Lifestyle
Alongside taking care of other people and the planet, make sure you take good care of yourself. The Lifestyle section at the Optimist Daily has solutions for everyday wellbeing on topics like food, beauty, fashion, and the latest trends. Curious about caring for houseplants, eating plant-based, or parenting tips? It’s all in there.
Europeans open their houses and welcome refugees
The news about the migrant crisis in Europe is saddening and overwhelming. Desperate, broke and without a home, more refugees than ever since World War II are searching for a better life. While some politicians are suggesting to construct “walls” to prevent refugees from entering, Europeans Read More...
The fully immersive mind of Oliver Sacks
Pioneering neurologist and author Oliver Sacks died Sunday, August 30 at age 82. In his writings about patients’ sometimes bizarre case studies—which he would call “neurological novels”—Sacks was able to draw out the humanity in pathology. Steve Silberman wrote about Read More...
Costa Rica is planning to shut down all its zoos and free its captive animals
There are many reason to love Costa Rica. The tiny Central American country is considered a biodiversity hot spot; it has no army it transitions to green energy faster than the Germans do; and now, they're shutting down all of its zoos. Yup, Costa Rica is becoming the first country to implement a Read More...
Research shows that these 7 hobbies will make you smarter
For a long time, it was believed that people are born with a given level of intelligence, and the best we could do in life was to live up to our potential. Scientists have now proven that we can actually increase our potential and enjoy ourselves in the process. We now know that by learning new Read More...
Google and Tesla might be interested in creating a permanent Burning Man
If you’ve ever seen photos of the Burning Man event, you will have realized that this is an event unlike any other. It seems to encourage all kinds of self-expression and according to the event’s description, it’s been called “an experiment in community, art, radical Read More...
These moms were so tired of stereotypical girls clothes that they started making their own
What if a young girl would like to wear a T-shirt with a dinosaur or a spaceship on it? She's in bad luck because most likely she'll need to shop at the boys section of the clothing store. A group of moms tired of stereotypical pink girls clothing with ruffles and frills started to raise Read More...
How the mind sharpens the senses
A study conducted with experienced scholars of Zen-Meditation shows that mental focussing can induce learning mechanisms, similar to physical training. Researchers at the Ruhr-University Bochum and the Ludwig-Maximilians-University München discovered this phenomenon during a scientifically Read More...
Leading intellectuals and activists from Iran speak out for peace
To show support for an international agreement over Iran's nuclear activities, leading intellectuals, activists and human rights campaigners have started a social media campaign. In a video, they ask US congress to end the damaging sanctions and bring about positive change in the region. The Iran Read More...
How techies can still communicate with each other while they're without internet at Burning Man
Burning Man, the annual festival that celebrates art, counterculture, and radical self-reliance, begins Sunday in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. The weeklong event has long drawn a wild crowd that eschews modern society and technology in favor of partying and constructing strange buildings in the Read More...
As the threat of "underpopulation" arises, Europe learns to appreciate human life
In Portugal, toy shops and schools are closing. Abandoned petrol stations and motels are being converted into nursing homes. In Italy, the retired population is soaring. Germany has the lowest birthrate in the world. It's obvious that Europe has a challenge as its population gets older, with fewer Read More...