I had a very calm New Year. Usually, we celebrate it with friends, but logistics ruled it out this year. So instead I was able to simply not think about anything. Was even bored at times. And it's good!

You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why.

If there's one thing I could wish you in the New Year is to be bored. Seriously.

I started listening to podcasts all the time. Training, running, walking the dog. What I noticed is this eliminated my inner voice. Now I try to do those things in silence. And the difference is staggering.

We have to get bored sometimes. Instead, now we simply reach for the phone to open Twitter, Instagram or TikTok.

Learn to be bored sometimes.

Carrington Event

The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history that took place on September 1-2, 1859. Auroras were seen all around the world in the northern and southern hemispheres.

Geomagnetically induced current fried telegraph systems all over Europe and North America, in some cases giving their operators electric shocks. Some that still worked were able to proceed with disconnected batteries — the auroral current was enough.

The world was barely electrified then. What if it happens in 2026 and crashes the Internet, cellular networks and everyone's computers?

Dogs evolved muscles to manipulate us

Dogs evolved facial muscles that allow them to express emotions that humans can read, including the "puppy dog eyes" that remind humans of a sad child. Wolves don't have these. Dogs also differ because they can track where we're looking. Wolves just don't care.

The union of American singers

In 1930, the union of American singers spent the equivalent of $10m on a campaign to stop people from listening to recorded music and watching movies with sound.

When films were silent, theatres employed local musicians to accompany each screening. But once films gained a soundtrack, local musicians were no longer necessary.

Edward More, the Chicago Herald Tribune music critic, said that "the films have a long way to go before they can duplicate living musicians".

Remind you of something?

Peanut Allergies Have Plummeted in Children

Doctors have long recommended that infants avoid peanut products. In 2017, experts officially reversed that guidance, and food allergies decreased sharply.

Peanut allergy is specifically scary since it can trigger rapid, life‑threatening anaphylaxis from tiny exposures.

Turns out that early introduction of peanut products in infancy correlates with a sharp decline in allergies—about a 43% drop in peanut allergies among children under 3.

Eat peanuts.