Category: General Interest

The Christmas gift-buying season is in full swing. The Consumer Protection Association gives tips on what customers can do if the gift is not to their liking, does not fit, or is a gift voucher. If you don’t like a Christmas present, you can try to exchange it. However, the exchange is not a right. Still, it must be expressly agreed upon (added to the receipt) or publicly advertised by the business, or you will be lucky to receive an exchange as a gesture of goodwill. Broken Christmas presents: the…

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On December 8, the Catholic Church celebrates the “Solemnity of the Virgin and Mother of God Mary, conceived without original sin” through her mother Anna (“Mary’s Conception”). It is not, as is often mistakenly assumed, Mary’s virginity that is celebrated, but the Church’s conviction that Mary was without sin. Just as the Gospel of Luke says, “Hail, blessed one, the Lord is with you” to Mary on the feast day, the Catholic faith has recognized more and more clearly over the centuries that Mary was a “blessed one” from the…

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Fruit and vegetables are an important part of a balanced diet. They contain vitamins, fiber, minerals, and antioxidants that are essential for the body and have a positive effect on it. These nutrients are not only found in the flesh of the fruit but also in the skin. However, most people peel their food because they are afraid of too many harmful substances, pesticides, or other unhealthy residues and waste many healthy substances in the process. To make sure you don’t miss out on any more vitamins in the future,…

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The consumer advocates of the Chamber of Labor (AK) in Upper Austria gave tips on Tuesday for ordering goods online. Particularly during the Advent season, caution is advised with products from overseas and against fake stores that imitate well-known online stores. Anyone who has paid in advance in such cases of fraud has lost their money. To clarify the seriousness of the Internet provider, customers should find an imprint with a postal address, telephone number, and e-mail address on the homepage. Just “an at or de domain does not mean…

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It has been discussed for some time. Venice wants to start charging entrance fees for day visitors next year. The popular lagoon city has been trying different strategies to cope with the crowds for years. There have also been plans to charge admission fees for some time. In October, the city council finally set the course for this. Anyone wishing to visit Venice next year must pay five euros on certain days. “This is a globally unique experiment. The city is complex and fragile. We must take measures because there…

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From December, a previous advantage for Android users will no longer apply: in the future, they will only have a limited data volume available for backups. From December this year, a significant change will affect how Android users of WhatsApp can save their backups. Until now, these users have been able to store their WhatsApp backups automatically and free of charge in the Google Cloud (Google Drive), thanks to an agreement between Meta (the company behind WhatsApp) and Google. This arrangement is now ending. WhatsApp backups from Android users will…

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Vegetables contain more nutrients when raw. This is only partly true, as some vegetables actually become more nutritious when heated. Vegetables contain many valuable vitamins and minerals. But there are different opinions on how best to absorb them. The myth that nutrients are lost during cooking is a persistent one. This is true for some vegetables, but cooking, frying, roasting, or steaming can increase nutrient absorption for some foods. There’s a reason why the cartoon character Popeye loves to eat spinach: after all, the green, leafy vegetable is full of…

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A runny nose, a scratchy throat, and excruciating limb pain—colds are our unwelcome wintertime companions. However, if you treat your infection incorrectly, you will have to struggle with the symptoms for longer. It is, therefore, essential to avoid these mistakes. Suppress sneezingSneezing clears the nasal cavity of foreign bodies, such as dust and bacteria. If you suppress it, you keep these germs in your body, promoting even more colds. Even if the loud noise is unpleasant in public, sneezing should never be suppressed. Suppressing a sneeze can even be dangerous…

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It has long been known that there is a connection between nutrition and well-being. A study on depression now claims to have discovered the extent to which the gut microbiome, the entirety of all microbial co-inhabitants in the gut, plays a role in this. A thorough analysis—the most thorough to date—showed that individuals with depressive symptoms have a markedly different abundance or decrease of specific types of bacteria. The results can be read in the “Nature Communications” journal, published in December. In fact, people with mental illnesses are particularly prone…

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