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5 Korean Stars Who Overcame Severe Hardship To Succeed

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Everyone has to overcome some type of adversity in their lives, though some of us have it much harder than others. Certain people are born with a huge disadvantage, whether it be from a poor financial situation, a family tragedy, or anything in between. Many people fold under that type of adversity, while others go on to become huge successes.

In Korea, there have been plenty of instances where those that became stars came from backgrounds that were filled with adversity. Here are five stories of those stars that had to go from having nothing to being some of the most recognizable people in Korea.

Choi Daniel

Choi Daniel rose to fame during the late 2000s when he made his way from being a gas station attendant to a famous actor, getting his first real work on the series “Worlds Within” in 2008. From there, Daniel has been on a long list of TV series that include “The Ghost Detective”, “High Kick Through the Roof” and “Baby Faced Beauty” just to name a few. He’s also a radio DJ that has become a household name in Korea.

When he was just five years old, Daniel’s mother passed away and he didn’t have many memories of her. Not only that, but the business that Daniel’s father was running went under and he had to declare bankruptcy. He was working simply to make ends meet and was a college dropout when he finally hit it big.

V

A lot of people who go on to become famous singers are from families that are wealthy and have a lot of connections. That isn’t the case for V of BTS fame. Born Kim Tae-hyung in Daegu, South Korea, V grew up in a family that had almost nothing to their name. He was raised by parents that spent almost all of their time working and was also raised by his grandmother.

V knew that he had talent as a singer, but never really got to showcase his skills. When his friends were going to an audition, V tagged along and got himself behind the microphone. He was then inserted into the boy band BTS which would take the world by storm. On top of that, V has also had solo work with a trio of singles that have been hits in Korea while also working on his degree.

IU

K-Pop star IU (real name Lee Ji-eun) was just 15 years old when she made her music debut with the extended play “Lost and Found” in 2008. She then released a few more tracks over the next couple of years and became a megastar thanks to her song “Good Day”. Since then, IU has been one of the biggest names in the genre and has been named the most popular singer in Korea in two different years.

Though she started in her early teenage years, IU didn’t have the easiest childhood. She was raised in a family that had no money and was living in an extremely cramped apartment that was infested with cockroaches. IU knew that she wanted to get out and was taking her music seriously, leading to her auditioning and becoming a star.

Park Bo-gum

Actor Park Bo-gum has been the star of many television series and movies in Korea since the start of the 2010s. Some of his biggest roles include “Hello Monster”, “Reply 1988”, and “Love in the Moonlight”. Park grew up wanting to be an actor and showed that he was also gifted both musically and athletically as a child, but the odds were stacked against him.

Park’s mother passed away early in his childhood, and his father wasn’t around much as he had to work to support Park and his two siblings. Thankfully, Park was able to get noticed when he sent in a video of himself performing, and he landed his first on-screen role in 2011 while also releasing his first music single in 2016 titled “My Person” that reached number three on the charts.

Bong Joon-Ho

The man who became an international star thanks to directing the Academy Award-winning film “Parasite” didn’t have the harshest childhood, but it took him many years of hardship professionally before reaching the top. Bong Joon-Ho was born in Daegu and raised in Seoul where his father worked, and Bong attended multiple colleges in early adulthood.

Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, Bong was making less than $2,000 per year while trying to find his footing as an actor. Things got so bad that he had to borrow rice from people, but he never gave up. He finally got his big break in the mid 2000s, and went on to direct several hit films including “Snowpiercer” and “Okja”.

5 Weird Crossword Tricks You Need To Be Able To Recognise

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Solving a crossword puzzle is a great hobby as it not only kills some time that you might not have used otherwise, but it also exercises your brain. There are millions of people who play crosswords on a daily basis, and many of them follow a few simple tricks that help them to solve their puzzles either online or in the local newspaper.

If you’re just getting into crosswords for the first time, there are a few weird tricks that you should know about. If you follow these five tips, you’ll be able to solve even the hardest crossword puzzles in no time.

Grab a Pencil

Trying to visualize the right answer in a crossword puzzle can be difficult, and there are a lot of people that like to use a pen to play. After all, using a pen looks cleaner and nicer…assuming that you get the correct answer on every guess. If you really want to look at a crossword and picture it without using your imagination, though, you can simply use a pencil and lightly write in what you think the answer would be.

