Psychology

FORTUNE TELLING BONES

Posted on by vlaw759

My first experience with fortune telling bones was wishing bones: making a wish while breaking the turkey wishbone (the breast bone) with my sister, hoping for the longer piece and the wish fulfillment it would bring.

Check out the rest of this bone series: Bone Music, Bones are for Eating, and Bone Appreciation!

History of Telling One’s Fortune with Bones

Breaking a wishbone in The Courtship of Miles Standish (1923)

It turns out that the tradition of breaking a wishbone dates back over 2,400 years. Back then, the Etruscan people believed that chickens had all sorts of powers, including predicting the future and ensuring good fortune. The Etruscans thought that the collarbone of a chicken was sacred. After leaving it to dry in the sun, people would hold the unbroken bone and make a wish for good luck. The “wishbone tradition” originated in this early practice.

Subsequently, the people of Rome adopted the wishing tradition along with other Etruscan customs. They fought over the unbroken bones of chickens. It may be that the phrases, “I need a lucky break,” or “I never get a break,” came from the loser in the tug of collarbone contest.

The wishing bone tradition spread throughout England. When the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, they brought the custom of breaking the wishbone with them. Although there were no chickens in North America then, turkeys were abundant. European settlers transferred the custom from chickens to turkeys.

Painful Fortune Telling Bones

Some people have weather bones. I.e., they can predict changes in the weather by “feeling it” in their bones. Is this a real thing? Yes. Changes in barometric pressure and temperature can dramatically affect arthritic bones.

arthritis fortune telling bones

As many as two-thirds of people who live with chronic joint pain believe there’s a connection between their pain and changes in the weather. In a 2007 study, researchers at Tufts University found that for every 10-degree temperature drop, there was a corresponding increase in arthritis pain—i.e., the colder the weather, the greater the pain. They also reported that increasing barometric pressure increased pain, which makes sense because colder air is heavier. So, for (at least some) people, joint pain is a predictor of colder weather.

What about other methods of bone divination? I don’t have the space to discuss them all here, but many resources online provide more details and examples.

Osteomancy

Osteomancy is an ancient form of predicting the future by tossing a set of animal bones onto the ground and interpreting their positions and orientations. A set of bones for divination can be used repeatedly.

Modern practitioners of osteomancy say one should either use bones found in nature or purchase an ethically sourced set. The ideal bones for osteomancy come from animals who died of natural causes.

Scapulimancy

Deer scapula

Scapulimancy is divination using scapulae (shoulder blades). It is/was most widely practiced in China as oracle bones, but has also been independently developed in other areas, including the West.

Generally, people used scapulimancy in predicting future weather events and personal health status. Some religious practices also required fortune telling through bones.

Historically, scapulimancy has taken two major forms. In the first, practitioners simply examined the scapula of a slaughtered animal. This form was widespread in Europe, Northern Africa, and the Near East.

The second form involves the heating or burning of the bone and interpretation of the results. People practiced this form in East Asia and North America.

Rituals surrounding the reading of scapulae varied widely, and I don’t have the space to go into many details here. Suffice it to say the practice is ancient.

Scapulimancy in East Asia

Mongolians were one of the earliest peoples to use scapulimancy, according to archaeological digs in Inner Mongolia dating scapulae to approximately 3322 BCE. Diviners referred to divination manuals to guide their interpretation of the animal remains, reading the color of the bones and formation of cracks.

Archaeological sites along the south coast and off-lying islands of the Korean peninsula show that people used deer and pig scapulae in divination during the Korean Protohistoric Period, c. 300 BCE – 300/400 CE.

Chinese fortune telling bones from the Shang Dynasty

Archeological discoveries in China have yielded many specimens from a period spanned from 1250 to 1046 BCE. Ancient diviners likely exposed the bones (pig, sheep, cattle, and deer) to heat, deriving meaning from cracks that formed. The reading provided predictions for agricultural and health purposes.

Chapter 5 of the Kojiki, the Japanese Record of Ancient Matters, also mentions fortune telling bones. The heavenly deities used this process of scapulimancy during a consultation by lesser gods.

Scapulimancy in Europe and the Middle East

Scapulimancy is a method of divination among Greek and Serb farmers, even today. The memoirs of several warriors who fought during the Greek War of Independence include references. After feasts of roast lambs or kids, anyone who knew how to “read” a scapula would clean it of any remaining flesh and, lifting it up to the light, interpret the various shadowy bits showing on the transparent part of the bone.

In European Renaissance magic, scapulimancy was classified as one of the seven “forbidden arts”, along with necromancy, geomancy, aeromancy, pyromancy, chiromancy (palmistry), and hydromancy.

Evidence of Arabic scapulimancy is sparse. A Florentine manuscript dated to the 1600s is currently the most referenced source and attributes the practice of scapulimancy in medieval Western European civilizations to the migration of traditions and ideas from the Arabic world. Historians have proposed trade across the Silk Road as a medium through which scapulimantic practices pervaded medieval European traditions from merchant trade with Arabic nomads.

Scapulimancy in South Africa

Zulu diviners in South Africa, known as izangomas, traditionally used bone reading in conjunction with other rituals involving herbal concoctions to communicate with spirits and those who have passed. The izangoma placed treated bones into the medicine, then interpreted aspects of the scapula floating above the liquid as spiritual communication. People within the community will seek out an izangoma if they would like personal questions answered or to communicate with the deceased. Witch doctors in many African communities still use scapulimancy and other bone reading rituals in a wide array of traditional healing ceremonies.

Astragalomancy

Mongolian astragli fortune telling bones
Mongolian astragali

Astragalomancy (also known as cubomancy) is a form of divination that uses dice specially marked with letters or numbers. Historically, the “dice” were usually knucklebones or other small bones of quadrupeds.

Each face of the die bears a symbol to convey meaning either to the reader or the divine powers. The diviner interprets this sequence according to certain rules – usually rules related to a religion (e.g. Tibetan Buddhism and the Mo system of cubomancy).

The practice of determining divine truth via random castings of dice or bones stretches back before recorded history. The Metropolitan Museum of Art displays bone “dice” (hakata) used by the Shona people of southern Africa for thousands of years.

Greek women playing knucklebones

Archaeologists have found marked astragali at many digs around the Mediterranean, including a site in Athens, Greece, dating to about 500 BCE. The Ancient Greeks performed astragalomancy by rolling dice and then consulting “dice oracles”, tables of divination results carved into statues or monoliths. In addition to matching the numbers on the astragali to the dice oracles, practitioners also held that certain numbers corresponded with particular divinities and would bring divine blessings.

The huayru is a dice game people play in South America at funerals. The game is traditionally played with llama bones, as they are believed to have a special power to attract the soul of the deceased. Reasons for playing this game revolve around divining the will of the recently deceased, often to communicate and receive guidance. The players of the game try to influence the results of the dice by offering prayers or pouring libations. (To me, this seems similar to blowing on dice before a roll for luck.)

Today, many people still call dice “bones”—whatever their material—because they were originally made of bone, as outlined above. If you want real bone dice, they are readily available online.

When everything rides on the roll of the dice, it reminds me of the wishbone tradition I started with.

Bottom Line: People have used bones to predict the future since time out of mind. Should you wish to try your hand, you can still acquire the bone ‘tools’ you need.

WHEN ONE BRAIN ISN’T ENOUGH

Posted on by vlaw759
Multiple brain arrangement diagrams
One brain, two brains,
Three brains, or four,
Five brains, six brains,
Seven brains or more.

According to Merriam-Webster , brains are the central processing units (organs) whose function is to control functionalities of a living body. Who needs—or could even use—more than one brain? Certainly not humans!

But consider other animals, living other lives, needing to function differently to live and reproduce.

The current (10-09-2025) issue of The New York Review of Books had a l-o-n-g article on five (!) books about octopuses (Such Flexible Intensity of Life by Verlyn Klinkenborg). The first paragraph includes the sentence, “An octopuses’s brain is distributed throughout its soft, amorphous body: nine brainlike (sic) nerve clusters, one at the base of each arm and another at its head.” It’s a fun read about how octopuses live, why each arm needs a brain, and what several writers have to say about them.

My immediate thought was “Do other animals have more than one brain?” Read on to learn what I discovered!

Multiple Brains

For many animals, one brain simply isn’t enough for the job.

Cephalopod Brain Arrangements

Cephalopods include octopuses, squids, nautiluses, and cuttlefish.

Octopus brain and anatomy
Octopus Anatomy

These animals all possess many arms. Their central brains form a ring around their esophagus and their arms are constantly testing the environment, processing the information they gather, “thinking” for themselves.

Octopuses have nine brains. The main one is in their head. In addition, each arm can touch, control, and move independently of the others thanks to the cluster of neurons in it. This is part of what makes them so smart. They’re able to figure out puzzles, open containers, and untie knots. In total, octopuses have more than 500 million neurons, only 30% located in the central brain. The brains don’t have to communicate with one another to work, but they can stay in touch to be more effective. (For more fascinating details, check out Ze Facts’ video True Facts About The Octopus.)

Squids have three brains. The main one is used to control the body as a whole while the other two (optic lobes) are dedicated to the eyes. Squid brains resemble donuts in shape. Though there are three brains, they are relatively small compared to the size of the body. Based on research on squids, approximately 80 percent of the brainpower goes toward processing visual information.

Cuttlefish brain
Australian Giant Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish are cousins to octopuses and squids. With 500 million neurons dispersed throughout the body, some say they have 9 brains. Cuttlefish can count up to 5, on par with infant humans and young monkeys. They can delay gratification: hungry cuttlefish will resist mediocre treats for tastier ones delivered later, a sign of intelligence thought to be important for decision making and planning. When cuttlefish were trained to remember when and what they were fed, older cuttlefish did just as well as the young cuttlefish even though they showed other signs of aging

Insect Brain Arrangements

Scientists estimate there are more than 900,000 different types of insects. I’m concerned here with the brain arrangements of cockroaches, bumblebees, and mosquitoes.

