40 websites that will make you cleverer right now

khanacademy.org – Watch thousands of micro-lectures on topics ranging from history and medicine to chemistry and computer science.

freerice.com – Help end world hunger by correctly answering multiple-choice quizzes on a wide variety of subjects.

artofmanliness.com – Blog/site dedicated to all things manly, great for learning life skills and good insights.

unplugthetv.com – Randomly selects an educational video for you to watch.

coursera.org – Educational site that works with universities to get their courses on the Internet, free for you to use.

lizardpoint.com – A collection of browser-based games and the like to improve knowledge of geography, math, and such.

ted.com – Collection of TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) talks in which knowledgeable speakers address a variety of topics in short videos (< 18 minutes)

lifehacker.com – Learn to hack life! Tips and tricks for improving all areas of your life.

lifehackninja.com – Recently started life hack site that offers lists of useful knowledge

good.is/infographics – Collection of infographics which showcase useful information in an easy to digest visual format.

mathrun.net – Practice your basic maths skills with a simple game.

justinguitar.com – Hundreds of free guitar lessons as well as some basic music theory.

duolingo.com – Learn a new language for free while helping to translate the web.

memrise.com – Learn things quickly and efficiently with flashcards that are spaced based on the spacing effect

fuckinghomepage.com  A daily dose of awesomely interesting facts every.

cookingforengineers.com – A site containing one man’s explorations in food, with step by step instructions for making a wide variety of dishes.

thedatingspecialist.com – A weekly blog run by a professional dating coach, offers advice on a wide variety of relationship topics.

zenhabits.net – Blog about improving your life by making it simpler.

nerdfitness.com – Fitness resource for the average person.

mentalfloss.com – Interesting articles guaranteed to make you smile and get you thinking.

openculture.com – Compendium of free learning resources, including courses, textbooks, and videos/films.

charitynavigator.org – Site dedicated to reviewing charities so you can easily research any you’re interested in.

lettersofnote.com – Their tagline says it all: “Correspondence deserving of a wider audience”

thedailymiscellany.com – A daily dose of useful knowledge, quotes, and other random things.

MIT Open Courseware – Free access to quite a few MIT courses that are on par with what you’d expect from MIT.

codecademy.com – Website packed with introductory courses for various programming languages and web technologies.

investopedia.com – Learn about the world of finance, from basic terminology to in depth analysis of various areas of investing.

udacity.com – Free courses mainly focused around mathematics and programming. Aimed at people of all skill levels.

lang-8.com – Write posts in a language you’re trying to learn, get them critiqued by a native speaker (and in turn help that native speaker learn your language)!

careerbuilder.com – Job hunting site to help you find a new career.

ureddit.com – Reddit’s very own University. Learn from redditors, or try to teach them.

engineerguy.com – Collection of videos in which Bill breaks down various feats of engineering in layman’s terms.

zooniverse.org – Take part in a huge variety of interesting studies of nature, science, and culture.

quora.com – Ask questions you’re curious about, answer those you’re knowledgeable about. Tailor your own feed to fit what interests you.

thenewboston.org – A fascinating collection of videos and tutorials related to maths and computer science.

aldaily.com – Aggregation of articles from various higher education journals and publications.

noexcuselist.com/everything – A huge list of awesome sites to learn from.

livemocha.com – Community dedicated to the idea of everyone being fluent in multiple languages, teach or be taught another language with the goal of conversational fluency.

simplesciencefitness.com – Breaks down the science behind fitness into layman’s terms.

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7 Misdemeanors That Can Ruin Your Career

Crime doesn't pay. In fact, even misdemeanor crimes can literally prevent you from being paid. That's because committing a crime can cost you your job and potentially ruin your entire career. And murder isn't the only charge that can devastate your career prospects. Less severe misdemeanor charges can also have major career consequences. Here are seven misdemeanors that can ruin your career.

