"In the U.S., 350 slices are eaten every second, while 40% of Americans eat pizza at least once a week.
There’s a reason why pizza is so popular. Humans are drawn to foods that are fatty and sweet and rich and complex. Pizza has all of these components. Cheese is fatty, meat toppings tend to be rich, and the sauce is sweet". More at The Conversation ➜

Decades ago, Kris Hansen showed 3M that its PFAS chemicals were in people’s bodies. Her bosses halted her work. As the EPA now forces the removal of the chemicals from drinking water, she wrestles with the secrets that 3M kept from her and the world. More at ProPublica ➜

"...Roughly 1 in 5 U.S. adults report binge drinking at least once a week, with an average of seven drinks per binge episode. This is well over the amount of alcohol thought to produce legal intoxication, commonly defined as a blood alcohol concentration over 0.08% – on average, four drinks in two hours for women, five drinks in two hours for men. More at The Conversation ➜

"A study from the University of Washington, published last week in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, reports the noise from the Boeing EA-18G Growlers and their training drills present a “substantial risk” to two-thirds of Island County residents" More at The Seattle Times ➜
(U.S. Navy Photo)

"In March 2023, the Japanese medical authorities announced that the new weight loss drug Wegovy—which was in staggering demand across the world, causing shortages everywhere—had been approved to treat obesity in their country......But industry outlet the Pharma Letter explained that this would not in fact turn out to be much of a boost........ for a simple reason: there is almost no obesity there. Some 42% of Americans are obese, compared with just 4.5% of Japanese people."  More at TIME ➜

The sharp increase in political polarization in America over the past 50 years has been driven in part by how different generations think about politics. But the rise of younger generations to political power may actually erase the deep social divisions associated with polarization. More at The Conversation ➜

"As Tucson gets hotter and hotter, creating more shade in its most vulnerable neighborhoods is making a vital difference ...In 2020 Tucson set a lofty goal to plant one million trees by the decade’s end...More at Reasons to be Cheerful ➜

Why is persuasion so hard, even when you have facts on your side? More at The Conversation ➜ 

French President Emmanuel Macron, in a speech delivered at the Sorbonne University in Paris, urged Europe to find its own path and warned "That the European Union needs to take bold action to tackle U.S. and Chinese protectionism, and be vigilant of the geopolitical threats from authoritarian regimes or face the death of Europe as a real possibility..."  More at Euronews ➜ 

"The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built......... It was launched into space on Dec. 25, 2021, and within a month arrived at its final destination: 930,000 miles away from Earth. Its location in space allows it a relatively unobstructed view of the universe".... More at The Conversation➜

"For the Kansas City Chiefs brass, it must have seemed like the perfect time to ask local voters to cough up some money for stadium renovations.....The team was riding high from a big Super Bowl win in February 2024, its third NFL championship in the past five years."  More at The Conversation ➜

..."  The relatively small size of the Moon and its shadow make eclipses truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. On average, total solar eclipses are visible somewhere on Earth once every few years. But from any one location on Earth, it is roughly 375 years between solar eclipses." ....   More at The Conversation ➜