Bumblebee brain
Bumblebee brain structure

Bumblebees have three brains as well. One controls the wings, another controls the stinger, and the third manages the antennae. These brains are more focused on instinct and basic memorization than actual memories and behaviors. Compared to other insects and their sizes, bumblebee brains are rather small. However, they are able to remember flowers and areas full of pollen for future use. They can find their way to previous locations, new areas, and back home.

Mosquitoes have three brains inside their body. The first is in the head, the second in the wings, and the third in the abdomen. These brains tend to focus on working the nearest body part. Mosquitoes have a central brain that runs the whole body, one that runs the wings, and one that runs the legs and stomach. Though their brains are tiny, about 1/1000th the size, and only 100 million neurons compared to 10 billion in people, they are still rather smart. They learn to avoid certain predator habitats, and how to find food and water via smell.

Cockroach brain
Head brain of a cockroach

Cockroaches have two brains, one in the head, the other near the abdomen. This is what allows cockroaches to continue to move for a while even if they become decapitated. Though they might live for a minute, they will still die shortly after decapitation. The two brains also allow cockroaches to move fast. They are also intelligent, remembering where they left items and recognizing various objects. They can even remember faces. Though their brains are about 1/20th the size of a human’s and have about a third of the number of neurons, they have twice as many synapses. These synapses are what pass information back and forth. This allows for memory storage and keeps the brain active.

Annelid Brain Arrangements

Annelids, aka segmented worms, include more than 20,000 species, none of which you’d want to invite for dinner. Many of them, including leeches and silkworm moths, have very interesting brain configurations.

Leeches may have the most brains of any animal. A leech’s body contains 32 different segments. Each of these segments has its own brain. These brains are actually small ganglions and are responsible for their specific section. Each of these 32 different brains have about 400 neurons. Together, there are about 500 unique types of neurons in one leech. This design might help them make faster decisions, slow down the aging process, or allow them to use brains in place of nerves.

Silkworms and silkworm moths, also have quite a few brains. They have 11 distinct brain lobes; other moths and butterflies don’t have as many lobes. Additionally, most other similar insects form one brain made up of several lobes, rather than distinct lobes. The brains of silkworms are less than a tenth of the size of a human brain. However, they’ve been shown to remember and learn information rather than just relying on instincts.

Gastropod Brain Arrangements

Snails and slugs, the two types of gastropods, have very similar brain structures. However, they’re not entirely the same.

Central ring ganglia of a Great Pond Snail

Snails have three to six brains! Originally, species had two sets of ganglia, or brains, for movement, breathing, and eating. However, in many species, the two sets fused into one and formed a nerve ring around it. In some species, especially the more primitive ones, it’s more likely to see two sets still, for a total of six brains instead of three.

Despite being fragile and simple, slugs have three brains. They are located in the esophagus and are called buccal, cerebral, and pleural. The buccal is used for feeding, the cerebral is used for movement and senses, and the pleural manages breathing and respiration. For a long time, slugs were thought to have pretty weak brains overall, especially considered to be weaker than average mammal brains. However, scientists found that slug brains work similarly to humans in some ways. They save memories and patterns in the same way the average human would.

Arachnid Brain Arrangements

Arachnids, which are not insects, by the way, have only one brain. Nevertheless, they can behave in ways that seem extra intelligent. Here, I’ll deal only with spiders as an example.

There’s a surprising amount of activity behind those eyes.

Spiders have large brains for their size, some spiders having brains that take up 80% of the body. The brain of a spider sits inside its fused head and thorax, surrounded by muscle and other tissues. The large brains are important for functions like web building or hunting. Behaviors that can be described as “cognitive,” as opposed to automatic responses, are fairly common among spiders. From orb weavers that adjust the way they build their webs based on the type of prey they are catching to ghost spiders that can learn to associate a reward with the smell of vanilla , there’s more going on in spider brains than they commonly get credit for.

Single Brains

Mammals normally have only one brain. However, exceptions can occur in dogs, monkeys, cats, and even human beings — but these are mainly due to polycephaly, a rare genetic anomaly when an animal is born with two heads. Which means two brains.

Mammals’ single brains come in a wide variety

No Brains

Scientists have not reached any consensus on whether zombies actually have brains of their own.

And there are some animals with no brains or nervous tissue of any kind.

They tend to be extremely simple animals possessing rudimentary biological characteristics sufficient for survival. Many are immobile, using sensory nerves to “find” food and avoid danger. Oddly enough, they are similar to technology (such as computers and smartphones), which also use sensors to detect light, movement, chemicals, and so on. Brainless animals operate in the same manner, allowing them to do the things they need to survive.

A Few Examples

Sponges survive on the sea floor by taking nutrients into their porous bodies. There are conflicting theories as to whether sponges have always been this way or evolved to get rid of their brains to be more energy efficient.

Sea urchins are pointy, spiky animals, you don’t want to step on while at the beach. Fortunately, outside of South Florida, sea urchins are not poisonous. They have various numbers of legs and control feeding by way of a water vascular system. That system changes the amount of pressure and water in its body, in order to move faster. (Starfish operate the same way.) Its mouth is beneath it. They expel waste from the top of their bodies. The sea urchin sits on stones, scraping and feeding on the algae that helps keep the ocean clean.

Sea urchin innards

Sea cucumbers look like worms and feed on plankton. They’re everywhere and extremely dangerous. They can release a toxic substance (holothurin), which can blind humans permanently. However, without a brain, they’re not a deliberate threat. There are more than a thousand types of sea cucumbers. Many of the species live in deep water. They feed instinctively, using tubular feet around the mouth to catch and take aquatic invertebrates, algae, and waste. These creatures exhibit asexual and sexual reproduction.

Jellyfish (sea gooseberry) anatomy

Jellyfish (or “jellies”) are a family of translucent animals, famous—perhaps infamous—for their sting. When their tentacles touch a foreign object (such as a swimmer) they release a shooting sting. That sting releases a toxin capable of neutralizing or killing most intruders, though humans usually experience only temporary misery. Jellyfish are uniquely mobile. All other brainless animals are pretty much stationary, often spending their entire lives in a single spot. However, jellyfish move with the current in oceans and bays. They also squirt water to move forward. Thus they can propel themselves toward prey, such as plankton. Their ability to move also helps them avoid predators, such as fish, turtles, and seabirds. The jellyfish functions through a network of sensory nerves.

Bottom Line: Animals have the number, size, and structure of the brains they need to live, function, and reproduce.

Additional Fun Fact: Last week, I talked about how there are museums for seemingly everything out there. I’ve found a Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art at the University of Oregon!

ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE

Posted on by vlaw759

A Healthy Minds Monthly Poll reported by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in early in 2024 found that 30% of adults said they experienced feelings of loneliness at least once a week while 10% said they felt lonely every day over the past year. Unless otherwise noted the following assertions are from this poll.

What do I mean by lonely? “Feeling like you do not have meaningful or close relationships or a sense of belonging.” This is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s definition of loneliness.

Who are All These Lonely People?

They’re young. People aged 18-34 were the loneliest, with 30% saying they felt lonely every day or several times a week.

They’re single. Singles were nearly twice as likely as married adults to say they had been lonely on a weekly basis over the past year (39% vs. 22%).

Overall, 63% of men reported feelings of loneliness in this year’s survey, a ten-point increase from a year ago. For women, the increase was not as sharp; 58% of women reported loneliness this year, up from 54% a year ago.

In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., called loneliness a public health epidemic. APA President Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A. said, “The U.S. Surgeon General is correct to label it as a public health problem with troubling outcomes…”

Where are We not Lonely?

The 2200 survey respondents ranked areas where they felt the highest sense of community and belonging:

  • Among their family (65%)
  • With friends (53%)
  • In their neighborhoods (20%)
  • At work (17%)
  • On social media (16%)
  • At the gym or fitness classes (5%)
  • With sports and recreational teams (4%)
  • In online communities and discussion forums (3%)

Responses to many options hovered toward the middle (full details available in the report).

How Do People Cope?

Respondents reported easing their loneliness many ways (selected from a list of choices provided) most notably:

  • Younger adults are more likely than older adults to say they use drugs or alcohol when feeling lonely.
  • Females are 1.5 times more likely than males to say they reach out to a friend or family member.

Is Technology a Help or a Hindrance?

Technology, when used carefully, can help alleviate loneliness. Many survey participants reported that technology…

  • “Helps me form new relationships” (66%)
  • “Helps me connect with others more frequently” (75%),
  • “Is beneficial for forming and maintaining relationships” (69%)

However, respondents were split on the types of relationships technology fosters, “meaningful (54%)” or “superficial (46%).”

“Clearly we believe technology can be used to connect with others. In some cases, it seems to be helping us reach people who become part of our inner circles or to communicate with those who already are. However, distracting yourself when you’re feeling lonely with social media might be a double-edged sword: while it can connect, it can also lead to feelings of missing out, and we need to make sure we remain conscious of its effects on our mood. In this tech-heavy world, we should not forget the value of in-person interaction.”

Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., APA CEO and Medical Director

Age and Technology

Various sources slice the pie differently, but basically support the conclusions of the APA report. According to a CNBC report of January, 2023 a survey of 10,000 adults found:

  • Three out of every five adults, or 61%, report that they sometimes or always feel lonely, according to the Cigna U.S. Loneliness Index. That’s up 7 percent from the previous year.
  • Among workers aged 18-22, 73% report sometimes or always feeling alone, up from 69% a year previously.

There is a greater feeling of loneliness among people who use social media more frequently, the study found. One reason younger people feel more isolated may be their greater tendency to use social media. The study found an increasing correlation between social media usage and feelings of loneliness. Seven out of 10 heavy social media users, 71%, reported feelings of loneliness, up from 53% a year ago. That compares to 51% of light social media users feeling lonely, up from 47% a year ago.

