1980s marked a golden era for the creation of horror film nasties like Krueger, Myers, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3">The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</a>’s Leatherface and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094862/?ref_=fn_al_tt_19">killer doll Chucky</a>. Since then, the landscape of horror has shifted, with fewer singular monsters emerging. The diversification of horror sub-genres (zombie virus horror, anyone?), the rise of psychological horror (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7784604/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_4_nm_2_in_0_q_heredi">Hereditary</a>), and an emphasis on human-driven terror (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416315/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_7_nm_0_in_0_q_wolf%2520creek">Wolf Creek</a>) or supernatural forces all contribute to this shift. While modern horror continues to thrive, few characters have achieved the same iconic status as Freddy – although some would argue Art the Clown from the recent <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4281724/">Terrifier</a> franchise and the reinvigorated Pennywise from <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396484/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_6_nm_1_in_0_q_it">IT</a> could join this exclusive group. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZuYoEtEI_go?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>‘Five, six, grab your crucifix.’ A 2010 Nightmare on Elm St reboot failed to fire.</figcaption></figure> <h2>Happy Halloween!</h2> Despite a <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179056/">failed reboot in 2010</a>, the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street is strong, having influenced numerous filmmakers with its skilful mix of surrealism and slasher horror. However, it’s the orchestrator of the titular nightmares whose legacy is perhaps the strongest. With each Halloween, new fans choose Freddy for their costume. All it takes is a tattered striped sweater, a brown fedora hat, and a glove with sharp, finger-lengthening blades. Don’t forget makeup to re-create Krueger’s grisly facial burns. Sweet dreams!<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/240905/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-daniel-301018">Adam Daniel</a>, Associate Lecturer in Communications, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a> Image credits: New Line Cinema - IMDB This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/freddy-krueger-at-40-the-ultimate-horror-movie-monster-and-halloween-costume-240905">original article</a>. </div>

Movies

Making art is a uniquely human act, and one that provides a wellspring of health benefits

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/girija-kaimal-1486183">Girija Kaimal</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/drexel-university-1074">Drexel University</a> When you think about the word “art,” what comes to mind? A child’s artwork pinned to the fridge? A favorite artist whose work always inspires? Abstract art that is hard to understand? Each of these assumes that making art is something that other people do, such as children or “those with talent.” However, as I explain in my book “<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-expressive-instinct-9780197646229?q=the%20expressive%20instinct&lang=en&cc=ca">The Expressive Instinct</a>,” art is intrinsic to human evolution and history. Just as sports or workouts exercise the body, creating art exercises the imagination and is essential to mental as well as physical well-being. I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=C8R2XOYAAAAJ&hl=en">professor of art therapy</a> who studies how creative self-expression affects physical and emotional health. In our clinical research studies, my colleagues and I are finding that any form of creative self-expression – including drawing, painting, fiber arts, woodworking or photography – can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08322473.2017.1375827">reduce stress</a>, improve mood and increase self-confidence. As a sickly child who needed to stay home from school a lot, I found that making art helped me cope. Today, creating art is my sanctuary. I use it as a sounding board to better understand myself and a way to recharge and learn from the challenges of life. <h2>The uniquely human attribute of creativity</h2> Although everyone has their own concept of what defines art, one thing is universally true: Creativity is a defining feature of the human species. How so? Well, human brains are not computers processing data. They are biological prediction machines that perceive the environment through memories and the senses, with the capacity to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2010.00025">use that information to imagine</a> plausible future scenarios. These inherent predictive and imaginative capacities are the wellspring of humanity’s abilities to survive and thrive – because self-expression is a safety valve that helps us cope with uncertainty. No one truly knows the future; they must live each day not sure of what will happen tomorrow. Art can help us all practice this imaginative muscle in a useful way. In our study examining brain activity while using virtual reality tools to create 3-D digital artwork, my team demonstrated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2021.1957341">creative expression is a natural state of being</a>. The brain naturally uses fewer cognitive resources to be expressive and creative, compared with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2021.1957341">brain power needed to do a rote task</a> that requires conscious effort. Seemingly ordinary everyday activities can provide opportunities to tap into one’s natural creativity and imagination: whipping up a meal from leftovers, figuring out an alternate route to work, dancing a little jig in response to hearing a song, or planting and tending a garden. We have repeatedly found in our studies that even a single session of real and honest self-expression can improve self-confidence and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735420912835">reduce feelings of stress</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2019.08.006">anxiety and burnout</a>. This is partly because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.05.004">creativity activates reward pathways</a> in the brain. Using our hands and bodies to express ourselves activates dopamine pathways and helps us feel good. Dopamine is a neural messenger that is associated with feeling a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ajpath.2015.09.023">sense of hope, accomplishment or reward</a>. Our brains are wired to secrete <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-experiencing-flow-feel-so-good-a-communication-scientist-explains-173505">feel-good hormones whenever we move</a>, create something or engage in any type of expressive activity. Tapping into the creative resources within is <a href="https://theconversation.com/drawing-making-music-and-writing-poetry-can-support-healing-and-bring-more-humanity-to-health-care-in-us-hospitals-204684">one of the most underrated seeds of well-being</a> in the world. By comparison, bottling up or <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-secrets-you-keep-are-hurting-you/">denying these feelings can cause distress</a>, anxiety and fear because we have not processed and expressed them. This is probably one of the reasons why every community around the world has its own creative and expressive practices. Even our ancestors in Indigenous communities all around the world intuitively knew that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2021.101879">self-expression was essential</a> to emotional health and social connection. Being unable to share our lives, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-secrets-you-keep-are-hurting-you/">keeping secrets</a> and feeling isolated and lonely tend <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.02.002">to worsen our health</a>. To our brains, social isolation feels like a chronic disease because it interprets this loneliness and inability to express as a threat to survival. Since creative expression can engage the senses, it can also be a body workout: a sensual as well as emotional and cognitive experience. Being active in expression – be it art, music, dance, drama, writing, culinary arts or working with nature – imparts a sense of confidence and hope that <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-expressive-instinct-9780197646229?q=the%20expressive%20instinct&lang=en&cc=ca">challenges can be navigated and overcome</a>. <h2>The role of art therapy</h2> Given the integral role of art in our lives, it makes sense that making art can help people manage transitions, adversity and trauma, such as the stresses of puberty, the death of a loved one or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2019.08.006">experiencing a serious illness</a>. According to a global study, 1 in 2 people will experience a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00193-1">mental-health-related challenge in their lifetime</a>, whether from life’s challenges, genetic predispositions or a combination of the two. This is where art therapy can come in. Art therapy is <a href="https://arttherapy.org/about-art-therapy/">a regulated mental health profession</a> in which clinical psychotherapists with extensive clinical training offer psychotherapy to patients with diagnosed mental health needs. The origins of art therapy go back to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021448">attempts to treat soldiers struggling with post-traumatic stress</a> during the 20th century’s two world wars. Today there is evidence that traumatic experiences tend to be stored as <a href="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7316-0473">sounds, images and physical sensations</a> in the brain. When someone <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.20825">lacks the words</a> to process these experiences through traditional talk therapy, art therapy can provide an indirect way to express and externalize those feelings and memories. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e-IiUcUVAwk?wmode=transparent&start=3" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>The process of making art can help people process feelings that they aren’t able to put into words.</figcaption></figure> One of art therapy’s unique strengths is that it provides nonverbal ways of communicating, processing and eventually managing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. In fact, in a recent study, my team has found that a personal history of trauma is related to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1337927">how people react to evocative images</a>. Images of distress and pain resonate with us when we have known similar kinds of distress ourselves. This implies that our life stories make us sensitized to distress in others and even personalize it more. Creative self-expression is especially relevant in coping with trauma because it provides an outlet through which a person <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735420912835">can regain a sense of agency</a> and control. <h2>How to bring creativity into daily life</h2> For those new to exploring art as a creative pursuit or for well-being reasons, engaging in creative activities begins with letting go of unrealistic expectations. Being creative isn’t about becoming a famous artist or even a mediocre one. It is about allowing ourselves to flex the creative muscle that we all have and enjoying all the sensory and emotional aspects of imagining. Next, think about activities that made you feel free to explore when you were a child. Did you like singing, playing in the outdoors, dancing, making up pretend plays, or writing little tales? Allow yourself to indulge in any and all of these creative pursuits that made you feel relaxed and joyful. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2021.101879">cultural tradition</a>, tinkering with electronics, making a gift for someone or simply paying attention to everyday beauty – any of these can be a creative activity. And just like any muscle, the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. Over time, you will notice yourself getting more confident and adventurous in your creative practices. Whatever it is, make time for this creative pursuit every week – which is possibly the hardest step of them all. If it seems “unimportant” compared with the demands of daily life, such as work or family, try thinking of it as another form of sustenance. Remember that creativity is just as critical to human health as <a href="https://theconversation.com/helping-children-eat-healthier-foods-may-begin-with-getting-parents-to-do-the-same-research-suggests-225157">eating nutritious meals</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/yoga-modern-research-shows-a-variety-of-benefits-to-both-body-and-mind-from-the-ancient-practice-197662">getting exercise</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-best-diet-for-healthy-sleep-a-nutritional-epidemiologist-explains-what-food-choices-will-help-you-get-more-restful-zs-219955">good rest</a>. So as the Latin saying goes: “Plene vivere.” Live fully. <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/girija-kaimal-1486183">Girija Kaimal</a>, Professor of Art Therapy Research, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/drexel-university-1074">Drexel University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/making-art-is-a-uniquely-human-act-and-one-that-provides-a-wellspring-of-health-benefits-219091">original article</a>.