1. Petty theft: Petty theft is defined differently in different states, but generally involves theft of personal property valued at less than $100. While this may not seem like the end of the world, a conviction for petty theft can be the equivalent of career suicide. That's because employers aren't likely to trust someone willing to steal the things they want. If an employer can't trust their employees not to steal, it's unlikely they will hire a convicted thief, or retain a recently convicted thief.
2. Simple assault: Simple assault is physical bodily contact without the consent of the person being touched. This can include acts of violence, such as striking an individual, or less violent acts such as shaking, grabbing, or non-sexual touching. Simple assault doesn't carry the heavy punishments associated with aggravated or sexual assault, but there's a good chance your employer may not know that. An assault charge may signal to employers that you're unable to control your emotions, and could therefore represent a potential liability in the workplace. That could end your career as quickly as it began.
3. DUI/Drunk driving charges: There may be no more potentially devastating misdemeanor citation than the dreaded DUI. These misdemeanor offenses are common, carry stiff penalties, are potentially difficult to remove from an employee's criminal record, and can send the wrong impression about an employee's level of maturity and responsibility. Getting hired with a DUI on your record can be more difficult, and for certain types of employees, a DUI can spell the end of a perfectly good career. Don't drink and drive!
4. Sex offenses: Sex offenses are major red flags for employers, even if they're misdemeanors such as indecent exposure. That's because sex offenses have major political implications that can be a nightmare for employers in certain situations. In addition, inappropriate sexual behavior is one thing that no employer is willing to handle on the job, and if you're acting sexually inappropriate in your personal life, you're more of a liability on the job. These highly sensitive offenses can be a disaster for employees in all careers.

5. Public intoxication: It's amazing how enjoying one too many drinks on the beach can quickly turn into career suicide. A citation for public intoxication is a serious matter, and employers are sure to notice. After all, if you can't handle your booze in a public place in your free time, how responsible will you be on the job? Employers simply can't afford to take any chances on someone who is convicted of public intoxication, even if it is a misdemeanor charge.
6. Weapons charges: Are you a gun fanatic? In addition to handling your weapons with care, you had better be sure you don't get cited for misdemeanor weapons violations like carrying a concealed weapon or brandishing a concealed firearm. These charges could end your career. How would you expect an employer to react to an employee's conviction on a weapons charge? What if the employee brought the weapon to work? What if the employee had the weapon concealed during business hours? And what if something happened that caused the employee to use the weapon? An employer is likely to conclude that hiring or retaining an employee guilty of a weapons charge might not be worth the risk, and that's not a position you want to be in.
7. Trespass: Trespass occurs when an individual enters the real property of another without consent. This may sound fancy, but it's easier to trespass than you might think, and getting cited for trespass can be a one-way ticket to the unemployment line. A trespass violation may be innocent enough, such as attempting to enter a nightclub without authorization, but the charge carries negative connotations that can cause employers to think twice about hiring or retaining you. Before involving yourself in any questionable behavior, be mindful of whose property you happen to be on at the time.

9 Human Behaviors That Still Can’t Be Explained

9 Human Behaviors That Still Can’t Be Explained

Posted on April 26, 2013by mrlasecki

When you were a little kid, you probably got on your parents’ nerves quite a few times by responding to everything they said with the word “Why?” Most of their responses involved breaking down the way the world works or the importance of eating your vegetables until they devolved into the classic parent answer, “Because!” But if you asked your mom or dad about the following nine normal human behaviors, they genuinely wouldn’t be able to answer you (and would probably make something up) because even the brightest minds in science still aren’t sure why we do these things. You probably didn’t realize we were all so mysterious, did you?

1. Laughing

   You laugh at jokes. You laugh at guys getting kicked in the crotch. You laugh when you and your girlfriends get together to talk about how adorably clueless all men are. And yet science still can’t vouch for why exactly we do this. We start laughing around 3.5 or 4 months old and scientists believe it’s a way to build relationships rather than a response specifically to something funny. Researchers are still trying to figure out what triggers laughter in the brain and why being tickled, which feels a bit like torture sometimes, makes us laugh so much.

