There is one constant that happens the longer you stay alive: you get old. No matter the facial creams, exercise, diet, and pills that show up to promise otherwise, the longer you get to live on this planet, the older you will become. But getting old isn’t as bad as you may think. In fact, you might look forward to it.
Sure, you’ll likely be slower and lose some hair on your scalp while your body grows new ones elsewhere, but there are some perks to getting old that come along with the negative. The older folks on Reddit shared the best parts about being old, and experts have some insight into what makes getting old great.
You stop giving a f**k About the small stuff
Getting older means you're more comfortable being you.Photo credit: Canva
“You stop giving a flying fuck about so many things,” said one poster. And they are right. One British study found that people start to stop caring about things like social standing and appearance by age 46. The IDGAF-ness of a person grows and grows the longer they live on.
Why is that? Confidence. One study from the American Psychological Association found that people in their 60s to 70s experience higher self-confidence than any other age group. Being that at that age range, you’ve likely experienced so many highs and lows that you recognize how petty and temporary they are or have knowledge on how to process them due to previous experience. That can feel pretty freeing.
Wisdom
Older folks offer plenty to young professionals.Photo credit: Canva
“Being wiser, due to experience.”
There’s some wisdom to that poster’s remark about wisdom. According to WebMD, the golden years are when a person experiences “crystallized intelligence.” This is when a person can use their knowledge and experience at their fullest potential, peaking in both so they can bestow it upon others or solve certain problems quicker than other whippersnappers in the same field. This isn’t just when it comes to particular expertise, but also in general life skills as well.
Better attuned with emotions
Eff it, be happy.Photo credit: Canva
“Personal happiness and service to others go hand in hand. Also appreciate suffering a bit more,” wrote one poster. There is professional opinion to back this up. According to Dr. Davangere P. Devanand, the director of geriatric psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, one of the benefits of getting older includes becoming more emotionally intelligent for both yourself and the situations you are in.
“Older people have less emotional volatility and a better understanding of relationships and have figured out strategies for different situations,” he says. “Younger people often experience panic, for example, but after age 60 or 65, new onset panic disorder is rare and almost unknown because those neurons are just not there.”
Less migraines
Got migraines? You might age out of them.Photo credit: Canva
“The last headache I experienced was in 1992,” wrote one poster.
There’s some proof to back this up. According to WebMD and a study published in the National Library of Science, if you experience migraines they will lessen in bouts and duration as you age, typically going away in your 70s unless there are other physical issues that could trigger them.
Better sex
Old age doesn't mean intimacy dies.Photo credit: Canva
When asked if elderly people still had sex on Reddit, one poster said, “Oh, hell yes. As often as possible.” While there are certain physical and medical issues that may need to be addressed for safety and comfort, generally speaking sex can get better as you age. The reasons why are a mix of previously discussed perks of getting older. Since you have more experience, self confidence, and emotional intelligence, it is easier for you and your partner to achieve orgasm and connect emotionally.
So if you’re still worried about getting old, don’t worry. You’ll likely grow out of it.
When I first pitched this story, I thought it would be interesting to share an informative biographical sketch of the woman who ideated what was at first called Woman’s Day in the United States. Women's Day was originally celebrated the last Sunday in February--and became the forerunner to global phenomenon International Women’s Day, now celebrated March 8. It also became a lesson in why we celebrate it and celebrate Women’s History Month.
This woman was Theresa Serber Malkiel. According to the Jewish Women’s Archive, she was “the first woman to rise from factory work to leadership in the Socialist Party” in the United States. For decades, she advocated for women’s suffrage, women’s labor rights, and women’s rights to participate in the Socialist Party. She wrote a work of fiction in 1910 called The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker that was considered one of the inciting influences to factory and labor reform in the U.S. (you can read it online here) and was published a year before the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. With her husband, she co-founded The New York Call, a Socialist newspaper, and wrote extensively for it and at least once contributed to The New York Times. In her later years, she advocated for women’s education and even ran for New York State Assembly (it’s reported that she "lost by a small margin").
