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If you’ve ever gotten the sense that your dog is trying to help you find something you’re looking for, you were just imagining things. But, at the same time, if you’ve ever gotten the distinct and quite chilly sense that your cat couldn’t care less, you were also correct. A study published in Animal Behaviour found that dogs are far more likely than cats to help a familiar caregiver, even if they aren’t necessarily equipped to do so. In some cases, the researchers even say that their behavior was similar to that of toddlers, who have developed enough to identify that a caregiver might need help but can’t really offer much in the way of genuine help. Researchers from Eötvös Loránd University and the HUN-REN–ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group compared untrained companion dogs, companion cats, and children aged 16 to 24 months. In the experiment, a parent or pet owner hid a neutral object, like a dishwashing sponge, in plain view of the subject and then searched for it without as...

It was overwhelming. I had to scan a card with my face on it just to get in, like it was a high-security government research lab. Once in, this coliseum that I thought was going to be filled mostly with industrial-sized packs of Kraft Mac & Cheese had a pile of pants and polos to greet me upon entry. That was immediately followed by big-screen TVs, cell phones, couches, patio furniture, an even wider selection of clothes, and then, finally, way in the back, there they were: the fabled packs of food so large I thought I was in a Honey, I Shrunk The Kids scenario. I had never been to a Costco, or even seen one in real life, until a little less than a year ago. My wife came across a deal on a year-long membership that was too good to pass up. I am a Floridian, and as such, I am practically required by state law to remain loyal to Publix, but Costco has quickly found a place in my heart. I’m not the only one. Costco is in the midst of a golden era. It’s a boom that’s been chronicled...

This week puts a few pretty delusions on life support. Mercury retrograde scrambles timing and wording, Venus meeting Saturn adds a hard edge to love and money, and Jupiter turning direct finally gets something moving after too much circling. Right in the middle of it, stargazer, the Sagittarius Half Moon drags private feelings into public view and asks what we’re going to do with them. There’s heat here, but there’s also honesty. Some people are ready to stop calling breadcrumbs a connection. Others are ready to admit they’ve outgrown a role, a routine, or a fantasy that used to keep them going. Across the zodiac, this is a week for seeing what holds up when excuses expire. The sky is not in the mood to coddle anybody, but it does have a sharp way of showing us where our energy belongs. How will your sign fare this week? Aries: March 21 – April 19 Your ruling planet spends the week in Pisces, which can make your usual first instinct feel a little drunk on fantasy, ego, or old fee...

Zoë Lescaze decided she wanted to become a sharpshooter. She also decided to begin from the most humble starting point possible—having never even fired a handgun before. Three days later, after a few hours a day at a Washington, D.C. shooting range and a little help from “mind control” techniques, she was reportedly hitting bullseyes from 75 feet. That’s insane for a novice. The technique, according to a New York Post article, was neuro-linguistic programming , or NLP, delivered by veteran trainer Wyatt Woodsmall. NLP lives in a weird space. Some people say it’s a superpower. Others write it off as another motivational fad. Lescaze says it’s a mix of borrowed tools, including hypnosis, packaged with bigger claims than the research supports. Lescaze told the Post that “a big part of NLP is closely observing other people and diagnosing how they think and view the world,” and that Woodsmall barely knew her yet clocked what would motivate her. He labeled her an “achievement person,” so...

For some, arachnophobia extends well beyond being creeped out by spiders . It can alter people’s lives in fairly dramatic ways, shaping where they walk, where they sit, and which rooms they dare to enter, and all of that has an effect on mental health and can severely limit their experiences, especially outdoors. A new study published in Frontiers in Arachnid Science , a new personal favorite in the long, ever-growing list of niche scientific publications, found that while the spiders themselves play a large role in arachnophobia, our eye movements play a surprisingly large role as well. Researchers recruited 118 undergraduate students and tracked their eye movements as they viewed paired images. Spider versus butterfly, spider versus insect, spider eyes versus insect eyes, spider versus non-spider arachnid, and spider versus myriapod, like centipedes or millipedes. Later rounds compared scorpions to non-scorpions and, finally, spider against spider, the hairy kind versus less hairy,...

A new Undisputed WWE Champion was crowned on SmackDown . Just weeks after Drew McIntyre won the championship, he lost it to former champ Cody Rhodes. Rhodes earned the title shot after McIntyre cost him the Elimination Chamber . Nick Aldis made the match official last week. If Rhodes defeats McIntyre one last time, he’ll face Randy Orton — the 2026 men’s Chamber winner — at WrestleMania 42 . This is a match WWE has been building to since Rhodes’ return to WWE in 2023. They were once part of the Legacy stable together and Orton was instrumental in helping Rhodes win at WrestleMania 40 . Rhodes won with a little interference from Jacob Fatu who pulled a chair out of the ring McIntyre intended to use on Rhodes. This allowed the challenger to hit the Cody Cutter and a Cross Rhodes for the win. According to reports from Fightful Select , WWE took the belt off Rhodes to have him part of the Royal Rumble and the Chamber. Despite the negative online perception — and sometimes live crowds —...