Category: Feature Stories

In spring, many people feel exhausted — there’s even a special term for it: spring fatigue. But is it actually real? According to a Swiss study, the term itself may cause people to pay more attention to feeling tired. In an online survey, many participants said they suffered from spring fatigue. But detailed interviews with hundreds of people over the course of a year showed no evidence of this. “It would have shown up in the data analysis,” says study leader Christine Blume from the University of Basel in an…

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We take it for granted that a day lasts 24 hours – but in reality, the length of a day is not constant. New research from the University of Vienna and ETH Zurich now shows that climate change is currently contributing to the lengthening of the day more strongly than at any time in at least 3.6 million years. At present, a day is getting longer by about 1.33 milliseconds per century. That may sound negligible, but from a geophysical perspective it is remarkable – and, according to the researchers,…

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English and Mandarin Chinese dominate global communication today—English with well over a billion total speakers and Mandarin leading in native speakers. Together with Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, and French, they shape cultural exchange, geopolitics, and global business. Languages are far more than tools for communication—they are cultural archives, identity markers, and bridges between societies. When we look at the world’s most spoken languages, we’re not just counting words or speakers; we’re tracing migration, colonial history, economic power, and digital influence. And yes—at least one of the 30 languages in any global…

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Wien, 13 March 2026 — As Austria wakes up to a crisp Friday morning, many residents may feel an extra twinge of unease: today is Friday the 13th, a date long associated with misfortune across much of the Western world. Though modern research shows no spike in accidents or bad luck, the superstition remains deeply rooted in centuries of myth, religion, and cultural storytelling. Where Did the Fear Come From? 1. The Number 13 and Ancient Myth The anxiety around the number 13 predates Christianity.A well‑known Norse myth tells of…

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Climate change isn’t just reshaping weather patterns, melting glaciers, and raising sea levels — it’s even altering the rotation of our planet. As global temperatures rise, polar ice melts and the resulting water redistributes itself across the oceans. This shift in mass causes Earth to spin slightly more slowly, making our days a little longer. A new study reveals a striking detail: the current slowdown in Earth’s rotation is happening faster than at any time in the past 3.6 million years. Researchers calculated in 2024 that a day is currently…

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Every time I step into a hotel room, I’m hit with the same mix of curiosity and anticipation. Will the room look as good as the photos promised? Are the glowing reviews about cleanliness actually true? And what about the little details we tend to overlook—like the seemingly harmless electric kettle sitting next to the complimentary tea bags? As it turns out, that kettle might be the last thing you want to touch. Why You Should Avoid the Hotel Kettle Most hotels provide a kettle as a thoughtful convenience: a…

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A meeting room falls silent, a cinema scene grows tense, or you’re sitting on a train surrounded by strangers—and suddenly your stomach decides to perform a solo. A long, rumbling growl rolls through your abdomen. You shift in your seat, hoping no one heard it. But they probably did. Stomach growling is one of those universal human experiences: slightly embarrassing, mildly funny, and surprisingly fascinating once you understand what’s going on inside your body. The Orchestra Inside: What Causes the Noise? The scientific term for stomach growling is borborygmus, a…

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Manipulated ATMs remain one of the most common tricks used by fraudsters to steal money from unsuspecting passersby. The method behind this scam is known as skimming — and while the name may sound harmless, the consequences certainly aren’t. In this feature, we’ll show you how to spot a tampered ATM and how to protect yourself from becoming a victim. What Exactly Is Skimming? The term skimming comes from the English verb “to skim”, meaning to skim off or to remove the top layer. That’s essentially what criminals do: they…

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For more than a decade, platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook have shaped how we communicate, entertain ourselves, and even understand who we are. They connect billions of people, spark global trends, and give everyone a stage. But behind the glossy filters and viral dances lies a darker reality: social media can quietly erode our mental health. Today, psychologists, neuroscientists, and sociologists warn that the very design of these platforms—optimized for attention, engagement, and emotional triggers—can make users anxious, depressed, and chronically dissatisfied. The danger isn’t always obvious. It…

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