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Summer is in full swing, and that means we’re spending as much time outside as possible. Afterall, summer means pool parties, beach vacations, and our personal favorite: grilling outside.
Americans love to grill, there’s no doubt about it. In fact, 5.5% of Americans say they grill more than once a week. While grilling is a time honored, All-American pastime, too many people never think beyond hot dogs, hamburgers, and sausages….
There’s no doubt about it: we’re attached to our gadgets. Nearly two-thirds of Americans owned a smartphone in 2015, and we rely on this technology during virtually every part of our day. Many people can’t bear to be away from their cell phones — there’s even a phobia that describes people who fear being caught without their mobile or being out of range — and according to LG, approximately 90% of people experience anxiety when their phone battery runs low. While it’s somewhat understandable, then, that we like to bring our phones everywhere we go, research shows that there’s one place that should be off-limits: the bathroom.
A 2015 survey conducted by Verizon Wireless found that 90% of people use their phones in the bathroom. But because your cell phone contains, on average, 25,000 germs per square inch, your mobile device is actually dirtier than your toilet seat. One U.K. study conducted in 2011 found that one out of every six smartphones contained — brace yourself — fecal matter. And while you can (and always should) wash your hands after using the facilities, you might not think to disinfect your phone. Using these dirty gadgets can cause everything from acne and allergic reactions to staph and E. coli infections. Smartphone owners should invest in microfiber cloths and cleaning wipes specifically made for electronics. There are even devices that will clean your phone with UV light and charge the battery at the same time.
But bacteria isn’t the only reason to make your commode a phone-free zone. Dropping your phone in the toilet, sink, or tub is an ever-present threat. If you don’t want to have to stick your phone in a bag of rice and eventually pay for a replacement (remember, water damage probably isn’t covered under your warranty), don’t bring your gadgets in the W.C. in the first place. Even if you happen to have a water-resistant model, do you really want to reach in and grab it?
Using electronics in the bathroom can actually be fatal, in rare cases. One Texas teenager recently died from electrocution when she decided to use her charging smartphone while she was taking a bath. Others have suffered electric shocks under similar circumstances. While these incidents are few and far between, it’s just one more reason to keep your tech out of the toilet.
Not only should you place limits on where you and your family use your devices, but you should also address how much you use them. Increased screen time and app usage have been linked to higher rates of anxiety and depression, especially amongst kids and teens who aren’t monitored during their tech activities. And some experts feel that higher usage rates might lead to stunted speech and language development, as well as poor eyesight and sleep disruption.
An increasing number of doctors and health experts suggest that taking breaks from tech use can be beneficial, especially when cell phone use seems to be tied to an increase in anxiety. While the world has become dependent on gadgets, it’s become important for many families to make certain times off-limits for phone and computer use. While the best way to start might be to instate a “no phones allowed” rule in the bathroom, refraining from cell phone use before bed or in the early morning can make a big difference.
Newborn babies sleep a lot. Up to 10.5 to 18 hours to be exact. Which is why it’s so important that parents maintain a safe sleeping environment for their baby. Even the smallest of objects such as a stuffed animal in your child’s crib can lead to terrible consequences.
Fortunately, new legislation is being proposed to reduce the infant mortality rate in the United States. Both in D.C. and Trumbull County, Ohio, baby boxes are being considered the newest and safest way to keep infants safe.
The baby box is a rendition of Finland’s famous maternity package, which provides soon-to-be mothers with a blanket, clothes, and a simple box for their infant to sleep in. These boxes are clear of anything that may cause suffocation to a child and promotes safe sleeping habits for the parents as well.
“We don’t know all the causes of sudden infant death, but we do know that sometimes co-sleeping can cause problems,” said Brianne Nadaeu, a D.C. Councilmember, to Fox 5. “So we want parents to have a safe place to put their child while they are sleeping while it is also convenient for them.”
A baby box allows for parents to have their child in the bedroom with them without risking suffocation or the child rolling off the bed. The closeness of the box also allows the parent to keep an eye on their infant to prevent SIDS.
However, the baby boxes aren’t only a lifesaver for the child. The government-sanctioned boxes are also a lifesaver for the new mother who often can’t afford a crib or another alternative. This often leads to bed-sharing, which can be dangerous to the newborn child.
