danipretto

This is Star S'Mores, a five-minute cookie themed Star Wars parody starring the cast of Sesame Street. Watch it with your kids. Don't have any kids? Watch it with a pet. No pets? What about a roommate? You live alone? Hmm, tell you what -- how about you Skype me and we'll watch it at the same time? No worries, that's what friends are for. Jk jk, friends are for borrowing money from and never paying back. Spot me $200? Keep going for the video.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced last week that it is making a $50 million donation to various organizations working on the frontline of the fight against Ebola in West Africa. The gift represents the largest humanitarian donation ever made by the foundation, which is the largest charitable foundation in the world. The announcement comes in response to the United Nations’ recent issuing of an “international rescue call” for greater assistance from the global community to help contain the current outbreak of the disease, which has killed thousands of people.

Read the rest of Bill Gates’ Foundation Makes its Largest Donation Ever to Fight Ebola

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Post tags: ban ki-moon, bill & melinda gates foundation, bill gates, charitable donation, Ebola, Gates Foundation gives $50 million to fight Ebola, gift, guinea, infectious diseases, liberia, philanthropy, public health, sierra leone, UN, unicef, United Nations, West Africa, WHO, World Health Organization

Back in the 1960′s Peel produced the smallest production cars in the world, but sadly they had to close up shop in 1966. Fast forward to today and the company has received a fresh round of funding to relaunch their most popular vehicles with all-electric engines! The Peel P50 measures just 54 inches long and 41 inches wide – and it’s a top contender for the world’s cutest electric car.

Read the rest of The Peel P50 is the World’s Smallest (and Cutest) Electric Car!

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blacksupervillain:

unamusedsloth:

Nude Portraits series by photographer Trevor Christensen

this is briliant

A Thai textbook publisher learned the hard way that maybe you shouldn't just print random images off the internet after it was discovered the photo they used on their edition of 'Basic Mathematics' is actually from the cover of Japanese p0rn film 'Costume Play Working Girl' starring Mana Aoki. For the record, I have not seen that one. 3,000 of the textbooks were distributed to universities before the mistake was noticed. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, minus the copyright issue, it's not like her nipples are out or anything. My math teacher in school did not look like that. Mine looked like a witch. And she might have actually been one too, I know she was into cats. Keep going for the original image and an ever so slightly steamier one.

As a postpartum nurse, and more importantly, as the mother to four children, realization hit me one day while I was working, when parents -- wringing their hands, staring wide-eyed at the six poound newborn in the bassinet next to the hospital bed -- declared in a whimper, "He won't stop crying." As I spoke my oft-repeated, not exactly comforting phrase, "Welcome to parenthood," it dawned on me that just because I now knew what to expect after you've expected, these little beings with the sweet smelling heads and the insistent personalities come into this world with a few rules and regulations that mom and her partner aren't yet aware of.

1. Newborns cry. Sure, it seems logical enough, but surprisingly, many new parents, wrapped up in the warm, fuzzy moments which accompany picking out the colour scheme for the nursery walls and the fantastic name that no other parent has yet bestowed upon a new human, fail to realize that their baby will cry. Some may only cry when they're hungry, wet, or cold. But others will cry because they'd much prefer to be rocked and cuddled for hours, rather than being placed in their bassinettes while the sleep-deprived parents try to recover.

Do I have any advice? Yes. Sleep when your kid sleeps. I give out this advice regularly. However, with the prospect of showing new baby off to every living relative during visiting hours, my advice is very rarely heeded. If your baby could tell you himself or herself, "Sleep now or forever hold your peace," would you listen?

2. Newborns are not born with preferences. They are rocketed, pulled, tugged, or maneuvered into this world with no preconceived notions. Although tired mommies and partners are actively looking for those traits which bind them as a family; just because grandma says that her son did not like his arms to be wrapped snuggly when he was a baby, thus this new baby will also have acquired this characteristic, 12 hour old children have not yet already decided that they are more comfortable with their arms folded up under their heads, like daddy does when he's watching the hockey game on the couch.