Theresa Malkiel
commons.wikimedia.org
Still, as I researched her, I learned from historian and scholar Sally M. Miller’s 1978 article “From Sweatshop Worker to Labor Leader: Theresa Malkiel, a Case Study” that Malkiel’s work had largely been unrecorded up to that point. Malkiel had died in 1949 and, as the Jewish Women’s Archive also notes, the headline of her obituary in The New York Times, the paper for which she once wrote, referred to her as “Mrs. L.A. Malkiel, Aided Adult Study: Retired Writer, a founder of Old New York Call–Helped Education Groups.” The obituary touches on some of the above points of Malkiel’s career, but the breadth of her impact was otherwise erased. Indeed, as Miller later wrote, Malkiel was also absent from the American Labor Who's Who and Woman's Who's Who of America published at that point in time, and her letters or archives were nowhere to be found.
Malkiel’s work in labor rights began with her own, fleeing what was then the anti-Semitic Russian Empire of the 19th century, when Jews were essentially driven out of the country. She arrived in New York and began working in factories as many immigrants did. The infamous conditions of factories like these have now been extensively recorded. But, as Miller notes, Jewish single women, like Malkiel was at the time, were often encouraged instead to be homemakers and had little to fall back on when facing treacherous factory conditions. So, Malkiel started her own union, the Woman's Infant Cloak Makers' Union, and found Socialism. “For her, socialism became the path to independence,” Miller wrote, to at least what she believed would be "a cooperative commonwealth of workers which would liberate men and women and establish equality for all.”
Socialism had to catch up to her a bit, however. Involved in the Socialist Party and the fight for women’s suffrage, she believed that women obtaining the right to vote would only lead to more strength and power amongst workers, that it would ultimately, as the Jewish Women’s Archive shared, lead to women’s emancipation alongside men’s. Unfortunately, the men running the party often delegated women to be “official cake-bakers and money collectors,” as Malkiel put it. They also either didn’t understand why women’s suffrage was so important or didn’t think it was important at all.
Malkiel established and/or led several women’s organizations dedicated to Socialism and later, as previously mentioned, became the first woman involved in Socialist Party leadership. When the Socialist Party did establish a Women’s Department and Women’s National Committee in 1908, Malkiel “was elected to the Woman's National Committee in three of its seven years,” Miller shared. Malkiel advocated for women’s place in the party, also championing immigrant women to learn about worker’s rights. She believed that women could advocate for real change, too, leaving their “cake and money” duties behind if they so desired. But again, the party didn’t always agree with her, and in 1915 the Women’s Department and National Committee were erased from the party. By 1920, Malkiel pivoted slightly but continued her dedication to women’s development by creating the Brooklyn Adult Students Association, promoting the education of adult women.
It would turn out that in all of this accomplishment and advocacy and journalism that the proverbial apple would fall not too far from the tree.
In the middle there, Malkiel also got married–to the attorney whose name she adopted, Leon Andrew Malkiel, and raised their daughter, Henrietta. But Henrietta is referred to as “Mrs. Nelson Poynter” in the Times obituary, so I didn’t actually know what her name was at first, though she was listed as the “co-editor and publisher of Congressional Quarterly.” I looked up the aforementioned Poynter, and it was only from there that I was able to find her, Henrietta Malkiel Poynter, in an article the institute itself had shared in 2018.
Far from being just “Mrs. Nelson Poynter,” Henrietta Malkiel Poynter was a lauded journalist herself, not just writing and editing for Vogue and Vanity Fair, but becoming “a features editor, arts radio commentator and literary agent in New York, Paris and Hollywood,” the institute shared. “She intellectually sparred with people like Charles Lindbergh at glamorous salons,” and was good friends with George and Ira Gershwin, even accompanying George to the City of Light “to find the right French taxi horn, for ‘An American in Paris.’” This was all before she even met Nelson Poynter. Their partnership, in romance and business, began a decade later. She was also involved in the creation of Voice of America, gave it its name and, as the Times did share, co-founded Congressional Quarterly with Nelson. CQ, as it’s known, “was a precursor to C-SPAN, and its example led to modern political and accountability journalism,” the institute wrote. It still exists today as CQ Roll Call. Henrietta Malkiel Poynter received no obituary in The New York Times.
