Arts & Culture
Here we cover the latest and most uplifting exhibitions, creative movements, and imaginative design to keep you inspired throughout your day.
17-year-old develops app to bring the magic of movies to young deaf viewers
For deaf viewers, open captioning makes movies and television more accessible, but for younger viewers who cannot read very quickly, subtitles aren’t very helpful. Fortunately, a new app, developed by 17-year-old student Mariella Satow, is making children’s movies more accessible with sign Read More...
Teen saved thanks to domestic violence hand signal circulated on TikTok
Last year, the Canadian Women’s Foundation introduced a hand gesture that is meant to communicate a plea for help due to a violent home environment. This hand gesture was subsequently circulated on the social media platform TikTok and adopted by women around the world who must discreetly inform Read More...
Meet the woman on a mission to diversify the world of skateboarding
The world of skateboarding has been dominated by the typical “white boy” skater, which is what Marie Mayassi, who introduces herself as “born in Paris but originally from Congo,” noticed when she first took up the sport four years ago. Determined to change the scene’s lack of Read More...
Why the lost art of daydreaming is good for your mental health
When was the last time you indulged in a good daydreaming session? These days, whenever there are idle moments in the day when humans would have previously had nothing but their imaginations to occupy them, such as waiting in line at the grocery store or standing in an elevator, our devices keep us Read More...
The case taking for 'meme breaks'
Social media tends to get a bad rep for several reasons, like its addictive qualities and negative impact on our mental health. While social media does have its downfalls, a new study reveals that a certain facet of the internet, memes, actually helps us, especially in terms of alleviating stress Read More...
A few extraordinary ways ordinary people are responding to COP26
The long-awaited COP26 climate summit is garnering media coverage from across the globe, however, it’s not just the big names in politics and business that are sounding the alarm on the climate crisis. The global climate summit has inspired the public to think of innovative ways that they can Read More...
Novel DNA extraction method confirms identity of Sitting Bull’s great-grandson
Researchers from the Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre at the University of Cambridge are celebrating the successful extraction of usable DNA from a long-dead person after 14 years of effort. The method, developed by a team of scientists led by Eske Willerslev, was recently used to confirm the Read More...
Old Kingdom mummy upends previous beliefs about Egyptian mummification
When we think of ancient Egyptians, mummies usually come to mind pretty quickly, and new research is shedding light on the mummification process of these ancient civilizations. Specifically on the fact that Egyptians were practicing mummification long before we previously thought. The 2019 Read More...
The science behind the pumpkin spice latte
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM It’s pumpkin spice latte season, and whether you love or hate this classic festive beverage, you can’t deny that there is a nostalgic power to its sweet brew. To explore why exactly we love pumpkin spice so much, a pair of perception researchers from John Read More...
AMC Theaters to offer open captioning showtimes at 100 US locations
Movie theater company AMC has announced plans to make their showings more inclusive with the addition of open captioning during select showings at over 100 US locations. "By adding open captions to the variety of presentation formats we offer, AMC locations become a more welcoming place for Read More...