The Baby Box Company is the only company making these infant-safe baby boxes for new parents thus far. However, the new D.C. bill will enable other companies to partake in the production of the boxes as well.
“We have consulted with hospital association,” said Nadaeu. “We are hoping they might be our willing partner to provide the boxes as parents are leaving the hospital. One of the challenges is where do you store them because they are kind of big if you are taking thousands of them, so we are working on that now.”
We all love a feel good story, especially when it comes to babies. This story, of Louise Brown and Elizabeth Carr, first made headlines over 30 years ago, but it’s still bringing hope to women around the world dealing with infertility.
For years, infertility has been considered a taboo topic. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, many women don’t know just how common infertility is. Here in the United States, 6.7 million women between ages 15 and 44 have impaired fecundity, or the impaired ability to get pregnant or carry a baby to term. And it was Brown and Carr’s parents who first shed light on this sensitive topic, back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Louise Brown was the world’s first test tube baby, born via in vitro fertilization in 1978 in England. A few years later, Carr was the first American born via in vitro fertilization, back in 1981. This June, the two women finally met at Chicago’s Midwest Reproductive Symposium International, and they immediately hit it off.
The women shared their unique stories in front of doctors, nurses, and fertility experts, and both recounted knowing their birth stories from a young age. They found out they had more in common than one would’ve thought, including being the answers to Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit questions and being featured on front pages of newspapers before they were even born.
Carr explains to PEOPLE:
“My first baby photo showed me four cells old under a microscope, and my first press conference was when I was three days old. Louise and I have so much in common that I’d always dreamed about meeting her. It’s nice to know that this weird life we call ours is something that somebody else shares.”
Brown and Carr hope that their meeting can bring hope to couples struggling worldwide with fertility issues. Their success story just signifies that it is possible for women and men to conceive in non-traditional ways, and they are quick to show how far medical technology has come since they were born. For example, back in the late 1970s, the world had never heard of IVF treatments, but now it is a household name. There are plenty of more developments in the world of fertility treatments, including freezing eggs and sperm.
Sharing a stage together for the first time, the women feel that their existence serves as a perfect example of inspiration to those who are struggling to conceive.
Brown expresses the same sentiment as Carr to PEOPLE:
“Elizabeth and I are both so grateful for the work of the scientists and doctors who brought about IVF, so if my existence gives them encouragement, that’s a good thing. Doctors gave me the middle name of ‘Joy’ because they said my birth could bring joy to many people. I want to live up to that name.”
Millennials and work-from-home moms alike want flexible employment options that allow them to achieve a better work/life balance. That’s one of the reasons why 80% of employees view the option to work remotely as a job perk. For those who don’t make the trek into the office on a daily basis, reliable technology is a must. And if Lenovo has their way, these employees could someday have a device that’s as flexible as their work schedule.
At a recent New York City event, Lenovo unveiled their new concept for personalized laptops that would, in theory, be able to be folded down and bent in half. The artistic rendering shows a flexible screen that looks like something out of a Dali painting, but with a slightly melted screen instead of a timepiece.
According to Lenovo, the device would have a built-in keyboard and would be made using very unspecific “new screen technologies” and “advanced materials.” The firm also says that the majority of interaction would require a stylus or voice commands, as there’s no trackpad included in the design. But changing the way technology is navigated wouldn’t necessarily be a foreign concept to current Lenovo users, as voice control and correlating pointing sticks are used on their line of laptops and tablets called ThinkPads.
Lenovo has also tested bendable tech in the past. Last year, they debuted a mobile phone, called the CPlus, with a flexible, wrap-able screen. While the phone can bend around a user’s wrist and run the Android platform, it’s not currently in production.
Some experts think that the same fate may befall this new concept, which seems unlikely to be produced — at least in the near future. While it may just be a pipe dream for now, others are applauding Lenovo for continuing to push the envelope. They aren’t the only ones who are trying to make their mark with bendable technology, either; Samsung, Microsoft, and LG are all working on folding devices, which means that it could be a literal race to market.
Eager consumers will have to keep a sharp eye out for hingeless devices that promise to be every bit as malleable in a variety of situations as they are.