If it doesn’t fit or if you find another answer that negates it that you’re confident about, you’ll be able to erase your old guess. It’s actually pretty astonishing how many people use a pen compared to a pencil while playing. That doesn’t mean that you should be ashamed about using a pencil, because we all make mistakes and need a little help to see what the problem is.

Don’t Guess At All (At First)

Some of the best crossword players in the world have one trick where they read through the entire list of clues before writing down a single response. When a clue pops up that they’re 100 percent confident that they know the answer to, then they’ll write it down. If there’s any doubt in their mind, however, they’ll try to build around the words that they know for certain are there.

This is a great strategy as you’re setting up your future self with hints that will lead to faster puzzle-solving. Nailing these easier questions first and foremost will allow you to see what letters go in the right places when getting to the harder clues. For example, getting the crossing answer first might help you decipher between words like “pole” and “poll.”

Avoid the Weekends

There’s a rule that almost every newspaper follows, and it’s that the hardest puzzles are reserved for the weekends. The Saturday puzzle tends to be the hardest since it brings out the expert players that have a lot of weekend time on their hands, while the Sunday puzzles are typically just as hard.

If you want to feel like you’re starting to get the hang of crossword puzzles, try to focus on the Monday puzzles. Since there isn’t a lot of time in the day, newspapers have made this the easiest day of the week. Beginners should try to find every Monday edition they can of their local paper to play the crossword until they get the hang of things before eventually working their way up to Saturdays.

Break TIme

Every professional crossword player and editor has said that one of the most important tricks that you can perform is to take a break in the middle of playing. If you get stuck on a clue and the answer is on the tip of your tongue, you’re only going to cause yourself agony by trying to think about what it is.

Experts say that you should take a break, walk around a little bit, and focus on something else that isn’t the crossword puzzle. Eventually, the answer will come to you while you’re on a break, or simply refresh your brain to the point where you’ll be able to get it out when you sit back down to finish the puzzle.

Get Punny

If there’s one thing that crossword editors love more than anything else, it’s a good pun. A lot of the clues in modern puzzles are pun-related, and you should be on the lookout for any of those. Get yourself familiar with how puns work and try to think of some good ones on your own to really get into the mind of a crossword editor.

They don’t have to be entirely long or convoluted to work in a crossword puzzle, but it’s best to get a basic grasp on the world of puns. Once you understand them better, a lot of the clues will become a breeze.

A Key Stress-Buster: Why Is Coloring So Relaxing?

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There are a lot of great ways that some of us get rid of stress. Some of the more popular include meditation, exercise, writing, and connecting with other people. Another one of those great stress-busters is getting into art, with coloring being one of the biggest stress relievers around. Not many think of coloring when they consider the top stress relievers, but it should be thought of as being right up there with the others.

What is it about coloring that helps to put our minds at ease, though? After all, coloring seems like a simple task that most of us have been doing for as long as we’ve been able to walk and talk. Let’s take a look at the art of coloring and discover its relaxing traits. Once you learn a bit more, you’ll see why it’s such a great stress-buster and want to try it for yourself.

The Attention

There could be something that’s only just a little bit stressful in your life, but when you think about that one thing for too long, it can end up being a massive source of stress. Things like traffic, getting one particular piece of work done, or any other minor stress source can instantly blow up when it’s at the center of your mind. With coloring, you can (literally) draw attention away from what’s stressing you out.

Coloring requires a good amount of focus, but not enough to the point where you’re going to be stressed from doing it as an activity. This makes coloring one of the ultimate distractions, and when you’re focused on the simple task of coloring more than anything else, you’re going to feel a reduction in stress almost instantly. It really is the simplicity of the task that makes coloring such a good stress-buster, as it won’t add more stress to your body.

Rekindling an Old Flame

Many of us spent our time growing up coloring. Because of that, there can be a feeling of nostalgia for adults every time they color. They’ll think about all of the fun that they had as children, opening up a new coloring book and putting some new details on some of their old favorite characters. A trip down memory lane can be a great way to relieve stress when thinking about the good times.