Those new babies come into this world with a desire to be wrapped as warmly and tightly as possible, in order to recreate the snug atmosphere of the womb. Your nurse only wants the best for the patients, as mom, dad/other mom/partner, and baby recover from a possibly long, grueling labour and delivery. Arguing with your nurse that you know that your new child has a favourite blanket when he/she is but mere hours old -- especially when that blanket is not considered safe due to thickness, plushness, or heaviness -- is not only preventing staff from giving you the best possible care, but it's just not the case.(Give it a few months, and that blanket may not be leaving your child's side.)

3. All babies have a monstrosity poop, often referred to as the "tar poop," within the first hours after birth. This is actually called meconium, and is the first feces of the newborn infant. This bowel movement does not cause your baby any pain. Your baby is not crying because this has just come out of his/her body. It does not hurt your baby. Your baby is crying because his diaper is full, and you need to change it. Meconium, although worrisome to the new parents, is a good thing. Let's get that out, and make way for the transitional feces related to the ingestion of colostrum and/or formula.

The diaper change itself will be more traumatic to the new parents, as many are convinced there is something very wrong with their infant to have produced such a large, terrifyingly black substance. Often the parents will continue to blame this frighteningly sticky, tarry poop on the fact that their child is fussy. But no. See #1: Babies cry.

4. Although mothers and their newborns are encouraged to do, what is referred to as "skin-to-skin" which is beneficial to both, as it tells mom's body that it has to begin feeding a tiny being, and it familiarizes baby with mom's scent, skin-to-skin is a terrific way for partners and their new babies to bond as well.

Skin-to-skin contact helps to keep baby's temperature within the normal range, especially in those first few hours after birth when the temperature can easily drop. Often partners are uncomfortable with skin-to-skin because other family members will stress that baby "likes mommy better." See #2: Baby does not have a preference in those first few hours after birth, as proven by the fact that the tiny human will try to latch on to anything and anyone when he/she is hungry.

Yes, skin-to-skin between babe and mother is physiologically favourable, especially if babe is having a particularly bumpy start after delivery. But once mom and baby are stable, skin-to-skin can be done by either parent, or anybody for that fact, and your baby will be appreciative. As long as he/she has a warm body to snuggle into, your baby is off to a great start.

5. Although babies cry, at this early stage of the game, there is no need to "let him/her cry it out." Perhaps that parenting ideology can be introduced later on, if that is your plan. However, within those first 24-48 hours following birth, setting your baby in a bassinette so he/she can "cry it out," is not necessary (see #1 and 2: babies need cuddling, closeness, and snug surroundings).

When you pick up your baby to soothe him/her, and he/she reacts appropriately by settling into the crook of your arm for a comfortable sleep, the oft-repeated "Oh he/she is already spoiled" may be uttered by someone in the room. Please ignore that: 24-48 hour old babies will not become "spoiled" because you are fulfilling their needs. And frankly, these needs are pretty easy to satisfy and are pretty minimal when you consider the grand scheme of your child's life.

Being held in those first couple of days after birth is not spoiling your child. Buying your kid a Macbook when he/she is eight years old may be a different issue. And I have my own ideas about that.

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(via) Joe Hanson of the web series It’s Okay To Be Smart takes a quick look at the science and history of beer with brewer Averie Swanson of Jester King Brewery in Austin, Texas.

THE DRINKER’S ARCHIVE

Zilla van den Born packed her bags for Southeast Asia, said goodbye to her family and friends and spent the next five weeks posting pictures of herself in going to temples, snorkeling and eating fantastic food. What she didn't do, however, was leave home.

The Amsterdam-based student, 25, told everyone she knew (except her boyfriend) that she'd be travelling for 42 days, but instead of getting on a plane, she turned her life into an experiment of how easy it is to fool others with our Facebook appearances.

Zilla, who is a graphic designer and video artist, detailed the experiment on her site. The explanation for it (translated from Dutch) reads:

"We live in a visual culture in which media and reality are intertwined, and it is difficult to distinguish between reality and representation. Everyday we see a stream of images, which makes it possible to see the rest of the world from our living rooms.

As part of my graduation I went to Southeast Asia. At least, that 's what my classmates, friends, family and even my parents believed. In reality, I stayed home and I discovered Thailand, Cambodia and Laos from my desk."

Zilla's delicious Thai restaurant meal, prepared in her apartment with food she bought at an Amsterdam grocery store.


