Better with age

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. 60% of American adults identify as “working class”; the hesitant awkwardness of reaching out to an old friend; and 91-year-old reclaims title of oldest to complete Appalachian Trail.

But first, our weekly poll!

Earlier this week Stake featured a story on the “friendship cliff” that some retirees go over, shedding most of the relationships that were centred around working life rather than centred around true friendship.

One of the ways to avoid the friendship cliff is to reconnect with old friends—ones that were true friends, but just drifted for whatever reason, as is often the case along life’s way.

That said, almost anyone can attest to the awkwardness or hesitation that often comes with being the one to break the ice. More often than not, people ultimately choose to “let sleeping dogs lie,” rather than making the first move.

Psychologists believe there are different motives one may have for wanting to rekindle an old friendship, and knowing which motive is driving the desire can help determine if the friendship is really worth revisiting, or if leaving it alone is the best course of action.

One reason could be a genuine curiosity about how someone is doing after so many years. Another could be rooted in a desire to connect with one’s own younger self, which is often done—even if subconsciously—by surrounding oneself with those who were around during their youth.

So, how about it…who will you call?

A study recently published by researchers at Northwestern University looked at the ways men and women cope with loneliness, and discovered they’re dramatically different.

The team found these differences typically apply regardless of age but one difference identified was that isolation can activate neurological pathways related to alcohol consumption and while the effects of isolation motivate men to drink, they actually do the opposite in women.

“Our work shows that a defined pathway becomes overactive during isolation and directly increases drinking, and that males and females rely on different neural strategies when they’re lonely,” said Reesha Patel, a neuroscientist from Northwestern University.

The researchers ran tests on mice, and were able to draw a connection between regions of the brain activated by isolation, and a region associated with alcohol consumption. Strangely, the male mice became motivated to drink when the connection was activated, whereas female mice drank less than normal.

“This is the first study to identify a specific brain circuit that explains how social isolation can drive increased alcohol use in males, marking a major advance for the field,” said Patel.

The Appalachian Trail spans 14 states, and contains around 223 feet of elevation per mile hiked. The trail is 2,190 miles long.

In other words, Dale Sanders, 91, ostensibly scaled Mount Everest 16 times during his most recent conquering of the mighty trail.

Nicknamed “Grey Beard” for obvious reasons, Sanders first claimed the title of “oldest person to complete the Appalachian Trail” at the age of 82. Nine years at that age makes a major difference, though.

"It was so much harder this time," he told As It Happens host. "Like, double or triple the difficulty."

How difficult? He fell 71 times, for starters. Any fall at the age of 91 could be a deal breaker at the grocery store. This fella’s tumbles were on the side of a mountain, valley, swamp, or some other unforgiving terrain in the middle of an unfathomable marathon.

Hospitalized once for a pinched nerve, he admitted to nearly throwing in the towel a couple times, including once with just a couple weeks to go in his journey.

Sanders also holds the record for oldest person to cross the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim, and became the oldest person to paddle the entirety of the Mississippi River. It took him 87 days, which he began on his 87th birthday.

Staying on the topic of miracles, a 24-year-old man survived being struck by lightning on his way to a dentist appointment in Staten Island the other day. The incident was caught on a doorbell camera about 15 yards from where it happened.

Thomas Fahmy was walking from his home to his car with an umbrella above his head when the lightning struck, knocking him to the ground, though not unconscious.

He stood up to seek help at a nearby house, where he was eventually picked up by an ambulance and taken to hospital for treatment.

He told a local news crew he felt a “very intense burning sensation” followed by “tingling, numbness, pain, severe pain, in both my feet.”

Though kept overnight just to be safe, Fahmy ultimately walked away with minor injuries. He suffered no major burns, nor any nerve, muscle, or organ damage.

The odds of being struck by lightning anywhere at any time are roughly one in a million. Most people who are struck by lightning actually survive, but to do so without suffering any major injuries is miraculous.

Quizmaster’s choice

You know the drill, Staker! It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for another round of à la carte with today’s trivia 😎