This is especially true for senior citizens, who can have a lot of nostalgic moments to look back on. Seniors can also have a sense of belonging every time they color, especially in their much older years when they feel that they can’t do much else. We all feel like kids again when we color, and that’s a feeling that only a handful of things in this life can give us.

Pure Happiness

Can you think of a time when someone was upset when they were coloring? The answer to that is almost guaranteed to be a “no.” You can mess up a hundred times when coloring, but you’re still likely not going to be upset that you used the wrong shade or went outside of the lines just a little bit.

Coloring is one of those activities where we don’t expect perfection from ourselves and want to focus on getting better without adding too much stress. Exercising, while a great stress reliever, can often put us into a hyper-competitive mode, and ultimately add stress when we aren’t improving with each and every exercise. The same isn’t really true for coloring, thankfully, allowing us to fully relax and embrace our mistakes.

Kick Them Nasty Thoughts

Studies have shown that those who are actively coloring don’t really have many negative thoughts after participating. Dr. Joel Pearson is a scientist who works at the University of South Wales, and he said that “concentrating on coloring…may facilitate the replacement of negative thoughts and images with pleasant ones.”

It makes sense, too, as when we think of coloring, we think of bringing some of our favorite established characters to life. Some of us grew up with coloring books filled with characters like The Flintstones, Spongebob Squarepants, and many more. There are also plenty of other positive images in coloring books, especially from the world of nature. Simply put, nobody looks at a coloring book and suddenly has negative thoughts and images pop into their head.

5 Hip Hop Acts Who Were Socially Aware

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Rap music may have a bad reputation outside of music due to some of the subject matter, but it’s a lot deeper than meets the eye for those that aren’t actually listening to the messages. Over the years, there have been a lot of rappers who have discussed social issues through their songs and got involved in social movements.

From participating in rallies to giving speeches, there are plenty of hip-hop acts who were or are socially aware. Here’s a look at five of those acts and how they’ve discussed society in their music.

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar is known for his incredible rap career. One that displays his fight for social justice and his activist nature in his many hit songs. Lamar even earned himself the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018 for his socially conscious and influential tracks on DAMN, the rapper’s fourth studio album. 

Featured on the album are tracks like DNA, with lyrics that focus on the struggles the African American community goes through and how they’re viewed from Lamar’s personal point of view and separately by society. Songs like “Determined”, “Ignorance is Bliss”, and “Average Joe” highlight Lamar’s feelings on social situations.

Common

Common is one of the original socially conscious rappers, a product of a time when self-aware and socially conscious hip hop wasn’t widely known. However, his first album “Can I Borrow a Dollar” was not exactly a shining example of that. 

After his debut album bombed, Common studied religion, reflected on his purpose, and took the time to mentally and emotionally mature and grow as a human being before releasing his next album “Resurrection” two years later. The album put him on the map and shone a light on the socially conscious rapper whose lyrics were wise and purposeful. “The truth of the matter is, you don’t have to be that big-name person to have a really supreme impact,” Common said.

Erykah Badu

Once an opening act for D’Angelo during the early 1990s, Erykah Badu became a big name in R&B while also serving as an artist that wasn’t afraid to speak about social issues away from the music studio. 

When talking about the Black Lives Matter movement during the mid-2010s, Badu said that “I felt it coming on,” adding that “I was really feeling a strong affinity toward writing about what was going on around me. And I actually wrote about what’s happening right now…so I don’t feel the need to write it now, because I got it out.” Badu then went on to say that “Can we organize to stop black-on-black crime or poor-on-poor crime? Because, you know, poor is the new black. You don’t have to be black now.”

Mos Def

Mos Def is another socially conscious rapper that helped to popularize the genre, getting his solo start in 1999 after spending some time in a group with his siblings and releasing an album with Talib Kweli. After his release of “Black on Both Sides,” he released three more albums throughout the next 10 years. 

His powerful lyrics regarding his stance on political events, the injustice to the African American and Muslim community, and police brutality set him up to be one of the most influential socially and spiritually aware rappers of our time. “America is a very challenging place for me,” the rapper said upon his move to South Africa. “I needed to take some time to put myself in environments where I felt good…my country is called Earth. This whole thing belongs to everyone that’s on it.”