2. Kissing

   Can you imagine the first kiss in history? It makes you wonder if those people just thought, “What would happen if we mashed our mouths together?” or if it’s always been a part of human nature. We may never know, though scientists are certainly looking into it. These special kiss researchers are called philematologists and they’ve come up with theories on the origins of kissing and looked at the biological effects. Some say kissing is a learned behavior, evidenced by the fact that 10% of humans don’t kiss at all. Other scientists say that kissing is an instinct and point to the fact that some animals do it. Whichever way it is, we’re just thankful that locking lips is an accepted way of showing affection.

3. Yawning

   This may not be a strictly human behavior, but it’s puzzling nonetheless. Why is it that we open our airways to take big gaping breaths? And why do we start yawning when we see someone else doing it, or even when we just think about it? (Are you yawning yet?) The answers are unclear; different theories attribute it to a number of causes. Some believe it’s simply an involuntary act that happens when your lungs need more air. Some say the contagious yawnis actually a way of empathizing with the original yawner. Still others say it’s all just a way to cool off our brains.

4. Blushing

   You know the feeling. You just tripped on the street, were talking about someone when they were right behind you, or got called on in a class you were not at all prepared for, and suddenly you can feel your whole face begin to burn. Blushing is a common response to embarrassment, but scientists aren’t sure why it happens. The how is explained by increased adrenaline allowing the blood vessels in your face to expand, allowing more blood, and thus redness, into your cheeks. Making blushing even more mysterious is that blushing from alcohol or sexual arousal has nothing to do with adrenaline, according to scientists.

5. Dreaming

   Dreaming is one of our most fascinating behaviors, partially because it’s impossible to share with others. Sure, you can try to explain that strange nightmare you had, but you find yourself without a lot of explanations: “We were in our house, but it wasn’t really our house. Somehow you were there, but then you were someone else. Wait, why was it scary again?” Dreams themselves are hard for us to hold onto, and the explanation for why they occur is equally challenging to grasp. Scientists have been theorizing on the purpose of dreams for centuries, but we’re still as far away from an answer as ever. Some guesses are that we’re practicing our response to a frightening situation, that our brains are sorting through the knowledge we’ve gained during the day and purging themselves of the unnecessary bits, or that we are working through our emotions. Conclusive evidence for any of these theories seems totally out of reach.

6. Hiccuping

   Hiccups, the annoying, squeaky jolts you sometimes get, are a reflex of some kind, but exactly what they’re reacting to is a mystery. A hiccup occurs when your diaphragm contracts and you inhale suddenly; the sound is produced by your vocal cords closing quickly. People can get hiccups from emotional distress, swallowing too much air, drinking a lot of alcohol (classic), or even just consuming a hot beverage. All these causes make it hard for doctors to pinpoint exactly what’s going on in the body. Common ideas are that something irritates your diaphragm, causing it to spasm, or there’s a disruption in your nerve pathways.

7. Crying

   Since we’ve been crying since birth, we rarely think about why we do it. But we’re the only species that we know of with water gushing out of our eyes when we experience emotions. Scientists think it may have done something positive for the advancement of our species, perhaps acting as a signal that enemies wouldn’t pick up, and that’s why we’ve continued to do it over the years. We now cry when we’re feeling all kinds of emotions, ranging from sadness to joy, frustration to pain, even though we’re not trying to hide our weaknesses from predators. Crying is also a way to provoke empathy from others, which may have built strong communities among our ancestors.

8. Blinking

   While blinking has the obvious benefit of moistening our eyes, we do it more than is necessary to perform this function. Researchers think the reason is probably psychological because we blink more as adults than we did when we were babies — 10 to 15 times a minute compared to just once a minute for infants. We still don’t know exactly why this is, but they’ve found that we blink less frequently when we’re really engaged in or concentrated on what we’re doing.

9. Feeling a phantom limb

   We hope you will never experience this sensation, but it’s one of the most mysterious phenomena that happens to humans. Amputees often say they feel like their amputated limb is still there. Some can just feel it, while others can feel actual pain in their phantom limb. Doctors aren’t sure why this happens but they have plenty of complicated explanations they think could account for it, such as severed nerve endings and the reorganization of the somatosensory cortex. We may never understand where these phantom limbs come from, but many are treated with antidepressants, electrical spinal cord stimulation, or even using a mirror box to visualize the phantom limb and practice relaxing it.