Posts by Jean M. Ward

We all have a lot going on. Working a job you don’t love day in and day out can be challenging. And sometimes, people just don’t quite bring their A-game. But that’s why subreddits like r/NotMyJob exist, right? Here are 15 absolute job fails, to make you feel a little better about whatever you did...

Getting an unexpected medical diagnosis can be hard, no matter the diagnosis. Of course with the internet and the ease of self-diagnosis, getting an actual professional diagnosis can also sometimes be a relief. It’s trickier when it comes to mental health. I’ve had friends experience tremendous relief at adult ADHD diagnoses, because finally they feel...

If you’ve ever seen a poster for a new movie and thought, “I’ve seen that movie before,” it might be because there’s an art, a science, and a psychology that goes into the branding of movies. Studios have found formulas that work, and there’s not much deviation. One eagle-eyed viewer first noticed a similar pattern...

Maybe it’s because it flies in the face of evolution, but people tend to be shocked when others don’t want kids. They assume you’ll grow out of it or change your mind, but for some, the desire to remain childless is as strong as others’ biological urge to procreate. These 12 people express their feelings...

One of the most invasive questions people can ask is about your plans to have children. It’s no one’s business but the people making the choice–and sometimes it’s not even a choice. But that doesn’t stop people from asking. At family functions and even in the workplace, if you’re in a committed relationship and over...

I don’t particularly like to go into the ocean. There’s a lot you can’t see swimming around in there. Even when it’s not dangerous, I don’t particularly relish the thought of swimming with it. Maybe it’s because of the time I went snorkeling and people started throwing food over the side of the boat, so...

Any fan of Outlander can tell you the value of a good stone circle or megalith. They are an incredible feat of engineering that evokes imagery of giants and druids and ancient gods and ancient humans overcoming extraordinary limitations (and doing math!) in the service of those gods. There is something magical about such places,...

As humans, we are constantly making assumptions about the world around us and the people and things in it. Maybe we shouldn’t, but I think it’s part of how humans are wired. We categorize things in our head to help us make sense of them. The problem is, a lot of our assumptions are based...

I don’t know why the world is the way it is. That’s not true. I kind of do. It’s because dismantling systems of power and oppression is hard. It takes a lot of work and dedication, and most people are too wrung out from the daily grind to care about anything else. Lucky for all...

The thing about science is that it’s a process. It follows a method, but it’s all about learning. And sometimes the best learning comes from mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, right? Well last year, scientists at a lab in Hungary had a real OOPS moment. But after the OOPS comes the learning. Their hearts were in...

In some ways society tells us that “bigger is better,” but that’s not necessarily always the case. As a species, we actually tend to love tiny things too. Costco figured that out. They realized that people love to buy tiny things almost as much as they love a bargain or a giant container of something...

There are some things that I think it’s just impossible to fully understand without experiencing it. Like, what it’s like to be an immigrant or refugee, to experience discrimination, or to break your arm–these are all things that we can imagine what they might be like. But you can’t really know, you know? Unless you’ve...

Sometimes when I want to buy an unusual new product, I remind myself that without risk there’s no reward. Sometimes it works, and the unusual new product is a massive success! Other times it’s a huge disappointment, and I kick myself for days. The point is, we all make weird choice sometimes. And the luxury...

I confess, the closest I get to wearing yoga pants in public is generally walking my dog around the neighborhood. I think I haven’t recovered from the late 90s transition between when you could get away with wearing leggins and nothing else covering your behind, to when that was suddenly not cool at all. But...

There is a lot to be said for feeling comfortable in your own skin. History is filled with people who didn’t, and suffered for it. But there have also been a great many people, and probably more than we know, who “passed” unnoticed, as the gender they identified with. A famous example was 19th century...