Tupac Shakur 

Tupac Shakur is considered by many to be the greatest rapper to ever live, and many felt that he was also one of the most socially aware. While he had hit songs like “California Love” and “Hit Em Up”, Shakur also had a lot of social commentary songs that included “Changes” and “Dear Mama”. In the former, he talks about police brutality, drug use among the African-American community, racism, and more.

There were also songs including “White Man’z World” that included lyrics including “So tell the babies how I love them, precious boys and girls, born black in this white man’s world.” Sadly, Shakur was shot to death at just 25 years old in 1996 while in Las Vegas, left unable to spread his message in today’s world.

5 Actors Who Are Perfect For The ‘6 Degrees Of Kevin Bacon’ Game

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Back in 1994, Kevin Bacon said in an interview that he had either worked with everybody in Hollywood or worked with someone that worked with someone. This created the thought that there weren’t any actors that were only a couple of degrees of separation away from the “Tremors” star. He’s not wrong, either, as almost every major actor in Hollywood has a “Bacon Number” of 1 or 2.

Bacon is the only person himself with a Bacon Number of 0 because he is, after all, Kevin Bacon. So are there any actors that people have heard of that have a Bacon Number that’s higher than 2? There aren’t a whole lot, but there are some surprising names on the list. Here are five actors who are perfect for the “6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game.

Robert Downey Jr.

If you take out the fact that Kevin Bacon was part of the “Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” since it wasn’t made for big screens, then Robert Downey Jr. has a surprising Bacon Number of 4. It sort of makes sense as Downey had spent more than a decade playing Tony Stark without appearing in many other films.

On the other hand, Downey did star in other blockbusters including “Dr. Doolittle” while also being a big star in the 1980s at the same time as Bacon. Downey appeared in the film “Veerasamy” with Venniradai Moorthy. Moorthy was in “Michael Madana Kama Rajan” with Nassar, showing that you have to trace the Downey-Bacon link to India. Nassar was in “Fair Game” with David Andrews, who in turn was in “Apollo 13” with Kevin Bacon. Either way, all roads lead through “Veerasamy”.

Matt Damon

For whatever reason, it feels like Matt Damon and Kevin Bacon have been in the same movie together. However, many would be surprised to learn that they haven’t. While his Bacon Number isn’t higher than 2, it’s a shock that it’s not a 1. Damon appeared in “The Good Old Boys” with Tommy Lee Jones, who starred in “JFK” with Kevin Bacon.

There are a couple of other actors that link Damon to Bacon, as well. This includes Terry Kinney, Sean Patrick Thomas, and even Denise Richards and Mike O’Malley. We’re still waiting on that Damon-Bacon collaboration, though. 

Jenna Davis

Jenna Davis is one of the fastest-rising stars in Hollywood thanks to her role as the titular character in the 2022 film “M3GAN” which became a surprise hit with audiences. Prior to her role in the film, Davis had mainly starred on the small screen, making appearances on shows such as “Raven’s Home”, “Vampirina” and “Treehouse Detectives”.

“M3GAN” ended up being her first big screen role, and the official beginning of her link to Kevin Bacon. In “M3GAN’, Davis stars alongside Ronny Chieng. Chieng appeared in “Wish Dragon” with John Cho, who starred in “The Air I Breathe” with Kevin Bacon. That film was released in 2007 and directed by Korean-American Jieho Lee, and also starred Forest Whitaker and Andy Garcia.

Charlie Chaplin

No matter how far back in time you go, there’s a good chance that there’s an actor that’s only a couple of degrees away from Kevin Bacon. This includes actors from the silent film era of Hollywood, including the legendary Charlie Chaplin. Known for his comedic styling and unique look, Chaplin’s separation from Bacon is closer than you think.

Chaplin starred in the film “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” alongside Gary Cooper. Cooper then starred in “Sergeant York” with June Lockhart. The Bacon Number then ends at 3 as Lockhart appeared in “The Big Picture” with Kevin Bacon. The 1989 comedy/drama starred Bacon as a film school graduate and was directed by Christopher Guest.

Marilyn Monroe

Speaking of Hollywood legends that are surprisingly linked to Kevin Bacon, actress Marilyn Monroe has a Bacon Number of just 2. That’s right, despite not appearing in a film for more than 60 years, Marilyn Monroe is just two degrees of separation away from Kevin Bacon. The link starts with the film “Let’s Make It Legal”, which also featured Robert Wagner.

