↓
 

Overlooked Outlook

Helping You Make Sense of the World

  • Home
  • Life and Everyday Living
    • Money & Finance
  • Psychology & Mental Health
    • Moods & Emotions
    • Stress & Anxiety
  • People
    • Love & Relationships
  • Coping & Recovery
    • Addiction & Recovery
  • Coloring As Therapy
    • Meditation
  • Depression

Post navigation

← Older posts

When People Can’t Behave, Hire A Crow

Overlooked Outlook Posted on September 16, 2023 by adminSeptember 16, 2023

For all our supposed sophistication, we humans can be a rather snobbish and inconsiderate lot. Take the rather annoying little habit that many smokers have of flicking their cigarette butts all over the place—on the street, at the park or playground, in the bumper cars at a carnival ride. The 11% of the Swedish population who smoke manage to leave more than a billion cigarette butts littered around Swedish streets each year. That’s a lot of toxic trash, which can leach harmful chemicals into waterways or cause problems with wildlife. Plus, it’s just plain trashy.

So the Swedish town of Sodertalje has come up with a creative solution: enlist crows to clean up the messes people make. A company called Corvid Cleaning trains wild crows to fly around collecting discarded cigarette butts. The birds then deposit them into a machine that rewards them each time with a morsel of food. The hope is that this can clean up city streets while cutting the cost of street cleaning.

“We can teach crows to pick up cigarette butts, but we can’t teach people not to throw them on the ground,” says Tomas Thernstrom, a waste strategist with the city. “That’s an interesting thought.” And a rather depressing one, too.

1. The Week, Feb. 11, 2022, p.8

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
Posted in Behavior, Science

Imparted Wisdom: The Limits of Motivation

Overlooked Outlook Posted on June 13, 2023 by adminJune 13, 2023

“Motivation can be a powerful driver, but it is also fleeting and unreliable. Just consider the last time you felt motivated and how long it lasted. The truth is that it is more useful to have daily routines in place to help us achieve our goals. Imagine a heart surgeon who told you, ‘I can operate well–when I feel motivated.’ You would not risk your health on the hope that the doctor felt motivated on the day of your procedure. Better to have your surgery done by someone who has routines in place that ensure her success regardless of how she feels.”

-Steve Alexander Jr., M.A., Ed.M., AR, LMHC, writing in Psychology Today (March/April 2022, p. 18)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
Posted in Emotions, Psychology | Tagged AR, Ed.M., emotions, LMHC, M.A., motivation, sadness, Steve Alexander Jr.

Music or Torture?

Overlooked Outlook Posted on March 21, 2023 by adminMarch 21, 2023

Anyone who as ever listened to an 8-year-old trying to make music knows all too well that music can be torture.  A few minutes of them banging on a drum or trying to play Mary Had A Little Lamb on the harmonica and you will be ready to carve out … Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
Tagged 7-eleven, government, music, opera, torture

Better Brains Through Music

Overlooked Outlook Posted on March 11, 2023 by adminMarch 11, 2023

There’s been a lot of hype about how Mozart can make you smarter. But the truth is that ANY music can boost mental acuity so long as it’s something you enjoy listening to. So rock on dead heads or get your groove on to Puff Daddy if you’d like. It’s … Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
Posted in Brain & Neruoscience, Miscellaneous

What Spiders Do When High

Overlooked Outlook Posted on January 31, 2023 by adminJanuary 31, 2023

In 1995, NASA engaged in some rather unique research: they funded a study to give drugs to spiders, then assessed the toxicity of each drug based on the shape of the web the spiders spun while intoxicated. (Can I get three big hoorahs for our tax dollars at work!) What … Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
Posted in Drugs & Addiction, Science | Tagged behavior on drugs, caffeine, drugs, effects of drugs, marijuana. stoned, spider. science

A Devious Twist On New Year Resolutions

Overlooked Outlook Posted on December 27, 2022 by adminDecember 27, 2022

This is the wonderful time of the year when we all get to look back on our lives and reflect on what an abject failure we’ve been. Realizing this, we are then compelled to make pledges for all the wondrous strides we’ll make in the coming year. We’re all going … Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
Tagged improving, new year resolutions, one day at a time, resolve. life

Reflections on Life

Overlooked Outlook Posted on December 1, 2022 by adminDecember 1, 2022

“There’s a difference between a happy life and one filled with purpose. They may overlap, but they don’t always go hand in hand (think of a social activist jailed for expressing her beliefs, or a Doctors Without Borders volunteer who contracts Ebola). But even with its challenges, a meaningful life … Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Childhood Insecurities Carried Over

Overlooked Outlook Posted on September 8, 2022 by adminSeptember 8, 2022

“Never being popular as a kid was always an insecurity for me. Even as an adult, I still have recurring flashbacks of sitting at lunch tables alone or hiding in a bathroom stall, or trying to make a new friend and being laughed at. In my twenties I found myself … Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
Posted in Miscellaneous, Personal Growth & Development

Porta Potty Diving

Overlooked Outlook Posted on August 9, 2022 by adminAugust 9, 2022

Have you ever had one of those really, really, really bad days? How does it measure up to the really bad day experienced by the woman I’m about to discuss? Firefighters were called to the top of Mount Walker in Washington to rescue a woman who fell headfirst into an … Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
Tagged cell phone, humor, porta potty

Different Facts for Different Folks

Overlooked Outlook Posted on July 9, 2022 by adminJuly 9, 2022

In case you haven’t noticed, it seems Americans are living in completely separate realities these days. This isn’t all that surprising: perception is a fickle beast, dependent upon a myriad of factors. People can see the same situation in completely different ways depending on their knowledge, experience, hopes, aspirations, insecurities, … Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
Tagged culture, history, school text books, wars

Post navigation

← Older posts

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Want to have our latest posts delivered straight to your inbox. Join our spam-free newsletter by entering your email below:

Join 1 other subscriber

There is only one person who could ever make you happy, and that person is you.
David Burns

Recent Posts

  • When People Can’t Behave, Hire A Crow
  • Imparted Wisdom: The Limits of Motivation
  • Music or Torture?
  • Better Brains Through Music
  • What Spiders Do When High
©2023 - Overlooked Outlook - Weaver Xtreme Theme
↑