Why So Many Devices Want to Talk to You

It seems like every new device wants to talk to you these days, from refrigerators to pillows to water bottles and more. Fast Company has dubbed the trend the “Talkpocalypse” and offers a few insights into why so many companies are obsessed with your ears’ attention. In addition to adding the obvious benefit of convenience, voice-control allows companies a chance at profiting from referral purchases. …

How Zora Neale Hurston Helped Her Readers Understand the World

Today, 7 January 2016, marks what would have been the 125th birthday of American author Zora Neale Hurston. Best known for her book “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” Hurston’s words exposed the violent realities of black people in America to the rest of the world. As essayist Roger Rosenblatt explains in TIME, Hurston’s books helped the nation understand the challenges of being an outsider in …

The “Sperm Switch” Male Contraceptive

Aside from vasectomies, few viable male contraceptive options exist. The latest entrant into the market, called the Bimek SLV, is a proposed “sperm switch” created by German inventor Clemens Bimek. The small device works by attaching to the spermatic duct valve and can be switched to the “off” position to divert the flow of sperm back into the testicles upon ejaculation. According to Bimek, the …