Wagner then starred in “Wild Things” with Kevin Bacon, which was released in 1998. The best part is that there are even more actors than just Wagner that link the two. Jack Lemmon, (“JFK”) and Eli Wallach (“Mystic River”) also have common movies with both Monroe and Bacon.

Top 5 Animals Who Predicted Football Results

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When it comes to any big football match around the world, pretty much everyone in the world has their opinion on who will win, even if that person hasn’t watched a single match. That’s why sometimes it’s best to leave it up to those that have no biases one way or another: the animals. Over the years, there have been some notable animals to predict football results, with these five taking the world by storm.

Paul the Octopus

After hatching on January 26, 2008, at the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth, England, Paul the Octopus quickly drew attention. Those that worked at the Centre said that he seemed more intelligent than the average octopus and would often become fascinated with visitors that walked by. He’d swim up to the tank glass and make eye contact with passersby.

Due to his intelligence, his carers would have him predict matches for UEFA Euro 2008. The first match prediction that Paul made was Germany over Poland in the group stage, with Paul proving to be right. He then went on to predict six Germany matches, getting four correct. Paul really rose to fame, though, when he predicted the victor of all seven German matches during the 2010 World Cup, and then went on to correctly predict Spain to defeat the Netherlands in the finals. Paul predicted other matches, as well, hitting on 85.7 percent of his guesses.

Rabiot the Octopus

Following the success of Paul, Japan got in on the octopus fun when a giant one named Rabiot was caught in Obira, Hokkaido. Rabiot got off to a hot start when he predicted Japan would win against Colombia in the group stages of the 2018 World Cup. The fisher that caught him let Rabiot continue predicting the Japanese matches, predicting that the country with draw with Senegal and lose to Poland.

It turned out that Rabiot was right on all three occasions, but unlike Japan, Rabiot didn’t make it past the group stage. Wanting to cash in on his catch, Kimio Abe decided that it was time to cut up Rabiot and sell him as food. While it was a pretty grim ending, the life of an octopus is not a long one.

Achilles the Cat

The 2018 World Cup was filled with animals coming up with their own predictions, but Achilles the Cat was deemed the “official” animal oracle of the event due to his proximity to the games. The white, deaf, Russian cat was asked to select each Russian match, and the first one turned out to be correct as the team defeated Saudi Arabia easily.

It wasn’t the first time that the cat had predicted matches, either. During the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, Achilles was right in three out of his four attempts. Achilles continued to make guesses after the world cup as well, especially as he nailed all four of his predictions for Russia in the 2018 World Cup, and even made choices for Euro 2020.

Nelly the Elephant

A lot of animal prognosticators are tempted by food, and in the case of aquatic creatures, tend to randomly drift toward a winner. However, Nelly the Elephant was actually playing football while making predictions. At Serengeti Park in Germany, Nelly is offered up with two soccer nets in front of her with a flag at the top of each net. She then kicks a ball into the net of the team she feels will win.

It may seem odd, but Nelly was actually able to correctly predict 30 out of the first 33 matches from 2006 to 2012. People around the world would start making wagers based on Nelly’s picks after her hot streak, showing that she’s the smartest pachyderm in football.

Predictaroo the Kangaroo

If there were an animal that would be built for the quickness and agility of soccer while also having size and power, it’s the kangaroo. That’s why Predictaroo became such a phenomenon and developed a large following at the Australia Zoo. The roo has predicted a wide range of sports, including major football events.

Though the accuracy has been a little lower than those on the rest of the list, Predictaroo also has one of the biggest fanbases. Its real name is actually Flopsy, but most of us simply know her by the prognosticating moniker that caught the world’s attention during the 2014 World Cup.

5 Major US Cities With The Coldest Winters

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When we think of cities in the United States, we know that they can vary greatly in terms of climate. Cities such as Honolulu, San Diego, and Miami are known for turning up the heat, while there are also cities that offer the other end of the spectrum. Some might wonder how hundreds of thousands of people can flock to these cities, but they get by.

Out of all of the major US cities, which ones have the harshest and most frigid winters? Here’s a look at the five that have the lowest winter temperatures, making them winter wonderlands for people who love skiing and snowmobiling more than hitting the beach.

