Since its premiere in 1993, TheX-Files has become a reference for incredibly done, nail-biting procedurals on TV. Starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as the iconic FBI agents Mulder and Scully, the series won over viewers, became a TV staple, and even went on to inspire two feature-length movies and two season-long revivals. But while every iteration so far has seen Duchovny and Anderson step back into their characters' shoes as they work on more extraterrestrial cases, a reboot that's
Since its premiere in 1993, TheX-Files has become a reference for incredibly done, nail-biting procedurals on TV. Starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as the iconic FBI agents Mulder and Scully, the series won over viewers, became a TV staple, and even went on to inspire two feature-length movies and two season-long revivals. But while every iteration so far has seen Duchovny and Anderson step back into their characters' shoes as they work on more extraterrestrial cases, a reboot that's already underway is flipping the script – and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
When it comes to where exes Eva Longoria and Tony Parker stand, fans might expect there to be more drama than there was on Wisteria Lane.But the Desperate Housewives star recently proved she’s on...
When it comes to where exes Eva Longoria and Tony Parker stand, fans might expect there to be more drama than there was on Wisteria Lane.But the Desperate Housewives star recently proved she’s on...
From a distance, the storefront appears as a nondescript convenience mart, tucked underneath the Standard, High Line hotel in New York City's Meatpacking District. Yet close inspection reveals something else entirely: hundreds of felt sculptures, all emulating the products often sold in corner stores across the city. This is the work of Lucy Sparrow, self-described “feltist” and installation artist... Read the entire article by Andy Smith by clicking above.
The post Employee of The Month: Felt A
From a distance, the storefront appears as a nondescript convenience mart, tucked underneath the Standard, High Line hotel in New York City's Meatpacking District. Yet close inspection reveals something else entirely: hundreds of felt sculptures, all emulating the products often sold in corner stores across the city. This is the work of Lucy Sparrow, self-described “feltist” and installation artist... Read the entire article by Andy Smith by clicking above.
The Bryn Mawr-New Yorker Connection Cartoonist Maggie Larson contributed a cartoon to her alma mater’s Bryn Mawr Bulletin and they included a brief profile and an addendum noting Bryn Mawr past cartoons in The New Yorker. Letting Go Jonny Manning for the BBC tells of Peter Hansen thinning his comics collection. Many children collected comic […]
The Bryn Mawr-New Yorker Connection Cartoonist Maggie Larson contributed a cartoon to her alma mater’s Bryn Mawr Bulletin and they included a brief profile and an addendum noting Bryn Mawr past cartoons in The New Yorker. Letting Go Jonny Manning for the BBC tells of Peter Hansen thinning his comics collection. Many children collected comic […]
The women portrayed in Prudence Flint’s paintings are caught in moments of quiet, reflection, and impermanence. They appear fixed in a moment of repose ripe for interruption. Perhaps they are lying on the grass, or changing an infant’s diaper, or awash in warm water mid-shower. Regardless, there is a certain mood shared among her works. Read the full interview with the artist by clicking above!
The post Prudence Flint’s Paintings Capture Moments of repose that are ripe for interruption first a
The women portrayed in Prudence Flint’s paintings are caught in moments of quiet, reflection, and impermanence. They appear fixed in a moment of repose ripe for interruption. Perhaps they are lying on the grass, or changing an infant’s diaper, or awash in warm water mid-shower. Regardless, there is a certain mood shared among her works. Read the full interview with the artist by clicking above!
The average American spends nearly an hour a day behind the wheel, according to the US Department of Transportation. Some people love driving. Others tolerate it in order to get around. But either way, on average we all spend a lot of time doing it.
So it’s understandable if, over time, we all come to believe a few things about our cars that aren’t true. There’s nothing more human than believing myths, but some of these false beliefs have people wasting money or getting upset at people who ar
The average American spends nearly an hour a day behind the wheel, according to the US Department of Transportation. Some people love driving. Others tolerate it in order to get around. But either way, on average we all spend a lot of time doing it.
So it’s understandable if, over time, we all come to believe a few things about our cars that aren’t true. There’s nothing more human than believing myths, but some of these false beliefs have people wasting money or getting upset at people who are actually doing the right thing. With that in mind, here are a few widely believed driving myths—and why research suggests they’re false.
Premium fuel is pointless (unless your car is made for it).
