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Psychology

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haunted

Podcast: The Fear Lab

Ever wondered why our brains crave a good scare?
The Podcast Team September 21, 2023
Initially, Gef said he was a weasel, but later corrected himself and said he was, in fact, the ghost of a dead mongoose.
film

The Bizarre, True Story of Gef the Talking Mongoose

Oh, and Gef was a ghost too.
Steven Tucker August 31, 2023
The hostage drama that took place in this building on Norrmalmstorg in 1973 gave rise to the term “Stockholm Syndrome.” The bank has long since been replaced by a high-end clothing store, but the vaults are still there.
maps

There Are at Least 10 Cities With Their Own Psychological Disorders

Stockholm Syndrome is the most famous, and most relate to tourism or hostage-taking.
Frank Jacobs, Big Think July 21, 2023
museums

Podcast: Freud Museum London

Lie back on what might be the world's most famous psychoanalytic couch.
The Podcast Team February 1, 2023
The Grady sisters, from Stanley Kubrick's <em>The Shining</em>, played by Lisa and Louise Burns, are among the most iconic pop culture twins.
haunted

The Psychology Behind Why Identical Twins Inspire Fascination—and Fear

A history of othering, experimentation, and mystery.
Sarah Durn November 22, 2022
haunted

Why Horror Is So Damned Fun

We go inside Denmark’s Recreational Fear Lab to learn why our brains crave a good scare.
Samir S. Patel October 26, 2022
Mirrors and images of previous owners line the walls at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Now best known for inspiring the setting of <em>The Shining</em>, the building is reportedly one of America's most haunted hotels.
haunted

The Spooky Science of Why Mirrors Can Freak Us Out So Much

We reflect on what these shiny surfaces reveal, from the curse of Narcissus to an experiment you can try at home—if you dare.
Kate Golembiewski October 14, 2022
Bouvet Island, South Atlantic Ocean. All the photos in this story reflect some of the most difficult-to-visit sites in the world, much coveted by travel collectors.
islands

Can You Be Addicted to Travel?

An exploration of wanderlust, compulsive curiosity, and the world’s most traveled persons.
Dave Seminara July 20, 2021
Excavations near the modern Slovakian town of Vráble, for which the site is named, offered archaeologists new insights into the counterclockwise rotation of ancient construction.
archaeology

The Mystery of Neolithic Slovakia's Rotating Villages

It’s hard to think straight when your brain is asymmetric.
Isaac Schultz February 5, 2020
A portrait of Cheryl Lashek, made by Alex Plante.
signs

Meet the Mechanical Engineer Whose Signature Is Instagram Famous in Manitoba

For the past decade, every elevator in the Canadian province has been graced by Cheryl Lashek's name.
Sarah Lawrynuik May 1, 2019
Horace Vernet's <em>The Last Grenadier of Waterloo</em>, contemplating his plight.
medicine

The French Conquest of Algeria Was Sick With Nostalgia

The long, dark, painful history of an everyday emotion.
Matthew Taub December 21, 2018
Remember to use the tongs to prevent melting any precious product.
food

How to Sell a $300 Chocolate Bar

Follow the wine playbook.
Ximena N. Larkin February 16, 2018
An apple pictured on a round plate at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore.
food

The Power of Circles in Food and Drink

Humans consistently associate roundness with sweetness.
Paula Mejia January 18, 2018
Images of the Unconscious Museum.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Images of the Unconscious Museum

An overlooked collection of over 350,000 artistic works created by psychiatric patients using art therapy.
Songs such as <em>Happy Birthday</em> have both high positive "emotional valence" and ultra-happy major seventh chords.
science

The Secret Chord That Makes Pop Music Sound Happy

The musical formula for good vibrations.
Natasha Frost November 15, 2017
A selection of the images shown to the monkeys in the trial.
monkeys

Rhesus Monkeys See Faces in Objects, Just Like We Do

Yes, that coffee does look a bit like a face.
Natasha Frost August 28, 2017
A stress ball, one of the many types of anxiety toys.
toys

Quit Worrying, Fidget Toys Have Been Around Forever

A spin through anxiety gadgets, from worry beads to Baoding balls.
Ali Jaffe June 5, 2017
Kashpirovsky's at work.
politics

A Psychic Healer Tried to Hypnotize Soviets to Distract From the Fall of Communism

Pay no attention to the man behind the Iron Curtain.
Sarah Laskow May 23, 2017