Lonely on the Job

At work, men appear to feel much more isolated than women. Forty percent of men reported feeling a general sense of emptiness when they’re at work, compared to 29% of women.

Another reason younger people may feel more alienated could have to do with being at the bottom rung of the employment ladder. Entry-level workers scored significantly higher on the Cigna Loneliness index than experienced workers, middle managers and executives. More than half felt there’s no one at work they can turn to.

Nearly two-thirds of workers who’d been at a job less than six months reported experiencing isolation, compared to just 40% workers who’ve been with a firm for 10 years or more.

But it is just as lonely at the top of the ladder. Fifty-six percent of senior executives reported feeling there’s no one they can talk to, with 69% saying that no one really knows them well.

Baby Boomers and workers older than 72 are the most likely to feel that they generally have people they can turn to at work and really understand them, with only 18% reported feeling alienated on the job.

Cigna researchers estimate that employees who feel socially isolated miss work as much as five times more than their connected co-workers due to stress, and are twice as likely as to think about quitting their jobs.

Health Risks of the Lonely

Social isolation and loneliness can increase risk for health and work problems:

  • Heart disease and stroke
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Suicidality and self-harm
  • Dementia
  • Earlier death

Cost of Loneliness

As with so much in the healthcare system, cost is often what triggers getting help. The hope is that by addressing some of the so-called social determinants of health that contribute to isolation among seniors, Medicare can reduce spending. To this end:

  • Medicare plans are offering greater flexibility to focus on the impact of social isolation on the health of older adults.
  • Researchers from AARP and Stanford University found that the government spends more than $6.7 billion annually on additional medical costs for Medicare recipients who lack social contact.
  • Cigna is advising companies to do greater outreach about mental health counseling to help workers deal with stress.
  • Cigna also offers expanded virtual mental health services to make accessing care more convenient and attractive for younger workers.
  • Employers should also look for ways to promote greater in-person communication among workers, including programs that foster more connections like affinity groups and volunteer activities.
  • The Cigna study found that people who get more time interacting face to face with others at work feel less lonely or alienated. More than half of remote workers who telecommute, 58%, reported feeling left out at work.

How to Deal With Loneliness

Please note: the following are on-line suggestions, offered for information only, not as professional advice.

Alone vs Lonely

Know your loneliness is normal. Everyone goes through lonely periods in life. Feeling lonely does not mean there’s something wrong with you. Feelings of loneliness often come and go during life. Sometimes the best thing to do is accept you feel lonely in the current circumstances and that this is okay.

  • Boost your self-esteem by finding things to do that are achievable and building on them little by little.
  • Enjoy your own company. Spending time alone can be liberating and being alone with your thoughts can be a great way of winding down.
  • Often we like the company of people who are comfortable in themselves. Learning to be on your own and like your own company is a step towards this kind of confidence.
  • Online communities can be a great social outlet, but do not rely on them too much. Make sure you balance your social life and make the effort to talk to people in person.
  • Take what you see online with a pinch of salt. People often publish the best of themselves online. Try not to compare yourself to other people’s photos and posts. And don’t spend too much time online.

Meeting New People

Keeping yourself busy is a good way to deal with loneliness.

  • Parenting alone can also feel isolating, especially when your children are younger. It may be helpful to seek out adult company and maintain existing friendships.
  • If you’re on your own in a new place, a hobby can be a great way of meeting new people and making new friends.
  • If you’re feeling lonely for no obvious reason, doing an evening class or sport can help take your mind off it. Consider activities to do with others.
  • Being unemployed can also can cause you to feel isolated. If you’re bored or cannot find a job, volunteer with an organization you care about or an event you might be interested in. Feeling needed and useful is important sometimes.
  • When you’re lonely, you may place too much weight on new friendships and relationships. Build trust gradually, take it slow and accept your new friends as they are. Take your time with new relationships.
  • Be wary of certain groups. Cults and gangs often target lonely people, knowing they might be vulnerable. Make sure the group you join is a positive influence and makes you feel good about yourself.

Getting Support

If you’re constantly lonely for no obvious reason, it could be a sign of depression. This is something you should talk about to family, friends, a counsellor, or your GP.

CrisisTextLine offers free, confidential support via text or chat. (Text 741741)

The AARP has initiatives to help people build community and volunteer. The also have a Friendly Voice helpline to call if you’re looking for a friendly person to talk to.

Just like dating apps, friendship apps allow people the opportunity to match with potential new friends online. Two examples are BumbleBFF and MeetMyPaws.

MeetUp is a social networking website that allows users to organize in-person activities to meet others who share their interests or hobbies.

Bottom Line: Loneliness is pervasive, normal, and problematic for good health and work success. Choose a way to cope that works for you;

DANCING

Posted on by vlaw759

One of my favorite books is Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) and in one famous scene, Sir William is extolling dance as an exemplar of culture and elegance. Darcy observes that every savage can dance.

10,000 year old painting of dancers, Bhimbetka, India

To put it more elegantly: Dancing has always been a part of human culture, rituals, and celebrations. It promotes creativity, as well as healthy minds and bodies.

Many belly dancers perform in restaurants and at parties.

According to a friend of mine who belly dances, that form of dancing does all of the above. “Belly dancing has historic roots in fertility rites or celebrations in some areas. I’ve performed at baby showers and bachelorette parties. It’s so much fun, and I’ve met so many friends through dancing. It also helps me stay in shape and keep flexible. I get to design costumes, learn music, and create choreography while learning this amazing art form!”

Obviously, any given dance might serve multiple purposes. For this blog, I’ll focus on three categories.

Ceremonial Dance

Since humans formed societies, social groups have created or performed ceremonial dances for rituals or celebrations. People use ceremonial dances all over the world for worship, or to celebrate life events. The unique British tradition of Morris dancing, for example, is performed at seasonal festivals and holidays to banish the dark of winter, celebrate the warmth and fertility of summer, and bring in autumn’s golden harvest. The category of ceremonial dance also includes classical Indian dances, war dances, corroboree, Căluşari, and dances of Native American and West African culture.

Adumu, the Maasai jumping dance, forms an important part of coming of age ceremonies, weddings, and celebration rituals. Participants dress in colorful garments and traditional jewelry and often carry spears. Individual dancers compete with each other to jump as high as possible while maintaining a straight and upright posture. Dancers are judged on the height of their jumps as well as their grace.

Marinera Paso is a Mestizo dance that mimics courtship rituals in Peru. The female dancer, accompanied by Spanish, African, and Creole instruments, marks the rhythm and leads her partner on horseback.

Dancing the Haka involves a combination of stamping, chanting, showing the whites of the eyes, and rhythmically slapping body parts with the hands. Maori people perform various Haka forms to welcome guests, issue challenges, and mourn loved ones. Recently, the Te Pāti Māori party went viral for performing a Haka in the New Zealand Parliament to express their opposition to a proposed bill.

Young women in Bali perform the Rejang Adat to welcome the gods during Kunnigan. They do not train or practice before the ceremony. Instead, they rely on their ngayah (dedication) to allow the gods to inspire their movement and harmony.

Rain Dances

Many agricultural societies have a tradition of rain dances. These dances ask the gods or spirits to send water for crops during the planting season. Other rain dances ask for rain during long periods of dry, hot weather. In Romania and Moldova, a young girl dresses in a skirt made of corn husks and dances through the village streets while people splash water on her. In 2022, the Dumagat tribe performed a rain dance during a drought in the Philippines. They claimed success as it rained three days later.

In the Southwestern United States, many tribes, including the Pueblo, Hopi, Zuni, and Apache, have elaborate rain dance traditions. The specifics of the dances vary from tribe to tribe. Most tribes have unique rituals and costumes, with some tribes wearing headdresses and others wearing masks.

In the early 19th century, the United States government banned certain ceremonial dances. To bypass these strict laws, tribal members would mask their ceremonial performances as “rain dances.”

Dance for Recreation and Community

This is any form of dancing that is for entertainment, fitness, fun, or strengthening community ties. Also known as social dancing, it uses dance without too much structure, as a way to let loose and express one’s own individual personality. Dancers focus less on form and technique and more on the joy they feel from dancing. Examples of recreational dancing include ballroom, line dancing, aerobic dance, or dance as a hobby.

Gumboot Dance evolved from mines in South Africa. Workers unable to communicate verbally developed a system of stomping signals to pass messages.

Ballroom Dance

Like many forms of dance, dancesport has been adapted for a range of abilities.

Historians trace the history of ballroom dance back to the 16th century in Europe, where it was primarily a social activity for the upper classes. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that participants began to formalize and standardize ballroom.

Commonly used as shorthand for any partner dance, ballroom has today evolved into two main sub-genres: standard/smooth and Latin/rhythm. Dances within these categories include the waltz, tango and foxtrot, and the pasodoble, bolero, and samba.

Ballroom is a popular form of competitive dance, or dancesport, with dancers participating in competitions all over the world.

Who can think of ballroom dancing without envisioning Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers? Well, certainly not people of a certain age or old movie buffs.

The duo made 10 movies together in the 1930s and ‘40s. Their unique style was graceful and complex, while looking effortless. Perhaps the clearest legacy today are Fred Astaire Dance Studios, such as this one near Richmond, VA.

Community Dancing

People in many Eastern European communities celebrate by dancing the hora. As there are no formal steps to learn, it is common for newcomers to be welcomed in, like these American servicemembers invited to join their Romanian colleagues.

Community dancing often requires no formal training, choreography, or practice. It is sometimes completely spontaneous, such as mosh pits at rock and heavy metal concerts. Though communities often dance together at celebrations, such as weddings or birthdays, the dancing is not necessarily part of the ceremony.

There are many benefits to dancing in a group. Dancing together creates the same sense of group identity as singing or chanting in unison. Participants experience a reduction in stress and a release of endorphins.

