Today's Tips &Tricks and News

*These are the Funniest Words in the English Language(According to Research)

The blue-footed booby is a bird native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean. Now, hold it right there. Did you crack a smile at "booby"? Be honest. Getting a kick out of that word doesn't make you immature — it means you're, well, normal. A 2017 study found that "booby" ranked among the funniest words in the English language. (Our apologies if we got you excited to read an article about a species of bird.)Famous comedians have always had their go-to words. Woody Allen favors "feathers," "herring," "butter," and "dwarf." Mel Brooks enjoys the sound of "nectarine" and "Saran Wrap." But how do we know that a word is truly, empirically funny?

Thanks to a 2017 study we didn't know we needed, no one has to feel embarrassed for laughing at benign, goofy-sounding words again. This peer-reviewed research, published in Behavior Research Methods by University of Warwick researchers, identified the funniest words in the English language. To do this, the researchers presented 821 study participants with 4,997 common words. Each participant rated 211 words on a scale from 0 to 5 (most humorous), and the words with the highest mean humor rating rose to the top. Drumroll, please... here is the list, in order:

1. Booty
2. Tit
3. Booby
4. Hooter
5. Nitwit
6. Twit
7. Waddle
8. Tinkle
9. Bebop
10. Egghead
11. Ass
12. Twerp

In the study, there were some discrepancies in what different demographics found especially funny. Men tended to get giddy over the words bondage, chauffeur, raccoon, birthmark, and orgy. Women were tickled by the words jiggle, humbug, beast, circus, and juju. Age-wise, the younger participants like the words goatee and joint, while older people got a kick out of burlesque and pong. Hey, to each his own.

*Neanderthal sounds didn't sounds the way you think

Whenever Neanderthals turn up in pop culture, they tend to either make grunting ape sounds, use halting English in guttural voices, or spice up their sentences with phrases like "Yabba dabba doo." But multiple studies into their actual anatomy suggests all three of those ideas might be completely wrong. 

In the BBC's 2005 documentary "Neanderthal: The Rebirth," a group of researchers studying preserved Neanderthal throats and vocal organs contracted vocal coach Patsy Rodenburg and a very enthusiastic reenactor named Elliot to reproduce the kinds of sounds that the ancient hominids would have been able to produce. The results were ... startling.Good work, Elliot. Because of the Neanderthal's short vocal tract, its voice would be much higher pitched than a modern human's. It also had a very large nasal cavity, lending it a certain Gilbert Gottfried-esque quality. And finally, the Neanderthals' broad chests and thick, resonant skulls would give them the simple dynamic capability to speak loudly, even louder, or deafeningly loud. No need for an inside voice — there wasn't an "inside" yet.

*5 Persuasion Tricks To get people To do What you want

We all want something, and a lot of times, it involves getting someone's help. Considering how much time we spend trying to persuade or convince others, it's surprising we don't stop more often to think about whether we're using the right methods. So why waste time trying new tactics when we can go straight to science? We've put together some tricks to help you get your way.

1.Explain the reason for your request

Think about a time you were in a huge hurry and you had to wait in line for something important. You might not have gotten too far if you simply asked, "Can I cut in line?" The likelihood of persuading someone to agree with your request would have increased by more than 50 percent if you had added one thing: a reason. "Can I cut in line because I need to catch my flight?" or even, "Can I cut in line because I'm in a rush?" The greater request, the greater the reason you should provide to truly increase your chances of getting what you want, but a little rationalizing can go a long way.

2.Listen first then ask for the favour

Lynne Franklin is a consultant to executives and teams on persuasive communication, and she discussed the psychology of persuasion on the Curiosity Podcast. "It's called the rule of reciprocity," she told us. "Say something interesting and get them to speak. You learn more about who they are or what they do, They're more interested in reciprocating. I've listened first, now they want to ask me about me. So I've built good will without having said anything."

3.Give an actual gif in return for a person's help

Similar to exchanging information, the norm of reciprocity is a social convention that compels people to return a favor when someone has helped them. Charities use this principle when providing unconditional gifts like return address labels or even a pen or pencil, and it can increase donations by up to 75 percent. Just be careful when using this approach: providing external incentives can actually decrease giving in certain situations, particularly when it comes to charity.