Diesel aside, there are three kinds of fuel at most gas pumps—regular, plus, and premium. The overwhelming majority of personal vehicles are built with regular fuel in mind; it’s basically just sports cars and a few luxury vehicles that require the higher octane.
Some people believe using premium fuel offers benefits, such as higher fuel economy, increased performance, or reduced tailpipe emissions. But there’s no evidence to support this idea. Engines are designed with a specific octane in mind. Using a higher octane won’t hurt anything, but it doesn’t benefit the vehicle in any way.
Save yourself the money. Image: Shutterstock Joel A Johnson
A 2016 study by the American Automobile Association (AAA) tested different fuels in identical cars. The study found no consistent increase in horsepower or fuel economy, and there was also no change in tailpipe emissions. The only real difference was the price of the fuel.
A 2003 publication from the US Federal Trade Commission put it plainly: “In most cases, using a higher octane gasoline than your owner’s manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit.”
Generally, if your car requires a higher octane fuel, there will be a sticker saying so when you flip open the fuel door. If not, check your car’s manual—it will state which kind of gas your car needs. But basically, if you don’t own a sports car or luxury vehicle, you should just use regular fuel.
Waiting to merge is good, actually.
There’s a widespread belief that, if there’s a lane closure up ahead, people should merge into the open lane as soon as possible. The problem is that doing this slows down traffic. “When most drivers see the first ‘lane closed ahead’ sign in a work zone, they slow too quickly and move to the lane that will continue through the construction area,” reported the Minnesota Department of Transportation. “This behavior can lead to unexpected and dangerous lane switching, serious crashes, and road rage.”
There’s research backing this up. A 1999 study by researchers from the University of Nebraska showed that traffic moves faster if people stay in their lanes until the merge point, then take turns merging. A 2018 study from North Carolina State University shows that there’s a real safety benefit to this system, which is referred to as a zipper merge. According to the study, “drivers merged at much safer distances after installation of the zipper merge at these sites than before the zipper merge was in place.” The study also found that the zipper merge was safer for construction workers. A 2024 paper by researchers from Iowa State University analyzed construction sites in Michigan and Missouri, where portable lit signs instructed drivers to stay in the closing lane until the merge point. They found increased traffic throughput at those sites.
The problem is that not many people know about the benefits of the zipper merge. Some drivers get angry at drivers who don’t merge early, and in some cases will even cut them off. But research suggests everyone would get home faster if we all stayed in our lanes until the merge point.
Manual transmissions aren’t more efficient than automatic ones.
This myth was true, at some point, and still might be true for particular cars with particularly skilled drivers. Overall, though, there’s no real fuel economy advantage to driving a modern manual car. That’s according to the US Department of Energy (DoE), which stated that “advances in automatic transmissions have improved their efficiency to the point that the automatic version of a vehicle often gets the same or better fuel economy than the version with a manual transmission.”
Anyone who is interested can head to FuelEconomy.gov, a website run by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the DoE. On this site you can see the miles per gallon (MPG) for any make and model, allowing you to directly compare the manual and automatic versions of any car. You can dig into the numbers yourself, comparing the automatic and manual version of the same car—assuming, that is, that the car is available as a manual. Such vehicles are a relative rarity in the United States, possibly making this myth largely academic (and that’s before we factor in the shift toward electric cars).
Sara Bareilles is being brave about a difficult time in her life.
The “Love Song” singer spoke candidly about her and husband Joe Tippett’s fertility struggles in her upcoming documentary Good...
Sara Bareilles is being brave about a difficult time in her life.
The “Love Song” singer spoke candidly about her and husband Joe Tippett’s fertility struggles in her upcoming documentary Good...
Two advisory board members for the Stars and Stripes military newspaper are suing the Pentagon, alleging that the Defense Department’s overhaul of the publication is undermining its editorial independence. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, asks a federal judge to block the Pentagon’s efforts to “exert unprecedented control” over the news outlet, arguing the department is attempting...
Two advisory board members for the Stars and Stripes military newspaper are suing the Pentagon, alleging that the Defense Department’s overhaul of the publication is undermining its editorial independence. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, asks a federal judge to block the Pentagon’s efforts to “exert unprecedented control” over the news outlet, arguing the department is attempting...
