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Suffering From Social Anxiety? Smell Someone’s Armpit!

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:41 GMT

Swedish scientists are up to something rather strange — something that could, however, potentially be helpful for at least 15 million people in the US alone (based on Mental Health America); they’re currently studying a new possible treatment for social anxiety — and they think that smelling someone’s armpit can help alleviate the ailment!Sniffing Sweat as a Form of ReliefElisa Vigna and her team conducted research regarding social anxiety — and how sniffing stinky sweat lessened the symptoms of the mental health condition; the researchers also presented the said preliminary study at the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry last week in Paris. Volunteers of the research were subjected to “mindfulness therapy” and they were given samples of underarm perspiration. Interestingly, the volunteers responded well to the scent of body odor. The reason for this — according to Elisa Vigna of Karolinska Institute — is because “Our state of mind causes us to produce molecules (or chemo-signals)...

Study Shows Employers Like to Exploit Loyal Workers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:41 GMT

Regardless of your line of work, you should be passionate about your job. As long as you love what you do, you will find ways to be happy doing it. Sometimes, however, some employers will take advantage of this fact and exploit loyal workers by assigning them thankless responsibilities — with zero to little compensation.How Some Managers Exploit Loyal WorkersDuke University researchers recently conducted a study and found that far too many bosses seek employees who are willing to go “above and beyond” their job duties. Dr. Matthew Stanley, the lead researcher, along with his team, gathered about 1,400 managers and asked them a series of questions regarding a fictional employee named “John” — a 29-year-old who’s in need of money.The managers were given different scenarios — they made John have different traits; such as the “Loyal John,” “Honest John,” “Fair John,” “Disloyal John,” etc. No matter the circumstance, most managers kept choosing “Loyal John” to be the version of John that...

The Spa at Séc-he Opens Today In Palm Springs – 40,000 Square Feet Of Wellness

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:41 GMT

The first thing to greet you as you enter the new 40,000-square-foot Spa at Séc-he in Palm Springs is a wall mosaic of the nearby legendary Tahquitz Canyon trail on the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Reservation. It’s just one of the many mosaics by the Corradini Corp., depicting the local Native American landscape in the wellness resort located at the 12,000-year-old hot mineral springs in the center of town.But that’s just the tip of the two halotherapy salt caves.The Spa at Séc-he offers a full menu of massages, facials, scrubs, wraps, couples retreats, and salon services within its 15 treatment rooms, in addition to specialty experiences like cryotherapy, flotation and water-cupping massages. The wellness spa features a clinical skin support line, organic skin care, advanced technology facials, hair treatments, and a variety of wellness packages with customizable options. Ladies Himalayan salt cave (Courtesy The Spa at Séc-he)Despite its sprawling size, the complex has ...

30 American ballparks in one monumental road trip

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:41 GMT

It doesn’t take a rigorous Google search to learn that it was Ralph Waldo Emerson — rather than Yogi Berra — who insisted life is all about the journey, not the destination. Then again, ol’ Ralphie never spent a lazy summer day in the Dodger Stadium bleachers or gazed upon the Green Monster at Fenway Park.Any baseball devotee worth his peanuts and Cracker Jack knows that both the journey and the destination hold equal value when it comes to road tripping across North America to visit the fields of their dreams.It’s those wanderlusty fans, many of whom spent their youth collecting bubble gum cards, who now exuberantly collect major-league ballparks. In some ambitious cases, all 30 of them — from Oracle Park in San Francisco to Yankee Stadium in New York City.Sure, they might go about it differently: There are those who enjoy tailing their hometown team on an extended road trip. Others spend life in the fast lane, trying to hit as many stadiums as they can in a short amount of time. S...

The pets she lost in the fire: Caterina Scorsone fans mourn her cats and dog

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:41 GMT

Fans of “Grey’s Anatomy” star Caterina Scorsone are expressing gratitude that she was able to save herself and her three young daughters from a sudden and fast-moving house fire.But they are devastated by Scorsone’s news that her three cats and one dog — whom she often featured on her Instagram account — died in the blaze.“I am heartbroken right now,” wrote the creator of a fan Instagram account, scorsone.pets, which was dedicated to sharing photos of the actor’s animals, cats Luna, Bear and Clover and an unnamed dog. The photos included some from when Luna, Bear and Clover were fluffy white, black and calico rescue kittens.“Caterina Scorsone losing 4 pets in a house fire,” another fan tweeted. “What a strong woman. I literally think that’s something I would never be able to recover from. like my heart is aching for her.” Yet another fan wrote:So sad about the pets. They must have been so scared before dying. Grey...