Zilla's visit to a Buddhist temple ... in Amsterdam.


A look at how Zilla Photoshopped herself into the waters of Thailand.

Zilla even faked Skype conversations with people "back home," setting up a portion of her apartment with a Southeast Asian-style backdrop.

As reported by GapYear.com, Zilla told media in the Netherlands, “My goal was to prove how common and easy it is to distort reality. Everybody knows that pictures of models are manipulated. But we often overlook the fact that we manipulate reality also in our own lives.”

Not a bad lesson to take home, really.

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"Male birth control, without condoms, will be here by 2017," the Daily Beast confidently declared earlier this week. Other outlets picked up on the news. In just a few years, according to the headlines, women will apparently be free from worry about unwanted pregnancy because men will be able to access an amazingly effective, safe, and reversible sperm-blocking procedure for birth control.

If it all sounds too good to be true, there's a reason: it's not actually accurate.

These stories weren't based on published research findings or a Food and Drug Administration approval notice for Vasalgel, a method of birth control that involves injecting a gel into a man's vas deferens — where the sperm flow — so that it stops them from releasing the little swimmers. Vasalgel hasn't even gotten a green light from the FDA to be tested in humans, nor does it have published studies in animals or cells support its use.

The news came from a press release — and call for donations! — by the foundation behind Vasalgel, highlighting some promising (though again, unpublished, anecdotal findings) from testing on baboons.

Even if this birth control works for male baboons, there's a whole lot that needs to happen before it hits the market for male humans.

How science actually works

To get a drug to market in the US, it needs to go through three phases of clinical trials in people. But to begin testing it humans, the researchers backing the drug or treatment first need to hand over really promising data from animal studies to the FDA and get the regulator's approval to start recruiting patients. That's called the "pre-clinical" phase of drug development. It can take a few years, and for every 5,000 compounds discovered at this stage, only about five are allowed to be tried in humans.

If that happens, the researchers need to find hundreds and then thousands of volunteers to participate in clinical trials: in the fist phase, they check for safety in a small group of healthy people to make sure the drug isn't immediately making anyone sick or worse, and to figure out how much of the drug people can tolerate.

This entire drug development process takes an average of 12 years,  and it costs between $100 million and $1 billion.

Then, in a larger group of participants, they test to make sure the treatment actually delivers on its promise and monitor how well it works against the best-available therapies or a placebo. The third phase involves an even bigger group — up to 3,000 people — and, again, researchers compare how the drug works against other treatments on the market and carefully analyze safety data.

If all goes well in phase three, the data are submitted to the FDA for approval. Only one in five makes it this far, and it usually takes the FDA a couple of years to consider the data and bring the drug to market, if it so chooses.

So in sum: The US has some of the most stringent standards in the world when it comes to getting new therapies to people, and for this reason, the overwhelming majority of promising drugs in animal studies never even make it to phase one trials, let alone past all the regulatory hurdles. This entire drug development process takes an average of 12 years, and costs between $100 million and $1 billion.

To suggest a treatment like Vasalgel — which hasn't even entered testing in humans — could reach people in just a few years is pretty ridiculous. That's why, in reporting on these therapies, reporters need to be really cautious and readers, super skeptical.

Is this new contraceptive a real contender for men?

Again, if you read the news about it, you might think so. And according to the Daily Beast, Vasalgel is already en route to reducing unintended pregnancies around the world.

This kind of imagination is good for fiction writing but shouldn't be allowed in health journalism.

When I called a bunch of experts in reproductive and contraceptives research from across the US, they all had either never heard of Vasalgel or said that it was so far away from hitting the market that it wasn't yet a serious contender.

As Mario Ascoli, a reproductive scientist at the University of Iowa, put it, "As usual these companies make it sound as if they have discovered the secret of life because they want to entice investors to give them money."

Michael Skinner, who has studied male contraceptives at WSU, said, "Vasalgel is an appropriate scientific approach to investigate. But the clinical results are completely lacking. First we'd need more animal studies, then we'd need need to see them published, and then we can move forward."

Joseph Tash, of the Kansas University Medical Center, said it's important to keep in mind that the safety bar for contraceptives is even higher than it is for other therapies, since you're giving otherwise healthy people a medication. So getting a contraceptive approved can take even longer.

