THE MORE YOU WALK, THE LESS LIKELY YOU’LL DIE _ Get up and start walking. The more you do it, the longer you may live. That’s the main piece of advice from a study (National Cancer Institute; National Institute on Aging; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) that found a higher daily step count is associated with a lower mortality risk from all causes. Even better, the study also noted that it’s not about intensity; you don’t have to run or even jog all day to enjoy a longer life. Just put one foot in front of the other. There have been other studies performed in the past on walking and lifespan, but those projects focused heavily on the elderly and people with chronic medical conditions. This study examined a sample of roughly 4,800 U.S. adults aged 40 and over who wore tracking devices for up to seven days. After that, each person’s lifespan was tracked using the National Death Index. After accounting for a range of potentially contributing demographic and behavioral factors, they found a significant connection between steps taken daily and mortality risk. Participants who walked 8,000 steps per day had a 51 percent lower risk of dying from any cause than those who only walked 4,000 steps per day. Moreover, 12,000 steps per day was linked to a 65 percent lower mortality risk than 4,000 daily steps.
THE LIVING NATIONAL PARK MONUMENT YOU CAN’T VISIT _ If you’re traveling to a national park this summer you’re going to be impressed by some of the most amazing sights on the planet. But there’s one, here in the U.S., you can’t visit. Deep in California’s Redwood National Park stands Hyperion, the world’s tallest known tree, rising nearly 380 feet above the forest floor. Discovered by naturalists in 2006, this coast redwood is taller than the Statue of Liberty but remains hidden to protect its fragile ecosystem. While the National Park Service originally kept its exact location a secret to protect it, curious hikers eventually found the coordinates and began “bushwhacking” through the forest to reach it. In July 2022, the NPS officially closed the entire area surrounding the tree to the public. Those caught attempting to visit the site face severe penalties, including a $5,000 fine and up to six months in jail.
THERE ARE 21 DISTINCT HUMAN EMOTIONS _ How many human emotions are there? According to a study (Ohio State University), the number is at least 21. Throughout history, it was believed that there are just a small handful of basic human emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. But researchers recruited 230 volunteers to pose for simple portraits. Each photograph was captured after providing the subjects with scenarios to respond to emotionally — things like smelling bad odors or hearing surprising news. After capturing 5,000 different portraits, the team fed them to a computer for analysis of facial muscles. This technique revealed that there exist 21 distinct complex emotions that are common to humanity. They are: happy, sad, fearful, angry, surprised, disgusted, happily surprised, happily disgusted, sadly fearful, sadly angry, sadly surprised, sadly disgusted, fearfully angry, fearfully surprised, fearfully disgusted, angrily surprised, angrily disgusted, disgustedly surprised, appalled, hatred, and awed.