Mind

200-year-old message in a bottle unearthed

In a discovery that has the archaeology world buzzing (and possibly rolling its ancient eyes), a team of student volunteers in northern France has unearthed something rather unexpected during their dig at a Gaulish village. While they were hoping for the usual – ancient pottery shards, perhaps a coin or two – they instead stumbled upon what can only be described as the 19th-century equivalent of a DM in a bottle. The scene played out like a low-budget historical drama: volunteers painstakingly sifting through centuries-old dirt on the cliff-tops near Dieppe when, voilà! They found an earthenware pot containing a small glass vial, like something you might see in a vintage pharmacy, but with fewer essential oils and more existential surprises. Guillaume Blondel, the team leader and head of the archaeological service for the nearby town of Eu, was immediately intrigued. “It was the kind of vial that women used to wear around their necks containing smelling salts,” he explained, before casually dropping the bombshell: inside the vial was a note. Cue dramatic music. After what we can only assume was a long, suspenseful pause, Blondel and his team opened the note, which turned out to be written by none other than P.J. Féret, a 19th-century intellectual who clearly had a flair for both excavation and theatrics. The note, written with all the panache of a man who had just unearthed Caesar’s salad fork, read: "P.J. Féret, a native of Dieppe, member of various intellectual societies, carried out excavations here in January 1825. He continues his investigations in this vast area known as the Cité de Limes or Caesar’s Camp." Naturally, Blondel was floored. “It was an absolutely magic moment,” he said, no doubt imagining Féret winking at him from the beyond. “We knew there had been excavations here in the past, but to find this message from 200 years ago? It was a total surprise.” Local records confirm that P.J. Féret was indeed the real deal. He wasn’t just a dabbler in dirt – he was a notable dabbler in dirt who had conducted an earlier dig at the site in 1825. In a stroke of irony not lost on Blondel, he mused, “Most archaeologists prefer to think that there won’t be anyone coming after them because they’ve done all the work.” Féret, however, clearly believed in leaving a trail of breadcrumbs – or, in this case, a literal note in a bottle, just to remind future archaeologists that he got there first. Féret: 1, Modern Archaeology: 0. Of course, this whole affair raises some important questions: Did Féret expect someone to find this? Did he laugh to himself as he buried it, imagining Blondel’s reaction? Did Féret know how cliff erosion would eventually turn his humble Gaulish village into a treasure trove for future archaeologists? Or was he simply trolling them from the past? Whatever the case, Féret’s note may not have contained ancient secrets, but it certainly delivered some 19th-century sass. And if we’ve learned anything from this dig, it’s this: archaeology isn’t just about discovering the past – it’s also about being occasionally roasted by it. As Blondel and his team continue their emergency dig (which was ordered due to cliff erosion eating away at the site like a bad buffet), they’ve already uncovered a number of artefacts, mostly pottery, from around 2,000 years ago. But will any of them have the audacity to leave a note for the archaeologists of 2225? We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, Féret is probably laughing somewhere in the afterlife, shaking his head and muttering, “Amateurs”. Images: Guillaume Blondel / Facebook

International Travel

Woman “bullied” on plane over budget seating trick

A young woman has recalled a flight from hell when she was “bullied” by a couple who were trying to utilise a seating hack that went viral on TikTok. The solo traveller took to Reddit to recount the story and ask social media users if she was in the wrong for her action. The woman began by saying she usually pays more to select her plane seat ahead of time, but a medical emergency on another plane had her waiting on standby and left with no option other than to sit in a middle seat. When she was finally able to board, she was greeted by a couple who had purchased both the window and aisle seats in a bid to have more space, utilising a travel “trick” that has been popular on TikTok. The method, which has been dubbed the 'poor man's business class', usually leaves travellers with an empty middle seat and more space, and few travellers opt to pick a middle seat. “When I got to my row the man and woman were chatting and sharing a snack... it was obvious they were together. I mentioned to the man that I'm in the middle, and he got up to let me in,” the unsuspecting traveller wrote on Reddit. “I asked them if they would prefer to sit together, I said I was totally okay with that. The woman reacted rudely to this and said ‘you're not supposed to be sitting here anyway’.” After noticing how the plane was full, she offered to show the pair her new ticket with the correct seat number on it. “She flicked her hand at my ticket and made a disgusted sound. I offered again if they wanted to sit together to which she didn't reply, her partner said it's okay and... made some small talk,” she continued. The man’s girlfriend then interrupted their conversation to ask,”'Did you use one of those third party websites to book your flight? It's so frustrating when people cheap out to inconvenience others.” The American woman explained that she had booked her flight directly and she had been placed on standby like everyone else and didn't choose the middle seat - she was assigned it. She then tried to keep the peace by refusing to engage with the furious woman. “I was so done with her attitude, I put my headphones on and attempted to do my own thing,” she explained. But the “entitled” girlfriend wasn't letting it go, as the woman explained, “This woman kept reaching over me and tapping her partner and trying to talk to him in a way that was super intrusive.” “I could tell even her partner was trying to engage her less so that she would hopefully stop, but she didn't.” “I think they tried to pull that tactic where they don't sit together on purpose...hoping no one will sit between them. But on full flights it doesn't work. And even so - it's not the other person's fault.” The traveller's post was met with hundreds of comments slamming the girlfriend’s behaviour, as one person wrote, “It's like a toddler having a tantrum.” “She was disappointed and a total a**hole. Gross entitled people,” another added. Another person applauded the traveller’s level-headed behaviour, writing, “Wow! You are my hero for keeping it classy - I’m afraid I would not have been as kind as you.” Image credits: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

It may be macabre, but dark tourism helps us learn from the worst of human history

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dr-neil-robinson-1312179">Dr Neil Robinson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-salford-878">University of Salford</a> Dark tourism has become a much more well-covered pasttime in recent years, in which a macabre fascination lead tourists to travel to various places not served by Thomas Cook: the sites of battles and genocides, war cemeteries, prisons, and even <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/the-rise-of-dark-tourism/374432/">current warzones such as Syria</a>. The 20th century alone has provided such a <a href="http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/location/10-great-places-to-visit-for-dark-tourism/">long list of places</a> at which catastrophes or great loss of life and suffering has occurred. Sites visited range from the spot from which JFK was assassinated, to prisons such as Alcatraz in San Francisco, through to battlefields of the World Wars, or the vestiges of genocides such at Auschwitz in Poland or Tuol Sleng in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but we shouldn’t condemn those for whom this is an interest. Dark tourism appears to be a manifestation of our media-rich society through which information found online may persuade us to see historical sites in person. But its origins can be traced back much further than the fascination with death and disasters of the 19th and 20th century. In the 11th century, people and pilgrims often visited places with religious significance such as Jerusalem, where the location of Christ’s crucifixion is a popular attraction; tourists visited Gettysburg, the site of the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War in 1863; and in more recent centuries, the Grand Tour offered an opportunity for the wealthy to experience Europe, with sites such as the classical ruins of the Colosseum in Rome – which in the name of entertainment saw execution, torture and death – one of the must-see attractions. Today, in parallel with the growth in popularity of dark tourism is the enormous growth of social media and the 24-hour news economy. The ease of access to such blanket coverage through the web, Facebook and Twitter has increased people’s awareness of, and fascination for, these historical sites of war, conflict and catastrophe. For example, the last decade has brought a surge in visitor numbers to <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-fiction-to-gallows-humour-how-chernobyl-survivors-are-still-coping-with-trauma-57923">Chernobyl</a>, where guides take visitors around the abandoned city of Pripyat (radiation levels permitting) which has been deserted since the nuclear power plant explosion on April 26, 1986. The 30th anniversary this year has in itself <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3526271/Chernobyl-tourists-pose-photos-eerie-sites.html">added to interest in visiting</a> the overgrown and crumbling city. As with tourism of any kind, this greater footfall brings benefits. In this case, not just the economic boost but also as a tool of education and even conflict resolution. For example, the <a href="http://www.belfasttours.com/package/belfast-political-mural-tour">taxi tours of Belfast’s murals</a>, which document Northern Ireland’s Troubles, offer visitors a way to understand the history and provide the communities involved a means to reflect and move on from the conflict. This model is <a href="http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=25852">viewed with interest</a> and hope by moderates on both sides of the Arab-Israeli divide searching for a peaceful solution for the long term. The tours of <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/916">Robin Island prison</a> in South Africa, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years incarcerated among many others, starkly present how those imprisoned by a corrupt and discriminatory political regime can later engage in peace and reconciliation. The <a href="http://www.bruisedpassports.com/africa/5-reasons-you-must-go-for-a-township-tour-in-south-africa">Soweto township tours</a> in Johannesburg have acted in part as a means through which generations of South Africans can better understand their country’s dark past and help to establish truth and reconciliation for the future. Dark tourism should not in my opinion by viewed as unethical, repugnant or even a self-indulgent activity. Certainly some dark tourists may engage in their pursuits for all the wrong reasons, seeing death and destruction as a commodity to be consumed with little thought for those who caught up in its wake. But others visit such sites to pay their respects, to better understand the magnitude of death and destruction, and to inform the outside world of the details of terrible events – even in some case offering to help. These are positive effects that may come from so much pain and suffering. We should strive to better understand the origins of the terrible events of human history to be more able to prevent us repeating them. In this regard, that more people visit sites associated with dark tourism and learn about them should be seen as a positive.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60966/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dr-neil-robinson-1312179">Dr Neil Robinson</a>, Lecturer in Business, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-salford-878">University of Salford</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/it-may-be-macabre-but-dark-tourism-helps-us-learn-from-the-worst-of-human-history-60966">original article</a>.