In some instances, a Master of Ceremonies calls out steps for the group to follow. A dancemaster sometimes calls Irish céilí steps at social dances. The Electric Slide and the Cha-Cha Slide, popular at American weddings, feature a singer directing the participants in a simple choreography.

Some dances, like the Macarena, permeate society so thoroughly that it seems everyone knows the choreography. Other dances, like Armenian group dances, are simple and repetitive enough for beginners to follow the steps of more experiences dancers.

At Drag On Ball, 2018

Within marginalized communities, dancing is often a way of finding community and demonstrating belonging. Ballroom culture (not to be confused with ballroom dancing) in the United States grew from the gatherings of LGBT+ African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Participants combine recreational, community dancing with dancing for artistic expression. Dancers vogue, strut, and catwalk in elaborate choreographies and costumes to represent their “houses” and found families. Depending on one’s definition of ceremony and ritual, participating in these events could also be seen as modern cultural rites for people who have been denied acceptance in the cultures they were born into.

Dance for Artistic Expression

Shosogatsu dance theater
Shosagatsu, a form of Japanese Kabuki, blurs the line between dance and narrative theater.

Many artists dance with the primary intent to express or communicate emotion, feelings, and/or ideas. These dancers, including ballet, tap, and modern dancers, often perform in a concert or theatrical setting to an audience. Using rhythmic, patterned, or improvised body movement, it’s one of the oldest art forms found in every culture around the world.

For many people, artistic expression conjures images of ballet. Ballet developed during the Italian Renaissance, before evolving in France and Russia into concert dancing meant for public performance. Ballet choreographers often use classical music.

Harlequin Floors—a purveyor of dance floors—lists what they call popular types of dance on their blog. Ballroom and ballet are perennial favorites, but dancing doesn’t stop there!

Contemporary Dance

Developed during the mid-twentieth century, contemporary dance is now one of the most popular and technical forms of dancing studied and performed professionally, especially in the US and Europe. Drawing on classical, modern and jazz dance styles, contemporary dance has evolved to incorporate many characteristics of a broader range of dance forms. Known for its emphasis on strong torso and legwork, contract and release, fall and recovery, and floor work, it often features unpredictable and disordered changes in speed and rhythm throughout a performance.

Alvin Ailey Dance Theater
As a cultural ambassador, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater showcases a blend of American and traditional dance styles to audiences worldwide.

Hip Hop Dance

Hip hop dance
B-Boys and B-Girls combine hip hop dancing with acrobatics and rhythmic freezes, as demonstrated by this breakdancer in Union Square.

Hip-hop dancing refers to a range of street dances that developed in relation to hip hop music and culture. Hip-hop dancing dates back to the early 1970s in New York and California, evolving out of Funk and the development of break beat. Main styles of hip-hop dancing include Breaking, Locking and Popping, with derivative styles emerging out of these including Memphis Jookin’, Turfing, Jerkin’ and Krumping. These were often popularized and made mainstream after being featured in music videos of the time.

Today, hip-hop is performed in outdoor spaces, in dance studios, and competitively. Unlike many competitive dance styles, hip-hop is often improvisational with dance crews challenging each other to dance battles.

Jazz

Bollywood dance
Bollywood dancing (the style often showcased in Bollywood movies) feature a combination of Indian classical and jazz styles to create a uniquely recognizable form.

Jazz dancing has its roots in seventeenth-century African traditions. People brought to the Americas via the Atlantic slave trade continued dancing traditions in Brazil, the US, and elsewhere in North and South America. Known for its improvisational and dramatic body movements, jazz dancing grew in popularity in early twentieth-century jazz clubs.

Today, jazz dancing builds on African American vernacular dance styles that emerged along with jazz music in the United States. Swing, the Lindy Hop, the Shimmy, and the Charleston are popular kinds of jazz dances.

Tap

Zapateado dance
Zapateado dancers in Mexico combine Spanish and Indigenous South American dance elements with percussive shoe rhythms.

Tap dancing is a type of percussive dance characterized by the “tap” of shoes hitting the floor as the person dances. Tap dancers often wear metal “taps” on the heel and toe of a shoe to accentuate the sound. Frequently performed as part of musical theater, tap dancing often focuses on choreography and formations, with more than one tap dancer performing at once.

Tap dancing characterizes a range of dances including flamenco, rhythm, classical, Broadway, and postmodern tap.

Folk

Modern Samoan knife dancers often wrap their knives in burning cloth for extra pizzazz when performing Siva Afi, the traditional victory dance.

Folk dancing is celebrated worldwide. People of different cultures and religions use various forms of folk dance to portray emotions, stories, historical events or even aspects of daily life. Some well known types of folk dance include: Bharatanatyam (India), Samba (Brazil) and Hula (Hawaii). Some cultures may even perform multiple variations of folk dances, with countries like South Korea performing individual dances for key events such as victories in war, farming, music and religion. Folk dances are commonly held at public events, where people can participate regardless of whether they are professional or complete beginners. Such dances are often accompanied by traditional music to further enhance the cultural experience.

Irish

Irish dance
Irish dancing features jumps and leaps so high that dancers seem to have the temporary ability to ignore gravity.

Traditional Irish folk dance has been popular for hundreds of years amongst Irish people and other countries worldwide. The first recording of the rinnce fada (long dance) in Ireland was in 1689, when James II first came to Ireland. Popularized by shows such as Riverdance, Irish dancing is famously known for its fabulous display of footwork and dance formations. Most Irish dancing events are traditionally accompanied by signing and music. During festivals, dancers compete for trophies or medals to showcase their talents. While most people may recognize Irish dancing as being a group performance, there are many well-known forms of  solo Irish dances, such as the stepdance.

Modern

Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” was such a departure from the formal ballets of the time that it caused a riot in the audience at its premiere in 1913.

Modern dance, a broad genre of dance, primarily arose from western countries such as the USA and Germany during the late 1900s. While most forms of dance feature set steps and formalized structure, the purpose of modern dance is to rely on the dancer’s interpretation of the music and feeling to guide movements. Modern dance was initially born out of dislike for the limitations of traditional dances such as ballet, which enforced rigid rules and techniques. Currently, modern dance is enjoyed across the world with participants having the ability to practice ballet-like dancing without having to place strict focus on their techniques or turnout. Instead, dancers can choose a piece of music and use unconventional movements to convey emotions or to tell a meaningful story.

Swing

Jitterbug dance
“Jitterbug” was originally a derogatory term for a swing dancer, in the 1930s. As Big Band music and swing dancing became more popular, people came to use jitterbug interchangeably with swing dancing and Lindy Hop.

Swing is a variation of jazz dance. It developed during the 1920s to the 1940s as a response to the growing popularity of swing jazz music in America, encouraging faster, more rigorous movements. The Lindy Hop was the first form of swing, stemming from variations of the Charleston perfected by Black dancers in Harlem. Other popular forms of swing dance include the Lindy Charleston, the Jitterbug, and the Balboa, many of which are still performed today. Big Band music, whether live or on a recording, commonly accompanied swing dancing events.

Swing dance gained huge popularity in England thanks to the influence of American servicemen stationed there during World War II.

Pacu Jalur

And then there’s an annual dance event reported on in the Wall Street Journal (8/19/25). Where would you include this dance?

Pacu Jalur dance
Team Panglima Rimbo Piako

Kuantan Singingi, Indonesia holds an annual boat race, called Pacu Jalur, dating back to a 17th century celebration commemorating Queen Wilhelmina’s birthday during the Dutch rule. Today, it coincides with Indonesia’s Independence Day. Some 200 boats compete in a series of races, culminating in the main event, six-tenths of a mile long and lasting approximately two minutes. The hull of the jalur (boat) is usually 100 feet long, made from a single tree. Each boat is powered by 40 to 75 male rowers.

So where does the dancing come in? Each boat also has one dancer (anak joki)—always a boy for minimal weight and ability to balance while dancing on the bow, which is less than 1 foot wide! He wears traditional Malay outfits, cheers on the rowers, and performs 20-second dances to signal to bystanders when his boat is ahead. Each boat dancer has his own routine.

Today the most famous dancer is Dikha, whose dance—appearing effortlessly cool, smooth, and easy to copy—has been mimicked in celebratory dances by a football star, a soccer player, an F1 driver, as well as miscellaneous people at the office, on their cars, and inside Costco. Dikha’s dance mimics fanning air, flying, and shooting guns.

Bottom Line: “Dance”—for a plethora of reasons—has always been with us. Dare I predict it always will be? Enjoy!

A GLASS BY ANY OTHER SHAPE

Posted on by vlaw759

The important question isn’t whether the glass is half empty or half full, but how it likely affects your drinking.

Wide-Rimmed or Narrow-Rimmed Glass?

A recent (July 2, 2025) article in The Wall Street Journal reported on research which indicates that people prefer wider-rimmed glasses to narrow ones, are willing to spend more on drinks in wider glasses, and are more likely to reorder drinks served in wider rimmed glasses. In addition, “Drinking from wider glasses even makes them feel better.” I dug into environmental factors that affect drinking.

Glass Size and Drinking Amount

It is well known that people eat and drink more when using larger crockery and glasses. One study found that when a bar in Cambridge served wine in larger glasses, the amount customers bought and drank increased by an average of 9 per cent.

Glass shape does not affect actual drink pours in the US but glass size does, at least in some cases. In this research, larger glass size/volume was associated with larger on-premise pours of straight shots and mixed drinks; thus, the large-glass drinks were found to contain more alcohol than drinks served in short, wide glasses. Drinks poured in short, wide glasses did not contain more alcohol than drinks poured in tall, thin glasses. (As an aside: some research shows that bars with mostly black patrons serve spirits drinks with more alcohol than bars with other patrons.)

Glass Shape and Drinking Amount

The shape of a glass can influence how much people drink, particularly with alcoholic beverages.

