At NPSC we know that one of the best ways to keep your brain healthy is to learn new things. Unfortunately, with all of the information available to us, it can feel almost impossible to find the time to sift through the web to find the gems.

So, we’ve decided to do it for you! Every Friday, you can find five new articles or videos from the week that will stretch your mind, fuel your spirit, and feed your brain.

“Chicken Bones May Be the Legacy of Our Time”by Brigit Katz, smithsonianmag.com

“A new study argues that the sheer abundance of chicken consumption, coupled with the strange skeletons of modern chickens, will leave a unique fingerprint.”

“Why Do We Hug Each Other?”by Haemin Sunim, lithub.com

“The answer is science. It’s science. (Also it’s nice).”

 

“From Cocaine To Cacao: One Man’s Mission To Save Colombia’s Farmers Through Chocolate” by Veronica Zeragovia, npr.org

“When our project started, it was going to be called ‘Más Cacao, Menos Coca,’ ” Palacios says — more cacao, less coca. He says all told, it has taken seven years to get to the point where enough Chocó farmers are growing cacao to supply his chocolate company, which is now a year old.”

 

“The Hidden Room Behind Mount Rushmore” by Jake Rossen, mentalfloss.com

 “To make sure people in the future knew the history of his project and the meaning behind it, Borglum announced an ambitious addition: a massive room situated just behind Abraham Lincoln’s hairline that would contain all the information anyone would ever need about the mountain.”

“Taking comfort in the fact that most of us have a holiday parenting fail (or 10)” by Madeleine Deliee,washingtonpost.com

“No one’s holiday is perfect. No one goes from mid-November to early January without burning dinner, breaking a decoration, or dropping something heavy on themselves and cursing loudly in front of their most judgmental relative. No one’s season is flawless — because none of us are.”