Right now, he added, the leading contender for a male contraceptive is a hormonal pill. But no one has figured out yet how to have a success rate anywhere near similar to the female birth-control pill, which would be the requirement for approval of a male equivalent.

Plus, it's just hard to ward off sperm, he added. "When you consider how many sperm are being produced by a male, we're talking millions each day. A female only produces one or two eggs a month. On a pure numbers basis it is a daunting task."

Wishing Vasalgel the best

Vasalgel is based on a procedure called RISUG — which stands for Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance — that's been in development in India for years. And again, the idea is that a polymer gel is injected into the vas deferens to block sperm, rather then cutting the vas (a vasteomy).

Vasalgel claims that "if a man wishes to restore the flow of sperm, whether after months or years, the polymer is flushed out of the vas with another injection." This would be great news, since vasectomies aren't always reversible and a man's only other alternative right now is condoms.

But despite the hype about RISUG, when a World Health Organization team went to check it out, they passed on the procedure, saying that it didn't stand up to scientific scrutiny. There were concerns about toxicity and whether the treatment lasted over the long term.

The Parsemus Foundation behind Vasalgel is now trying to pick up where the Indian scientists failed, and maybe they will succeed. I wish them all the best. I really do. It's a great concept in that it's non-hormonal and reversible, and it would finally shift the burden of family planning from women on to men. But unfortunately, right now it seems it's far from reaching a bedroom near you.

This is the RYNO Motors Micro-cycle. It can be ridden anywhere bikes are allowed, reach speeds up to 10MPH, travel 10-miles on a single charge, and carry a total weight (including dat ass) of 260-pounds. They're available for pre-order now for $5,300 with an estimated delivery later this year. It makes the perfect ride for somebody trying to achieve that unicyclist look, but hates pedaling. So, are you going to be the first one on your block to own a RYNO? "No." Oh. Well are you going to be the first on your block to own anything? "Yeah, a hoverboard." Ahahahhahahahhaha! Dare to dream. That's what I love about you. You dream so hard it's made you stupid. Keep going for a commercial.

Fart Code is a free app that allows you to scan barcodes and determine how bad the ingredients in what you're about to eat are going to make you bust awful, brain-cell killing farts. You just scan a code and it brings up a list of ingredients that are known toot-producers, and how serious that flatulence might be. SPOILER: Deadly.

If that's not enough to for you, Fart Code also mimics the sound of the fart, and vibrates to match the effect said fart would have on your digestive system. For example, we scanned a bottle of hickory-flavored barbecue sauce and were surprised to get a "Gross" fart rating, with the culprit ingredient being fructose.

Of course, everybody is different. I could eat Taco Bell for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and have before) and not hear a single note from the wind section of my ass orchestra. Then I eat ONE BITE of Ben & Jerry's and produce the kind of fart that you know is going to hurt when it finally dries in your underwear. "Maybe you're lactose intolerant." MAYBE YOU'RE NOT A DOCTOR. Thanks again to E V I L A R E S, who is so evil he normally takes the stairs but will take the elevator if there are other people riding just to burn their nostrils.

oof

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Lawmakers in Gambia recently passed a bill that would increase the country's punishment for some homosexual acts to life imprisonment, reports the Associated Press.

The bill, which reportedly contains language similar to Uganda's struck-down anti-gay law, now awaits the approval of Gambia President Yahya Jammeh, who's been openly hostile to the LGBT community in the past. In 2008, he demanded gays and lesbians leave the country or risk having their heads cut off. In February, Jammeh said on state television, "We will fight these vermins called homosexuals or gays the same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes, if not more aggressively."

While the actions and comments of Gambia's leaders are shocking, they are far from alone in the world. Dozens of countries still outlaw homosexuality and some punish gays and lesbians with death. This map from Equaldex shows the lay of the law around the world:

(Equaldex)

As the map indicates, the bulk of legal hostility toward LGBT people takes place across the Middle East and Africa. In Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania in particular, sexual minorities can even be killed for their orientation. But the map doesn't tell the whole story; it excludes, for example, Russia's anti-LGBT law, which prohibits the dissemination of what the Russian government vaguely calls "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships" to minors.