Studies have shown that people tend to drink faster from curved glasses compared to straight glasses. Perhaps this is because curved glasses make it harder to judge how much liquid remains, which can affect how quickly someone paces their drinking.

Tess Langfield, et. al., published reports of three laboratory experiments measuring consumption of soft drinks served in straight-sided vs. outward-sloped glasses.

  • In one study, although total drinking time was the same, participants drank more in the first half of the drinking session.
  • In a second study, during a bogus taste test, participants consumed less from straight-sided wine flutes than outward-sloped martini coupes.
  • In a third study, looking for facial expressions associated with decreased consumption, straight-sided glasses elicited more ‘pursed’ lip embouchures, which may partly explain reduced consumption from these glasses.

Using a combination of methods, including measures of amount drunk and physiological measures, the authors suggest that “switching to straight-sided glasses may be one intervention contributing to the many needed to reduce consumption of health-harming drinks.”

Glass Shape and Drinking Speed

Researchers at the University of Bristol report that people drink more quickly from curved glasses than straight ones.

They argue that the curvy glassware makes pacing yourself a much greater challenge.

Researchers filmed a group of 159 men and women drinking either soft drinks or beer. The glasses all contained around half a pint of liquid, but some of the glasses were straight while others were very curved (a “fluted” glass with a curvy taper to a narrow base).

There was no difference in the drinking time for soft drinks.

However, for the beer drinkers there was a big difference: it took around seven minutes for people drinking from a curved glass to polish off their half pint, but 11 minutes for those drinking from a straight glass. The report said: “Drinking time is slowed by almost 60% when an alcoholic beverage is presented in a straight glass compared with a curved glass.”

Could it be that curvy glasses made it harder to pace drinking because judging how much is in the glass is more difficult for a curved shape? When researchers showed drinkers pictures of partially-filled beer glasses and asked participants to say whether they were more or less than half full, they were more likely to get the answer wrong when assessing the amount of liquid in curved glasses. The lead researcher Dr Angela Attwood told the BBC, “They are unable to judge how quickly they are drinking so cannot pace themselves.” She also said altering the glasses used in pubs could “nudge” people to drink more healthily by “giving control back”.

In addition, other research found that people were more likely to pour extra alcohol into short, wide glasses than tall, narrow ones.

Glass Color

Then, too, the color of a glass can affect how much people drink. Studies have shown that the contrast between the glass and the color of the wine influences how much people pour. For example, when pouring white wine into a clear glass, participants poured 9% more than when pouring red wine, which had a greater contrast to the glass.

Don’t Trust Yourself!

Researchers at Cornell University found that, when wine drinkers were asked to pour what they considered a normal drink, they poured about 12 percent more wine into a wide glass than a standard one. The same was true when holding a glass while pouring compared with placing the glass on a table. “People have trouble assessing volumes,” said lead author Laura Smarandescu, and, “They tend to focus more on the vertical than the horizontal measures. That’s why people tend to drink less when they drink from a narrow glass, because they think they’re drinking more.”

Thus, research shows that several external factors affect how much people drink. Studies show that larger groups also often correspond with greater alcohol consumption, especially when social norms encourage drinking. I suspect most people are aware of this social effect. But the less obvious effects of size, shape, and color of one’s glass need your attention as well. And in all cases, measure standard drinks, not “free pours.”

Why? Because there’s a whole lot of drinking going on!

How Much Do We Drink?

According to the 2023 NSDUH report, of adults ages 18 and older, 67.1% reported that they drank in the past year. Of adults ages 18 and older, 51.6% reported that they drank in the past month. Among adults ages 18 and older, 6.3% reported heavy alcohol use in the past month. (The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines heavy alcohol use for men as consuming five or more drinks on any day or 15 or more per week; for women, consuming four or more drinks on any day or eight or more per week.) And 23.5% of adults 18 and older reported binge drinking in the past month. (The NIAAA defines binge drinking according to blood alcohol levels that result when a typical adult male has five or more drinks, four or more drinks for a female, in about two hours.)

Approximately 178,000 deaths occur each year due to excessive drinking.

While bartenders and other purveyors of drinks—particularly alcoholic beverages—might claim differently, there is much evidence that people should consume less alcohol. And no amount is too little!

Bottom Line: Using the information above can reduce alcohol intake pretty painlessly, and discretely. No reason not to!

CATTITUDE

Posted on by vlaw759

I recently came across a Wall Street Journal article by Natasha Khan titled “Inside Operation ‘Cattitude’: A Mission to Understand Cats” and who wouldn’t read that?

Being a Wall Street Journal story, of course it had a commercial slant. The essence of the article is that Mars (makers of Whiskas food and Temptations treats) is hoping to benefit from the rise in cat ownership in Gen Z households. They initiated an internal program called “Cattitude” to get their dog-loving employees on board with this new cat emphasis.

Buying Love with Treats

Their research revealed that, compared to cat-only owners, dog-only owners were 32% more likely to give daily treats.

Cats can’t taste sweet. Cats prefer the taste of umami and kokumi (as in tuna).

Products and cats connect through people. So Mars also investigated cat owners’ concerns, and cited their findings from typing “does my cat…” into a Google search: the top two results were “love me” and “know I love her.” I did the same search with DuckDuckGo and found that, among the top eight searches that came up, four questioned owner-cat love and one “does my cat hate me.”

So, my search confirmed the WSJ conclusion that cat owners often suffer from “feline insecurity.” The Mars solution is to produce foods and treats that cats like better, often with a new twist. For example, lickable spoons to be hand held “to create what the company calls an ‘enhanced bonding moment.’”

Giving Love, Getting Cattitude

So do cat owners know love when they see it?

Cats show their love in many quirky and subtle ways. According to a veterinarian, weird things cats do when they love you include slow blinking, kneading, bringing gifts, head bunting, wrapping their tails around you, and showing their belly. Other signs are purring, grooming, sitting next to you, following you around, and even mooning you as a sign of trust (YouTube.) Animal Wellness Magazine published an article explaining ten sometimes-confusing ways cats show affection for their humans.

And cats communicate lots more than affection through their behaviors. For example, chattering when they see prey indicates excitement or frustration, while rubbing their head on you (bunting) shows marking territory as well as affection. Kneading reflects contentment or stress relief, and sleeping in small spaces like boxes makes them feel safe. Eye contact, slow blinking, and tail wagging can signal trust, affection, or alertness. When they bring gifts, it’s a sign of sharing their hunting success and affection. Understanding these behaviors helps strengthen your bond with your cat.

Problematic Cattitude

Of course, not every feline oddity signals pleasant feelings. Worrisome cat behaviors may indicate health or stress problems.

  • Aggression
  • Litter box issues
  • Excessive scratching
  • Sudden changes in eating, drinking, or activity levels
  • House-soiling
  • Increased vocalization
  • Over-grooming

These signs should prompt a vet visit, as they could signal medical or behavioral issues (PetMD, MedVet, Brookside Vet).

Bottom Line: To make the most of cat ownership, “listen” to what your cat is telling you.

GAMES AND THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY THEM

Posted on by vlaw759

This blog is intended to make you think. What are your expectations about people who do these various things?

Card Games

I’ll start with three well-known card games.

Euchre

Euchre is played in Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Upstate New York, and the Midwestern United States. It is often associated with blue-collar culture, particularly in the Midwestern United States, where it has long been popular among families and friend groups. Its roots are in working-class communities and its role in bringing people together for social interaction contribute to this perception.

I found no data on the ratio of male to female players, so assume it is roughly equal, given that it is often a family or couples game.

Bridge

Bridge players are often stereotyped. Common stereotypes include: a tendency towards higher education, and the game attracting a relatively high proportion of atypical individuals. (Bridgebase.com, macewan.ca) Bridge was initially a game for the upper class, but later gained popularity among other social classes.

A common stereotype is that bridge is an old person’s game. In 2019, the World Bridge Federation used Survey Monkey to gather data about American bridge players. They limited the survey to people 45+ with some college education because, “We are confident that the vast majority of bridge players fall into this category…” About 16M (out of 75M)—i.e., about 20%—reported that they know how to play bridge. 10M+ have not played in a long time, 3M+ play a few times a year, 2M+ play regularly (monthly/weekly/weekly+).

While roughly equal proportions of men and women play bridge, men tend to outperform women at the elite level. (Bridging brains: exploring neurosexism and gendered stereotypes… )

Poker

Poker is a man’s game—at least at the professional level. According to recent statistics, around 95% of professional poker players are men. However, among online poker players, research shows that nearly a third of new player buy-ins are female players. This makes one ask why male players still dominate traditional tournaments. One explanation posited is that because it’s male dominated, there’s likely an intimidation factor in in-person play.

Many historical factors have shaped modern poker: cultural expectations and gender norms, targeted advertising, and marketing campaigns. There’s nothing masculine or feminine about the game itself. Medium and Personality-Psychology have published some poker stereotypes based on players’ tendencies:

  • NITs (tight players)
  • TAGs (tight-aggressive players)
  • LAGs (loose-aggressive players)
  • Loose passive players
  • Calling machines
  • Maniacs

Other Table-Top Games

Of course, cards aren’t the only games people play around the table.

SCRABBLE

Most competitive SCRABBLE players are women. Indeed, when regular people are asked about whether they would expect more male or female SCRABBLE champions, the intuition seems to be that women should be more common. As it turns out, within the highest-performing competitive SCRABBLE divisions, 86% of the players are male, while only 31% of the players in the lowest-performing divisions are. In fact all 10 of the last world champions have been male. Psychology Today has a lengthy article trying to determine why this might be.

FYI: Nigel Richards is the widely acknowledged GOAT for SCRABBLE. Originally from New Zealand and now based in Malaysia, he has won the World Scrabble Championship five times. No other player has won more than once. His national-level titles include five in North America, twelve in Singapore, fifteen in Thailand, and many others around the world.