Travel Trouble

Still fab after 60 years: how The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night made pop cinema history

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-blair-223267">Alison Blair</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> I first saw A Hard Day’s Night at a film festival over 20 years ago, at the insistence of my mum. By then, it was already decades old, but I remember being enthralled by its high-spirited energy. A Beatles fan, mum had introduced me to the band’s records in my childhood. At home, we listened to Please Please Me, the band’s 1963 single, and the Rubber Soul album from 1965, which I loved. Television regularly showed old black-and-white scenes of Beatlemania that, to a ten-year-old in the neon-lit 1980s, seemed like ancient history. But then, I’d never seen a full-length Beatles film. I had no idea what I was in for. When the lights went down at Dunedin’s Regent Theatre, the opening chord of the film’s title song announced its intentions: an explosion of youthful vitality, rhythmic visuals, comical high jinks and the electrifying thrill of Beatlemania in 1964. This time, it didn’t seem ancient at all. Since that first viewing, I’ve returned to A Hard Day’s Night again and again. I now show it to my students as a historically significant example of pop music film making – visually inventive cinema, emblematic of a fresh era in youth culture, popular music and fandom. <h2>Beatlemania on celluloid</h2> A musical comedy depicting a chaotic 36 hours in the life of the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night has now reached its 60th anniversary. Directed by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0504513/">Richard Lester</a>, the film premiered in London on July 6 1964, with its first public screening a day later (incidentally, also Ringo Starr’s birthday), and the <a href="https://www.discogs.com/master/24003-The-Beatles-A-Hard-Days-Night">album of the same name</a> released on July 10. The band’s popularity was by then reaching dizzying heights of hysteria, all reflected in the film. The Beatles are chased by hordes of fans, take a train trip, appear on TV, run from the police in a Keystone Cops-style sequence, and play a televised concert in front of screaming real-life Beatles fans. Side one of the album provides the soundtrack, and the film inspired pop music film and video from then on, from the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060010/">Monkees TV series</a> (1966–68) to the Spice Girls’ <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120185/">Spice World</a> (1997) and music videos as we know them today. <h2>The original music video</h2> Postwar teen culture and consumerism had been on the rise since the 1950s. In 1960s Britain, youth music TV programmes, notably <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196287/">Ready Steady Go!</a> (1963–66), meant pop music now had a developing visual culture. The youthful zest and vitality of ‘60s London was reflected in the pop-cultural sensibility, modern satirical humour and crisp visual impact of A Hard Day’s Night. Influenced by <a href="https://nofilmschool.com/french-new-wave-cinema">French New Wave</a> film making, and particularly the early 1960s work of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000419/">Jean-Luc Godard</a>, A Hard Day’s Night employs <a href="https://indiefilmhustle.com/cinema-verite/">cinéma vérité</a>-style hand-held cinematography, brisk jump cuts, unusual framing and dynamic angles, high-spirited action, and a self-referential nonchalance. The film also breaks the “fourth wall”, with characters directly addressing the audience in closeup, and reveals the apparatus of the visual performance of music: cameras and TV monitors are all part of the frame. Cutting the shots to the beat of the music – as in the Can’t Buy Me Love sequence – lends a visual rhythm that would later become the norm in music video editing. Lester developed this technique further in the second Beatles film, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059260/">Help!</a> (1965). The closing sequence of A Hard Day’s Night is possibly the film’s most dynamic: photographic images of the band edited to the beat in the style of stop-motion animation. Sixty years on, it still feels fresh, especially as so much contemporary film making remains hidebound by formulaic Hollywood rules. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A Hard Day's Night movie poster" /><figcaption>A new pop aesthetic: original film poster for A Hard Day’s Night. Getty Images</figcaption></figure> <h2>Slapstick and class awareness</h2> As with much popular culture from the past, the humour in A Hard Day’s Night doesn’t always doesn’t land the way it would have in 1964. And yet, there are moments that seem surprisingly modern in their razor-sharp irony. In particular, the band’s Liverpudlian working-class-lad jibes and chaotic energy contrast brilliantly with the film’s upper-class characters. Actor Victor Spinetti’s comically over-anxious TV director, constantly hand-wringing over the boys’ rebelliousness, underscores the era-defining change the Beatles represented. Corporate pop-culture consumerism is also satirised. John Lennon “snorts” from a Coca-Cola bottle, a moment so knowingly silly it registers as more contemporary than it really is. George Harrison deflects a journalist’s banal questions with scathingly witty answers, and cuts a fashion company down to size by describing their shirt designs as “grotesque”. And there is Paul McCartney’s running joke that his grandfather – played by Wilfred Brambell from groundbreaking sitcom <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057785/">Steptoe and Son</a> (1962–74) – is “very clean”. Even the film’s old-fashioned visual slapstick still holds up in 2024. Showing the film to this year’s students, I didn’t expect quite as much laughter when Ringo’s attempts to be chivalrous result in a fall-down-a-hole mishap. In 2022, the <a href="https://www.criterion.com/">Criterion Collection</a> released a high-resolution restoration of the film, so today A Hard Day’s Night can be seen in all its fresh, black-and-white, youthful vigour. Happy 60th, A Hard Day’s Night. And happy 84th, Ringo. Both still as lively and energetic as ever.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/228598/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-blair-223267">Alison Blair</a>, Teaching Fellow in Music, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> Image credits: THA/Shutterstock Editorial This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/still-fab-after-60-years-how-the-beatles-a-hard-days-night-made-pop-cinema-history-228598">original article</a>. </div>

Movies

$10,000 reasons to become a Hire A Hubby franchisee

For more than 25 years, Hire A Hubby has been a cornerstone of excellence in the property maintenance industry. From humble beginnings, where franchisees were solo operators handling small repairs, we’ve grown to an expansive network of 50 franchisees, big and small, right across New Zealand. These franchisees are now managing larger operations with skilled teams, delivering top-notch services to enhance and protect the most valued assets – our customers' properties. And now more than ever, we are looking for ways to help you help yourself. With two very special Hire A Hubby offers that will give you the incentive you’ve been waiting for to make that life-changing decision and take the first step towards an exciting and profitable future. But first a little background… <h2>Choosing your path to prosperity</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2024/07/Brett-and-Ged_O60.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> From the moment you start your Hire A Hubby business journey, right through to eventually selling it for a profit, Hire A Hubby is dedicated to supporting its franchisees every step of the way. But that first all-important step involves selecting the distinct business model that best suits your goals and lifestyle ambitions: Option 1 – Man in a Van: Perfect for individuals who prefer working independently, managing jobs from start to finish on smaller projects. Option 2 – Enterprise: Ideal for couples or partnerships aiming to scale their business by managing a team and taking on larger projects. Option 3 – Big Business: Designed for ambitious entrepreneurs looking to own multiple territories, manage teams and handle both commercial and residential projects. You just need to ask yourself: Are you practical, hands-on and have a passion for home improvement? Then Hire A Hubby could be your pathway not just to financial independence but immense personal satisfaction as well. Hire A Hubby franchisees come from diverse backgrounds, from laidback surfers to steely-eyed future tycoons, but without exception they share a common goal: to create successful businesses that support their dream lifestyles. And make no mistake, with the Hire A Hubby support network in place, they do not do it alone. Just ask Tony Veale, a Hire A Hubby Big Business Owner from Te Awamutu: “It's great to be involved in Hire A Hubby as a franchise owner,” says Tony. “As we are part of a team and we can always ask each other to gain advice on tricky jobs we encounter in our everyday work life.” Or Rob Daniels, a Hire A Hubby Man in a Van from Whangaparaoa: “It’s a friendly team that makes you feel part of the family from day one,” explains Rob. “There is a lot of business support and guidance from the Head Office and other Hubbies around the area, who are always happy to give advice and help where needed, which makes running a business easier than if I had gone out on my own.” <h2>Comprehensive training and support</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2024/07/Brett-and-Ged_2_O60.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The extensive Hire A Hubby training program covers everything from setting up your business to attracting and retaining customers. You’ll learn how to price, quote, invoice, manage finances and even conduct local marketing. Plus, ongoing education will help keep you updated on industry trends and best practices. As well as leveraging the strength of the Hire A Hubby brand, which is renowned throughout New Zealand for its high-quality service, you’ll also benefit from national marketing campaigns and strong digital assets to promote your business year-round. You’ll also reap the benefits of unlimited support from a dedicated business advisor – prestigious winner of the Westpac New Zealand Field Manager of the Year Award in 2022 – who will assist with franchise development, marketing, financial management and continuous training, ensuring your business thrives. <h2>Celebrating Hubby excellence</h2> Hire A Hubby’s commitment to excellence is reflected in our culture and our awards. We celebrate our franchisees' considerable achievements with an annual awards evening and national competitions. Notably, Craig Burrowes from Auckland won the Westpac New Zealand Supreme Franchisee of the Year Award in 2023, and says he’ll not soon forget that crowning moment. “I can’t believe the energy that was in the room,” he recalls of the evening. “There were hundreds of people there, all so enthused about the business they are in, all so vested in their business and their brand … It was incredible – and then it got even better. We won! It was a bit of a shock, we were stunned and humbled.” But the final word goes to Hire A Hubby franchisee and Man in a Van Shaun Williams from Tauranga: “I’m extremely proud to be part of the Hire A Hubby family,” says Shaun. “Knowing that you have them supporting you is really morale boosting. There is a comfort level being part of an established brand, and I’ve been able to strike the right balance between running my business and spending time with my family.” <h2>Helping you get the start you need</h2> And now, without further ado, here are the two life-changing offers that could set you on your way to a new career. Offer 1: If you are interested in becoming our next Hire a Hubby Business owner and becoming part of a successful team of franchisees, we have a special offer of $5,000 toward the cost of the equipment and training package. Simply use Reference Code HAH1 to redeem this offer. Offer 2: If you have a friend, family member or colleague that you just know would make a great Hire A Hubby business owner, we are offering a $5,000 referral bonus if you refer someone and their application is successful! Simply use Reference Code HAH2 to redeem this offer. That’s how committed we are to seeing Hire A Hubby continue to grow throughout New Zealand, and to continue building successful, proactive, community-minded businesses that help you achieve your lifestyle dreams. For more information about becoming a Hire A Hubby business owner and the support we offer, please visit <a href="https://www.hireahubby.co.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hire A Hubby.co.nz</a> or contact our franchise sales team via email on <a href="mailto:Sales@hireahubby.co.nz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sales@hireahubby.co.nz</a> or call 0800 485 042. All images: Hire A Hubby This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with Hire A Hubby.

