Category: Bazaar News

If you sometimes find yourself asking someone to repeat themselves or have trouble making out sounds, new action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration might be worth hearing about. The agency has recently approved hearing aids that can be sold over the counter (OTC) without a prescription.

According to the Associated Press, hearing aids went OTC in October and can benefit adults 18 and over with mild to moderate hearing loss. (Think turning up the volume on your television past what other people deem acceptable, finding voices sound muffled, or having trouble listening to a person in a group setting.) The opportunity is especially helpful for those without insurance, as the prices for such devices can be thousands of dollars lower than prescription models and don’t require the sign-off of a specialist.

One Walmart model sells for $200 and can be purchased after a simple hearing test performed at the retailer’s hearing centers. Another model can be had for $799 at Walgreens stores. You can also head to Best Buy, which is making hearing tests available in stores along with the equipment.

It’s important to make sure the device is labeled OTC, as some products labeled helpful for hearing (sometimes referred to as personal sound amplification products) might not be FDA-approved. Loss accompanied by signs of infection or illness should be evaluated by a doctor. If hearing loss is more severe, then it’s wise to see a specialist for more focused treatment options.

“A successful hearing aid fitting is so much more than the equipment,” Hadassah Kupfer, a doctor of audiology and adjunct professor at the City University of New York, told the National Council on Aging (NCOA). “Just like glasses are not a one-size-fits-all solution, hearing aids also operate using a prescription in which they are tuned pitch by pitch based on your hearing test results. Even if the OTC devices can be adjusted generally for bass and treble, a person will be missing out on the unique prescription that would help them hear at their max potential.”

With over-the-counter aids, Kupfer said, “[There] is no opportunity for professional sizing, custom earpieces, counseling on proper use and maintenance, or follow-up fine tuning. So a person may be discouraged when they do not have the successful outcome they were hoping for, and come to the [incorrect] conclusion hearing aids don’t work for them.”

The ease of purchase, however, might spur those with hearing loss to address their issue. According to the NCOA, 25 percent of Americans aged 65 to 74 have hearing loss that interferes with daily living. The FDA estimates only 20 percent of those with loss seek treatment, while the NCOA says that people can wait up to 10 years after the first signs of loss before getting help.

[h/t Associated Press]

The holiday season, like the Super Bowl, is one of the few times where people actually look forward to seeing which commercials will interrupt their favorite shows. In addition to premiering fresh content each year, companies lean into holiday nostalgia by using the same cozy commercials over and over again. Some, like Hershey’s Kisses’s “Christmas Bells,” continue to run today; others that no longer air, such as the 1993 TV debut of the Coca-Cola polar bears, still had a lasting effect on holiday advertisements. Here are seven beloved commercials that have stood the test of time and remain Christmas classics.

Peter first first came home for Christmas in 1986 in this feel-good Folgers ad. According to Greg Wrangler, the actor who played Peter, the original commercial aired for nearly 20 years. Folgers came out with a new version of the 1986 ad in 2009, in which a different Peter comes home to a very excited sister; that commercial went viral due to what viewers deemed was an unusually intimate relationship between the siblings. 

The Budweiser Clydesdales have starred in many a commercial since the 1980s. In this heartwarming advertisement, the giant equines dash through the snow to deliver a giant Christmas tree. It’s a classic Budweiser commercial that many still look back on with nostalgia.

No cable Christmas movie marathon would be complete without at least one performance of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” by this tree-shaped chocolate ensemble. It’s the candy company’s longest-running commercial, and it has quite the fan base: In 2020, Hershey’s faced backlash after debuting “Bells to Blossoms,” an updated version of the classic ad (the company confirmed that “Bells to Blossoms” was not a replacement for the original, saying it intended to air both versions during the holiday season). 

Corona’s 32-year-old beer commercial adds a tropical twist to Christmas. A palm tree decorated with festive string lights dazzles in the darkness while a person off-screen whistles the tune of “O’ Tannenbaum” (also known as “O’ Christmas Tree”). It’s a peaceful commercial, but it was actually quite stressful to film, thanks to all the alligators lurking nearby. “We had to have alligator wranglers scoop the alligators and keep them out of the way. The cameraman was petrified, so we promised him he could go out there and set up the shot, and then escape,” Mike Rogers, the advertisement’s creator, once explained.