The way we write about women, the way we name them both literally and metaphorically, has changed significantly since both Theresa and Henrietta Malkiel’s lifetimes. To look at Theresa’s life in the context of International Women’s Day is not just to honor her creation what was originally Woman's Day, but to honor lives like hers and Henrietta’s, people who haven’t always been given the credit they deserve or people who have written out of history entirely. The women who built the world, despite anyone trying to stop them, are the reason we celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month at all.
As the current federal government in the U.S. has been freezing or cutting funding for several research grants, a French university has stepped in with an offer for American scientists. Aix Marseille University (AMU) is offering a program for them to continue projects that have been compromised or cut off.
“The program is called ‘Safe Place for Science,’ and will provide 15 million Euros in funding for some 15 researchers over a 3-year period,” said Clara Bufi, a spokesperson for Aix Marseille University, in an interview with 404 Media. “It targets, but is not limited to, climate and environment, health, and human and social sciences.”
— (@)
Among other aspects of the federal government, President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has specifically targeted scientific research funding in the search for wasteful spending. One example is when DOGE, in tandem with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zedlin, cut $60 million from 20 environmental grants and did another cut of 21 additional grants to a total of $116 million in cuts. One of the reasons for this, as The Guardian reported, President Trump intends to withdraw funding from research involving the climate. It should be important to note that amidst all of this, there is uncertainty in whether DOGE’s actions are effective and/or legal, as several lawyers, courts, and articles have pointed out.
Aix Marseille University making this offer is seen as a lifeboat for scientists during this tumultuous time, to be assured that they not only have proper funding but secure jobs. Per Marie Renaudeau on AMU’s website, they wish to offer Americans “an environment conducive to innovation, excellence, and academic freedom,” along with “cutting-edge infrastructures, major international collaborations, and strong support for scientists working on groundbreaking, forward-looking themes.” Since many issues such as climate change are a global problem that isn’t subject to borders, AMU sees funding such research as a worldwide benefit.
In an interview with AFPTV, university president Eric Berton expressed disappointment that he had to make this “recruitment call” for academics working on "sensitive subjects such as the climate, social sciences, and the humanities in general.” He also expressed concern over non-American scientists who were originally hired to work on these American projects.
"The risk these researchers face is that their projects will lose funding and that they themselves—if they are foreigners—will have to return to their home countries," he said. "It is a real danger."
University President Eric Berton hopes to encourage additional climate research.Photo credit: LinkedIn
This isn’t the first time AMU has supported foreign scientific research. Similar offers have been made and accepted to house and fund scientists and their studies through their PAUSE program, such as Ukrainian biologists and other scientists from Afghanistan, Yemen, and Palestine. As the current American administration appears to make more cuts to scientific research, the offer becomes more and more enticing to American scientists.
Time will tell to see who will be accepting Aix Marseille University’s offer or if DOGE’s proposed cuts face interference in Congress and American courts. In either case, it appears that research will still continue on climate issues and measures one way or another.
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Knowing your rights when navigating the unbalance of power in any given police traffic stop.
Whether it's a traffic stop that turns into "We smell something in your car" or a "driving while black" situation, you have rights when you're pulled over, and it's for the best if you actually use them.
So how does this work, anyway? Well, you have rights when you're pulled over. These have been established via case law, and ultimately, some stem from the Constitution itself. In order, here are the magic phrases, along with some graphics to help you remember.
1. "Am I free to go?"
In any situation involving the police, you can ask this question. Some people ask it slightly differently: "Am I being detained?"—which is a version of the same question. Basically, if they've got nothing on you, they have to let you go. If they answer no to that question, you are in fact not free to go. In that case, you are suspected of doing something, and it's their job to try to get you to admit to it or to say a bit too much and incriminate yourself.