Monopoly

As of 2015, the game had sold approximately 275 million copies worldwide. Clearly, lots of people play Monopoly, but I found virtually no information about them. Lots of information about its history, racism, whether it’s detrimental to family relationships, but otherwise…

One tidbit: Monopoly game token choice can reveal aspects of a player’s personality. For example, players who choose the car are often male and passionate, while those who choose the hat may be introverted but strategic in the game.

Mah Jongg

Mah Jongg – a Chinese tile game of skill, strategy, and calculation similar to rummy—was developed in the 19th century in China. It has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. Rules vary by location. In China and Japan in particular, it is a gambling game, often played by men in Mah Jongg parlors.

Travelers first brought mahjong to the United States in the early 1920s. It was an instant hit among white Americans. People in the U.S. soon came to think of it as a game for women.

At least the perception of mahjong as a women’s game is founded in reality: American mahjong players are at least 95% female. Male players likely comprise less than 5%.

In my opinion, there are two bits of history that contribute to this.

The first was the Wright-Patterson approach, started by spouses of Air Force officers stationed at Wright Field in Ohio. The Wright Patterson method was intended to regularize rules so that when military men were transferred, their wives wouldn’t have to learn new rules for every place.

In 1937 a small group of Jewish women in New York City standardized the rules for the game. Generally referred to as American Mahjong, today it is the most common version played in the U.S., and has spread worldwide. In the U.S., one stereotype is that mahjong players are often older Jewish women.

Games of Sport

Some games are more physical than cards and table-tops.

Golf

Golf is subject to various stereotypes. For example, that golf is an elite sport, a game of cliques, or a sport for older people. Other stereotypes suggest that golf is expensive, complicated, or only enjoyable in the summer. (Golfshake.com).

Zippia statistics has more details:

  • Average golfer age: 36
  • Male – 72%; Female – 28%
  • Male Income $50,103; Female Income $47,840
  • White – 72.8%; Black Or African American – 8.9%

Since the pandemic, more than 800,000 women have taken up golf. According to the National Golf Foundation, 3.7 million juniors played golf on a course in 2024, more than in any year since 2006. Thirty five percent of these were girls. This young segment is more diverse than the overall golf population and has seen a 48% increase since 2019, the largest gains of any age group.

The NGF also reports that 41% of off-course golfers are women. (Off-course golfers participate in golf-related activities that occur outside of a traditional golf course. This includes activities like driving ranges, golf simulators, mini-golf, and entertainment venues such as Topgolf. (LightSpeedHQ, NGF ))

Basketball

Basketball is the opposite of golf on many dimensions. Stereotypes include the assumption that players are tall, and that the sport is mainly for men. Some also believe that basketball is an African American-dominated sport. (gunnoracle.com) Additionally, the ‘jock’ stereotype portrays athletes as unintelligent, but physically well-endowed.

Basketball is perhaps the sport most available for pick-up games. It requires minimal equipment, equipment is inexpensive, and hoops are everywhere from driveways to public parks.

Expensive Games

Many sports require substantial monetary investments for the equipment, training, and space to practice. Utopia.org broke down the costs of the most expensive sports today.

Formula One Racing

The cars alone can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Rather than competing individually, racers usually compete under the sponsorship of corporations. Over $1000 is typically spent on fuel for each car per race.

Racing is also environmentally expensive. F1 racing generates 256,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, with 72.7% of those emissions resulting from transporting equipment and personnel.

Sailing

Sailing is one of the most expensive sports globally. It requires a lot of equipment such as life jackets, grippy shoes, and weatherproof sunglasses—not to mention the cost of the boat itself. A trailer is necessary to transport it to the water, unless you rent a slip at a marina or live on water and have your own dock, etc. Even smaller sailing boats, such as the single-person Laser, have a starting price of around $2000 for a used model. For many, there are additional sailing club membership fees and lessons.

Bobsledding

Bobsleds are expensive, starting at around $30,000, so teams often rely on corporate sponsorship to pay for the sled, protective gear, training, and track rental. Bobsledding also carries significant risks; “sled head,” or concussion in bobsledders, affects 13-18% of participants, making it one of the most dangerous Olympic sports.

Tennis

At first glance, tennis requires only a racket, ball, net, and a partner. However, tennis ranks among the most expensive sports, primarily due to the fees associated with renting tennis courts, which can range from $50 to $100 per hour. Additional expenses may include competition entry fees, lessons, and specialized shoes and clothing.

Pentathlon

The pentathlon, which includes running, swimming, horseback riding, shooting, and fencing, is among the most expensive sports primarily due to the extensive equipment requirements. There may be additional costs for lessons or classes in each discipline.

Equestrian Games

Polo, known as an elite sport (participants include members of the British Royal Family), is quite expensive. Any sport involving horses requires substantial funds, but playing polo also involves club and tournament fees on top of the costs of training and keeping horses. Nevertheless, equestrian events— show jumping, dressage and eventing—are all expensive. Owning a horse is expensive in and of itself, including costs for feed, shelter, winter care, shoeing, and veterinary bills. If you don’t own a horse, you can expect “rent” payments as well as covering many of the expenses listed above.

Additionally, equestrian competitions involve the costs of equipment for both the horse and rider, transportation (such as a horsebox), and riding lessons. Sports involving horses are universally expensive.

Swimming

Swimming is a favorite sport for many, and for most people it isn’t particularly expensive. But competitive swimming can be costly. Large pool rental costs per week add up, in addition to training, gym sessions, specialized diet, and even hair removal to maintain the sleekest body.

Ice Hockey

Ice hockey expenses include the cost of gear and ice rink rentals, which can be around $250 per hour. In addition, ice hockey players often suffer injuries, leading to substantial healthcare expenses. Altogether, the annual costs of playing ice hockey run in the thousands.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is more expensive than it looks at first glance. Competitive gymnasts often start training as very young children, taking regular classes for years. Those pursuing a professional career may also invest in private coaching, space in a dedicated gym, and travel to train and compete. Specialized equipment, such as vaults, balance beams, and climbing ropes, can quickly add up to serious costs.

Please note: Utopia.org includes more details and suggests less expensive alternatives for these expensive sports.

Not surprisingly, how people spend time, and the places they frequent, imply a lot about personality, lifestyle, and values. Sport are no exception. Knowing a person’s sport and game choices—both the activity and the level of involvement—often sets others up to make inferences about socio-economic standing, level of education, and more, as well as traits like openness and extraversion, competitiveness, work ethic, organization, and motivation.

Bottom Line: Sports and other games definitely play a role in how people are perceived. What do your hobbies say about you?

The Importance of Writing

Posted on by vlaw759

Humans have been telling stories for millennia, and the invention of the written word has allowed us to preserve and share our stories. The importance of writing, any kind of writing, is difficult to overstate.

Lesser Importance of Writing for Money

According to an article by Alison Flood of The Guardian, a 2014 survey revealed that 54% of “traditionally-published” authors and nearly 80% of self-published authors earn less than $1,000 a year. In this same survey, only a minority of respondents listed making money as “extremely important”—around 20% of self-published writers and 25% of traditionally-published authors. Overall, Flood concluded, “Most authors write because they want to share something with the world or gain recognition of some sort.” Clearly, most writers aren’t in it to put food on the table.

If you aren’t writing to put food on the table, you’re writing to feed your soul.  And if you are writing to put food on the table, you are likely on a starvation diet!

Importance of Writing for Health

So why write? Because it’s good for you! A regular writing practice can benefit every aspect of your life. Many people have researched the importance of writing. I’ve combined below some of the findings discussed by Baihley Grandison (“11 Reasons Writing is Good for Your Health”, Writers Digest), Amanda L. Chan (“6 Unexpected Ways Writing Can Transform Your Health“, Huffington Post), and Jordan Rosenfeld (“Your Writing Practice is Calling | Why Do You Write?“, Medium).

Physical

  • Increase memory capacity
  • Healthier immune system
  • Reduce blood pressure
  • Improve lung function
  • Boost athletic performance
  • Writing what you’re thankful for could help you sleep better
  • Writing entertains you and others, and having fun is an important part of good health
  • It could help cancer patients think about their disease

My own experience with breast cancer and its treatment gave rise to three publications: a magical realism piece, “Beast and the Beauty”; a memoir titled “Hindsight” about altering my view of my mother’s invalidism; and a newspaper essay titled “Repair or Redecorate After Breast Cancer.”

Social

  • Learn to communicate better
  • Boost job prospects
  • Writing connects you with others through blogging, writing groups, live readings, and self-publishing outlets like Scribd and Smashwords
  • Through writing, we preserve stories and memories that may otherwise be lost

Mental

  • Expressing emotions through words may speed healing
  • It can form a fundamental part of your gratitude practice
  • Creativity has been proven to have positive effects on health, self-esteem, and vitality
  • Writing is good for your brain, creating a state similar to meditation
  • Writing hones your powers of observation, giving you a fuller experience of life
  • Writing hones your powers of concentration and attention, which is more fractured than ever thanks to technology and TV
  • Writing strengthens your imagination, and imagination is key to feeling hope and joy

Importance of Writing in My Life

From college until I left paid employment thirty years later—excepting the occasional lines of private poetry—I wrote only academic articles and research reports. When no longer employed, with no title and no built-in social network, I found myself lost. And depressed.

That’s when I started writing Dark Harbor.  Mysteries had been my favorite escapist reading, so of course I thought I could write one! I quickly realized I had no idea what I was doing and enrolled in a writing class at the VMFA Studio School. And here I am, four books and more than seventy short stories later, still writing.

It keeps my brain sharp. I learn new things when researching stories—everything from the effects of ketamine on humans to the price of gasoline in 1930 to the characteristics of Buff Orpington hens. I understand myself better in relation to my family. I meet interesting people. (I’ve never met a boring writer!) My journal helps me keep track of personal events, thoughts, and trivia. Publishing—even without much financial reward—is good for my self-esteem. And now that I am a writer, I no longer define myself by what I used to be—as in, “I’m a retired academic.”