Equaldex also has interactive maps that break down LGBT rights further, including marriage, ability to serve in the military, and more. It's worth checking out all the maps on the full website.

Whether its moving into a teensy dorm room or squeezing into a small urban apartment, learning to embrace small living quarters is a challenge that many of us have to face. In an effort to make downsizing easier (and more stylish!), designer Matthew Lewis Hill has created the SofaBed, a multifunctional piece of furniture that minimizes floor space but can also transform to fit a variety of needs. Made from American White Oak and 100% wool, the compact Sofabed can comfortably seat two people or pull out to form a double bed. The integrated side table doubles as storage space.

+ Matthew Lewis Hill

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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Post tags: matthew lewis hill, multifunctional furniture, reader submitted content, sofabed, tiny apartment, Transforming Furniture, wool

Not to be outdone by European fast food chain Quick's Darth Vader themed black-bun burger, Burger King Japan has just announced a burger with black buns, black sauce and black CHEESE. Apparently the patty contains black pepper, the buns and cheese are blackened with bamboo charcoal, and the onion and garlic sauce contains squid ink. I'd try it. I just had a cheeseburger last night but it was not black. It was tan and brown and yellow and red and green. It was like eating a rainbow. "Like Skittles?" Absolutely nothing like Skittles, it was a f***ing cheeseburger. Do your parents even know you're on the internet? Also, you know how some kids refuse to eat foods that are a certain color? Well I know some adults that are still that way. They're really hard to stay friends with. Keep going for several more shots of the black burgers.

British Prime Minister David Cameron was in Scotland on Wednesday to deliver a message to voters: “We want you to stay.” With just days left ahead of a Sept. 18 referendum on whether Scotland should become independent, leaders of all three of the U.K.’s main political parties were headed north in an attempt to keep Scotland part of the union.

Recent polls have showed a tightening between “no” and “yes.” On average, between January and Aug. 25 (when a debate on independence was televised), the “no” vote has led by 11 percentage points. In the six major polls since then, “no” has been ahead by just 4 points.

But speeches won’t make any difference to the thousands of people who have voted by mail in the past two weeks. Those “postal ballot” voters have often been neglected in the news media coverage describing the “surge,” the “dramatic swing” or the “rapid shift” toward a “yes” vote for independence.

Mail-in ballots were sent to voters starting Aug. 26. Alex Salmond, first minister of Scotland and leader of the independence campaign, has claimed that “hundreds of thousands” of ballots have been returned.

Anthony Wells, associate director of the political team at YouGov, a polling company, also said that most of those who say they are registered to vote by mail say they have already done so. In a phone interview, Wells estimated that between 10 and 20 percent of the individuals in the firm’s most recent poll said they had already cast their votes, even though they have until 10 p.m. Sept. 18 to do so.

Those opinions are in the bank, so it’s worth considering just how many percentage points they represent in the polls.

The most recent numbers show that there were 680,235 people registered to vote by mail in mid-August — they represent about 16 percent of the 4.2 million registered voters who can cast a ballot in the referendum. The number of postal voters has risen considerably though: It’s up 20 percent since March and may have since risen further because voters had until Sept. 3 to register to vote by mail.

Postal voters are not just a considerable chunk of the electorate, they are also more likely to cast their votes. In the 2010 U.K. general election, 83.2 percent of those with a postal ballot returned it, while 62.6 percent of those required to vote in person went to the polls. The British Electoral Commission says that difference in turnout holds for local elections as well as national ones.

YouGov polls have been influential in the discussion of the tightening race between “yes” and “no.” Its most recent results, published Sept. 6 (from responses collected from Sept. 2 to 5) broke away from previous polls and put the “yes” vote ahead by 2 points, grabbing headlines in the process.

YouGov asks respondents whether they have already voted. If someone who is subsequently re-interviewed changes his mind, YouGov attempts to spot the discrepancy and factor it into its analysis (about 50 percent of all respondents have answered an earlier poll).

But YouGov can’t tell us how those respondents who claim to have voted by mail say they voted. British electoral law precludes polling companies from publishing a breakdown of that subset of respondents — doing so would constitute an exit poll ahead of the last voting day.