4. Switch up the words you are using

There are a lot of quick and dirty language tricks that, though subtle, can make a big difference when you're trying to persuade someone to do what you want. For instance, try saying "I" instead of "you" to remove the accusatory element of your statements, e.g. "You need to go to the grocery store," versus, "I feel stressed because I have to go to the grocery store."

If you're worried your request will be met with a hard "no," you can also try the magic words "but you are free [to refuse]" to double (!) your chances of getting what you want. And if you're the one saying "no" and you want people to accept your refusal, then say you "don't" do something instead of saying you "can't." This way, the person refusing won't be able to fight you with logic or find a way to turn "can't" into "can." Pay attention to your word choices and you never know what other neat tricks you'll find!

5. Ask in person

We all rely on email and other text-based communication these days, but it's never as effective as looking someone in the eye and asking for a favor. And the difference is massive: a pair of experiments conducted by researchers in 2016 concluded that complete strangers receiving a request in person were 34 times more likely to fill out a survey than strangers who were asked over email. If that's not a reason to ditch the keyboard for an IRL conversation, then we don't know what is.

*You should avoid the manchineel , aka the "Tree of Death" at all costs

For all its raw beauty, nature can be pretty scary too. One minute you're chomping a beautifully juicy green apple from a tropical branch, and the next your throat is rapidly closing up in a mad dash to the ER. Take the manchineel tree, for example. Sure, it's nice to look at. But with a nickname like "tree of death," don't expect an entirely wonderful experience.

The machineel is the most dangerous tree in the world. But just by looking, you would never know it. The tree is a beachy, tropical plant that generally looks like any other, save for its abundance of shiny green fruits. It's native to Central America, the Caribbean, northern parts of South America, and tropical regions of North America, including South Florida.

But this tree isn't for fruit-picking. Or carving your initials into. Or climbing. Or standing under. Or even just breathing near. Nope, this thing is basically just good for bringing the pain. There's a reason the manchineel and its fruit have garnered all those punk rock nicknames: tree of death, poison guava, little apple of death, etc. As Michael G. Andreu and Melissa H. Friedman of the University of Florida wrote in a brief guide to the tree, "Warning: all parts of manchineel are extremely poisonous ... Interaction with and ingestion of any part of this tree may be lethal."

As Andreu and Friedman described above, every component of the manchineel is basically a torture device, and that's because of one thing. The tree oozes a thick, milky sap that seeps out of everything — the bark, the leaves, and the tempting little death apples that dangle off the branches. Coming into contact with this agony juice, which is made up of a slew of delightfully hellish toxins, will give you severe burn-like blisters.

The toxin in the sap that causes the most serious reactions is phorbol, a poisonous organic compound. The stuff is water soluble, which causes an unexpected problem when it rains. Let us set the scene: It's pouring in south Florida, so you take refuge beneath a sweet tropical tree — a tree that just so happens to be a machineel. The rain from the sky washes the toxic, phorbol-riddled sap down through the leaves onto your bare flesh and boom — you're in a world of pain.

*The Great Filter Might be What's Protecting Aliens from Reaching Us

Where are all the dang aliens?! Since at least the 1950s, this pervasive question has inspired a never-ending menu of creative solutions. One answer proposes something called the Great Filter. But which side are we on?

Robin Hanson, a research associate at Oxford University and professor at George Mason University, attempted to answer the Fermi paradox in 1998 with his Great Filter hypothesis. (Side note: The Fermi paradox wonders why we haven't seen a shred of evidence for aliens despite the overwhelming probability that alien life exists.) According to Hanson, there could be something standing in the way of life forms that prevents them from becoming interstellar. If a civilization could achieve interstellar communication, that would mean we could've made contact with civilizations from outside our solar system by now. But, you know, we haven't, and this theoretical roadblock may be to blame.

The Great Filter hypothesis suggests that without something getting in the way, planets within a hospitable star system should give rise to life, which eventually leads to tool-using animals with big brains, which eventually leads to colonization beyond the homeworld. But considering we haven't bumped into alien life yet, either we're the only species to make it past the filter or (gulp) the filter is going to weed us out before we get there.