2. "I do not consent to any searches."
One of the trickiest things that some law enforcement folks try is to talk you into letting them search your vehicle—or house, for that matter. "So if you haven't done anything, then you're ok with us searching your car … right? I mean, if you're innocent. We'll go easier on you if you let us." Do NOT give up your rights that easily. Are you certain your buddy didn't leave a bag of weed in the glove box? Are you sure your boyfriend took his target pistol out of the trunk after he went to practice shooting the other day? Are you absolutely certain that the body in your trunk was removed and buried in that farm fiel … whoops. Did I say that last one out loud?! The point is, don't give up your rights easily. And believe me, cops are gooooood at trying to play psychological games. Which leads to #3.
3. "I want to remain silent."
You have that right, and if things start getting thick, you need to use it. "We clocked you going 60 in a 50, but when you opened your window to give us your license, we smelled marijuana." The correct answer to something like this is, "I want to remain silent." The temptation is to say, "Yeah, my buddy and I smoked in my car this morning but I wasn't driving, blah blah blah"—but then you're already nailed. Time for them to get the dogs and search. Congratulations, you're on your way to the pokey for the night.
4. "I want a lawyer."
If you've reach this particular point, then you're in deep doodoo anyway, so go ahead and ask for one, and say nothing until he or she arrives. Remember these four things. It will be hard in the moment, with your adrenaline pumping, your freedom in question, and when you're possibly in physical danger, depending on the cops involved and your skin color.
"Am I free to go?"
"I do not consent to any searches."
"I want to remain silent."
"I want a lawyer."
Perhaps a word involving the first letter of the four statements will help you remember: FoSSiL (Free, Searches, Silent, Lawyer)
Or maybe a mnemonic:
— Fiscal Suns Scramble Lives
— Fresh Sushi Smell Lemons
— Flexible Straws Sell Lobsters
— Free Subjects Steam Lobsters
And here's a graphic to help you remember.
Image by Ildar Sajdejev via GNU Free License | Know your rights.
The clip below is a shortened version of a much longer one that explains your rights, detailing what you can and cannot do in these situations. Note that the order of the above is a bit different than in the clip, but the principles are the same. Also, the idea for this article was inspired by this article on Alternet.
Lenstore, a UK-based eye care company, has created an ultra-difficult color test that’s so challenging, the retailer says that less than 1% of the first 2,000 people who took it got a perfect ten out of ten. The test involves distinguishing between different hues of the same color and putting the colors in the correct order on the spectrum.
Lenstore says that women fair better than men on the test. Females scored an average of 57.7%, while men obtained an average of 53.8%. These results closely mirror the current scientific data on sex and color perception.
In a 2012 study, Israel Abramov a psychologist from Brooklyn College found that males are less adept at perceiving colors in the center of the color spectrum, such as yellows, greens and blues. The same study showed that men were better at distinguishing quick-changing objects from afar.
Color blindness is also much more common in men. According to the National Eye Institute, 8% of men and 0.5% of women are color blind.
It’s believed that these differences in perception stem from humans evolving in hunter-gatherer societies in which men tracked distant objects and women focused on things up-close.
Age is also a major factor in the ability to perceive distinctions between colors. People between the ages of 31 to 35 scored the best with an average of 60%. While people ages 81 to 89 averaged 38%.
These results also gel with current scientific research. After the age of 70, the number of people who have trouble correctly perceiving color increases rapidly. “We find the color discrimination declines with age and that the majority of color defects among the older population are of the blue-yellow type,” Marilyn E. Schneck, PhD, and colleagues at The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute wrote.
Country of origin also plays a factor.
Here are the top ten countries in terms of color perception, according to their report:
While there was a significant difference between numbers one and ten on the list, there is no solid research that says whether people from different parts of the world are any better or worse at perceiving color. But there are differences in how colors are labeled.
For example, the word “orange” didn’t exist in the English language until orange trees were brought from Europe to Asia around the year 1500. There are also some cultures that speak unwritten languages that don’t have a word for color.
