Lifestyle

Unicode is getting an update which will include 250 more "emoji" symbols, as well as other updates for languages around the world. Smartphone users around the world, rejoice. Among the many updates are a hammer, a spider, an arriving airplane, a hot pepper, and a satellite. The update release is Unicode Version 7. Unicode is a system that came into existence during the early 90s as a way to provide a uniform code for different character and letters. Years ago, many countries and languages used their own systems for text encoding. Before the internet, this worked out fine. After the introduction of the World Wide Web, however, a problem quickly became apparent. When a page was written on one standard but seen by a web browser as another standard, the page would appear on the screen as tota...

Drones are typically associated with military invasions. But can they be used for something more innocent -- artwork? Two military aviators who work with drones had the idea to use their machines to take photographs that no human would be able to capture. Their remote-controlled aerial devices were able to create unique shots. One of their photos, "Lost" -- which features a woman walking alone along sand dunes -- won an aerial photography prize. The prize made them think that their work might be more than just a passing hobby. "We realized that some of the stuff we were creating was really, really aesthetically pleasing," said one pilot. Right now, the pilots only wish to be known by their pseudonym, DroneArt31 -- since they are still in the military, security is a likely concern. Th...

According to several dentists, "selfie" culture could be bringing increased popularity to orthodontia. As kids are becoming more aware of the way their teeth look through self-shot camera photos, many are choosing to opt in for teeth-straightening orthodontia earlier in life, rather than waiting until later."I think that soon I'll be able to take a selfie and show off my teeth, so its okay," said Jessica Corona, a rising sophomore in college, in an interview with PIX11. Many teenagers say they look forward to taking better photos in the future that they can share with their friends. Of course, selfies aren't the only reason children, teenagers, and young adults decide to get orthodontic treatment. The health benefits of having teeth that are properly aligned are explained to children...

When a basement floods, who's at fault? According to one man in Omaha, Nebraska, it's the city's responsibility in his case. Charles (whose last name has not been reported for confidentiality reasons), says that, in the 60 years he had lived in the area of 24th and Maple, he had never experienced flooding. "There’s never been a flood in this area since I've been living," he said in an interview with KETV. Earlier this year, Omaha started water main work and sewer separation in the neighborhood. The Environmental Protection Agency's federal guidelines required that the crews working on the pipes have a stormwater pollution prevention plan in place. Why does the EPA regulate stormwater in the first place? Throughout the nation, stormwater is actually one of the main sources of water po...

The Eastern practice of acupuncture as an alternative form of veterinary treatment has made its way to American shores -- and it is growing in popularity at a rapid rate, according to a May 5 Slate article. Many American veterinary schools now offer animal acupuncture courses, and there are approximately 4,000 veterinarians across the country who are qualified to stick needles in your pet in exchange for money. However, expert opinions on whether veterinary acupuncture is actually an effective form of treatment are highly conflicted. Most of the scientific studies intending to prove the effectiveness of this practice so far have been unreliable -- according to Slate, four out of every five studies on animal acupuncture are unreliable; the fifth usually disproves the idea that acupunctur...

Back pain -- either temporary or chronic -- is one of the most common work-related injuries, with at least 50% of Americans admitting to having back pain symptoms. It is often caused by ordinary work activities such as sitting in an office chair, or lifting heavy items. Because many Americans sit for an extended amount of time every day, one of the easiest solutions to solving back pain is to buy a chair that is specifically designed to reduce musculoskeletal stress. The best type of chair to solve such issues is an ergonomic one. An ergonomic chair is designed to suit a range of people, but you should not simply purchase an ergonomic chair just because is it labeled as such. There is also no guarantee that every ergonomic chair is best for you. Finding the right chair is important f...

A new report from online real estate service Redfin is showing some positive signs of growth in one of America's smallest, albeit most lucrative, sectors of real estate. Year-over-year, the sales of luxury homes in the U.S. have grown by 35.7%. Since January,luxury home sales have grown by more than 21%. In a country where the rest of the real estate market remains shaky at best, this growth is more than welcome news, both for the overall economy and the real estate agents who are making big things happen. Luxury Homes Sales Buck Dismal Nationwide Trends When looked at against new home sales for April, the boom in luxury homes is even more impressive. New home sales in the general market only grew by 6.4% last month, and while that should be seen as encouraging after two months of decl...

At 5-foot-7 and 125 pounds, Molly Schuyler looks like the kind of woman who mainly eats her kids' leftovers and a salad a day, which is precisely what her diet looks like most days. Appearances can be deceiving though, as Schuyler proved last week when she devoured a shrimp cocktail, baked potato, roll, salad, and a 72-ounce steak in under five minutes. What's most impressive though is the fact that she had room for dessert, which just so happened to be the exact same meal again, wolfing it in nine minutes the second time around. “We witnessed history,” said Danny Lee, co-owner of the The Big Texan Steak Ranch where Schuyler feaster. “If there’s a zombie apocalypse, I want to stay away from this girl.” The challenge actually dares contests to only eat one of the feasts in under an ho...

It's bee season, and many people are taking a kinder approach to the way they interact with nature's yellow and black pollinator. This week, the NYPD responded to a four-pound bee swarm found in the Upper West Side. The responders captured the swarm, estimated to be composed of up to 20,000 bees, in a box and transported them safely to a more rural location.The move was a positive one for the hive, since it involved both the new queen and most of her loyal drones. Earlier this month in Delaware, several hundred honey bee hives were in danger when a truck carrying them was overturned while on the freeway. The hives were en route from Florida to Maine when the truck crashed into a guardrail, resulting in the loss of at least 10 million bees. The accident shut down the roads for almost 13 ...