This cozy commercial was a staple of the ‘90s and aughts. As the shivering snowman huddles over a bowl of steaming hot soup, he slowly melts to reveal a young boy ready to tuck into his dinner. According to The Drum, the commercial was created to evoke the warm feelings that often accompany a snowy day for both parents and kids. 

Polar bears have popped up in Coca-Cola advertisements since the 1920s, but they didn’t appear on television until 1993. In this commercial—which is admittedly more about winter than the holiday season—they admire the Northern Lights while sipping icy bottles of soda. Ken Stewart, the commercial’s creator, was inspired by his Labrador retriever, who, as a puppy, resembled a fluffy polar bear. The Arctic beasts have since been featured in other Coca-Cola commercials, with admittedly better animation as the years went on.

Santa can withstand a lot of magical things—flying reindeer, elves, traveling the world at an impossibly fast speed—but the existence of talking candy was simply too much for jolly Old Saint Nick to handle in this 1996 M&M’s commercial. In 2017, the company aired a sequel to the original ad, which showed Yellow attempting to save Christmas while Red and Santa were rendered incapacitated by the shock of their encounter. 

In late November, Merriam-Webster announced that its 2022 word of the year was gaslighting—a data-driven decision based on the number of (and year-to-year increase in) look-ups.

Oxford Languages—the entity behind the Oxford English Dictionary and other language resources—has a slightly more complex selection process. With the help of language software (and suggestions from dictionary editors and social media users), lexicographers choose a word or phrase that “reflect[s] the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of that particular year and [has] lasting potential as a word of cultural significance.”

But this year, Oxford decided to do things a little differently. Instead of choosing a single term, the researchers chose three—and then they let the public pick which one should be named 2022’s word of the year. After two weeks and some 300,000 votes, we finally have a winner: goblin mode, something you may have experienced firsthand without even knowing it had a name. 

As Oxford Languages explains, the phrase describes “a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.” 

The concept—a natural antithesis to beast mode, girlbossing, and basically anything else that champions ambition and/or aesthetics—has been around at least since 2009. But it’s become especially popular during the pandemic era, as people have learned to lean into not always looking and acting like their best selves.

For example: It’s dinner time, and you’re eating cereal from a pot with a serving spoon because everything else is dirty. That’s goblin mode. Or maybe it’s 2 p.m., you’re still in bed, and you take a brief break from back-stalking your ex’s new partner on Instagram (you just reached 2016) to drink the Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos crumbs straight from the bag. Is Married at First Sight on your TV? Are you wearing a two-sizes-too-big hoodie (hood up) bearing a two-day-old soy sauce stain? That’s peak goblin mode.

“It’s a relief to acknowledge that we’re not always the idealized, curated selves that we’re encouraged to present on our Instagram and TikTok feeds,” Oxford Languages president Casper Grathwohl said in a statement. “This has been demonstrated by the dramatic rise of platforms like BeReal, where users share images of their unedited selves, often capturing self-indulgent moments in goblin mode. People are embracing their inner goblin, and voters choosing goblin mode as the Word of the Year tells us the concept is likely here to stay.”

The runner-up was metaverse, the virtual reality universe that aspires to be a fully immersive 3D internet. And in third place was #IStandWith, the hashtag phrase used to show support for any number of people and causes; this year, people have mentioned it often in solidarity with Ukraine.

Oxford’s word of the year crown doesn’t carry with it a guarantee that said term will end up in the Oxford English Dictionary. So if you want goblin mode to earn an entry, the best thing you can do is just keep using it as much as possible.

The season of presents accumulating under the tree is also the season of dishes piling up in the sink. Kitchen disasters aren’t something most people want to associate with the holidays, but they’re unavoidable this time of year. To prepare yourself for the mess you might find after making ham, latkes, or figgy pudding, check out the hidden-image puzzle below.

This brainteaser from metals4U shows a sink overflowing with dirty plates, bowls, and mugs. Hidden among the chaos is a single aluminum frying pan. According to the UK-based metal supplier, just one out of five people are able to spot the cookware in less than a minute. Take a hard look at the scene and see if you can beat that time.

If you don’t like to be reminded of the chores that await you this month, there are plenty of cheerier (albeit less realistic) holiday-themed brainteasers to choose from. This colorful illustration shows a happy elf in Santa’s hectic workshop leading up to Christmas Eve. In this image, candy canes, gingerbread men, and Christmas trees are hiding a single present. Give them a try if you’re stumped by this puzzle.