Crowds gather at sites across Belfast after Sudanese man charged with attempted murderFull report: Man seriously injured in Belfast stabbing Starmer describes as ‘sickening’Badenoch said, after the murder of Stephen Lawrence, it was right that people wanted to ensure this did not happen again.It led to the Macpherson report, she said.[It] wanted to put right what went wrong with policing in the 1990s.However, in attempting to do so, it also enshrined a principle which I believe is wrong that a r
Badenoch said, after the murder of Stephen Lawrence, it was right that people wanted to ensure this did not happen again.
It led to the Macpherson report, she said.
[It] wanted to put right what went wrong with policing in the 1990s.
However, in attempting to do so, it also enshrined a principle which I believe is wrong that a racist incident is racist if it is perceived as racist by the victim or any other person.
Equality law, properly designed, should protect us all in the same way. It should be a shield, not a sword.
It should protect people from discrimination. It should protect people from being treated differently because of their race, sex, religion, sexuality, disability or age.
At every table, Taylor Swift will save Travis Kelce a seat.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end flew out from his team’s mini-camp in Kansas City June 11 to support his fiancée as she was inducted...
At every table, Taylor Swift will save Travis Kelce a seat.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end flew out from his team’s mini-camp in Kansas City June 11 to support his fiancée as she was inducted...
We challenge you to find a saltier ramen in Japan.
Once you start diving into the world of Japanese ramen, you’ll find that the waters are deep, with an incredibly diverse array of varieties, and new dishes being created somewhere every day.
A great example of that can be seen at Kuwabara, a ramen restaurant in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro that specialises in “shio soba“, a light, salt-based ramen. The store’s full name is “Shio Soba Specialty Shop Kuwabara” so it prides itself on salty ramen, but accord
We challenge you to find a saltier ramen in Japan.
Once you start diving into the world of Japanese ramen, you’ll find that the waters are deep, with an incredibly diverse array of varieties, and new dishes being created somewhere every day.
A great example of that can be seen at Kuwabara, a ramen restaurant in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro that specialises in “shio soba“, a light, salt-based ramen. The store’s full name is “Shio Soba Specialty Shop Kuwabara” so it prides itself on salty ramen, but according to diners, a dish on the menu called “Ikebukuro White” is off the scale, with diners describing it as “shockingly salty“.
▼ A sign out the front shows customer’s views of the store, with “The soup is salty” in top place, written in red.
The saltiness of the Ikebukuro White is said to be so insane that the restaurant is now trending on social media, with some online commenters describing it as “salty delicious”, “incredibly addictive”, “one of a kind” and “the saltiest salt ramen I’ve ever eaten in my life.”
▼ Needless to say, those comments immediately piqued our interest so we headed out to the store to try the Ikebukuro White.
Ironically, the dish is marked by a black-and-white button on the ticket machine inside, where it’s priced at 1,200 yen (US$7.61). Next to it is a handwritten sign that says, “rapidly gaining popularity”, indicating that this dish really is attracting attention from diners.
After handing our ticket over to staff, we took a seat and a few minutes later our Ikebukuro White arrived. At first glance, it looked like a slightly unorthodox salt ramen, with black pepper and flat noodles, but nothing could prepare us for what we tasted when we took our first sip of the broth.
▼ SALTY!!
The saltiness is so strong it needs to be emphasised in all caps, and although it’s not extreme enough to make you stop eating, it toes the line by erring on the side of tolerable. This really was the saltiest ramen we’d ever had in our life, and in addition to the saltiness, the garlic and black pepper also pack a punch. The firm texture of the flat noodles, cooked perfectly al dente, attempts to soften the flavours, but they remain strong in every mouthful.
▼ Perhaps because of the intense saltiness, we found ourselves finishing the noodles in no time.
One unexpected side effect of the salty broth was it made the water taste incredibly delicious. And yes, we gulped down an entire glass after the meal.
Now that we’ve tried the famed ramen, we challenge anyone to find a saltier broth in Japan. It’s so salty that if you didn’t know its reputation beforehand, you might find yourself wondering if the chef made a mistake with the seasoning.
There’s no mistake here, though, and although the saltiness is incredibly overwhelming, it’s a one-of-a-kind ramen you won’t find anywhere else. So if you’re willing to dive into Japan’s ramen world, this is definitely the deep end, where the broth is delicious, but as salty as the sea.
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