SF Giants’ Taira Uematsu wants to be MLB’s first Japanese-born base coach. Why stop there?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:41 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Taira Uematsu’s day began, like it always does, before dawn.It’s 6 o’clock now, as he slides into the corner table under his name at a sushi hotspot here — he just ran into Ichiro’s translator at the same spot last week — 12 hours since he arrived at the ballpark, first in the building, as usual.Twelve-hour days are tame for Uematsu, who puts in his order and begins to play with his chopsticks. His hands tell a story. His left thumb is permanently altered from a Hunter Strickland fastball, and the index finger next to it turns blue while he sleeps. Proof of the physical toll of more than a decade of grunt work, of never saying no, of being “Mr. Omnipresent.”Uematsu, 39, might be the most important person in a Giants uniform whom you’ve never heard of. One of the handful of folks left in the building with three World Series rings, Uematsu predates every current player and just about everyone else. He joined the organization in 2006, five years after moving to the ...

Athletics’ Sears, Guardians’ Kwan dispel notion of baseball’s prototypes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:41 GMT

OAKLAND — When Steven Kwan settles into the batter’s box as anticipated for the Cleveland Guardians Tuesday night to lead off the game against left-hander JP Sears of the Athletics, it’s a victory for every aspiring player who looks at the requisite prototypes of big leaguers and wonders how they can ever measure up.Sears, 27, is in a precarious position as the No. 5 starter on a team with two projected starters currently on the injured list and expected to join the rotation at some point.Kwan, 25, is the former Washington High of Fremont star entrenched as the Guardians’ leadoff batter, playing an old-school style of baseball while disregarding the trend of recent years which bowed at the altar of power while shrugging off the indignity of the strikeout.He was in the middle of everything Monday night in a 12-11, 10-inning win for the Guardians, hitting a single, a double, a sacrifice fly and scoring three runs.The Sears-Kwan opening act will serve as a remin...

The California bills on a business ‘kill list’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:41 GMT

By Grace Gedye |CalMattersThe California Legislature, with its Democratic supermajority, is known for passing first-in-the-nation laws that ramp up labor and consumer protections — often in the face of intense opposition from business groups.At the same time, the California Chamber of Commerce, a powerful business lobbying group, has honed a specific strategy with a high success rate — labeling bills it deems most burdensome “job-killers” and tracking them on an annual list.This week, the chamber announced its initial list for 2023. Among the bills are:A new tax on total wealth for individuals with a net worth of $50 million or more, introduced by Assemblymember Alex Lee, a Milpitas Democrat. Unlike an income tax, a tax on overall wealth is unprecedented in the U.S.Lee argues that ultra-wealthy people are able to avoid paying much in income taxes by holding assets, like stocks and property, and borrowing against them. The revenue raised by the tax would be used to invest in “schools...

Raincoats, undies, school uniforms: Are your clothes dripping in ‘forever chemicals’?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:41 GMT

By Hannah Norman | Kaiser Health NewsThere could be more than just fashion risks involved when buying a pair of leggings or a raincoat.Just how much risk is still not clear, but toxic chemicals have been found in hundreds of consumer products and clothing bought off the racks nationwide.Thousands of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, exist since the first ones were invented in the 1940s to prevent stains and sticking. PFAS chemicals are used in nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing, and firefighting foam. Their manufacture and persistence in products have contaminated drinking water nationwide. Also known as “forever chemicals,” these substances do not break down in the environment and can accumulate in our bodies over time.Drinking water is widely considered the greatest source of potential exposure and harm. And, in March, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first national standard for PFAS levels in drinking water. But the chemicals can als...

Apple to make job cuts in some corporate retail teams

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:41 GMT

By Mark Gurman | BloombergApple Inc. is eliminating a small number of roles within its corporate retail teams, according to people with knowledge of the matter, marking its first known internal job cuts since it embarked on a belt-tightening effort last year.The company is shedding positions in what it calls its development and preservation teams, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the move hasn’t been announced. Those groups are responsible for the construction and upkeep of Apple retail stores and other facilities around the world.While the number of positions being eliminated couldn’t be ascertained and is likely very small, the move represents a new step for the world’s most valuable company, whose peers have been slashing their ranks in the face of a shaky economy and sluggish consumer spending.Apple is positioning the move as a streamlining effort, rather than layoffs. It told employees that the changes were designed to improve upkeep of stores globally an...