Still having trouble spying the frying pan in the messy kitchen? You can find its secret location in the solution below. And when the holidays arrive, don’t be afraid to assign your guests clean-up duties to avoid this situation in real life.

From venomous snakes to crocodiles, Australia is teeming with dangerous wildlife. But if you hear a bellow that sounds like a cross between a wild boar and T.rex while exploring the outback, don’t panic. You may be hearing a koala bear trying to attract a mate.

Koalas possess one of the greatest discrepancies between sound and appearance in the animal kingdom. Rarely weighing more than 30 pounds, they more closely resemble stuffed animals than the massive bears they’re misnamed for. But when they open their mouths, you can hear how someone might confuse them with a grizzly. The koala’s rumbling brays are 20 times lower than the typical call for an animal its size, according to National Geographic. The sound is so intimidating that sound designers sampled it when mixing the T.Rex’s iconic roar for Jurassic Park (1993).

Koalas possess unique vocal cords that allow them to belt their baritone mating song. Separate from their normal, koala-sized larynx, they have a second, supersized set of vocal folds that have evolved to produce deep tones. In the video below, you can listen to a male koala showing off his brassy pipes after arriving at his new home in an Australian animal park.

The sound koalas make may be surprising if you only know the species from cute pictures on the internet. If you’re familiar with their aggressive tendencies, the roar should feel more fitting. Koalas have been known to attack dogs and people who encroach on their environment. Here are more facts about the feisty tree-huggers from down under.

[h/t The Kid Should See This]

A lot of films become synonymous with their directors. Psycho is an Alfred Hitchcock movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a Stanley Kubrick movie, and so on. But what about Jason and the Argonauts? Or The Valley of Gwangi? Or The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad? Even longtime fans might be hard pressed to name any of the people who directed those fantasy-adventure classics. As far as your average movie fan is concerned, they’re all Ray Harryhausen movies. 

Perhaps the best stop-motion animator of all time, Harryhausen—born on June 29, 1920 in Los Angeles—made a name for himself in an industry whose visual effects artists are too often overlooked. Growing up, future auteurs like Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, and Stephen Spielberg were inspired by his wonderful monsters. Here are 11 things everyone should know about the man Kermit the Frog called “one of the world’s great manipulators.” 

Billed as “The Eighth Wonder of the World,” King Kong (1933) revolutionized cinema. Stop-motion wizardry was the key to its success; animator Willis O’Brien filled the movie with epic monsters: a giant ape, a lanky lizard, and some very angry dinosaurs.

Watching those beasts come to life for the first time was an experience Harryhausen never forgot. “I saw it at Grauman’s Chinese theater [in Los Angeles] and I haven’t been the same [since],” he told IGN in 2012. “It was so well done and so very compact that it stayed in my mind for years. It infected me with stop-motion photography.”

A self-described “diorama kid,” Harryhausen loved creating little scenes with model dinosaurs at school. The idea that a person could make those figurines move around on camera fascinated him, and he quickly set about learning the basics of stop-motion.   

One of Harryhausen’s high school classmates happened to know O’Brien through her father, who’d worked with him at RKO, the studio behind King Kong. Encouraged by his fellow student, Harryhausen got in touch with O’Brien. The veteran artist became his mentor, giving him advice and constructive criticism. Later, he took Harryhausen on as an assistant for a brand-new RKO gorilla movie called Mighty Joe Young (1949). Harryhausen was responsible for more than 80 percent of the film’s stop-motion creature effects. 

In 1939, Harryhausen enrolled at Los Angeles City College, where he studied art and anatomy. His course load included an acting class; he eventually decided performing in front of a live audience just wasn’t his thing. “But I’m grateful for that period when I wanted to study acting, because our animated characters intrinsically act with the live actors, rather than just being there for shock value,” he recalled in an interview with The Moment magazine. In his 2004 autobiography, Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life, he wrote that when he worked on Mighty Joe Young, he used to eat celery and carrots in bulk to get himself into character as Joe: “I thought it would allow me to animate better if I felt like a gorilla.”  

