The New Yorker: The Therapeutic Power of Gardening
By Rebecca Mead
As Britain began enforcing COVID-19 lockdowns, purchases of gardening supplies began going up. The British have long had private and public gardens. But studies have found that gardening can also have a calming effect.
This may be in part because of the perpetual growth of plants during this uncertain time. Growing plants has also been found to have been helpful to soldiers in trenches during World War II and those with PTSD. Even rats have been observed to be more energetic around nature rather than typically cage fixtures.
In 1863, many people were losing faith in the London Underground project, which aimed to establish an underground railway to ease above ground traffic congestion in London, the then-biggest city in the world. The project cost 100 million dollars in today's money, and many believed it wouldn't work. But on January 10th, as the first ever subway in the world opened, thousands traveled underground to ride on it. The Metropolitan Railway first traveled across a 4 mile stretch and quickly expanded. Charles Pearson was the first to come up with the idea in the 1840's but was met with lots of resistance because people thought it was impractical. Of course, there was the problem of digging an underground tunnel inside a city. To solve this problem, workers dug into existing roads, then made a tunnel from brick archways, then covered it back up. However, this was very destructive, and sometimes, work was stalled due to flooding. Suburbs and stores soon began growing around stations. Soon, as the original method of tunneling began taking too long, a device called the Greathead Shield greatly reduced the amount of work and time needed to dig. The lines dug with this machine were called tubes, and were much deeper than the old lines, so they could go anywhere. Today, cities around the world have subway lines, all thanks to the ingenuity of Charles Pearson.
Have you ever heard that constant ringing noise when there is nothing making noise? Tinnitus is the presence of a buzzing or ringing sound when there is nothing making it, and approximately 1 out of every 7 people have it. It has plagued everyone from Da Vinci to Darwin. Normally, sounds cause vibrations in your ear that cause the cochlea to send signals to your brain, allowing you to hear the sound. However, most tinnitus induced sounds don't go through your ear. Instead, they are created internally inside your central nervous system. Why? Silence creates a baseline for your brain so that it can detect when it changes and identify that sound is being generated. But loud noises, diseases, and age can damage your ear, affecting the baseline noise. As cochlear cells are lost, they become less sensitive and create less vibration, making it harder to hear things. To compensate, the brain pays extra attention to sound, like you might do when adjusting the radio. This is supposed to help you hear weak noises, but it can also raise the baseline noise, making silence seem not-silent. This type is called subjective tinnitus. This usually doesn't have bad effects, but in people with traumatic memories, they can seem worse, leading to bothersome tinnitus. This second type can have more significant impacts, increasing PTSD, insomnia, and depression. There is no cure, but doctors can help patients come to terms with their illness. This involves sound therapy, where patients listen to soothing tones, or ones that are similar to the ringing.
CNN 10's fall season is back! For the first time ever, political conventions are being held virtually. Conventions are usually held by the major political parties to formally nominate their candidates and gives them a chance to define their goals. Traditionally, the party that doesn't currently hold the White House goes first, so the Democratic National Convention will be held online through Thursday, with a small delegate gathering in Milwaukee. Former Vice President Joe Biden will be nominated. The Republican convention will be next week, with incumbent President Trump being renominated. This year will be an extra challenge as parties will have to get people to the polls without in-person meetings. Conventions have undergone many changes over the years. Conventions were first held to provide more transparency to the democratic process in the 1800s. The delegates were hand-chosen by their respective parties and could vote for whomever they wanted, often leading to rowdiness. Eventually, today's system of the voters choosing who the delegates vote for was instituted. They are now also used to boost their candidates before the election and have often provided increases in the polls. Schools have reopened, some virtually, others in person. But both have created concerns. Thousands of kids accessing the same learning portals at once has crashed servers and invited in hackers. In-person learning has led to anxiety for kids as well as parents, along with resigning teachers over COVID rules not being enforced.