Bottom Line: Write for your health, for your community, for your sanity, for your soul. Whatever the reason, write!

HAIRY ISSUES

Posted on by vlaw759

Fun fact: About 95% of your total skin area is covered in hair. Who knew you were so, well, hairy?! (wella.com)

But when speaking of someone’s “hair” the usual meaning is hair growing from the scalp, although less frequently facial, pubic, and other body hair. This blog will focus on head hair.

Discrimination in Hair Care

Historian Ibram X. Kendi wearing locs (Steven Voss)

Hair care routines differ according to an individual’s culture and the physical characteristics of one’s hair. In the United States, my search for “ethnic hairstyles” turned up only Black hairstyles. Here are a few examples:

Jada Pinkett Smith sporting Bantu knots as Niobe in Matrix Reloaded

Shamefully (in my opinion) these and many other distinctive hairstyles have been forbidden in schools and work settings—historically, but still today. Even when not dealing with outright bans, people wearing these hairstyles often still face discrimination at work, when seeking medical care, at school, while shopping, even while seeking housing.

Although Black people, especially women, are aware of hair styles as part of their self-concepts, I venture to suggest that many women (and some men) are deeply committed to their hair as an expression of their unique identities.

Hairy Length

Some people don’t ever cut their hair, for religious, fashion, or cultural reasons.

One of the most obvious and most noticeable hair variations is length.

Fun fact: According to Wella, when you add up how much each hair on your head grows over a year’s time, you get 10 miles worth of hair!

Hair can be any length, of course. For the average person, growing waist-length hair would take about 7 years, 3 years to grow to your shoulders.

As of 2024, the Guiness record for hair length is 8 ft. 5.3 in. (257.33 cm) in length, officially the longest hair on a living person (female). The record holder is Aliia Nasyrova of Ukraine.

Hairy Beatles
The Beatles illustrating several hair lengths (Valisk)

Shaved – hair that is completely shaved down to the scalp
Buzz – hair that is extremely short and hardly there
Cropped – hair that is a little longer than a buzz
Short back and sides – hair that is longer than a crop, but does not yet hit the ears, with the top being left longer
Ear-length – hair reaching one’s ears
Bob – reaching to one’s chin
Shoulder-length – brushing the tops of one’s shoulders
Princess-length – reaching between the shoulder blades and the tailbone, depending on the speaker

In short, anything goes for hair cuts, but by and large, it seems to me that the longer the hair, the more time, effort, and possibly money go into taking care of it.

A 2024 CNN report found the average cost of a women’s haircut ranging between $45 and $75 across the country, while men’s toggled between $25 and $50. Besides sexism, what might account for this?

Enhancing Nature’s Hairy Bounty

If you are naturally less hairy or differently hairy than you would like, fear not! There are a variety of ways you can change the appearance of the hair on your head.

  • Wigs
  • Hair pieces
  • Extensions
  • Dyes
  • Texture changes (straightening or curling)
  • Transplants
  • Removal
Hairy mannequins

Changing Color

Hairy rainbow
Specialized colorists can achieve pretty amazing results!

Fun fact: According to Wella, in 1950, about 7% of American women dyed their hair. Today, 60% of American women dye their hair.

Hair coloring, technically, can be either adding pigment to or removing pigment from the hair shaft, commonly referred to as coloring or bleaching, respectively.

—Among the best-known products for men are Just For Men shampoos and comb in color to cover gray hair or beard.

—Temporary hair tints simply coat the shaft with pigments that later wash off.

—Most permanent color changes require that the hair shaft be opened so the color change can take place within. This process can leave hair dry, weak, prone to breakage, or coarse, or cause an accelerated loss of pigment. Generally, the lighter the chosen color from one’s initial hair color, the more damaging the process may be.

—Other options for applying color to hair besides chemical dyes include the use of such herbs as henna and indigo, or choosing ammonia-free solutions.

There is growing demand for natural and non-toxic hair dyes. Various natural pigments, like melanin in animals and curcumin in plants, are used for coloring and dyeing. These alternatives to conventional dyes are bio-friendly and less irritating. Despite the proposed benefits of these dyes, such as antistatic, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties, their complex pigmentation mechanisms remain largely unexplored.

Curling and Straightening

Before and after a chemical perm

You can temporarily change the texture of your hair with curling irons, foam rollers, blow dryers, flat irons, hot combs, and many other implements of heat and pressure. However, time and moisture will return hair to its natural state.

Perms (curling) and relaxing (straightening) using relaxer or thermal reconditioning involve chemical alteration of the internal structure of the hair in order to affect its curliness or straightness. Hair that has been subjected to the use of a permanent is weaker due to the application of chemicals and should be treated gently and with greater care than hair that isn’t chemically altered.

Research shows that hair becomes drier with age. This makes it less able to take and maintain a change in shape.

Hair Transplants

Sew-in hair extensions

Those who are not hairy enough for their personal tastes have a variety of options, some more permanent than others.

One can purchase clip-in hair extensions for a quick boost of hirsute-ness. They need to be taken out before sleeping, washing, or restyling.

For a longer solution, one can visit a hairdresser to have someone else’s hair taped, glued, or sewn onto one’s own tresses. These hair extensions can last from a few weeks to several months, depending on type and care.

For a more permanent change, one might turn to a surgical hair transplant. In this procedure, a doctor surgically moves bits of skin or individual follicles from a hairy area of the head (typically the back or sides) to a less hairy area of the head (typically the top or front). After a few weeks of healing, the newly located hair follicles should behave like any other follicles, giving the patient the appearance of a full head of hair.

Hair Removal

Threading to shape eyebrows

Alternatively, one may feel too hairy. In that case, a variety of methods can help remove unwanted hair.

Hair may be shaved, plucked, or otherwise removed with treatments such as waxing, sugaring, or threading.

Laser hair removal and electrolysis are also available, though these are provided (in the US) by licensed professionals in medical offices or specialty spas.

Hair Loss

Alopecia (baldness) on a man

Alopecia is the blanket term for a range of conditions that cause hair to fall out in up to half of all Americans. It may be temporary or permanent and can have a range of causes, including autoimmune disorder, genetics, and medical treatments.

For it to be apparent that you’re balding, you would have to lose 50% of your hair, according to dermatologists. Most of the factual information in this section comes from The Cleveland Clinic.

On average, you can expect to lose between 50 and 150 hairs daily. On the other hand, you have around 100,000 (or more) hair follicles on your head. So, routine hair shedding is just a drop in the bucket. (This will also depend on the length and thickness of your hair. For example, you’ll appear to shed less if you have shorter or thinner hair.)

Things like stress, heated styling and other health conditions or treatments may cause you to lose more hair than normal. Everyone is aware that chemotherapy often leads to hair loss, but other medications, such as some antidepressants or anticoagulants (blood thinners), might have a side effect of hair loss.

Men vs. Women

Female pattern baldness

“Studies have shown that, in general, men are more likely to experience hair loss than women. On the other hand, women are more likely to experience higher levels of shedding during pregnancy and menopause. Over half of all women will experience noticeable hair loss over time.”

In addition, a study in 2017 showed that women tend to shed more hair due to styling practices. Anyone who uses heavy styling or tight hairstyles can experience increased shedding, which can lead to permanent hair loss if it becomes chronic (called traction alopecia).

Not getting enough protein, iron or certain vitamins, like biotin and B12, and micronutrients can lead to increased hair loss. Crash dieting can cause temporary hair loss.

The Norwood-Hamilton scale illustrating types of male pattern baldness

Relatively few men are totally bald –i.e., have no hair at all on their heads. Male pattern baldness is common worldwide. However, rates vary by country; in the U.S., the percentage is 42.69, number four after Spain, Italy, and France. According to World Population, Indonesia is the country with the lowest percentage on the list with 26.96%.

Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) affects approximately 40% of women by age 50. Estrogen is related to hair growth and hair loss for women. When estrogen levels are high, hair appears thicker and healthier.

Growing and Regrowing Hair

Men’s hair grows faster than women’s. Anticipating sex makes the hair grow faster. Are these facts related?

Growing, tending, and arranging hair often strengthens community bonds

Fun fact: According to Wella, in the 16th century, a doctor claimed applying a blend of boiled slugs, olive oil, honey, saffron, soap, and cumin on the scalp could restore hair.

Today, one common treatment to regrow hair is Minoxidil. It is available OTC as liquid or foam to be massaged into the scalp. Tablets in various strengths are available by prescription.

In addition, you can find various nutritional supplements, shampoos, and topical applications on line and in drugstores. Recently, I’ve noticed lots of TV commercials for Nutripol.

And then there is regrowth equipment featuring laser treatments. You can easily find $199 lasercombs or a laser hair growth helmet $995.

Hairstyling Equipment

I didn’t find statistics on the most used hair equipment, but the most popular tools seem to be hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons, and hair brushes. (Good Morning America, missamericanmade.com) Below is a more comprehensive list, although certainly not exhaustive. How many do you use? Others in your household?

“Daenggi” and “Binyeo” used to create traditional Korean “Jjok” hairstyle (by Glimja)

Dryer
Brushes
Clips
Combs
Ornamental combs
Curling/straightening iron
Rollers
Clippers
Pins and barrettes
Beads
Headbands
Kanzashi (hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles)
Ribbons
Hair ties
Scissors
Shower cap
Sleeping cap

Pre-styled coiffures fashionable Victorian women could attach to their own hair

Hair Care Products

In 2022, American consumers spent around $85.53 on hair care products. (Statista) The average spending per month on hair products is $31, according to Advanced Dermatology. Frankly, I’m surprised it isn’t more, given all the products in use:

Spikes this high require glue rather than gel
  • Coloring agents
  • Conditioners
  • Gel
  • Glue
  • Mask
  • Mousse
  • Scalp scrubs
  • Serum
  • Spray
  • Sonic
  • Wax
  • Pomade
  • Shampoo
    • As of Feb 22, 2025, according to Brainly, the number of shampoo options available to Americans is estimated to be at least 600 different products.

