Family

What Happened to the Danish Mom Who Left Her Baby Outside A Restaurant in New York?

Children's Interests, Family /

Parenting styles differ based on culture and country. While it seems quite arbitrary to leave a child outside the restaurant in the United States, Nordic cultures think otherwise. But did you hear of the story of Anette Sørensen and her daughter, Liv? Anette Sørensen was visiting New York City with her 14-month old daughter in […]

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Who Developed the First Pregnancy Test?

Family, Health, History, Reproductive Health, Women's Health /

Have you ever wondered how early civilizations determined their pregnancy status without using a modern-day pregnancy kit? According to an ancient Egyptian manuscript translated by experts at the University of Copenhagen reveals an outdated method of determining the sex of a baby and a woman’s pregnancy through the sprouting of grains.  Egyptian papyrus manuscripts dated

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In the 20’s a freak show saved over 6500 premature babies’ lives. Hospitals would leave them to die; but a “fake” Dr by the name of Martin Couney would display the babies in an experimental glass case called an incubator. He used the proceeds to pay for the show, seeing an 85% survival rate.

Family /

The Man Who Ran a Carnival Attraction That Saved Thousands of Premature Babies Wasn’t a Doctor at All Nurses in starched white uniforms and doctors in medical coats tended to babies in glass and steel incubators. The infants had been born many weeks premature and well below a healthy birth weight. Stores didn’t make clothes

In the 20’s a freak show saved over 6500 premature babies’ lives. Hospitals would leave them to die; but a “fake” Dr by the name of Martin Couney would display the babies in an experimental glass case called an incubator. He used the proceeds to pay for the show, seeing an 85% survival rate. Read More »

The oldest method for pregnancy detection dated back 3500 years ago. Woman peed on barley and wheat seeds. If the seeds grew, she was pregnant. If the barley seed grew first it was a boy, otherwise a girl. If nothing grew she wasn’t pregnant. The method turns out it’s accurate 70% of the time!

Family, Reproductive Health, Women's Health /

Egyptian Papyrus Reveals This Old Wives’ Tale Is Very Old Indeed Throughout history, cultures around the world have come up with lots of folk prognostications for predicting the sex assigned at birth. If the mother craves sweets, it’s a girl; if she eats a lot of garlic, it’s also a girl. Have a healthy glow?

The oldest method for pregnancy detection dated back 3500 years ago. Woman peed on barley and wheat seeds. If the seeds grew, she was pregnant. If the barley seed grew first it was a boy, otherwise a girl. If nothing grew she wasn’t pregnant. The method turns out it’s accurate 70% of the time! Read More »

The Japanese, other than nobles or samurai class families, did not have surnames until 1868, when the government required commoners to adopt surnames. Names were chosen based on locations, occupations, or simply were made up, explaining the diversity in Japanese surnames (100,000+ present).

Family /

Japanese name Not to be confused with Names of Japan. Yamada Tarō (山田太郎), a Japanese placeholder name (male), equivalent to John Smith in English. The equivalent of Jane Smith would be Yamada Hanako (山田花子). Japanese names (日本人の氏名, Nihonjin no Shimei) in modern times consist of a family name (surname), followed by a given name; in

The Japanese, other than nobles or samurai class families, did not have surnames until 1868, when the government required commoners to adopt surnames. Names were chosen based on locations, occupations, or simply were made up, explaining the diversity in Japanese surnames (100,000+ present). Read More »

Babies’ cuteness is key to their survival. Cute babies are just extremely hard to ignore, and this is likely hardwired into human brains. Less cute children are treated differently.

Family /

Babies’ cuteness is key to their survival. What happens when they’re not that cute? Adapted from Ugly Renaissance Babies Babies’ cuteness is a powerful force to be reckoned with. It melts adult hearts, ensuring babies a steady source of food and protection until they mature to an age when they’re slightly less vulnerable. What is

Babies’ cuteness is key to their survival. Cute babies are just extremely hard to ignore, and this is likely hardwired into human brains. Less cute children are treated differently. Read More »

A parrot named Willie alerted its owner, Megan Howard, when the toddler she was babysitting began to choke. While Megan was in another room, the parrot screamed “mama, baby” and flapped its wings as the child turned blue. Megan rushed over and performed the Heimlich, saving the girls life.

Arts & Entertainment, Family /

Parrot gets award for warning about choking tot A parrot whose cries of alarm alerted his owner when a little girl choked on her breakfast has been honored as a hero. Willie, a Quaker parrot, has been given the local Red Cross chapter’s Animal Lifesaver Award. In November, Willie’s owner, Megan Howard, was baby-sitting for

A parrot named Willie alerted its owner, Megan Howard, when the toddler she was babysitting began to choke. While Megan was in another room, the parrot screamed “mama, baby” and flapped its wings as the child turned blue. Megan rushed over and performed the Heimlich, saving the girls life. Read More »

44% of adults have held on to their childhood teddies and dolls, and as many as 34% of adults still sleep with a soft toy every night

Family, Toys /

‘My bears are my lifeline’: the adults who sleep with soft toys If you share your bed with a furry friend well into adulthood, don’t be ashamed – sleeping with soft toys is more normal than you might think. “It’s very common,” says Prof Bruce Hood of the University of Bristol, who has researched our

44% of adults have held on to their childhood teddies and dolls, and as many as 34% of adults still sleep with a soft toy every night Read More »

25 percent of Jamaican citizens claim Irish ancestry, the second-largest reported ethnic group in Jamaica after African ancestry.

Family /

Welcome to Sligoville: The story of the Irish in Jamaica Cromwell sent many Irish to Jamaica in the 1600s. The emigration continued for more than 200 years In the mid-1990s I attended a St Patrick’s Day party in Israel where most of us were Scottish, Welsh and Irish. A man from Jamaica joined our crew.

25 percent of Jamaican citizens claim Irish ancestry, the second-largest reported ethnic group in Jamaica after African ancestry. Read More »

Until the mid-1960s in Britain, pregnancy tests were done by sending a woman’s urine to a lab, where it would be injected into a toad. The toad was checked two hours later and if it had laid eggs, the woman was pregnant.

Family, Reproductive Health, Women's Health /

Contraception: From fish bladders to home-delivered morning after pills The morning after pill has never been more accessible. Women in the UK are now able to order emergency contraception online for home delivery. It marks a milestone – less than two decades ago, it was not possible to buy it in pharmacies. Medicine historian Dr

Until the mid-1960s in Britain, pregnancy tests were done by sending a woman’s urine to a lab, where it would be injected into a toad. The toad was checked two hours later and if it had laid eggs, the woman was pregnant. Read More »

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