Money & Banking

Incredible treasure trove of unseen royal images

In a mesmerising blend of history and artistry, Buckingham Palace's newly christened King's Gallery has unveiled a captivating journey through time and royalty with the debut of "Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography". Opening its on May 17, this groundbreaking exhibition delves into the illustrious lineage of the Royal Family through more than 150 carefully curated portraits – some never before seen by the public eye. A highlight among these treasures is a poignant snapshot capturing a rare familial moment: Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra, and The Duchess of Kent cradling their newborns. Lord Snowdon, Princess Margaret's husband, immortalised this touching scene as a token of gratitude to Sir John Peel, the esteemed royal obstetrician responsible for delivering all four babies within a mere two-month span. In this heartfelt image, Queen Elizabeth II tenderly holds Prince Edward, her youngest offspring, while Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra and The Duchess of Kent embrace their own bundles of joy. Accompanying this snapshot is a handwritten letter penned by Princess Margaret to her sister, affectionately addressed as "Darling Lilibet", requesting a signature on a print destined as a cherished memento for the esteemed doctor. The exhibition transcends mere family portraits, delving deep into the evolution of royal portraiture over the past century. Visitors are treated to a visual feast of iconic images captured by renowned photographers, including Dorothy Wilding, Annie Leibovitz, David Bailey and Rankin. Notably, the legendary Cecil Beaton's immortalisation of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation remains a cornerstone of the collection, offering a timeless glimpse into history. The exhibition also pays homage to the enduring allure of Princess Anne through her striking appearances on Vogue covers and a celebrated coming-of-age portrait by Norman Parkinson, commemorating her 21st birthday. From the timeless elegance of Princess Anne to the radiant charm of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the spirited grace of Zara Tindall, the exhibition showcases a diverse tapestry of royal personalities spanning generations. Yet, it is not merely the portraits themselves that captivate visitors, but the untold stories and intimate moments woven into each frame. Delving into the depths of royal history, the exhibition reveals unseen wartime images by Cecil Beaton, illustrating King George VI and Queen Elizabeth's unwavering resolve amidst the chaos of conflict. As visitors explore the gallery, they are guided by a free multimedia experience narrated by Dame Joanna Lumley, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the artistry and craftsmanship behind these timeless portraits. From Hugo Burnand's vivid recollections of photographing the royal coronation to the candid insights of royal photographers such as Rankin and John Swannell, the multimedia guide adds depth and dimension to the exhibition, inviting visitors to immerse themselves fully in the rich tapestry of royal history. "Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography" is not merely an exhibition; it is a testament to the enduring legacy of the British monarchy, captured through the lens of some of the most esteemed photographers of our time. From the grandeur of coronations to the tender embrace of a mother cradling her newborn, each portrait tells a story – a story of tradition, resilience and the timeless allure of royalty. Images: Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2024.

Art

Elephant tourism often involves cruelty – here are steps toward more humane, animal-friendly excursions

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michelle-szydlowski-1495781">Michelle Szydlowski</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/miami-university-1934">Miami University</a> Suju Kali is a 50-year-old elephant in Nepal who has been carrying tourists for over 30 years. Like many elephants I encounter through my <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2022.2028628">research</a>, Suju Kali exhibits anxiety and can be aggressive toward strangers. She suffers from emotional trauma as a result of prolonged, commercial human contact. Like Suju Kali, many animals are trapped within the tourism industry. Some venues have no oversight and little concern for animal or tourist safety. Between 120,000 and 340,000 animals are used globally in a variety of wildlife tourism attractions, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138939">endangered species</a> like elephants. Over a quarter of the world’s <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/7140/45818198">endangered elephants</a> reside in captivity with little oversight. Wildlife tourism – which involves viewing wildlife such as primates or birds in conservation areas, feeding or touching captive or “rehabilitated” wildlife in facilities, and bathing or riding animals like elephants – is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2022.2156523">tricky business</a>. I know this because I am <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YbweA2MAAAAJ&hl=en">a researcher studying human relationships with elephants</a> in both tourism and conservation settings within Southeast Asia. These types of experiences have long been an <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/money/2021/06/17/tourism-is-nepal-s-fourth-largest-industry-by-employment-study">extremely popular and profitable</a> part of the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1002074">tourism market</a>. But now, many travel-related organizations are urging people not to participate in, or <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2018/04/27/animal-welfare-travelers-how-enjoy-wildlife-without-harming/544938002/">calling for an outright ban on, interactive wildlife experiences</a>. Tourism vendors have started marketing more “ethical options” for consumers. Some are attempting to truly improve the health and welfare of wildlife, and some are transitioning captive wildlife into touch-free, non-riding or lower-stress environments. In other places, organizations are attempting to <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/es/c/b2c5dad0-b9b9-5a3d-a720-20bf3b9f0dc2/">implement standards of care</a> or create manuals that outline good practices for animal husbandry. This marketing, academics argue, is often simply “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2017.11.007">greenwashing</a>,” <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2023.2280704">applying marketing labels to make consumers feel better</a> about their choices without making any real changes. Worse, research shows that some programs marketing themselves as ethical tourism may instead be widening economic gaps and harming both humans and other species that they are meant to protect. <h2>No quick fix</h2> For example, rather than tourist dollars trickling down to local struggling families as intended by local governments, many tourism venues are owned by nonresidents, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/japfcsc.v2i1.26746">meaning the profits do not stay in the area</a>. Likewise, only a small number of residents can afford to own tourism venues, and venues do not provide employment for locals from lower income groups. This economic gap is especially obvious in Nepalese elephant stables: Venue owners continue to make money off elephants, while elephant caregivers continue to work 17 hours a day for about US$21 a month; tourists are led to believe they are “<a href="https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/book/10.1079/9781800624498.0000">promoting sustainability</a>.” Yet, there are no easy answers, especially for elephants working in tourism. Moving them to sanctuaries is difficult because with no governmental or global welfare oversight, elephants may end up in worse conditions. Many kindhearted souls who want to “help” elephants know little about their biology and mental health needs, or what it takes to keep them healthy. Also, feeding large animals like Suju Kali is pricey, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14010171">costing around $19,000 yearly</a>. So without profits from riding or other income, owners – or would-be rescuers – can’t maintain elephants. Releasing captive elephants to the jungle is not a choice – many have never learned to live in the wild, so they cannot survive on their own. <h2>Hurting local people</h2> Part of the problem lies with governments, as many have marketed tourism as a way to fund conservation projects. For example in Nepal, a percentage of ticket sales from elephant rides are given to community groups to use for forest preservation and support for local families. Increasing demand for <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Tourism-and-Animal-Ethics/Fennell/p/book/9781032431826">wildlife-based tourism</a> may increase traffic in the area and thus put pressure on local governments to further limit local people’s access to forest resources. This may also lead to <a href="https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/latest/news/un-world-tourism-organisation-urged-create-better-future-animals/">increased demands on local communities</a>, as was the case in Nepal. In the 1970s, the Nepalese government removed local people from their lands in what is now Chitwan National Park as part of increasing “conservation efforts” and changed the protected area’s boundaries. Indigenous “Tharu,” or people of the forest, were forced to abandon their villages and land. While some were offered access to “buffer zones” in the 1990s, many remain poor and landless today. In addition, more and more desirable land surrounding conservation areas in Nepal is being developed for tourist-based businesses such as hotels, restaurants and shops, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/japfcsc.v2i1.26746">pushing local poor people farther away</a> from central village areas and the associated tourism income. Some activists would like humans to simply release all wildlife back into the wild, but <a href="https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/book/10.1079/9781800624498.0000">there are multiple issues</a> with that. Elephant habitats throughout Southeast Asia have been transformed into croplands, cities or train tracks for human use. Other problems arise from the fact that tourism elephants have <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315457413">never learned</a> how to be elephants in their natural elements, as they were <a href="https://www.pugetsound.edu/sites/default/files/file/8342_Journal%20of%20Tourism%20%282009%29_0.pdf">separated from their herds</a> at an early age. So tourism may be vital to providing food, care and shelter to captive elephants for the rest of their lives and providing jobs for those who really need them. Because elephants can live beyond 60 years, this can be a large commitment. <h2>How to be an ethical tourist</h2> To protect elephants, tourists should check out reviews and photos from any venue they want to visit, and look for clues that animal welfare might be impacted, such as tourists allowed to feed, hold or ride captive wildlife animals. Look for healthy animals, which means doing research on what “healthy” animals of that species should look like. If a venue lists no-touch demonstrations – “unnatural” behaviors that don’t mimic what an elephant might do of their own accord, such as sitting on a ball or riding a bike, or other performances – remember that the behind-the-scenes training used to achieve these behaviors can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.21832/9781845415051-014">violent, traumatic or coercive</a>. Another way to help people and elephant is to to use small, local companies to book your adventures in your area of interest, rather than paying large, international tourism agencies. Look for locally owned hotels, and wait to book excursions until you arrive so you can use local service providers. Book homestay programs and attend cultural events led by community members; talk to tourists and locals you meet in the target town to get their opinions, and use local guides who provide wildlife viewing opportunities <a href="https://nepaldynamicecotours.com/">while maintaining distance from animals</a>. Or tourists can ask to visit <a href="https://www.americanhumane.org/press-release/global-humane-launches-humane-tourism-certification-program/">venues that are certified</a> by international humane animal organizations and that <a href="https://www.su4e.org/">do not allow contact</a> with wildlife. Or they can opt for guided hikes, canoe or kayak experiences, and other environmentally friendly options. While these suggestions will not guarantee that your excursion is animal-friendly, they will help decrease your impact on wildlife, support local families and encourage venues to stop using elephants as entertainment. Those are good first steps.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219792/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michelle-szydlowski-1495781">Michelle Szydlowski</a>, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Project Dragonfly, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/miami-university-1934">Miami University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/elephant-tourism-often-involves-cruelty-here-are-steps-toward-more-humane-animal-friendly-excursions-219792">original article</a>.