“There are tons of languages that have words for big and small, or hot and cold, without a word for size or temperature. Most unwritten languages don’t have words for abstractions. You don’t need ’em,” anthropologist Paul Kay said according to Sapiens.
This article originally appeared six years ago.
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Scientists have made a potential breakthrough, discovering a new part of the human immune system.
Scientists in Israel have discovered a new part of the human immune system, shedding light on a potential "untapped source of natural antibiotics." The research focuses on protaesomes, structures inside cells that, according to the Israel Cancer Research Fund, essentially function as "cellular garbage cans," helping remove "unwanted or damaged proteins and helping the immune system recognize harmful invaders and cancer cells."
Now, as detailed in the scientific journal Nature and illuminated by the BBC, the new study has "addressed a question that remained unanswered for decades," showing that proteasomes can detect bacteria in cells—and then use old proteins as defense against that bacteria."
"These findings pave the way for previously undescribed diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the fight against infectious diseases," the researchers wrote in the paper.
Yifat Merbl, a researcher and professor from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, called the results "really exciting," telling the BBC, "[W]e never knew that this was happening. […] We discovered a novel mechanism of immunity that is allowing us to have a [defense] against bacterial infection. […] It’s happening throughout our body in all the cells, and generates a whole new class of potential natural antibiotics."
The discovery process, likened to "dumpster diving," led to tests involving lab-grown bacteria and mice with pneumonia and sepsis.
"Experiments in these mice showed that treatment with a proteasome-derived peptide significantly reduced the number of bacteria, lessened tissue damage, and even improved survival rates," according to the Weizmann Institute’s news release. "The results surprised the researchers for two reasons. First, they showed that a single peptide that is naturally made by the body can prove effective against a life-threatening condition when administered in large amounts. Second, the results of the treatment were comparable to those of treatment with strong antibiotics in clinical use."
Professor Daniel Davis, an immunologist at Imperial College London, told the BBC that the discoveries are "extremely provocative and very interesting," while noting that the possibility of another source of antibiotics "still needs to be tested" and would require patience.
"This study highlights how technological innovation and basic research intertwine in unforeseen ways," Merbl said in the news release. "Without the technology that allowed us to analyze the cellular trash, we would not have made this discovery, but when we developed this technology, we never imagined that we would uncover a new immune mechanism.”
Hopefully these findings will spur further research in the fight against superbugs resistant to currently available drugs. Antimicrobial resistance is a major ongoing concern—according to the World Health Organization, bacterial AMR "was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths."
Professor Merbl, who studied at the Weizmann Institute of Science and Harvard University, joined Weizmann as a Senior Scientist in 2014 and served as the scientific co-founder of Promise Bio, a company utilizing "a cloud-based AI platform that performs unbiased, broad-range epiproteomic analyses on standard mass-spectrometry data."
In May 2024, the Israel Cancer Research Fund partnered with the Cancer Research Institute to fund Merbl’s work. Her lab team previously received a $200,000 CRI-ICRF Technology Impact Award, along with the 2024 Rappaport Prize for Excellence in Biomedical Research.
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Jerry's memory will be honored at his local Burger King.
The family of 91-year-old Jerry Parkin knew that dear friends would come and pay their respects at his funeral, but were initially puzzled when the morning staff of a local Burger King restaurant showed up. And they didn’t show up empty handed.
“Someone came into the kitchen at church and said, ‘The whole crew of Burger King is here, and they brought a chair,’” said Jenny Olsen, Jerry’s surviving daughter, to News Channel 7 WJHG. “I said, ‘What?’”
The staff brought over the chair that Jerry sat in every morning at the Burger King to have breakfast with a bunch of other locals. They even engraved his name and dates of his birth and death onto the chair, and told his family that it would be a “seat of honor” at the franchise. The idea of honoring him in such a way came from Kevin Bennett, who shared coffee with him every morning at the restaurant. They brought it to the funeral for the family to see and so it could be a part of Jerry’s showing.