Fairbanks, Alaska 

Fairbanks Alaska is notorious for being the coldest US city. Known as The Golden Heart of Alaska, the frigid town plummets to -17F° in the winter months, with an average low of 18F° year round. The lowest recorded temperature in the city of 33,000 was -66F° back in January of 1934. 

Alaskans make good use of the harsh winters by ice fishing, ice sculpting, dog sledding, snowshoeing, and riding snowmobiles. They’ve learned to stay warm using layers of clothing, thermals, various methods to heat their homes, and knowing when it’s safe to venture outside. 

Fargo, North Dakota 

The Midwest is home to some of the coldest cities in the US and Fargo North Dakota is one of them. The historic city features sights like the Red River Zoo, the Fargo Theatre, and the Fargo Air Museum. 

Fargo reached an icy cold temp of -39F° in February of 1996, with average yearly lows ranging from 3F°-8F°. North Dakota has a large Northern European population, so locals have the luxury of warming up to cozy, hearty meals like Spaetzle, Schnitzel, Kuchen, Bavarian Pretzels, and Pierogies. 

Duluth, Minnesota 

Duluth Minnesota is best known for being home to the world’s only entirely freshwater aquarium, Duluth Superior Harbor, and gorgeous Midwest scenery. Besides the attractions and picturesque nature that bring people to the city, Duluth experiences harsh winters and some of the coldest temps in the US. The lowest recorded temperature in Duluth was an ice cold -41F° that occurred in January of 1885. 

Nowadays, during the winter months Duluth drops down to an average low of 2F°. Helpful tips for staying warm in the frigid city include bundling up when you go out to keep your core temperature at safe levels, ensuring little to no skin is bare to the elements, and putting together a survival kit that holds alternate methods for providing warmth. 

Anchorage, Alaska 

Anchorage is another popular Alaskan city that bears the title of one of the coldest cities in the US. It’s no surprise the state features more than one bitterly cold city. Ironically known as the Land of the Midnight Sun, the breathtakingly beautiful land experiences average winter lows of 13F° and a record low of -38F° that occurred in February of 1947. Although the city deals with harsh winters, locals and tourists alike enjoy glacier cruises, state parks, wildlife tours, and taking in the work of local artists that make up a good amount of the city’s population. 

Madison, Wisconsin 

Madison Wisconsin, also known as Mad Town, has attractions like the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Henry Vilas Zoo, and Memorial Union Terrace. As well as a stable economy, great cheese curds, and Midwest charm. 

As one of the coldest cities in the country, locals deal with average winter lows of 14F°, with a record low of -37F° in January of 1951. When temps get too frigid, the best things to do in Madison include making use of skating on the frozen lakes, viewing amazing holiday light displays like the huge Christmas tree at the state capitol, or visiting one of many sledding hills in the city. 

Is Weather Really More Extreme Now Than 50 Years Ago?

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Whenever there’s a large storm or extreme temperatures, the first thing that we typically think to ourselves is “we’ve never had this type of weather before.” We think back to the times when we were children and can only remember one extreme storm like a blizzard or a hurricane, but don’t really remember much else from what the weather was like as a whole several decades ago without seeing the research in front of us.

There have been a lot of reports of the weather getting more extreme each year, which has caused a lot of discussion regarding global climate change. While most scientists agree that the Earth is certainly getting warmer, what about the extremes of the weather? Let’s take a look at what the science says to see if the weather is more extreme now than it was 50 years ago.

Temperature

Throughout the 20th century, the Earth had an average global temperature of 57.0 Fahrenheit (13.9 Celsius), Up until World War II, the Earth’s temperature was much lower than this average century temperature. The coolest years came around 1910 when the temperature was more than 0.4 degrees Celsius cooler than the average, but the increase in production during World War II for machinery changed the tide.

1939 marked the first year in which the global temperature was above the century average, and it wouldn’t drop back down until 1946, the first full year after the war ended. Up until the late 1970s, the temperature remained right around the average, and then the temperature skyrocketed. Things came to a head in 2016 when the global temperature reached a full degree over the average.