Travel Tips

How to turn your handy skills into material wealth

If you’re looking for an opportunity to be your own boss, minus all of the uncertainties that come with starting a business from scratch, a <a href="https://www.hireahubby.co.nz/franchise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hire A Hubby franchise</a> offers the perfect chance for you to take charge of your time, your future, and do what you love while building a successful business. This is no flash-in-the-pan start-up venture either; with more than 25 years of experience, the recognition and solid reputation already cemented by Hire A Hubby provide a valuable head start, making it far easier for you to connect with clients and build lasting relationships in your local community and beyond. Combining a proven business model refined and perfected over the years with all of the experience and insights of a solid Franchise Support Team, the risks commonly associated with entrepreneurship are virtually eliminated. Not only will you be stepping into a well-established brand that has earned the trust of customers nationwide, you’ll also be saying goodbye to the daily grind and hello to work-life harmony. One of the standout features of a Hire A Hubby franchise is the diverse range of services it offers. From general maintenance to renovations and repairs, franchisees have the opportunity to cater to a wide spectrum of customer needs. This versatility means you will not only attract a broader clientele, but also ensures a steady stream of business throughout the year, contributing to your long-term success. With New Zealand's property market experiencing a strong, continuous upward trend, there’s an equally strong demand for home maintenance and improvement services. What better way to position yourself to capitalise on this expanding market than with a Hire A Hubby franchise? As homeowners and businesses continue to place property upkeep front and centre, you’ll find yourself in a lucrative position to meet those needs – while contributing to the overall well-being of your community. And there’s no need to go it alone. Since success in any venture is most often the result of proper guidance and support, you’ll also benefit from Hire A Hubby’s comprehensive training programs, designed to equip you with all the necessary skills and knowledge to run a successful business. Backed by ongoing help from the Franchise Support Team, you’ll be able to stay well ahead of any industry trends and challenges standing in the way of success. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uNvVOK5UgPk?si=rbZkgdrP5fzmZ1m4" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe> But how best to get your name out there? Hire A Hubby understands all too well that visibility is key in any competitive marketplace. That’s why you’ll be able to tap into the collective strength of a national advertising and marketing campaign to not only boosts local visibility, but do wonders for your credibility at the same time, leading to new customers, new experiences and even greater success. The flexibility that comes with owning a Hire A Hubby franchise can’t help but add a serious dose of satisfaction to your lifestyle. You're not just running a business; you're crafting a life that allows you to balance work and play. That freedom to set your schedule means more time for the things you love. Speaking of which – as the proud owner of a Hire A Hubby franchise, you're not just fixing homes; you're also spreading joy one repair at a time. Whether it's a leaky roof or a wonky shelf, your expertise becomes a beacon of happiness for your clients. Imagine the pleasure of seeing a problem solved and the smiles on your customers' faces? These are priceless rewards that we all know come with the handyman territory. In the world of Hire A Hubby, happy customers aren’t just a metric; they are the real currency of success. That’s because satisfied clients are not just repeat clients; they are ambassadors for your brand, sharing their positive experiences and spreading the joy of your services. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-13682" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2024/01/HireAHubby01_060.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Owning and running a Hire A Hubby franchise means building a community of satisfied customers who appreciate not just your skills but the positive energy you bring to their homes. In the end, Hire A Hubby isn't just a brand; it's a positive force in the world of home maintenance and improvement. Becoming a part of that means contributing to a brand that is known for its reliability, professionalism and, most importantly, its ability to bring smiles to the faces of homeowners across New Zealand. So put on that tool belt, square your shoulders and get ready to join The Everything Experts! For more information on how to transform your handy skills into easy material wealth, head to <a href="https://www.hireahubby.co.nz/franchise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.hireahubby.co.nz/franchise</a> Images: Supplied. This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with Hire A Hubby.

Home & Garden

7 things you never knew about MAS*H

Did you know M*A*S*H ran more than three times longer than the actual Korean War? It may have graced our screens for 11 years, but you might not know all there is to know about the classic TV series, M*A*S*H. <ol> <li>No one wanted a laugh track – Despite pleas from the show’s producers, the network (CBS) went ahead and added in canned laughter. You might have noticed the laugh track growing quieter and quieter as the years progressed, and in the UK, the laugh track was removed entirely.</li> <li>CBS banned an “unpatriotic” episode – An idea for an episode was shot down by the network for being “unpatriotic”. It involved soldiers standing outside in the freezing cold to make themselves sick enough to be sent home – a tactic actually used during the war.</li> <li>The writers got back at complaining cast members – If ever an actor complained about their script (or asked for changes), the writing team would change the script to make it “parka weather”, making the cast swelter in jackets through days in excess of 32°C on their Florida film set.</li> <li>Patients were named after sports teams – After running out of names for patients visiting the hospital, the writers turned to baseball teams. In season six, four Marines are named after California Angels infielders, while in season seven, they named patients after the 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers.</li> <li>M*A*S*H hosted some big-name stars – Guest appearances on the show include Ron Howard, Leslie Nielsen, Patrick Swayze, Laurence Fishburne and Rita Wilson.</li> <li>The series finale broke records – The two-and-a-half-hour 1983 series finale, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” was watched by a staggering 121.6 million people in the US alone – back then, that was 77 per cent of households with TV sets. It remains the most-watched episode of a TV show in US history.</li> <li>The time capsule didn’t stay buried long – In the series’ second-last episode, the M*A*S*H gang bury a time capsule. When the show wrapped up, the land used as the show’s set was sold, and a construction worker found the capsule just months later. After getting in contact with Alan Alda to return it, Alda told the worker he could keep it.</li> </ol> Image credits: Getty Images

Little House on the Prairie star passes away

Hersha Parady, renowned for her role in Little House on the Prairie, has passed away at the age of 78. According to a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter by her son, Jonathan Peverall, Parady passed away at her residence in Norfolk, Virginia on Wednesday August 23. Her son had been actively seeking financial assistance before her demise, as Parady had been diagnosed with meningioma, a prevalent type of brain tumour. Peverall initiated a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-hersha" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe campaign</a> with the intention of aiding his mother's escalating medical expenses. In a heartfelt plea on the fundraising page, he recounted how the illness had depleted her vitality, memory and vibrant demeanour, rendering her predominantly bedridden and struggling with day-to-day tasks. Relocating his mother to his own home, Peverall worked diligently to ensure she received the necessary medical attention. He emphasised that the associated costs extended beyond medical procedures, encompassing aspects such as moving expenditures, at-home nursing care and medical equipment. "While we contemplate a surgery to potentially ameliorate her condition, the path to recovery is an arduous one," he stated, acknowledging the substantial financial burden posed by these circumstances. Balancing a full-time job and caring for his three children added to the challenge, yet he reassured that they were providing the best care they could, regardless of external contributions. "Rest assured, we are taking care of her to the best of our ability, and we will continue to do so, regardless of any contributions made here," Peverall wrote. "This GoFundMe is about improving my Mom’s quality of life and giving her the support she needs during this difficult time. It's also about showing her that she is not alone in her fight. "Her family and friends have been here supporting her through everything, but there is only so much help she is willing to accept from the people she loves. My Mom has always been a fiercely independent woman, and asking for help isn't in her nature. That's why I'm stepping in to do it on her behalf." Peverall expressed his gratitude and urged supporters to rally around Parady, demonstrating that her on-screen "Little House" family was united in this battle, just as she had been a presence in their lives through the show. In an update dated August 1, Peverall shared that his mother had undergone a "successful" surgery. However, complications arose as Parady developed pneumonia during her recovery, leading to her admission to the intensive care unit. Unfortunately, her condition deteriorated to a point where she couldn't regain full consciousness. The medical team at the hospital launched an investigation into her condition. Peverall maintained ongoing communication with the medical professionals, seeking insights to guide the best decisions for her care. Despite the trying circumstances, he expressed hope and called upon others to remain optimistic. Parady embarked on her career in theater after graduating from Berea High School in 1963. Her journey took her to Los Angeles, where she secured a role opposite Jon Voight in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Subsequently, she transitioned to the silver screen, featuring in an episode of Bearcats!. However, it was in 1977 that Parady achieved widespread recognition for her portrayal of school teacher Alice Garvey in the fourth season of Little House on the Prairie. Appearing in 35 more episodes, her character, Alice, met a tragic end in season six, perishing in a fire. The actress also appeared in other shows including Kenan & Kel, The Phoenix, and The Quest, and movies like The Break and The Babysitter's Seduction. Parady is survived by her son Jonathan Peverall and her three grandchildren. Images: GoFundMe / Instagram