Widely credited with inspiring the Godzilla series, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms was the first Hollywood movie where Harryhausen had complete control over its special effects. The plot was lifted from “The Foghorn,” a short story written by sci-fi author Ray Bradbury. The two Rays met in their late teens; they joined the same science fiction club at Los Angeles City College and bonded over a shared love of King Kong, dinosaurs, and fantasy stories. They remained close friends for over 70 years. At a 1992 dinner organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Bradbury personally handed a special Gordon E. Sawyer Award for Technical Achievement to his old pal. “Good lord, what a friend to have! Someone just as crazy as I was about primeval monsters and how to get them into theaters,” Bradbury quipped at the event.   

It Came From Beneath the Sea was the first of 11 Ray Harryhausen movies produced by Charles H. Schneer. Another “giant monster attacks city” romp, it’s about a giant octopus who lays waste to San Francisco. Except it’s not really an octopus: Looking to save some time and cash, Harryhausen designed his stop-motion model to have six tentacles instead of eight. 

“I wanted a trip to Europe, I got itchy feet,” the animator said in The Harryhausen Chronicles, a 1998 documentary. If he could successfully pitch a new movie that was set overseas, he figured the studio would pay his travel expenses. Initially, he tried to get The Elementals—a movie featuring bat-like creatures living in the Eiffel Tower—made, but no one was interested. Harryhausen did eventually get his trip, though: He joined forces with a writer friend named Charlotte Knight to revise an old story idea he’d had about an alien that attacks Chicago. For their new version of the tale, Knight and Harryhausen replaced Chi-Town with Rome. Schneer loved the premise, and 1958’s 20 Million Miles to Earth was born. The movie takes place in Italy, where Harryhausen got to spend two weeks working on location. 

Tom Hanks (yes, that Tom Hanks) has called Jason and the Argonauts “the greatest movie ever made.” The film’s climax—an iconic skeleton fight—was one of the most ambitious scenes in visual effects history, and arguably Harryhausen’s finest hour.

Having stolen the magical golden fleece, Jason and two of his sailors are on the run from the vengeful King Aeëtes. Before they can escape, Aeëtes summons a horde of reanimated skeletons, all brandishing weapons. What follows is a death battle between three flesh-and-blood actors and seven miniature corpses. The sequence was painstakingly choreographed; Harryhausen had to synchronize his stop-motion characters with live-action swordplay footage that had been shot on location. Harryhausen spent four and a half months working on the roughly four-minute-long scene. He animated an average of just 13 to 15 frames per day, telling Paul Wells in Animation: Genre and Authorship that it was, “very little footage for a film of this nature. Of course, the accountants got irritated because time is money, and 15 frames is less than a foot of film.”

Jason and the Argonauts actually marked Harryhausen’s second crack at a skeleton duel. In 1958’s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, there’s a similar scene where the hero crosses swords with a living skeleton, which Harryhausen nicknamed “Goose Shield.” That skeleton model also appears in the finale of Jason. The animator also tore apart the Triceratops he’d created for One Million Years, B.C. so he could build a new dino model—the Styracosaurus that pops up in The Valley of Gwangi—around its metal skeleton. 

Between 1958 and 1977, Schneer and Harryhausen produced three unrelated films about Sinbad the sailor. The duo flirted with making even more Sinbad flicks, including one with the working title Sinbad Goes to Mars. “The very mention of this project almost never fails to bring a polite smile to the face of anyone I mention it to. I really can’t imagine why!” Harryhausen wrote in An Animated Life. If they’d actually filmed it, the movie would have starred a man-eating plant and a supernatural Egyptian pyramid. Another unrealized Harryhausen project was a retelling of H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds.  It fell through, but at least he got to animate some test footage.

Never one to take the easy way out, Harryhausen fitted the Medusa model he put together for the film with 12 movable snake heads; you can see the reptiles squirming around as she hunts down Perseus (played by Harry Hamlin). After Mighty Joe Young, Harryhausen typically worked alone, but for Clash—Harryhausen’s last movie—animators Jim Danforth and Steve Archer were hired to assist him.  

When Mike Wazowski takes his girlfriend out for a romantic dinner in Monsters, Inc., he chooses the hottest restaurant in town: a sushi restaurant called Harryhausen’s. Corpse Bride also tips its hat to the man; the name Harryhausen is engraved on a tiny piano that was used in this 2005 stop-motion musical. Even non-animated movies have gotten in on the fun: John Landis, a noted Harryhausen superfan, gave him a cameo role in the action-comedy, Spies Like Us. Harryhausen also made a guest appearance in the 1998 Mighty Joe Young remake.