One of the ways that we can look at the changing temperatures in terms of extreme is by seeing how many days in particular the temperature reaches ‘heat wave’ temperatures. During the 1960s, a heat wave would typically last for three days on average while there were only two per year. When we got into the 2020s, there were four heat waves per year, and these heat waves averaged six days each. They also got a bit more intense, reaching 0.3 degrees more than they used to at their most intense.

Storms

The amount of precipitation on average has slightly increased over the years, but the amount of extreme precipitation has increased tremendously. For the first nine decades of the 20th century, there was a steady amount of heavy precipitation days, but that number skyrocketed in the 1990s. In fact, nine of the heaviest precipitation days of the 20th century all occurred in the 1990s. Therefore, people in the 1990s were able to say that the weather was getting more extreme than it was even 10 years prior.

It isn’t just regular heavy rainfall or snowfall that has increased with each passing year, but also the amount of tropical storms. Cyclone activity has increased tremendously since the 1970s, with 127 worldwide in 2021 alone, which was down from an all-time high of 150 in 2018. Compare that to 1973, when there were 118 cyclone storms worldwide. In the United States alone. In fact, five of the six years with the most named storms have come since 1995.

Tornadoes

There’s one part of extreme weather that isn’t really all that predictable, and that’s tornadoes. It seems that with the rise of extreme weather events that there would be more tornadoes over the years, but the number has been a bit more sporadic than all of the other measurables. 2016 not only had the highest global temperature on record, but it also had the highest amount of tornadoes.

In the top 10 years that have had the most tornadoes, almost all of the decades of the past 50 years are represented. However, the statistics only date back to the end of World War II, so it’s hard to say that there are more tornadoes in the past 50 years compared to the 50 years prior.

Overall, it’s clear that the warming climate is affecting extreme weather when it comes to heat waves, droughts, and hurricanes/tropical storms. However, it doesn’t have much effect on tornadoes, which is a bit of a surprise. Just as a piece of trivia, though, 1974 is the only recorded year in which there were at least seven tornadoes that reached F5 status.

5 Distinguishing Features Of A Cult – And How To Tell It

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There are a lot of people each year that fall victim to those that want to take advantage of a vulnerability. This can happen in the form of convincing someone to join a cult, which is defined as “a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.” From the outside, you can be fed a bill of lies that sound good on paper but can end up being dangerous.

Then, there are those that truly want to help you through organized religion, which in most cases can be great for your spirituality and help you find meaning. If you’ve had people try to convince you to join any sort of organization, there are ways to tell the difference between a cult and religion. Here are five distinguishing features between the two.

Size

The most surefire way that you can tell the difference between a cult and an organized religion is the sheer size of the group. If someone asks you to join a following where there are only a dozen people or so, then that’s almost a guarantee that it’s a cult. Religions like Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and more have millions of followers around the world.

When it comes to these small groups, there is often a leader that’s trying to get people to follow them and they aren’t too concerned with developing a large following, they just want a loyal one. A cult is defined as having a following of at least two people but can be upward of a few thousand. If it isn’t in the millions or even hundreds or tens of thousands, you’ve probably come across a cult.

Money

Any legit organized religion will never, ever expect you to spend your hard-earned money on them. Sure, many of them will ask if there’s anything that you can give to help the congregation go as there are bills to pay when operating an establishment, but nothing should ever be expected. When it comes to a cult, though, you’re typically expected to invest almost all of your time and money.

In most cases, all of that money will go to the person (or handful of people) that’s leading the cult. There have been a lot of horror stories from those that escaped a cult that said that they had $0 to their name when they got out. That’s because a cult leader wants you to be entirely dependent on them.

Governmental Recognition

There are well over 200 organized religions that have been listed by the United States Department of Defense. This list is often changing with new actual religions that pop up every now and then that have shown that they don’t have cult-like behaviors. The first thing that you should do when offered to join a new organization is to check and see if it’s on the DoD’s list.

If it’s nowhere to be found, it’s either a brand new religion with good intentions that could one day be on the list, or it could be a cult. Either way, it’s best to wait and see if the organization gets added before you commit to anything. After all, even Jedi from the “Star Wars” franchise is listed as an officially recognized religion because it doesn’t have cult-like features.

Belief System

In almost all religions, there is a belief in a higher power. In a cult, however, almost all belief is put into the leader of that cult. Religion worships either a supernatural being or someone that has departed the Earth long ago, and a leader of a cult will often think that they themselves are gods that are walking amongst mere mortals.