News

If the world were coming to an end, what would be the most ethical way to rebuild humanity ‘off planet’?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evie-kendal-734653">Evie Kendal</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a> Last week, scientists announced that for the first time on record, Antarctic ice has failed to “substantially recover” over winter, in a “once in 7.5-million-year event”. Climate change is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/antarctica-is-missing-a-chunk-of-sea-ice-bigger-than-greenland-whats-going-on-210665">most likely culprit</a>. Petra Heil, a sea ice physicist from the Australian Antarctic Division, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-24/antarctic-sea-ice-levels-nosedive-five-sigma-event/102635204">told the ABC</a> it could tip the world into a new state. “That would be quite concerning to the sustainability of human conditions on Earth, I suspect.” And in March, a senior United Nations disarmament official <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15250.doc.htm">told the Security Council</a> the risk of nuclear weapons being used today is higher than at any time since the end of the Cold War. Both warnings speak to concerns about Earth’s security. Will our planet be able to support human life in the future? And if not, will humanity have another chance at survival in space? <h2>‘Billionauts’ and how to choose who goes</h2> Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed the rise of the “billionaut”. The ultra-wealthy are engaged in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/billionaire-space-race-the-ultimate-symbol-of-capitalisms-flawed-obsession-with-growth-164511">private space race</a> costing billions of dollars, while <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwilliams1/2021/12/21/billionaire-space-race-turns-into-a-publicity-disaster/?sh=79056f7e5e4d">regular citizens often condemn</a> the wasted resources and contribution to global carbon emissions. Space – described in the <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html">Outer Space Treaty</a> as being the “province of all mankind” – risks instead becoming the playground of the elite few, as they try to escape the consequences of environmental destruction. But if we have to select humans to send into space for a species survival mission, how do we choose who gets to go? In Montreal last month, the <a href="https://irg.space/irg-2023/">Interstellar Research Group</a> explored the question: how would you select a crew for the first interstellar mission? A panel led by <a href="https://www.erikanesvold.com/">Erika Nesvold</a>, a co-editor of the new book <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/reclaiming-space-9780197604793?cc=au&lang=en&">Reclaiming Space</a>, discussed the perspectives of gender minorities, people with disabilities and First Nations groups regarding the ideal composition for an off-world crew. I was on the panel to discuss my contribution to the book, which explores how we can promote procreation in our new off-world society, without diminishing the reproductive liberty of survivors. <h2>The ultra-wealthy and reproductive slavery</h2> The first step in deciding how to allocate limited spaces on our “lifeboat” is identifying and rejecting options that are practically or ethically unacceptable. The first option I rejected was a user-pay system, whereby the wealthy can purchase a seat on the lifeboat. A 2022 Oxfam report showed the investments of just 125 billionaires collectively contribute 393 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year: <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/billionaire-emits-million-times-more-greenhouse-gases-average-person#:%7E:text=Recent%20data%20from%20Oxfam's%20research,%C2%B0C%20goal%20of%20the">a million times more</a> than the average for most global citizens. If the ultra-wealthy are the only ones to survive an environmental apocalypse, there’s a risk they would just create another one, on another planet. This would undermine the species survival project. The second option I rejected was allowing a reproductive slave class to develop, with some survivors compelled to populate the new community. This would disproportionately impact cis-gender women of reproductive capacity, demanding their gestational labour in exchange for a chance at survival. Neither a user-pay system nor reproductive slave labour would achieve the goal of “saving humanity” in any meaningful way. Many would argue preserving human values - including equality, reproductive liberty, and respect for diversity - is more important than saving human biology. If we lose what makes us unique as a species, that would be a kind of extinction anyway. But if we want humanity to survive, we still need to build our population in our new home. So what other options do we have? <h2>Reproduction and diversity</h2> How can we avoid discrimination on the basis of reproductive capacity – including age, sexuality, <a href="https://theconversation.com/infertility-through-the-ages-and-how-ivf-changed-the-way-we-think-about-it-87128">fertility status</a> or personal preference? We could avoid any questions about family planning when selecting our crew. This would align with <a href="https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/article/illegal-interview-questions-what-employers-have-no-right-to-ask">equal opportunity policies</a> in other areas, like employment. But we would then have to hope enough candidates selected on other merits happen to be willing and able to procreate. Alternatively, we could reserve a certain number of places for those who agree to contribute to population growth. Fertility would then become an inherent job requirement. This might be similar to taking on a role as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/surrogacy-laws-why-a-global-approach-is-needed-to-stop-exploitation-of-women-98966">surrogate</a>, in which reproductive capacity is essential. But what if, after accepting such a position on the mission, someone changed their mind about wanting children? Would they be expected to provide some sort of compensation? Would they be vulnerable to retaliation? The more we focus on procreation, the less diversity we will preserve in the species as a whole – especially if we deliberately select against diverse sexualities, disabilities and older people. A lack of diversity would also threaten the long-term viability of the new society. For example, even if we exclude all physiologically or socially infertile people from the initial crew, these traits will reappear in future generations. The difference is: these children would be born into a less accepting community. Cooperation will be essential for the new human society – so promoting hostility would be counterproductive. So, what options are left? Using a random global sample to select travellers might alleviate concerns about equity and fairness. But the ability of a random sample to maximise our survival as a species would depend on how large the sample can be. A global sample would minimise bias. But there’s a risk it might yield a crew without doctors, engineers, farmers or other essential personnel. <h2>Random selection versus a points-based system</h2> The best balance between competing needs might be a stratified random sampling method, involving randomly selecting survivors from predetermined categories. Reproductive potential might be one category. Others might focus on other elements of practical usefulness or contribution to human diversity. Another option is a points-based system, whereby different skills and characteristics are ranked in terms of their desirability. In this system, an elderly person who speaks multiple languages may score higher than a physiologically fertile young person, due to their ability to substantially contribute to language preservation and education. This does not entirely eliminate the potential for discrimination, of course. Someone would need to decide which traits are most desirable and valuable to the new human society. However we determine our lifeboat candidates, it should be carefully considered. In our attempt to “save humanity”, we must avoid sacrificing the very things that make us human. <hr /> Evie Kendal is a contributor to <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/reclaiming-space-9780197604793?cc=au&lang=en&">Reclaiming Space: Progressive and Multicultural Visions of Space Exploration</a> (Oxford University Press)<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210647/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evie-kendal-734653">Evie Kendal</a>, Senior lecturer of health promotion, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-the-world-were-coming-to-an-end-what-would-be-the-most-ethical-way-to-rebuild-humanity-off-planet-210647">original article</a>.

Travel Trouble

How burgers and chips for lunch can worsen your asthma that afternoon

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evan-williams-1441945">Evan Williams</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> Certain foods or dietary patterns are linked with better control of your asthma. Others may make it worse. Depending on what you’ve eaten, you can see the effects in hours. Food can affect how well your lungs function, how often you have asthma attacks and how well your puffer works. Here’s what we know about which foods to eat more of, and which are best to eat in smaller amounts, if you have asthma. <h2>Asthma and inflammation</h2> About <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/asthma/latest-release">one in ten</a> Australians (2.7 million people) have asthma. This makes it the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/topics/chronic-conditions/chronic-conditions-in-australia">fourth</a> most common chronic (persisting) disease in Australia. <a href="https://www.nationalasthma.org.au/understanding-asthma/what-is-asthma">Asthma</a> is an inflammatory disease. When someone is exposed to certain triggers (such as respiratory viruses, dust or exercise), the airways leading to the lungs become inflamed and narrow. This makes it difficult for them to breathe during what’s commonly known as an asthma attack (or exacerbation). Researchers are becoming increasingly aware of how someone’s diet can affect their asthma symptoms, including how often they have one of these attacks. <h2>Thumbs up for fruit and veg</h2> The Mediterranean diet – a diet high in fruit, vegetables and oily fish – is linked with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30997754/">less wheezing</a> in children, whether or not they have been diagnosed with asthma. Some, but not all, of the studies found this was regardless of the children’s body-mass index (BMI) or socioeconomic status. Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables is also important for adults with asthma. Two studies found adults who were instructed to eat a diet with few fruits and vegetables (two or fewer servings of vegetables, and one serving of fruit daily) had <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18324527/">worse lung function</a> and were twice as likely to have an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22854412/">asthma attack</a> compared to those eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Mediterranean diet pyramid" /></a><figcaption>The Mediterranean diet is rich in antioxidants and soluble fibre. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/illustration-mediterranean-diet-meal-shape-food-1640001031">Shutterstock</a></figcaption></figure> Why might the Mediterranean diet, or one rich in fruit and vegetables, help? Researchers think it’s because people are eating more antioxidants and soluble fibre, both of which have anti-inflammatory action: <ul> <li> antioxidants <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075620/">neutralise free radicals</a>. These are the damaging molecules produced as a result of inflammation, which can ultimately cause more inflammation </li> <li> soluble fibre is fermented by gut bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids such as acetate, propionate and butyrate, which <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352385919300246">reduce inflammation</a>. </li> </ul> The Mediterranean diet is also high in omega-3 fatty acids (from oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel and tuna). However a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/12/3839">review</a> looked at five studies that investigated omega-3 intake (through the diet or with a supplement) in adults with asthma. None of the studies showed any benefit associated with omega-3 for asthma. Of course there is no harm in eating foods high in omega-3 – such as oily fish, flaxseeds, chia seeds and walnuts. This has numerous other benefits, such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29350557/">lowering the risk</a> of heart disease. <h2>Thumbs down for saturated fat, sugar, red meat</h2> Saturated fats are found in highly processed foods such as biscuits, sausages, pastries and chocolate, and in fast foods. Diets high in saturated fats, plus sugar and red meat, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4888803/">can worsen</a> someone’s asthma symptoms. For instance, one study found a diet high in these foods increased the number of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18829673/">asthma attacks</a> in adults. Foods high in saturated fat can have an impact in as little as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21377715/">four hours</a>. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21377715/">One study</a> looked at what happened when adults with asthma ate a meal high in saturated fat (consisting of two hash browns, a sausage and egg muffin, and a sausage muffin) compared with a meal with similar calories but low in saturated fat. People who ate the meal high in saturated fat had reduced lung function within four hours. Within four hours, their puffer was also less effective. These worsening symptoms were likely driven by an increase in inflammation. Around the four hour mark, researchers found an increase in the number of the immune cells known as neutrophils, which play a role in inflammation. It’s still OK to eat a sneaky burger or some hot chips occasionally if you have asthma. But knowing that eating too many of these foods can affect your asthma can help you make choices that might improve your quality of life. <h2>What about dairy?</h2> One food type you don’t have to avoid, though, is <a href="https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-dairy-products-exacerbate-asthma-10641">dairy products</a>. Although many people with asthma report eating dairy worsens their asthma, evidence shows this to be untrue. In fact, one study in adults with asthma found drinking milk was linked to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33918391/">better</a> lung function.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206402/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evan-williams-1441945">Evan Williams</a>, Postdoctoral Researcher in Respiratory and Nutritional Biochemistry, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-burgers-and-chips-for-lunch-can-worsen-your-asthma-that-afternoon-206402">original article</a>.

