According to local reports, Santa Cruz, CA has seen a 25% increase in recycled mattresses citywide since 2016 thanks to a new bed recycling initiative. Bye Bye Mattress began operating in the city in 2016 and is run by the Mattress Recycling Council, a non-profit that educates industry professionals on recycling laws and works with local governments to establish mattress recycling programs. The council currently powers programs in California, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, the only three states

Why Sleep Trackers Probably Aren’t the Key to Better Rest (At Least Not Yet) In the past few years, one gadget in particular has captivated the sleep space: the sleep tracker. Coming in many forms—from tech pads to smartphone apps to wearable headbands—these devices promise to monitor user slumber and offer helpful feedback on how to improve it. But while there’s been a recent proliferation of these products on the market, the question remains: how effective are they? The answer varies dependi

When people imagine a flight attendant uniform, they might conjure up images of neck scarves, flattering knee-length skirts, and perhaps a pillbox hat set slightly askew on a perfectly coiffed head. Though these imaginings are hardly false, they’re also not entirely true. We did a little research and found out exactly where uniforms came from. The first flight attendant uniforms were actually quite plain. In the 1930s, when commercial flying first began, many customers were rightfully fearful of flying...

Climate change is real, and it’s having a significant impact on some of the world’s most stunning, unique, and precious landscapes. Rising global temperatures, along with industrialization, are causing many of these landscapes to disappear right before our very eyes. Check out our list below for four landscapes that are being directly affected by climate change and how best to visit them before it’s too late!

In this day and age, the world starts right at the ends of our fingertips. With just a click of our mouse, we can learn about the traditions of Indonesian cooking, the wedding practices of southern India, the annual rates of snowfall in Oslo and what the most popular television show in Buenos Aires is. With technology, we can connect and interact with other cultures in ways our ancestors could never have imagined possible, which helps us to better understand one another and the world we live in.

“When approaching the intersection of Chang Klan and Sri Donchai Roads, a sense of loss pervades. Here on the Southeast corner of this busy intersection rests the colossal of Chiang Mai cinemas, rotting mercilessly. Bound like a sedated hostage in the cheapness of billboards and advertisements, the sole surviving relic of Chiang Mai’s movie-going glory days awaits an undetermined, likely grim fate,” writes Phil Jablon in a post on his blog, The Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project...

Thailand, we have a problem. The most recent UN Trafficking in Persons Report is quite long and very dry, but its message is clear: human trafficking is a huge issue in Thailand, and not enough is being done to stop it. For anyone even slightly familiar with the culture of human trafficking in Southeast Asia, this statement rings true. Traffickers run rampant and though the government has instituted legislation to deal with them (most notably the 2008 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act), convictions remain low...

As I flick through the messages I’ve sent and received on the gay social apps Grindr, Jack’d and Scruff, it’s hard not to feel utterly hopeless at finding anything that resembles love or good sex in this city. The messages I’ve left unanswered, inquiring into my status as a bottom or a top or the size of my penis or if I like leather, pulse in my mind like small cyber ulcers. Where are all the quirky, career-minded lovers of literature and trashy pop culture and red wine and safely adventurous escapades in the bedroom?