— (@)
“That was his seat. He always sat there every morning, so we had to bring his chair,” said Ashley Fundingsland, one of the Burger King employees that attended the funeral.
Jerry enjoyed Burger King so much that according to his son, Leo Parkin, it was his last meal before he passed away in the hospital. “I couldn’t believe it. He said he wanted chicken nuggets, a cookie, and a shake,” said Leo, who granted his father’s wish.
“We all loved him,” said Denise Kewitsch, another employee who attended the funeral.
Being a regular at a local business, even a wide corporate franchise like Burger King, can be beneficial. Not just the perks like getting extra fries or the occasional free cup of coffee from employees that recognize you. You end up being healthier in body and healthier socially. The employees like having you around, too, as you tend to make their job easier in the long term.
Cheers to the regulars!Photo credit: @emilymichele28
Articles on the subject of being a regular at a restaurant in food publications like Eater and The Takeout mention how being a regular builds a relationship with you and the employees at the establishment, forming friendly bonds like the one between Jerry and the Burger King staff. You can also feel a sense of community while enjoying your meal or coffee alongside other regulars and the wait staff, feeling at peace in a place between work and home.
Being a regular could benefit your life in several ways.Photo credit: Canva
There are also some health benefits. Being a regular means you are building a routine. Having a routine can reduce stress and build ease since you have fuller trust in the business you’ve patronized regularly, which can improve your day-to-day life psychologically. Having friendly conversations like a regular often does can stave off depression. Some argue that it helps you eat better, even at a spot like Burger King, since you will automatically know the calories, nutrients, and other aspects of your regular order so you know what you’re taking in with each visit (or what to leave out).
Who knows? Maybe you’ll live to the ripe old age of 91 like Jerry did, and have some extra folks around to celebrate you and your life. Just be sure to tip well.
There are few things more nerve-wracking than watching an officer slowly walk up to your car through your side-view mirror. Especially when you’re not sure why they pulled you over. "Are my registration and proof of insurance in the glove compartment?" you ask yourself.
Oftentimes, as the officer walks up to your window, he or she will pat your back tail light with their finger.
There are two reasons why they do this.
Reason one: To leave behind evidence
These days, most police cars are equipped with dash cams to record the interaction, but back in the day, there was little physical evidence of the encounter. So an officer would tap a finger on a tail light to leave a fingerprint.
“In case the officer found himself in a dangerous situation while pulling over the subject vehicle, fingerprint evidence would prove that he or she was present at the scene,” The Law Dictionary says. “The fingerprints would only be utilized if the interaction between the driver and the cop led to a criminal investigation.”
Reason two: To startle the driver
Whenever an officer approaches a stopped car, they have to be ready for a potentially dangerous situation. The person they’ve pulled over may have a firearm or dangerous drugs in their car, so a tap on the tail light can distract them while attempting to hide any contraband.
“The driver is likely not expecting the noise of the tap – which typically causes him or her to stop for a moment, giving the police officer additional time to witness what the driver is trying to hide (if there is anything),” The Law Dictionary says.
Now that police officers have body cams and dash cams, the era of the tail light tap is quickly coming to an end. So these days, if you hear a tap, “it’s likely out of habit rather than necessity,” The Law Dictionary says.
Getting older means you're more comfortable being you.Photo credit: Canva
Older folks offer plenty to young professionals.Photo credit: Canva
Eff it, be happy.Photo credit: Canva
Got migraines? You might age out of them.Photo credit: Canva
Old age doesn't mean intimacy dies.Photo credit: Canva
Theresa Malkiel
commons.wikimedia.org
Six Shirtwaist Strike women in 1909
University President Eric Berton hopes to encourage additional climate research.Photo credit: LinkedIn
Image by Ildar Sajdejev via GNU Free License | Know your rights.
blue white and red paperPhoto by 
Itv Quiz GIF by Stellify Media
Cheers to the regulars!Photo credit: @emilymichele28
Being a regular could benefit your life in several ways.Photo credit: Canva