Always check on what the belief system of an organization is and who is worshipped. There should be a clearly stated mission that the organization follows, and if there’s the worship of the leader, then that’s an instant red flag that there’s a cult. You can also check to see if there are other legit religions that share very similar interests that would help make the group valid.

Recruiting Process

We’ve all had people knock on our door to try and get us to join their religion. You can easily tell which ones are legitimate religions when they simply leave you alone when you don’t want to join. For cults, though, they can be extremely persistent and hope that you give in and join.

When you’re being contacted regularly in hopes of recruiting you to join an organization, it should be a college sports team. Anyone that tries to get you to join an actual religion will never be that persistent as you’re free to choose any worship that you want.

How To Not Get Suckered By Black Friday Deals: 5 Rules

Posted on by scatty

Every year, Black Friday is the largest shopping day in the world as it falls the day after Thanksgiving and marks the unofficial start of the Christmas season. During this day, people spend billions of dollars both online and in stores. That’s because retailers claim that their prices are the lowest that they’re going to be that year, but is that always the case? Part of it is just how well the marketing of Black Friday is, while others truly are offering their lowest prices.

Around this time of year, a lot of people will get buyer’s remorse because the deal that they got wasn’t as great as they thought, or what they spent money on wasn’t even worth the markdown. If you’re looking to save money, here are five ways to not get suckered by Black Friday deals, making your holiday season that much better.

Avoid the Cheapest Deals

There are a lot of doorbusters that are offered on Black Friday, but nothing gets people in the door quite like a good deal on electronics. Things like tablets, televisions, and laptops are all offered at super low prices, and there tend to be lines all the way to the door for people to get their hands on them.

However, these electronics are some of the biggest sucker items that retailers offer. They are far from the top of the line, which is why they’re so cheap, to begin with. They’re also overstocked since nobody wanted to buy them throughout the year and they’re unloading the inventory so that people come into the store and buy other items. If you think a tablet that’s $39 is too good to be true, you’re right.

Don’t Forget Monday

Online shopping has caught on more and more over the years, with revenues from online purchases surpassing that of in-person shopping over the holiday season. With that said, there’s an online equivalent of Black Friday called Cyber Monday. While Black Friday allows people to have their items in hand and ready to wrap on that very day, waiting until Cyber Monday is often your best bet.

That’s because, on Cyber Monday, prices that are listed on websites like Amazon or Walmart are often around 15 percent cheaper than what the same deals were for Black Friday. While these companies want to keep their brick-and-mortar buildings afloat, the online business is just as important to them, which is why they reserve the best deals for Cyber Monday.

Avoid Financing if Possible

Now, more than ever, it’s easier to get financing on products through all major retailers as they work with third-party financiers. The retailers get their money right away, but then you’re left to pay off the amount that was given to them, plus any potential interest from using the buy-now, pay-later option.

While these are great options if you can get them without interest, most of them are offered to people with poor credit at high-interest rates. Let’s say you want something for $150 and are offered to finance. You might end up having to pay $180 on that item over the course of payments, and making a lot of purchases this way can add hundreds to your yearly shopping.

Double Check the Prices

Anything can be marked at a certain percentage off, but that doesn’t mean that the new price is actually marked down that much from the original price. For instance, let’s say there’s a television that’s on sale for $200 and is marked at 50 percent off. You’ll want to check various websites to see if the original price was actually $400.

It could have been $200 throughout the entire year, but was marked at $400 at the last minute so that a retailer could say that it was half-off. It’s a pretty predatory tactic that retailers use to trick people into thinking that they’re getting the best deal, but it’s still legal and tricks countless people every year.

Not Everything Has to Be Black Friday

People save their money all year just to drop it all on that single Black Friday, but that shouldn’t always be the case. We already talked about Cyber Monday, but there are going to be great deals that happen all the way through the holiday season. Don’t get yourself too financially exhausted by spending all of your money on one day because it’s Black Friday.

Also, there are going to be those “dream gifts” that you think need to be purchased that day, but that’s not true. Even getting something small for someone is enough to let them know that you’re thinking of them, so don’t stress yourself out on Black Friday.