To speculate about what’s written on the ballots that have been submitted, we can look at demographics. Wells explained that postal voting tends to be more prevalent among those 60 and older. Again, information from the British Electoral Commission would seem to back up that assertion. In a report on the most recent U.K. general election, researchers compared the share of postal votes with voter demographics in England and Wales and found a positive correlation with those 65 and older (+0.32) and a negative correlation with those ages 18 to 24 (-0.26). In other words, areas with more postal voters were likely to also be places with more older people.

That matters because polls suggest that older voters are more likely to vote or have voted against Scottish independence, and less likely to have changed their minds about it. In eight of the 11 polls YouGov has published on the topic this year, those 60 and older have been the most opposed to independence. And while younger groups have generally shifted toward “yes,” older respondents have generally stayed put.

While public opinion may be shifting, many of the votes already cast are more likely to favor Scotland remaining part of the union.

Carl Bialik and Andrew Flowers contributed to this report.

The Nike Air Max Lunar90 is getting all kinds of attention thanks to that recently announced Burnished Leather Quickstrike. But if outfitting the new lunarlon x air max outsole with a contrasting luxurious leather upper isn’t your thing, there’s always the matching weather resistant iteration complete with tape and hyperfuse panels for a new-aged take on the Air Max 90. The latest pair sees a near Knicks inspiration thanks to the royal blue hue falling on an obsidian upper with accents of orange throughout. As always, we have a full set of images for you after the click and know that you can grab this pair from select spots like Manhattan’s own KITH.

Read the rest of Nike Air Max Lunar90 WR – Obsidian – Orange

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Ever wonder which Kickstarter projects have held the title of "most-funded project" in the site's history? Well, Kickstarter itself has you covered!

Writing for Kickstarter's own blog, Yancey Strickler notes the 13 Kickstarter projects that have held that title since the site launched in 2009. Currently, Coolest Cooler — the world's first cooler that's also a speaker, among other things — is in the catbird seat, racking up over $13 million (far beyond its goal of $50,000!). The cooler recently stole the premier spot from smartwatch Pebble, which brought in over $10 million back in 2012.

The first top-funded project on Kickstarter was New York Makes a Book, a crowd-authoring project where 100 people paid $30 to write a page of a book. The project brought in a little more than $3,000. Since that project, Kickstarter's funding potential has soared to over a billion dollars worth of pledges.

Here's a timeline showing the 13 top-funded Kickstarter campaigns, the dates they spent at No. 1, and the total amounts raised.

Most of us have a ton of work to get done every single day. But our default response — trying to intersperse several different tasks, all while keeping track of an overwhelming barrage of notifications and emails — is the exact opposite of what we should be doing.

Scientists have conducted a fair bit of research on the factors that can make people more (or less) focused, productive, and creative. The bottom line of all this work: Stop trying to multitask. Slow down. In the long run, you'll get way more done.

1) Stop trying to multitask

(Bill Hinton/Getty Images)

It can be tempting to try balancing multiple work tasks at once. And even worse, the design of many of the tools we use for work nowadays divide our attention between different tasks even when we do intend to focus. In all likelihood, your day is filled with constant email pings and push notifications.

There's an obvious problem with all this: When we try to complete several tasks at once, we do them all more slowly — and commit more errors. This has been shown in several different studies. And it can lead to a vicious cycle: Research has shown that people who multitask more become more susceptible to being distracted by environmental stimuli.

Why doesn't multitasking work? Researchers believe that the human brain only has so much processing capacity — so in trying to carry out several different tasks at once, you're creating a bottleneck, rather than maximizing your efficiency.

There are a few ways to fix this problem. One is self-control: Ignore the temptation to constantly check your email or look at Facebook. Make a list of things to do, pick one thing to work on, and ignore everything else while you're doing it, if possible.

But you can also tweak your working environment to make this easier. Apps like Freedom can lock your computer out of the internet (or specific websites) for a set period of time. Turning off your phone and desktop notifications can prevent every new email from disrupting your workflow.

