Just the two of us

In 1975, Captain and Tennille struck gold. Love Will Keep Us Together wasn’t just a chart-topping single, it was #1 on both the Billboard and RPM year-end charts. No wonder you saw that Toni Tenille haircut everywhere in the mid-to-late ‘70s 🤣

According to the latest observations, love doesn’t just keep you together, it can bring lovers together across incredible distances. Marine biologists identified a humpback whale which travelled halfway across the world to breed! 

How far would you sail away? ;)

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering if your dreams are ridiculous or too big to accomplish, ask yourself this: are they 25 feet tall and affixed with two wheels and a seat?

That describes the shared vision of Nicolas Barrioz and David Peyrou, a pair of designers from France who came up with the idea for the world’s tallest rideable bicycle while sitting in a bar five years ago.

According to Barrioz, it took them two years just to build the prototype, while also noting, "it is not possible to tell you the blood sweat and tears," that went into it.

The other day, Guinness World Records certified their product as the world’s tallest rideable bike at 25 feet and 5 inches, breaking the previous record by 14 inches.

"This experience has completely transformed my worldview. Before this, I really needed self-confidence; I was shy and had a negative self-opinion. Now it's better, and sometimes I feel unstoppable; I think I can repair, build or design anything," Barrioz said.

Canadians living in and around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) will have to travel outside the city if they want to see another total solar eclipse after today’s. The last time one happened in the Toronto area was 1925, and the next one won’t occur until 2144.

“It’s an once-in-a-lifetime event,” says Robert Cockcroft, McMaster University astronomy and physics professor. “It’s when you get the perfect alignment between the moon and the sun, and it’s just a coincidence they appear on the same side of the sky.”

The 1925 eclipse was extremely popular in Toronto given the leftover hype associated with one that occurred in South America and Africa in 1919, when the Eddington experiment was conducted, which helped prove Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Nearly 100 years later, Toronto gets its last total solar eclipse during the lifetime of pretty much anyone currently alive.

Enjoy it!

According to cognitive neuroscientist Moshe Bar, the human state of mind can be characterized by attention, perception, and openness, and the way these three pillars take share is greatly influenced by a person’s mood.

A bad mood can result in attention be narrowly-focused, perception driven more by feelings, and openness limited.

When someone’s in a good mood, however, they’re able to focus their attention more broadly - able to see the forest rather than just the trees. Their perception is more based on the information readily available rather than just one specific thing, and their mind is open.

Bar says there are appropriate times for each state of mind, but the key is to be able to optimize for any scenario, moving back and forth at will between open- and closed-mindedness.

Practising mindfulness is a good way to help influence your state of mind (consciously reflecting on it) and to be more open-minded, Bar says doing things that tend to brighten your mood can help.

University of Pittsburgh Medical School researchers recently discovered that familiar smells can help access autobiographical memories and possibly help with depression recovery too.

Those with Major Depressive Disorder often cannot recall specific autobiographical memories but this study, published in JAMA Network Open in February, found that odour-cued memories were recalled more than word-recalled memories among the 32 participants.

The team used a reviewed paper done on healthy people that outlined their most common smells including coconut, cinnamon and coffee to name a few. 26 scents were used in total and the other half of the cues were read orally to participants.

Team member Dr. Kymberly D. Young said this challenges the conventional wisdom that people with depression don't have positive memories. She said one of the most important take-aways from this study "...is that it suggests that depressed people have the memories but cannot access them. If we can help them access their positive memories, they can use them in daily life. The memories are there; you just need a better way to access them."

It’s that time of year again. Popsicles, ice cream, sno cones, and maybe a frozen margarita or two. And each summer, we’re reminded why we don’t slurp too quickly. 🥶

But why does a brain freeze happen? The medical reaction known as “sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia” (say that five times fast) happens because of what’s in our mouths. We have blood vessels in the mouth and back of the throat. When we eat or drink something cold or frozen, those vessels constrict, followed quickly by dilation. That rapid change in size activates pain receptors.

The good news? It doesn’t cause any permanent damage, and usually lasts less than 5 minutes. The best way to curb it is to stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth to warm it up, or sip on something warm.

You could also avoid it altogether by avoiding refreshingly frozen treats and beverages — but what’s the fun in that?!

From The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Good Times and his epic role in Roots, John Amos was a legend.

Sadly, he passed away earlier this year, but today would’ve been his birthday. To celebrate, today’s trivia will focus on the most dyn-o-mite sitcom of the ’70s ;)

Have a great weekend Staker!

Trivia courtesy of funtrivia.com. Today’s issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.