Looking at the big picture, “Hair care boasts one of the largest shares in the global beauty market, about 22 percent as of 2022, second only to the skin care segment. In the United States, forecasts show that revenues for hair care will increase up to 14.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2028.” (Statista)

Assorted Hairy Information

A geisha chooses every element of her hair style and hair ornaments very carefully to indicate her rank, age, mentor, and specialties as well as to complement her outfit and the season.

And to end this blog, a few fun facts from Wella that don’t fit anywhere else:

A single strand of hair can support up to 6.5 pounds of weight. That means a whole head of hair can support up to 2 tons (though the owner’s neck and spine might protest)!

The major cause of dandruff is a fungus called Malassezia globosa, which pushes dead skin cells to the surface quicker than normal.

Believe it or not, humans have the same amount of hair follicles per square inch as a chimpanzee!

Less than 4% of the world’s population has natural red hair.

The color of hair depends on how much melanin each strand has. Or which hair dye you use!

Someone purchased a lock of Elvis’ hair at an auction for $15,000.

Stories have circulated for generations that women encoded secret messages or escape maps in the patterns of their braids or cornrows. Alternatively, people have claimed Black women may have been able to smuggle gold, seeds, keys, or other small items in their hair. Though there is little concrete evidence to support these claims, they illustrate the versatility and cultural importance of hair.

Bottom Line: Hair is virtually everywhere, and hair issues are virtually innumerable.

PAIN, AGONY, HURT!

Posted on by vlaw759

Studies suggest that about 10% of one’s nervous system is dedicated to sensing pain. Given what else the nervous system does—sight, smell, taste, hearing, thinking, moving, digestion, etc., etc., etc.—that’s a lot!

Why so much attention to pain? As it turns out, there are benefits to feeling poorly.

Pain for Gain

Foremost is survival: without unpleasant sensations, we wouldn’t know to avoid fire, allow injuries to heal, attend wounds such as broken bones or cuts, etc.

There are additional ways in which negative feelings lead to have positive consequences.

Pain facilitates pleasure by providing an important contrast for pleasurable experiences, increasing sensitivity to sensory input, and facilitating self-rewarding behavior.

In many communities, the ability to withstand pain or physical endurance marks a child’s elevation to adult status.

Pain augments self-regulation and enhancement by increasing cognitive control, reducing rumination, and demonstrating virtue.

Pain promotes affiliation by arousing empathy from others, motivating social connection, and enhancing group formation.

Pain Reduction

Mesopotamian goddess Nisaba, with opium poppies growing from her shoulders. c 2430 BCE

But for all of that, we try to avoid or minimize feeling bad. Indeed, pain is the most common reason why people seek medical care. Seeking relief is not a new phenomenon, but getting it is.

Surgeons have been using general anesthesia in the Islamic world for nearly two thousand years. In the 1600s, many European doctors gave their patients opium to relieve pain.

The earliest European surgeons operated while keeping patients wide awake and physically restrained. By the 1800s, the nicest surgeons introduced ether and chloroform anesthetics for surgery. And why was this controversial?

Several major religions view physical suffering as intrinsically linked with atonement or moral goodness. Some, such as Buddhism and Taoism, hold that it is caused by an imbalance within the individual and can only be resolved through personal effort. Others, such as Christianity, have historically believed that suffering brings one closer to an ideal spiritual state.

Surgeons operating on patient under ether anesthesia, 1847

Some doctors questioned the ethics of operating on unconscious patients. Others were concerned that relieving pain might hamper healing. “But the surgeons could not long resist their new power to perform longer and more complex procedures, and most patients thought anesthesia a divine blessing,” wrote Marcia Meldrum, an associate researcher in the department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles.

By the 1900s, people were using morphine and heroin as pain medications. At first, doctors thought these “safe.” However, over time, it became clear that these treatments also made people vulnerable to addictions.

Until this time, the medical field considered pain to be primarily a problem to manage in acute care (related to injury, for example, or surgery) or during a painful death from cancer.

“Flavors” of Pain

Acute pain is what you feel when you become hurt or injured. You may have experienced acute pain from an injury such as a cut or a broken limb or from disease or inflammation in the body. Acute pain can be intense and severe, but it typically resolves as your body heals from whatever caused it.

Nociceptive pain is caused by tissue damage. Most acute pain is nociceptive. 

According to NIH, chronic pain is a sensation that lasts much longer than acute pain―usually months and sometimes years. Chronic pain sometimes has a clear cause, such as an acute injury, a long illness, or damage to and dysfunction of your nervous system. However, it sometimes happens without any obvious reason.  Medical providers have often assumed that patients complaining of on-going pain are delusional, hypchrondiacal, malingering, or addicts. Patients often turn to psychotherapy, or sometimes neurosurgery.

Neuropathic pain is caused by nerve damage or dysfunction. You can experience neuropathic pain from injuries or illness that affect the spinal cord and brain (for example, a slipped disc in your spine) or the peripheral nervous system (the nerves throughout the rest of your body). This kind of discomfort often feels similar to burning, shooting, or stabbing. 

Inflammatory pain happens when your immune system activates in response to injury or infection. In addition to causing redness or swelling, it can also make you more sensitive to feelings of pain.

Everyone’s pain feels differently, and the only way to know whether someone is hurting is to ask. Has a medical practitioner asked you to rate your discomfort on a scale from 1 to 10? They may also ask you to describe what you feel: dull, throbbing, aching, shooting, stabbing, etc.

Treatment Options

Chinese woodcut from 1818 showing an orthopedic treatment for prolapsed disc

Just as there isn’t a way to measure it objectively, there isn’t one single treatment that will work for everyone. It often involves a combination of treatments, which may include:    

  • Over-the-counter and prescription medications (such as pain relievers and drugs that reduce inflammation)
  • Physical and occupational therapy to improve function and limit discomfort
  • Counseling and therapy to teach skills for coping with pain
  • Medical treatments (such as medications and injections) to interrupt the brain’s signals or change how nerves process painful sensations 
  • Neuromodulation therapies (devices that stimulate nerves or the spinal cord) to reduce pain 
  • Complementary and integrative therapies (such as acupuncture and mindfulness meditation). 

And When Nothing Helps…

Chronic pain is an enormous problem.

More than 1 in 5 adults in the United States experience chronic pain.  Chronic conditions, such as low back pain and migraine, are the leading causes of disability around the world.

Not surprisingly, rates of chronic pain, including conditions that severely limit work or life activities, are highest among adults ages 65 and older.

Advertisement for treatment to cure morphine addiction, c 1900

In the 1980s, several prominent pain specialists suggested that opiods had a “low incidence of addictive behavior.” They pushed for increased use of the drugs to treat long-term, non-cancer pain, as Meldrum noted in her paper “The Ongoing Opioid Prescription Epidemic: Historical Context.” Today we all know how wrong they were, and we are still trying to undo the opioid crisis.

Where Does Aspirin Come From?

1923 advertisement

Apart from prescription medications, over-the-counter options are popular. Aspirin, as it is known today, was first developed in 1895 in Germany. By 1915, Bayer Pharmaceuticals developed the first tablet form, which they then sold throughout the world as a medicine.

The active ingredient in aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid, which is formed by the acetylation of salicylic acid, which is derived from natural plant sources such as jasmine, willow and poplar trees, as well as certain species of legumes.

This gives credence to the efficacy of willow bark tea for minor aches and pains, as long claimed by folk medicine practitioners.

Aspirin molecule, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)

However, aspirin is no longer made from willow bark. Today, pharmaceutical companies derive aspirin from plants of the Spiraea genus. Compounders then convert the salicylic acid into acetylsalicylic acid via acetylation.

Aspirin is very useful in many ways besides pain relief. Indeed, doctors use it as a blood thinner to treat clots. At a daily dose of 81mg, it is helpful in preventing future heart attacks.

But beware: You should not use aspirin if you have a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia, a recent history of stomach or intestinal bleeding, or if you are allergic to an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as Advil, Motrin, Aleve, Orudis, Indocin, Lodine, Voltaren, Toradol, Mobic, Relafen, Feldene, and others.

OTC Alternatives

A common alternative to aspirin is Tylenol. Acetaminophen, commonly sold under this brand name, is a non-opioid analgesic that relieves pain and reduces fever. Acetaminophen regulates the body’s temperature and alters its perception of pain.

Tylenol is generally safe at recommended doses. For adults weighing more than 110 pounds (50 kg), the recommended acetaminophen dosage is 1000 mg every six hours or 650 mg every four hours.

Risks

However, elderly individuals may face higher risks of certain side effects due to physiological changes, including:

  • Liver Damage: Aging decreases liver efficiency. This raises the risk of liver damage from acetaminophen, especially if taken in high doses or with alcohol.
  • Kidney Damage: As kidney function naturally declines with age, long-term or high-dose use of acetaminophen may lead to kidney damage in the elderly, particularly if their kidneys are already compromised.
  • Gastrointestinal Issues: Although Tylenol is easier on the stomach than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), it can still cause gastrointestinal discomfort. This may include nausea, constipation, or diarrhea.
  • Acetaminophen toxicity occurs when a person takes more than the recommended dosage of this medicine. Tylenol overdose leads to 56,000 emergency department visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and 500 deaths each year in the United States, making it one of the most common poisonings. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing!

Apart from any hedonistic motives to “just feel good,” pain is an economic drain: the estimated yearly national cost of pain, including medical treatments, disability, and lost productivity, is $560 billion to $635 billion in the U.S. alone!

Bottom Line: Pain is universal, and treating it is only human. But proceed with caution!