2) Take breaks

(Shutterstock)

Taking a nonproductive break instead of getting work done might seem like a waste of time. But there's evidence that taking occasional short breaks can help you focus more effectively upon returning to work, especially if you're having trouble concentrating. Some research has also shown that taking a break when you're dealing with a particularly difficult problem can also help you get more creative in finding solutions to it.

Note that this is different from frequently checking Facebook or Twitter for 20 seconds, then going back to work. Like multitasking, doing this puts more demand on your limited ability to pay attention to things, ultimately distracting you from work.

An effective break involves intentionally (and, ideally, physically) separating yourself from your work for a set period of time — at least 10 minutes or so. Talk to people, eat a snack, get up and walk around, and get your mind off work.

Why would this make you more productive? An apt analogy for your ability to concentrate, researchers say, is a muscle. Use it excessively, and it gets tired out. Give it a break when it's exhausted, and it'll rebound. There's also evidence that the type of unfocused, free-form thinking that you do when you take breaks (neuroscientists call this using your default mode network) helps recharge your brain and is crucial for long-term thinking and planning.

An occasional break might cost you 10 minutes of work time, but the benefits — in terms of focus and creativity — are easily worth it.

3) Go for walks

(Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

One type of break is particularly effective: a walk.

One reason is that getting a bit of physical exercise can further increase your creatively upon returning to work. Several different studies have shown that brief periods of walking or other moderate exercise increase people's problem-solving skills, leading them to approach problems in alternate ways.

If you have access to any sort of green space for a walk, use it. It might seem obvious, but is still worth stating: Research shows that people who take brief walks in green areas enjoy tangible benefits, in terms of mood, compared with people who walk in crowded urban areas.

Another benefits of taking walks has nothing to do with productivity but everything to do your long-term health. There's plenty of evidence that sitting all day is really, really bad for your cardiovascular system, but recent research suggests that taking a few short walks (of five minutes or less) daily can help alleviate it.

4) Take naps

(Alberto Buzzola/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Unfortunately, social norms — along with most modern office environments — don't really allow for most of us to take a nap during the middle of the day. But there's also lots of evidence that a brief nap can make you feel a bit sharper when you wake up.

In experiments, people who take naps outperform those who don't on tasks that involve paying close attention to a screen for a long time and reacting quickly to stimuli. Emergency room nurses and doctors who take naps before shifts are more alert and better at completing simple tasks, like inserting an IV into a patient. Drivers who nap before a night shift are less likely to get into accidents. And over and over, nappers report feeling more alert and rested in experiments than people who stay awake.

Naps don't work this way for everyone — some of us are conditioned to sleep only at night, for long periods of time. And if you're going to take a nap during the day, one key is to keep it short. Sleep for longer than 30 minutes or so and you're more likely to enter the deeper stages of sleep, which'll cause you to feel groggy when you wake up. Some doctors also say that the mid-afternoon (say, between 1 and 3 pm) is the best time for a short nap to boost your awareness.

Bonus tip: the coffee nap. Quickly drink coffee (or another caffeinated substance), nap for 20 minutes or so, and set an alarm so you wake up right as it's kicking in. Seriously. Try it.

5) Try to get some natural light

(View Pictures/UIG via Getty Images)

This is another tip that's easier for some people to follow than others. But a whole body of research shows that regular exposure to natural light makes people more productive in an indoor office setting. Studies have also indicated that office workers who sit near windows are less likely to suffer from headaches and seasonal affective disorder, and have lower rates of absenteeism.

It's not clear exactly how this works, but a number of factors may be involved. Regular exposure to natural light cycles helps regulate your body's internal clock, increasing your quality of sleep at night and your alertness during the day. Prolonged exposure to harsh artificial light — from both overhead fixtures and your monitor — can increase eye fatigue over time.

Of course, many people don't have a ton of flexibility in where they work: If your desk isn't near a window, that's that. But there are still some things you can do. Using full-spectrum lightbulbs (which mimic the wavelengths of light naturally present in sunlight) can help, and there's also evidence that using indirect lighting can increase productivity, by decreasing eye strain. If you can't sit near a window or use one of these bulbs, it's yet another reason to try to get outside for a walk during your day.

When it comes to your monitor light in particular, there are a few other things you can do. Making sure to look away from your computer screen every so often — doctors recommend looking at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes — can help prevent eye strain. Additionally, you can use the app F.lux, which automatically adjusts your monitor's color and brightness to more closely resemble sunlight in the evening hours.