Food & Wine

2001: A Space Odyssey still leaves an indelible mark on our culture 55 years on

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nathan-abrams-122305">Nathan Abrams</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bangor-university-1221">Bangor University</a> 2001: A Space Odyssey is a landmark film in the history of cinema. It is a work of extraordinary imagination that has transcended film history to become something of a cultural marker. And since 1968, it has penetrated the psyche of not only other filmmakers but society in general. It is not an exaggeration to say that 2001 single-handedly reinvented the science fiction genre. The visuals, music and themes of 2001 left an inedible mark on subsequent science fiction that is still evident today. When <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Kubrick/Robert-P-Kolker/9781639366248">Stanley Kubrick</a> began work on 2001 in the mid-1960s, he was told by studio executive Lew Wasserman: “Kid, you don’t spend over a million dollars on science fiction movies. You just don’t do that.” By that point, the golden age of science fiction film had run its course. During its heyday, there was a considerable variety of content within the overarching genre. There had been serious attempts to foretell space travel. Destination Moon, directed by Irving Pichel and produced by George Pal in 1950, and, in mid-century, Byron Haskin’s Conquest of Space both fantasised space travel and, in Haskin’s film, a space station, which Kubrick would elaborate on in 2001. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oR_e9y-bka0?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>The trailer for 2001: A Space Odyssey.</figcaption></figure> Most 1950s science fiction films, though, were cheap B-movie fare and looked it. They involved alien invasions with an ideological and allegorical subtext. They were cultural, cinematic imaginations of the danger of communism, which in the overheated political atmosphere of the time was seen as an imminent threat to the American way of life. The aliens in most science fiction films were out simply to destroy or take over humanity; they were expressions, to use the title of a Susan Sontag essay, of “<a href="https://americanfuturesiup.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/sontag-the-imagination-of-disaster.pdf">the imagination of disaster</a>”. There were some exceptions, including Byron Haskin’s film version of The War of the Worlds and Robert Wise’s The Day the Earth Stood Still. By 1968, then, as the lights went down, very few people knew what was about to transpire and they certainly were not prepared for what did. The film opened in near darkness as the strains of Thus Spake Zarathustra by Richard Strauss were heard. The cinema was dazzled into light, as if Kubrick had <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/stanley-kubrick/9780813587110">remade Genesis</a>. The subsequent 160 or so minutes (the length of his original cut before he edited 19 minutes out of it) took the viewer on what was marketed as “the ultimate trip”. Kubrick had excised almost every element of explanation leaving an elusive, ambiguous and thoroughly unclear film. His decisions contributed to long silent scenes, offered without elucidation. It contributed to the film’s almost immediate critical failure but its ultimate success. It was practically a silent movie. 2001 was an experiment in film form and content. It exploded the conventional narrative form, restructuring the conventions of the three-act drama. The narrative was linear, but radically, spanning aeons and ending in a timeless realm, all without a conventional movie score. Kubrick used 19th-century and modernist music, such as Strauss, György Ligeti and Aram Khachaturian. <h2>Vietnam</h2> The movie was made during a tumultuous period of American history, which it seemingly ignored. The war in Vietnam was already a highly divisive issue and was spiralling into a crisis. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tet-Offensive">Tet offensive</a>, which began on January 31 1968, had claimed tens of thousands of lives. As US involvement in Vietnam escalated, domestic unrest and violence at home intensified. Increasingly, young Americans expected their artists to address the chaos that roared around them. But in exploring the origins of humanity’s propensity for violence and its future destiny, 2001 dealt with the big questions and ones that were burning at the time of its release. They fuelled what Variety magazine called the “coffee cup debate” over “what the film means”, which is still ongoing today. The design of the film has touched many other films. Silent Running by Douglas Trumbull (who worked on 2001’s special effects) owes the most obvious debt but Star Wars would be also unthinkable without it. Popular culture is full of imagery from the film. The <a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/stanley-kubrick-2001-a-space-odyssey-music/">music</a> Kubrick used in the film, especially Strauss’s The Blue Danube, is now considered <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/702734/planetarium-brief-history-space-music">“space music”</a>. Images from the movie have appeared <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfK9pEQZyy0">in iPhone adverts</a>, in The Simpsons and even the trailer for the new <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/12/16/trailer-for-greta-gerwigs-barbie-spoofs-classic-film-in-best-way-17951854/">Barbie movie</a>. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8zIf0XvoL9Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>2001: A Space Odyssey’s influence on this Barbie movie trailer couldn’t be more obvious.</figcaption></figure> The warnings of the danger of technology embodied in the film’s murderous supercomputer HAL-9000 can be felt in the “tech noir” films of the late 1970s and 1980s, such as Westworld, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-alien-mutated-from-a-sci-fi-horror-film-into-a-multimedia-universe-204567">Alien</a>, Blade Runner and Terminator. HAL’s single red eye can be seen in the children’s series, Q Pootle 5, and Pixar’s animated feature, Wall-E. HAL has become shorthand for the untrammelled march of artificial intelligence (AI). In the age of ChatGPT and other AI, the metaphor of Kubrick’s computer is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/22/movies/ai-movies-microsoft-bing-robots.html">frequently evoked</a>. But why when there have been so many other images such as Frankenstein, Prometheus, terminators and other murderous cyborgs? Because there is something so uncanny and human about HAL who was deliberately designed to be more <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01439685.2017.1342328?journalCode=chjf20">empathic and human than the people in the film</a>. In making 2001, Stanley Kubrick created a cultural phenomenon that continues to speak to us eloquently today.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209152/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nathan-abrams-122305">Nathan Abrams</a>, Professor of Film Studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bangor-university-1221">Bangor University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/2001-a-space-odyssey-still-leaves-an-indelible-mark-on-our-culture-55-years-on-209152">original article</a>.

