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.

“A Toy Monkey That Escaped Nazi Germany and Reunited a Family” by Uri Berliner, npr.org

“What I did know is that our family — on the Berliner side — was very small. There were just three Berliners: my dad, me and my son, Ben. At least that’s what we thought. And then two things happened — with the toy monkey at the center of both events.”

“12 Old-Timey Turkey Terms to Bring Back This Thanksgiving” by Alvin Ward, mentalfloss.com

“Want to spice up conversation this Thanksgiving? Use these terms while you’re talking turkey.”

“Mary Katharine Goddard, the Woman who Signed the Declaration of Independence” by Erick Trickey, smithsonianmag.com

“Likely the United States’ first woman employee, this newspaper publisher was a key figure in promoting the ideas that fomented the Revolution.”

“10 Iconic WWI Novels for the Armistice Centenary” by Book Marks, lithub.com

FROM A FAREWELL TO ARMS TO THE REGENERATION TRILOGY

“Grief as My Guide: How My Sister Made Me a Better Doctor” by Joseph D. Stern, M.D., nytimes.com

“Even when she was gone, she was present in the patient sitting before me and in the way I was newly able to comfort and reassure her.”

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.

“The Uplifting Story Behind This Viral Marathon Photo” by Robby Ketchall as told to Caitlin Giddings, runnersworld.com

“Why one dad crossed the finish line carrying his infant son”

“Could 3-D Printing Save Music Education?”, smithsonianmag.com

“D.C. chef Erik Bruner-Yang interviews Jill-of-all-trades Kaitlyn Hova about her plan to infuse STEM education with open source, 3-D printable instruments.”

“How to Let Go of Being a Good Person and Become a Better Person” by Dolly Chugh, ted.com

“What if your attachment to being a “good” person is holding you back from actually becoming a better person? In this accessible talk, social psychologist Dolly Chugh explains the puzzling psychology of ethical behavior — like why it’s hard to spot your biases and acknowledge mistakes — and shows how the path to becoming better starts with owning your mistakes. “In every other part of our lives, we give ourselves room to grow — except in this one, where it matters most,” Chugh says.”

“How Meditation Might Help Your Winter Workouts” by Gretchen Reynolds, nytimes.com

“Some simple techniques might shore up our commitment to being physically active as the seasons change.”

“The Psychology and Science Behind How Hiking Trails Are Created” by Victoria Sanderson, mentalfloss.com

“The ultimate goal: ‘A useful trail must be easy to find, easy to travel, and convenient to use,’ according to the USDA Forest Service’s Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook [PDF].”

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.

“When Pulling a Lever Tallied the Vote” by Owen Edwards, smithsonianmag.com

“An innovative 1890s gear-and-lever voting machine mechanized the counting of the ballots so they could be tallied in minutes, not hours or days.”

“Are Athletes Really Getting Faster, Better, Stronger?” by David Epstein, ted.com

“When you look at sporting achievements over the last decades, it seems like humans have gotten faster, better and stronger in nearly every way. Yet as David Epstein points out in this delightfully counter-intuitive talk, we might want to lay off the self-congratulation. Many factors are at play in shattering athletic records, and the development of our natural talents is just one of them.”

“Immigrating To The U.S.? Get Ready For A New Gut Microbiome (And Maybe More Pounds)” by Maanvi Singh, npr.org

“Moving to the U.S. can seriously mess with immigrants’ microbiomes, according to a new study that tracked the digestive health of refugees coming to Minnesota from Southeast Asia.”

“16 Books You Should Read This November” by Literary Hub Contributers, lithub.com

“Why Sports Parents Sometimes Behave So Badly” by Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, nytimes.com

“Youth sports organizations are increasingly reporting scenarios in which parents yell, threaten or physically assault coaches, referees, players or other parents.”