6) Go to a coffee shop

(Mike Ransdell/Kansas City Star/MCT via Getty Images)

Again, this isn't a tip that can work for everyone. But if you have the freedom to work where you like, you might benefit from occasionally heading to a bustling environment like a coffee shop. (If you can't leave your office, you can also use the website Coffitivity, which provides a coffee shop-like soundtrack.)

That's because studies have shown that for some people, some level of background noise can enhance creativity. People asked to engage in word-association tests and devise solutions to hypothetical scenarios, for instance, were found to be more creative when surrounded by a moderate level of noise — 70 decibels, about the volume you might experience in the average coffee shop. Louder levels of noise, however, diminished creativity.

The researchers involved in this study suggest that moderate noise increases creativity by actually making it a little harder to process information. This actually encourages abstract thinking, leading people to take alternate routes to solve a problem at hand.

This doesn't mean you should constantly surround yourself with noise whenever you're working. But if you're stuck on a problem and want a bit of help in thinking creatively, heading to a moderately noisy environment could be a good idea.

This recent Ohio Amish barn-raising took a little over 10 hours to complete. The whole operation is condensed down to three and a half minutes in this time-lapse video. It’s a pretty astounding thing to watch, especially at the 2 minute mark, when all the hammers drop and the small army of hatted workmen disappear off-screen, presumably for lunch, only to reappear to finish the job.

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At least it wasn't underwear. These are the results from a 3-year old Great Dane's stomach surgery after his owner's noticed he appeared sick. The vet removed an astonishing 43.5 socks. How the f*** the dog's owners didn't notice they were completely out of socks is beyond me.

The 3-year-old Great Dane was miserable and retching when its owners rushed him to a northwest Portland emergency animal hospital. X-rays showed a stomach full of "a large quantity of foreign material." Nearly two hours of surgery later, Dr. Ashley Magee had the answer -- the dog had consumed 43 ½ socks. DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital spokeswoman Shawna Harch said it's perhaps the strangest case in the hospital's history, The Oregonian reported.

I dunno, maybe you should start feeding him dog food instead of socks. I mean, I'm no dog whisperer, but I'm pretty sure that's what you're supposed to do. Besides, eating socks? That doesn't sound like a very smart dog. When reached for comment, my dog informed me she would never bang another dog so stupid. Although she seems totally fine with the dog down the street that's always eating dead worms off the sidewalk, so she worries me. Thanks to Cheryl, who informed me her dog tore the wire out of one of her bras once.

This is a video of German waiter Oliver Struempfel carrying 27 one-liter mugs 40-meters to clench the world record for beer carrying. Impressive, but I once rolled a keg into a friend's house SINGLE-HANDED. Well, I used both hands, but I did it all by myself. That was a great party. I remember sitting on the couch when I got sick and puked over the armrest but it was so loud and crowded nobody noticed. A clean getaway! Keep going for a short video news report about the feat including the reporter claiming the mugs are "filled to the brim." *eyeballing photo* I'm not sure you know what that means. Also, what's up with these Germans refusing to take two trips?

This is The Comic Book Super Drunk Hangout, a line of conceptual superhero/antihero themed beers imagined by Brazilian artist Butcher Billy. You know, I brewed my own beer once. Everyone who tried it got sick. "You did it wrong." No, we just each drank like twenty apiece.

This collection of design concepts gather a distinctive line of heroes, antiheroes - or not heroes at all - that have in common a certain way of not being exactly the role model for your kids. Yet they're in the pages of comics in your local book shop. These characters are the ones that enjoy a pint or two at the local pub before saving the world or - very often - making an even bigger mess. Like it or not, they are the interesting ones, not to mention the most fun. Because no one ever made superfriends by drinking milk.

Heck yeah, I'd drink with any of those dudes. Especially Wolverine and Deadpool and Hellboy. Then I'd get them to beat up all the people I don't like, which is pretty much everyone. Hey, that guy over there, the one who keeps playing shitty songs on the jukebox -- take him out. You think they would do that for me? "No." I hate playing pretend with you. Keep going for closeups of them all.