Movies

10 reasons humans kill animals – and why we can’t avoid it

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/benjamin-allen-100036">Benjamin Allen</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> As long as humans have existed, they’ve killed animals. But the necessity of some types of animal killing are now questioned by many. So can humans ever stop killing animals entirely? And if not, what’s the best way forward? <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723039062">New research</a> I led investigates these questions. My colleagues and I identified the ten main reasons why humans kill animals. We found the need for some types of animal killing is questionable, but several forms are inescapable – a necessary part of humanity’s involvement in a single, functioning, finite global food web. But the debate doesn’t end there. Even if humans must kill animals in some cases, they can modify their behaviours to improve the welfare of animals while they are alive, and to reduce an animal’s suffering when it is killed. Doing so may improve the lives of animals to a greater extent than efforts to eliminate human killing entirely. <h2>Why humans kill animals</h2> Critics of animal-killing come from a variety of perspectives. Some oppose it on <a href="http://refhub.elsevier.com/S0048-9697(23)03906-2/rf0005">moral grounds</a>. Others claim animals should have <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.13494">rights equal</a> to humans, and say animal killing is a criminal act. Many people view any animal killing as <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.13126">cruel</a>, regardless of whether the animal suffers. But as valid and important as these views might be, they largely fail to address why humans kill animals – and why in many cases, it can’t be avoided. Our research sought to shed light on this. We focus our discussion on vertebrate animals which are almost universally recognised as “sentient” (or able to perceive and feel things). We identified ten main reasons humans kill animals: 1. Wild harvest or food acquisition: such as killing wild animals for meat 2. Human health and safety: such as reactively killing an animal when it attacks you 3. Agriculture and aquaculture: such as killing that occurs in the global meat industries, or killing required to produce crops 4. Urbanisation and industrialisation: such as clearing bushland to build homes 5. Wildlife control: such as programs that eradicate introduced animals to stop them killing native ones 6. Threatened species conservation: such as unintentionally killing animals when relocating them 7. Recreation, sport or entertainment: such as trophy hunting or bull fighting, and animal killing required to feed domestic pets 8. Mercy or compassion: such as euthanasing an animal hit by a car 9. Cultural and religious practice: such as animal sacrifice during the Islamic celebration of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/01/sydney-muslims-take-eid-al-adha-livestock-sacrifice-into-their-own-hands">Eid al-Adha</a>, or those associated with the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1594756">Yoruba</a> religion of West Africa 10. Research, education and testing: such as the laboratory use of rodents or primates. <h2>Understanding human killing behaviour</h2> So how best should we understand the above types of animal killing? Our research considers them in ecological terms – as behaviours consistent with our predatory and competitive roles in the global food web. Such behaviours are intended to improve human prospects for acquiring food or to protect and enhance life. These are innate life objectives for any sentient animal. Maintenance of all life on Earth requires obtaining, using, disposing of and recycling chemical elements. Ecosystems can be thought of as a “battleground” for these elements. <a href="https://theconversation.com/peter-singers-fresh-take-on-animal-liberation-a-book-that-changed-the-world-but-not-enough-205830">Some people argue</a> that directly killing animals is unacceptable, or that adopting certain lifestyles or diets, such as veganism, can eliminate or greatly reduce animal killing. But in our view, achieving a no-killing lifestyle is a physical and ecological impossibility. For instance, most plant foods come from crops grown on land where animals have been <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/5/1225">killed or displaced</a>. And while an animal-free diet for humans might temporarily reduce the number of animals killed, this won’t last forever. As human populations continue to grow, more land will eventually be needed to meet their food requirements. At that point, humans will have to directly or indirectly kill animals again or risk dying themselves. Humans also need space to live, which <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723039062?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=7e2e8f44ae1aaae3#bbb1045">results in</a> animal killing when habitat is razed. Of course, in rare cases an individual human may live without killing animals directly. Perhaps they live in a cave in the forest, and get sustenance from wild berries and mushrooms. But that human still lives inside the food web, and is competing against other animals for finite resources. In these cases, other animals may suffer and die because the human’s use of berries and caves leaves less food and space for them. Even if that human could do no harm at all to any animal, it’s still impossible for societies at large to live in this way. Some forms of animal killing are certainly not essential for human existence. Good examples are recreational hunting, euthanasia or keeping pets (which requires killing animals to feed them). And we certainly do not condone direct human participation in all forms of animal killing. It’s also important to note that in many cases, current levels of animal killing are <a href="https://www.opsociety.org/stop-unsustainable-fishing/">unsustainable</a>. Human populations have increased to the point where animals must be killed on enormous scales to feed, house and protect ourselves. If this continues, animal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723039062?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=7e2e8f44ae1aaae3#bbb0905">populations</a> will <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723039062?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=7e2e8f44ae1aaae3#bbb0910">crash</a> – and with them, human populations. Nevertheless, we maintain that the overall necessity of animal killing is an unavoidable reality for humanity as a whole. A variety of direct and indirect forms of animal killing will undoubtedly remain an ongoing human endeavour. <h2>Taking responsibility</h2> So what are the implications of all this? We hope our research leads to a constructive dialogue, which starts with accepting that human existence on Earth is dependent on animal killing. It should then focus on the nuances of animal welfare and sustainability. Humans are the only known animals with an ethical or moral conscience. That means we have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723039062?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=7e2e8f44ae1aaae3#bbb0650">a responsibility</a> to assume a stewardship role over all other animals, to resolve negative interactions between them as best as possible, and to ensure good welfare for as many animals as we can. Directing our attention in this way is likely to improve the lives of animals to a greater extent than trying to prevent humans from killing animals altogether – efforts my colleagues and I believe will ultimately be in vain.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209218/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/benjamin-allen-100036">Benjamin Allen</a>, Wildlife ecologist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-reasons-humans-kill-animals-and-why-we-cant-avoid-it-209218">original article</a>.

Family & Pets

"Possibly carcinogenic to humans": WHO's dire warning over common ingredient

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for one of the world’s most popular artificial sweeteners to be declared a possible carcinogen. The push will be led by the WHO’s research team for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), pitting it against the food industry and regulators. The sweetener, known as Aspartame, is used in products from Coca-Cola diet drinks, such as Diet Coke and Coke Zero, to Mars’ Extra chewing gum and some Snapple drinks. Later this month, the IARC will list Aspartame for the first time as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” The ruling from the IARC has assessed whether the sweetener is hazardous to humans or not, although it does not stipulate how much of the product a person can safely consume. This advice for individual consumers comes from a different organisation, known as JECFA (the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Expert Committee on Food Additives), who make consumption guidelines alongside national regulators. Despite the claims from the WHO, since as early as 1981 JECFA has said aspartame is safe to consume within accepted daily limits. An adult weighing 60kg would have to drink between 12 and 36 cans of diet soft drink, depending on the amount of aspartame in the beverage, every day to be at risk. Its view has been widely shared by national regulators, including in the United States and Europe. These conflicting reports have angered some regulators and consumers alike, with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare official Nozomi Tomita writing to the WHO, “kindly asking both bodies to coordinate their efforts in reviewing aspartame to avoid any confusion or concerns among the public.” Image credits: Getty Images

Body

Human remains found in search for missing actor

Californian hikers have discovered human remains in the wilderness area where actor Julian Sands disappeared more than five months ago, according to authorities. Officials have not yet identified the victim. The remains were transported to the coroner’s office for confirmation, which is expected to be completed next week, The New York Post reported. Sands was reported missing on January 13 after he failed to return from a hiking trip in Mount Baldy, located about 72 kilometres east of Los Angeles. The search – consisting of 80 volunteers and officials – resumed on June 12 after a temporary suspension. Police have conducted eight ground and air searches since the actor's disappearance on the mountain. “Despite the recent warmer weather, portions of the mountain remain inaccessible due to extreme alpine conditions. Multiple areas include steep terrain and ravines, which still have 10-plus feet [about 16 metres] of ice and snow,” San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said. Sands’ family spoke publicly for the first time since he vanished, releasing a statement on June 23 to express their gratitude for the ongoing search and rescue efforts. “We are deeply grateful to the search teams and co-ordinators who have worked tirelessly to find Julian,” the family said. “We continue to hold Julian in our hearts, with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer.” Sands is known for starring in films such as Arachnophobia, A Room with a View, Warlock and Leaving Las Vegas. Mt. Baldy is renowned for being one of the most dangerous peaks to climb in California. According to the Los Angeles Times, six people have died with crews conducting over 100 searches as daredevils and avid hikers alike are drawn to the daunting challenge of the more-than-16,000 metre climb. In January, officials found hiker Jin Chung, 75, who had become lost on Mount Baldy and was hospitalised with a leg injury and other weather-related injuries. Before Chung’s brief disappearance, a mother of four fell more than 500 to 700 feet to her death. Crystal Paula Gonzalez, renowned as a “hiking queen”, slipped on the steep icy hillside and later died from her injuries, officials reported. Image credit: Facebook / Getty

News

Gluten-free chocolate chip biscuits

Switch up your usual flour for coconut flour to make these delicious gluten-free chocolate chip biscuits. Makes: 20 biscuits Ingredients: <ul> <li>⅔ cup of coconut flour</li> <li>⅓ cup of arrow root flour</li> <li>½ teaspoon of baking powder</li> <li>¼ teaspoon of bi-carb soda</li> <li>⅓ cup of coconut or brown sugar</li> <li>1 teaspoon of vanilla extract</li> <li>2 eggs</li> <li>½ cup of chocolate chips</li> <li>4 tablespoons of coconut oil, melted</li> <li>4 tablespoons of softened butter</li> <li>3-4 tablespoons of water</li> </ul> Method: <ol> <li>Preheat oven to 180°C.</li> <li>Mix all dry ingredients excluding chocolate chips in a large bowl.</li> <li>In another bowl, mix coconut oil, butter, chocolate chips and eggs.</li> <li>Mix wet and dry mixes together.</li> <li>Add water, mixing to form a batter.</li> <li>Place balls of batter on a lined baking pan five-cm apart.</li> <li>Bake for 14to 16 minutes. Let cool.</li> </ol> Images: Shutterstock

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Humans evolved to share beds – how your sleeping companions may affect you now

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10 reasons humans kill animals – and why we can’t avoid it

"Possibly carcinogenic to humans": WHO's dire warning over common ingredient

Human remains found in search for missing actor

Gluten-free chocolate chip biscuits

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

Humans evolved to share beds – how your sleeping companions may affect you now

Freddy Krueger at 40 – the ultimate horror movie monster (and Halloween costume)

Making art is a uniquely human act, and one that provides a wellspring of health benefits

200-year-old message in a bottle unearthed

Woman “bullied” on plane over budget seating trick

It may be macabre, but dark tourism helps us learn from the worst of human history

Still fab after 60 years: how The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night made pop cinema history

$10,000 reasons to become a Hire A Hubby franchisee

Incredible treasure trove of unseen royal images

Elephant tourism often involves cruelty – here are steps toward more humane, animal-friendly excursions

How to turn your handy skills into material wealth

7 things you never knew about M*A*S*H

Little House on the Prairie star passes away

If the world were coming to an end, what would be the most ethical way to rebuild humanity ‘off planet’?

How burgers and chips for lunch can worsen your asthma that afternoon

2001: A Space Odyssey still leaves an indelible mark on our culture 55 years on

10 reasons humans kill animals – and why we can’t avoid it

"Possibly carcinogenic to humans": WHO's dire warning over common ingredient

Human remains found in search for missing actor

Gluten-free chocolate chip biscuits

7 things you never knew about MAS*H