The Science Behind Music-Induced Skin Orgasms

Not much is known about frisson—a physical reaction to an emotional stimuli that sometimes feels like a “skin orgasm”—or its physiological origins or even why it only affects two-thirds of the population. Frisson occurs when a song (perhaps just a few notes), painting or any sort of sensory stimulation strikes an emotional chord. But then the emotion turns into a skin-stretching physical sensation. According to …

ListenUp

New songs by Braids and High Water, powerful nostalgia from Garbage and more in this week's music

Braids: Joni Montreal-based three-piece Braids is making some of the most intricate electronic pop we’ve heard: take “Joni” where Raphaelle Standell-Preston’s voice snaps and stretches, yelps and exhales—setting the pace for the ricochets of synth and drum hits. Braids releases a slower-paced music video to match, where Standell-Preston figures things out with a fictional partner while telling herself: “We don’t know where we are going …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Medical marijuana for pets, designing utopia, using VR to solve crime and more in this week's look at the web

1. The Origins of Monopoly’s Iconic Playing Pieces Ever wonder how such random items as a shoe, thimble, wheelbarrow and battleship became the playing pieces of possibly the most iconic board game in history? According to Cool Material, their origins date back to the 1930s, when Monopoly inventor (and probable idea thief) Charles Darrow developed the idea to use small items from around the house …