Superfearos
Scared of spiders? Afraid of ants? New research by a team in Israel suggests that watching movies showing them in a good light could help. Just a 7-second excerpt from the Marvel superhero movies Spider-Man and Ant-Man .
Feedback shudders slightly, but achieves distraction by wondering what other phobias might be treated by a suitably expanded Marvel universe. Might agoraphobia, for example, be alleviated by the release of Open Spaces Woman? The eponymous hero, a vast swathe of beachfront granted sentience in a freak lightning storm, roams the land, spreading righteousness and wet sand wherever she goes. Gaze in awe at her rippling dunes and cape of microplastic-infused sludge, and swoon as she delivers her notorious catchphrase: 鈥溌犅犅犅犅�!鈥�
Claustrophobes, too, will await with bated breath the outcome of her titanic battles with her sworn enemy, Captain Confinement. A good reason not to leave the house.
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Fitting image
Face-recognition systems that unlock your computer are certainly convenient, but a Twitter post by Matt Carthy, an Irish member of the European parliament, . 鈥淪o, I was wondering why the battery on my laptop was running down every time I left it at home,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淭urns out the kids have been using my election leaflets to get through the facial recognition lock鈥� I鈥檓 not sure whether to be proud by the wit or concerned by the sneakiness?鈥�
Sasquatch hopscotch
At last! A story for fans of the fearsome, cold-loving, humanoid white walkers from Game of Thrones that they can consume without fear of spoilers. An Indian army Twitter account reports that a patrol in the Himalayas has , the white walker lookalike and big furry hominid best known for almost certainly not existing.
Shared with more than6million followers,the evidence consists of enormous footprints proceeding across a snowy slope in an uncanny singleline. If the abominable snowman is in fact responsible, he has either taken to hopping or has adopted a swivel-hipped swagger to makeMick Jagger jealous.
ZooTube
A recent viral video showed a chimpanzee , swiping and tapping with the assured air of the most screen-addicted human. Darn you, Mark Zuckerberg! Could your addictive social media content be tapping into primal instincts so deep that we share them with cousins from whom we diverged millions of years ago?
What was that? Sorry, wasn鈥檛 listening, something on my phone. Actually, it is a list of recommendations of accounts to follow on top non-human-primate social network Chimpstagram:
鈥� For exciting ideas about what to eat, try 鈥榮 mouthwatering photos of delicious meals, such as avocado with ants, banana puree and monkey carpaccio.
鈥� Follow the literary world鈥檚 favourite Pan troglodytes-with-a-typewriter as she furiously tries to produce the complete works of Shakespeare. Go , you can do it 鈥� only the complete works of Shakespeare to go.
鈥� uses the platform to consolidate power by intimidating his rivals. The videos of his violent outbursts have a strangely addictive quality.
鈥� The short, snappy videos from teach you incredible lifehacks that will save you time and impress your friends. Learn the best technique to fish for termites, crack open nuts with rocks or prise open a beehive.
鈥� Chimpstagram鈥檚 number one influencer is the go-to ape for grooming tips, heartfelt monologues and stunning selfies in exotic locations. Best of all are her hilarious prank videos, like when she threw her faeces at .
鈥� Of course, the best thing on Chimpstagram are the accounts devoted to adorable pet humans, like . Watch them use phones just like us.
Not cricket
Nature enthusiasts can be forgiven for getting excited when they encounter a surprising species in thewild, but it always pays to be methodical before claiming a new discovery. Reader Paul Beckett thought he had discovered a rare mole cricket at a new UK location, and sent recordings of its characteristic chirruping to the Natural History Museum.
鈥淗owever, going back to the location to investigate, it was found to be the buzzing of a security tag ripped from a luxury good that had no doubt been robbed a few days earlier,鈥� Paul writes. 鈥淚 now have to call off the experts and embarrass myself with the truth.鈥�
Right on the money
Finally, a brief relapse into the world of nominative determinism. Reader Helen D. Haller writes in about the assistant director of the Erie Bird Observatory in Pennsylvania, Mary Birdsong. Meanwhile, a recent episode of The Art and Science of Blending on BBC Radio 4, featured an interview with the long-time master blender at whisky producer Johnnie Walker, a Dr Jim Beveridge.
That particular example was sent in by a regular reader, Barry Cash, who berates us for not explaining how a person can have nominative determinism thrust upon them. 鈥淲hy do I never have any?鈥� he asks plaintively.
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